3,  a  ^ 


Theological  Seminary, 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

,    BX  8712   .T8  1833 

Swedenborg,  Emanuel,  1688- 
1772 

The  true  Christian  religion 


I 


f 


A. 


« 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/truechristianrelOOswed_0 


Piiblishi-d  hr  .lohn  Allrii  N,.  11.  PchL.ol  Slrc.!t.Boslon 


THE 


TRUE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION, 


CONTAINING 


OF 


THE  NEW  CHURCH, 


FORETOLD  BY  THE  LORD 


IN  DANIEL  VII.  13,  14}  AND  IN  REVELATION  XXI  1,2, 


BY   EMANUEL  SWEDENBORG, 

SERVANT  OF  THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST. 


A  NEW  TRANSLATION 


FROM  THE  ORIGINAI,  LATIN  EDITION,  PRINTED  AT  AMSTERDAM, 
IN  THE  YEAR  1771. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  ALLEN, 
School  Street. 


1833 


DANIEL  VU.  13,  U. 


I  teas  seeing  in  the  visions  of  the  night ;  and  behold,  witi 
the  heavens,  as  it  were,  the  Son  of  Man  teas  coming, 
was  given  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom ;  and  all 
and  tongues  shall  worship  Him.      His  dominion  is  the  domi 
which  will  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  one  which  will 


REVELATION  XXI.  1,  2,  5,  9, 10. 

/  John  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  And  I  sa  >  the  holy  city. 
New  Jerusalem,  descending  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepired  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.  And  an  angel  spoke  tcith  me,  haying.  Come,  I 
will  show  thee  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  Wife.  And  he  \arried  me  away 
in  spirit  upon  a  great  and  high  mountain,  and  showed  m  the  great  city, 
the  holy  Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God. 

He  who  sat  upon  the  throne  said.  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new. 
And  He  said  to  me,  Write,  because  these  words  are  true  and  faithful. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  public  is  now  presented  with  a  New  Translation  of  the  work  of 
Emanuel  Swedenborg  originally  entitled  "  Vera  Religio  Christiana, 

CONTINENS  UnIVERSAM  ThEOLOGIAM  NoV^  EcCLESlJE,  A  DoMINO  APUD 

Danielem,  cap.  VII.  13,  14,  et  in  Apocaltpsi  XXI.  1,  2,  predictje  :" 
The  True  Christian  Religion,  containing  the  Universal  Theology  of 
the  New  Church,  foretold  by  the  Lord  in  Daniel  vii.  13,  14,  and  in 
Revelation  xxi.  1,  2,  This  is  the  last  work  that  was  pubUshed  by  the 
Author  ;  and  it  comprises,  as  the  title  indicates,  a  general  summary  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  New  Church,  reduced  to  a  regular  system  of  theology. 
It  was  originally  written  in  Latin,  and  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1771, 
the  year  before  the  Author's  death.  It  was  first  translated  into  English 
by  the  Rev.  John  Clowes,  and  published  in  England  in  the  year  1781. 
After  several  editions  of  this  version  had  been  printed  in  England,  and 
one  in  America,  it  was  revised  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Noble  and  others, 
and  republished  in  London  in  the  year  1819.  Some  time  since,  a  de- 
sign was  formed  of  stereotyping  it  in  Boston,  and  it  was  then  thought 
proper  that  it  should  be  again  revised  ;  but  after  further  consideration, 
it  was  deemed  advisable  that  it  should  undergo  a  new  translation  ;  and, 
accordingly,  the  whole  work  has  been  translated  anew. 

The  Translator  has  endeavored  to  express  the  meaning  of  the  origi- 
nal Latin,  as  literally  and  accurately  as  possible,  in  plain  English  ;  but 
he  has  not,  in  all  instances,  done  it  to  his  own  satisfaction.  The  style 
of  the  original  is,  in  general,  remarkably  simple  and  perspicuous  ;  yet 
there  are  some  sentences,  and  some  particular  phrases,  which  seem  ob- 
scure and  difficult ;  and,  although  the  Translator  has  endeavored  to  ren- 
der them  faithfully,  he  is  not  sure  that  he  has  always  either  apprehended 
or  expressed  the  true  meaning.  He  hopes,  however,  that  the  present 
translation  will  be  found  not  only  more  literal  and  accurate  than  the 
former,  but  also  more  simple  in  its  phraseology,  and  consequently  more 
intelligible  to  common  readers. 

One  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  style  of  our  Author,  is  the  fre- 
quent use  of  adjectives  as  substantives  ;  as,  for  example,  Divinum, 


iv 


Advertisement. 


'  the  Divine  ;'  Humanum,  '  the  Human ;'  bonum,  '  the  good ;'  verum, 
'  the  true  ;'  malum, '  the  evil ;'  falsum,  '  the  false  ;'  spirituale,  '  the  spirit- 
ual ;'  naturale,  '  the  natural,'  &c.  In  the  present  translation,  the  word 
'  nature'  or  '  principle'  is  sometimes  added  to  '  the  Divine'  and  '  the 
Human,'  but  not  generally.  Jucundum,  which  properly  means  '  pleas- 
ant, agreeable,  delightful,'  &.C.,  is  commonly  rendered  '  delight,'  but 
sometimes  'delightful.'  Proprium,  which  properly  signifies  'what  is 
proper,  peculiar  or  appropriated  to  any  one,'  is  retained  and  used  as  a 
noun,  for  want  of  a  more  proper  word.  The  Latin  verbs  esse  and  ex- 
istere  are  also  retained,  in  several  instances ;  particularly  in  the  second 
part  of  the  first  chapter,  where  they  seemed  to  denote  abstract  ideas, 
which  could  not  be  conveniently  expressed  by  other  words.  Esse 
properly  means  '  to  be,'  but  it  is  used  to  denote  '  being  itself,  in  the 
abstract,'  or  '  the  inmost  essence  of  things  ;'  and  cxisterc  properly  means 
'  to  exist,'  but  it  is  used  to  denote  '  being  as  it  is  manifested,'  or  '  the 
sensible  existence  of  things.'  The  phrase  lihcrum  arbitrium,  which  was 
formerly  translated  '  free  will,'  is  now  rendered  '  free  agency.'  The 
passages  quoted  from  the  Sacred  Scripture  are  generally  translated  very 
literally,  and  they  sometimes  vary  considerably  from  the  corresponding 
passages  in  the  common  version  of  the  Bible. 

T.  G.  W. 

Cambridge,  December  1,  1832. 


A 


GENERAL  INDEX 


OP  THE 


CONTENTS. 


THE  FAITH  OF  THE  NEW  HEAVEN  AND  THE  NEW  CHURCH,  IN  ITS  UNI- 
VERSAL AND  PARTICULAR  FORM.    n.  1  to  3. 


CHAPTER  I. 


CONCERNING  GOD  THE  CREATOR. 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God.    n.  5. 

I.  That  the  whole  Sacred  Scripture,  and  thence  all  the  Doctrines  of  the  Churches 
in  the  Christian  world,  teach  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  is  One.    n.  6  to  7. 

II.  That  there  is  a  universal  Influx  from  God  into  the  souls  of  men,  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  that  He  is  One.    n.  8. 

III.  Thence  it  is,  that,  in  all  the  world,  there  is  not  a  nation  possessed  of  Religion 
and  sound  Reason,  which  does  not  acknowledge  a  God,  and  that  God  is  One.    n.  9. 

IV.  That,  as  to  what  that  One  God  is,  nations  and  people  have  differed,  and  still 
differ,  from  several  causes,    n.  11. 

V.  That  human  Reason,  from  many  things  in  the  world,  may  perceive  and  conclude, 
if  it  will,  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  is  One.    n.  12. 

VI.  That,  unless  God  was  One,  the  universe  could  not  have  been  created  and 
preserved,    n.  13. 

VII.  That  the  man  who  does  not  acknowledge  a  God,  is  excommunicated  from  the 
Church,  and  condemned,    n.  14. 

VIII.  That  with  men  who  do  not  acknowledge  One  God,  but  more  than  one,  nothing 
of  the  Church  coheres,    n.  15. 

Concerning  the  Divine  Esse,  which  is  Jehovah,    n.  18. 

I.  That  the  One  God  is  called  Jehovah  from  JS^se,  thus  from  this,  because  He  alone 
IS  and  WILL  BE,  and  because  He  is  the  First  and  the  Last,  the  Beginning  and  the 
End,  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,    n.  19. 

II.  That  the  One  God  is  Substance  itself  and  Form  itself,  and  that  Angels  and 
Men  are  Substances  and  Forms  from  Him  ;  and  that,  as  far  as  they  are  in  Him,  and 
He  in  them,  so  far  they  are  Images  and  Likenesses  of  Him.    n.  20. 

III.  That  the  Divine  Esse  is  Esse  in  itself,  and  at  the  same  time  Existere  in 
itself,    w.  21,22. 

IV.  That  the  Divine  Esse  and  Existere  in  itself,  cannot  produce  another  Divine, 
which  may  be  Esse  and  Existere  in  itself ;  consequently,  that  another  God  of  the 
same  essence  is  not  possible,    n.  23. 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


V.  That  a  Plurality  of  Gods  in  ancient  times,  and  also  in  modern,  existed  from 
no  other  source  than  ftom  not  understanding  the  Divine  Esse.    n.  24. 

Concerning  the  Infinity  of  God,  or  his  Immensity/  and  Eternity,    n.  27. 

I.  That  God,  since  He  is  and  exists  in  Himself,  and  all  things  in  the  universe  are 
and  exist  from  Him,  is  Infinite,    n.  28. 

n.  That  God,  since  He  was  before  the  world,  thus  before  Times  and  Spaces  arose, 
is  Infinite.  71.  29. 

III.  That  God,  since  the  world  was  made,  is  in  Space  witliout  Space,  and  in  Time 
without  Time.  n.  30. 

IV.  That  the  Infinity  of  God,  in  relation  to  Spaces,  is  called  Immensity,  and  in  rela- 
tion to  Times,  is  called  Eternity ;  and  that,  although  there  are  these  relations,  stUl  there 
is  nothing  of  Space  in  his  Immensity,  and  nothing  of  Time  in  his'Eternity.  n.  31. 

V.  That  enlightened  Reason,  from  very  many  things  in  the  world,  may  see  the 
Infinity  of  God.  n.  32. 

VI.  That  every  created  thing  is  finite,  and  that  the  Infinite  is  in  finite  things,  as 
in  its  Receptacles,  and  in  men  as  in  its  Images,    n.  33. 

Concerning  the  Essence  of  God,  which  is  Divine  Love  and  Divine  Wisdom. 

I.  That  God  is  Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  and  that  these  two  make  his  Es- 
sence,   n.  37. 

II.  That  God  is  Good  itself  and  Truth  itself,  because  Good  is  of  Love,  and  Truth  is 
of  Wisdom,    n.  38. 

III.  That  God,  because  He  is  Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  is  Life  itself  in 
itself.  71.  39,  40. 

IV.  That  Love  and  Wisdom  in  God  make  one.    n.  41,  42. 

V.  That  the  Essence  of  Love  is,  to  love  others  out  of  itself,  to  desire  to  be  one  with 
them,  and  to  make  them  happy  from  itself,    n.  43,  44,  45. 

VI.  That  these  Properties  of  the  Divine  Love  were  the  Cause  of  the  Creation  of 
the  universe,  and  that  they  are  the  Cause  of  its  Preservation,    n.  46,  47. 

Concerning  the  Omnipotence,  Omniscience  and  Omnipresence  of  God.    n.  49. 

I.  That  Omnipotence,  Omniscience  and  Omnipresence  are  of  the  Divine  Wisdom 
from  the  Divine  Love.    n.  50,  51. 

II.  That  the  Omnipotence,  Omniscience  and  Omnipresence  of  God  cannot  be 
known,  unless  it  be  known  what  Order  is,  and  unless  these  things  be  known ;  that 
God  is  Order,  and  that,  at  the  creation,  He  introduced  Order  into  the  universe,  and 
also  into  each  and  every  part  of  it.  n.  52  to  55. 

III.  That  the  Omnipotence  of  God  in  the  universe,  and  also  in  each  and  every  part 
of  it,  proceeds  and  operates  according  to  the  laws  of  his  Order,    n.  50,  57,  58. 

IV.  That  God  is  Omniscient,  that  is,  perceives,  sees  and  knows  each  and  every 
thing,  even  to  the  most  minute,  that  is  done  according  to  Order,  and  thence  also 
whatever  is  done  contrary  to  Order,    n.  59  to  G2. 

V.  That  God  is  Omnipresent  from  the  firsts  to  the  lasts  of  his  Order,    n.  63,  64. 

VI.  That  Man  was  created  a  Form  of  Divine  Order,    n.  65,  60,  07. 

VII.  That  Man  is  so  far  in  Power  against  the  Evil  and  False,  from  the  Divine  Om- 
nipotence, and  that  he  is  so  far  in  Wisdom,  concerning  the  Good  and  True,  from  the 
Divine  Omniscience,  and  that  he  is  so  far  in  God,  from  the  Divine  Omnipresence,  as 
he  lives  according  to  Divine  Order,    n.  68,  69,  70. 

Concerning  the  Creation  of  the  Universe. 

That  no  one  can  procure  to  himself  a  just  idea  concerning  tlie  Creation  of  the 
universe,  unless  some  universal  knowledges,  being  premised,  put  the  understanding 
into  a  state  of  perception,  of  which  n.  75. 

The  Creation  of  the  universe  described  by  five  Relations,  n.  76,  77,  78,  79,  80. 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONCERNING  THE  LORD  THE  REDEEMER. 

1.  That  Jehovah  God  descended  and  assumed  the  Human,  that  He  might  redeem 
and  save  Men.    n.  82,  83,  84. 

n.  That  Jehovah  God  descended  as  Divine  Truth,  which  is  the  Word,  and  yet 
that  He  did  not  separate  the  Divine  Good.    n.  85  to  88. 

HI.  That  God  assumed  the  Human  according  to  his  own  Divine  Order,  n.  89, 
90,  91. 

IV.  That  the  Human,  by  which  God  sent  Himself  into  the  world,  is  the  Son  of 
God.    n.  92,  93,  94. 

V.  That  the  Lord,  by  acts  of  Redemption,  made  Himself  Righteousness,    n.  95, 96. 

VI.  That  the  Lord,  by  the  same  acts,  united  Himself  to  the  Father,  and  the  Father 
united  Himself  to  Him.  n.  97  to  100. 

VII.  That  thus  God  became  Man,  and  Man  God,  in  one  Person,    n.  101,  102,  103. 

VIII.  That  the  progression  to  union  was  the  state  of  his  Exinanition,  and  that 
the  union  itself  is  the  state  of  his  Glorification,   n.  104,  105,  106. 

IX.  That  hereafter  no  one  among  Christians  comes  into  Heaven,  unless  he  believes 
in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior,    n.  107,  108. 

X.  Corollary.  Concerning  the  state  of  the  Church  before  the  coming  of  the 
Lord,  and  concerning  its  state  after  it.    n.  109. 

Concerning  Redemption,    n.  114. 

I.  That  Redemption  itself  was  a  Subjugation  of  the  Hells,  an  Establishment  of 
Order  in  the  Heavens,  and  thereby  a  Preparation  for  a  new  Spiritual  Church,  n.  115. 

II.  That,  without  that  Redemption,  no  Man  could  have  been  saved,  nor  could  the 
Angels  have  subsisted  in  a  state  of  integrity,    n.  118,  119,  120. 

III.  That  the  Lord  thus  redeemed  not  only  Men,  but  also  Angels,    n.  121,  122. 

IV.  That  Redemption  was  a  work  purely  divine,    n.  123. 

V.  That  this  Redemption  itself  could  not  have  been  effected,  except  by  God  In- 
carnate,   n.  124,  125. 

VI.  That  the  Passion  of  the  Cross  was  the  last  Temptation  that  the  Lord,  as  the 
greatest  Prophet,  sustained,  and  that  it  was  the  means  of  the  Glorification  of  his  Hu- 
man, and  not  Redemption,    n.  126  to  131. 

VII.  That  the  Passion  of  the  Cross  is  believed  to  have  been  Redemption  itself,  is 
a  fundamental  Error  of  the  Church  ;  and  that  this  Error,  together  with  the  Error  con- 
cerning Three  Divine  Persons  from  eternity,  has  perverted  the  whole  Christian 
Church,  so  that  not  any  thing  spiritual  is  left  remaining  in  it.    n.  132,  133. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONCERNING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT,  AND  CONCERNING  THE  DIVINE 
OPERATION.  71.  138. 

*  I.  That  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Divine  Truth,  and  also  the  Divine  Virtue  and  Opera- 
tion proceeding  from  the  One  God,  in  whom  there  is  a  Divine  Trinity ;  thus  from 
the  Lord  God  the  Savior,    n.  139,  140,  141. 

II.  That  the  Divine  Virtue  and  Operation,  which  are  meant  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  are 
in  general  Reformation  and  Regeneration ;  and  according  to  these.  Renovation,  Vivi- 
fication,  Sanctification  and  Justification ;  and  according  to  these.  Purification  from 
evils  and  Remission  of  sins,  and  at  length  Salvation,    n.  141  to  145. 

III.  That  that  Divine  Virtue  and  Operation,  which  is  meant  by  the  sending  of  the 


viii 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


Holy  Spirit,  with  the  Clergy  in  particular,  is  Illustration  and  Instruction,  n.  146, 
147,  148. 

IV.  That  the  Lord  operates  those  Virtues  in  those  who  believe  in  Him.  n.  149, 
150,  151. 

V.  That  tlie  Lord  operates  of  Himself  from  the  Father,  and  not  conversely,  n.  153, 
154,  155. 

VI.  That  the  Spirit  of .  n  is  his  Mind  and  whatsoever  proceeds  from  it.  n.  156, 157. 
Corollary.    That  it  is  i    ,vhere  said  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  the  Prophets  spoke 

from  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  from  Jehovah  God  ;  but  otherwise  in  the  New.    »i.  158. 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity,    n.  163. 

I.  That  there  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  which  is  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit. 
n.  164,  165. 

II.  That  these  Three,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  are  three  Essentials  of  one 
God,  which  make  one,  like  the  Soul,  Body  and  Operation  with  Man.    n.  166  to  169. 

HI.  That  before  the  world  was  created,  there  was  not  this  Trinity ;  but  that  after 
the  world  was  created,  when  God  became  incarnate,  it  was  provided  and  made  ;  and 
then  in  the  Lord  God  the  Redeemer  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,    n.  170,  171. 

IV.  That  a  Trinity  of  Divine  Persons  from  eternity,  thus  before  the  world  was 
created,  is,  in  the  ideas  of  thought,  a  Trinity  of  Gods,  and  that  this  cannot  be  abolished 
by  the  oral  confession  of  one  God.    n.  172,  173. 

V.  That  a  Trinity  of  Persons  was  unknown  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  but  that  it 
■was  first  broached  by  the  Nicene  Council,  and  thence  introduced  into  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  from  this  into  the  Churches  separated  from  it.    n.  174  to  176. 

VI.  That  from  the  Nicene  and  Athanasian  Trinity  together,  there  arose  a  Faith  in 
three  Gods,  which  had  perverted  the  whole  Christian  Church,    n.  177,  178. 

VII.  That  thence  there  is  that  Abomination  of  Desolation  and  Affliction  such  as 
shall  not  be,  wliich  the  Lord  had  foretold  in  Daniel  and  the  Evangelists,  and  in  the 
Revelation,    n.  179,  180,  181. 

VIII.  And  also  this,  that  unless  a  New  Heaven  and  a  New  Church  be  established 
by  the  Lord,  no  Flesh  could  be  saved,   n.  182. 

IX.  That  from  a  Trinity  of  Persons,  each  of  whom  singly  is  God,  according  to  the 
Athanasian  Creed,  have  sprung  many  absurd  and  heterogeneous  ideas  concerning 
God,  which  are  fantasies  and  abortions,    n.  183,  184. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CONCERNING  THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURE,  OR  WORD  OF  THE  LORD. 

L  That  the  Sacred  Scripture,  or  the  Word,  is  Divine  Truth  itself,    n.  189  to  192. 
II.  That  in  the  Word  there  is  a  Spiritual  Sense,  hitherto  unknown,    n.  193. 
(1.)  What  the  Spiritual  Sense  is.    n.  194. 

(2.)  That  frovi  the  Lord  proceed  the  Celestial  Divine,  the  Spiritual  Divine,  and  the 

JValural  Divine,    n.  195. 
(3.)  Thnt  a  Spiritual  Sense  is  in  all  and  every  part  of  the  Word,  shown  n.  196. 

197,  198. 

(4.)  That  the  Lord,  when  He  was  in  tlie  world,  spoke  by  Correspondences,  thus 

spiritually,  ivhen  naturally,    n.  199. 
(5.)  That  it  is  from  tlie  Spirilual  Sense,  that  the  Word  is  divinely  inspired,  and 

holy  in  every  expression,    n.  200. 
(6.)  That  the  Spiritual  Sense  has  been  hitherto  unknown,  but  ttfith  the  Ancients 

known  ;  and  concerning  Correspondences  among  them.    n.  201  to  207. 
(7.)  That  the  Spiritual  Sense  of  the  Word  is  hereafter  given  to  none  b\d  those  teho 

are  in  genuine  Tridhs  from  the  Lord.    n.  208. 
(8.)  Wonderful  things  concerning  the  Word  from  its  Spiritual  Sense,    n.  209. 


General  Index  uj  the  Contents. 


ix 


III.  That  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word  is  the  Basis,  Continent  and  Firma- 
ment of  its  Spiritual  and  Celestial  Sense,    n.  210  to  21,3. 

IV.  That  Divine  Truth,  in  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word,  is  in  its  Fulness, 
in  its  Holiness,  and  in  its  Power,    n.  214,  215,  21G. 

(1.)  That  the  Truths  of  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word  are  meant  hy  the  precious 
Stones,  of  which  the  foundations  of  the  JVetv  J'  ■salem  consisted,  of  which 
in  the  Revelation  ;  and  this  from  Corresponden-      n.  217. 

(2.)  That  the  Goods  and  Truths  of  the  Sense  of  the  Leir-t  of  the  Word  correspond 
to  the  Urim  and  Thummim  in  Aaron's  Ephod.   n.  218. 

(3.)  That  Truths  and  Goods  in  idtimates,  such  as  are  in  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of 
the  Word,  are  signified  by  the  precious  Stones  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  in 
ivhich  the  King  of  Tyre  is  said  to  have  been,  in  Ezekiel.    n.  219. 

(4.)  That  the  same  tvere  represented  by  the  Curtains,  Veils  and  Pillars  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle,  n.  220. 

(5.)  Jlnd  likewise  by  the  Externals  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,    n.  221. 
(6.)  That  the  Word  in  its  Glory  was  represented  in  the  Lord,  when  transformed. 
n.  222. 

(7.)  TViat  the  Power  of  the  Word  in  ultimates  was  represented  by  the  JS/azarites. 
n.  22.3. 

(8.)  Concerning  the  ineffable  Power  of  the  Word.    n.  224. 

V.  That  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church  is  to  be  drawn  from  the  Sense  of  the  Letter 
of  the  Word,  and  confirmed  by  it.   n.  225,  229,  230. 

(1.)  TTiai  the  Word  without  Doctrine  is  not  understood,    n.  226,  227,  228. 

(2.)  That  the  genuine  Truth,  which  will  be  of  Doctrine,  in  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of 

the  Word,  appears  to  no  others  than  those  who  are  in  Elustration  from  the 

Lord.    n.  231,  232,  233. 

VI.  That  by  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word  there  is  Conjunction  with  the 
Lord  and  consociation  with  the  angels,    n.  234  to  239. 

VII.  That  the  Word  is  in  all  the  Heavens,  and  that  angelic  Wisdom  is  thence, 
n.  240,  241,  242. 

VIII.  That  the  Church  is  from  the  Word,  and  that  it  is  such  with  man,  as  his 
Understanding  of  the  Word  is.    n.  243  to  247. 

IX.  That  the  Marriage  of  the  Lord  and  the  Church,  and  thence  the  Marriage  of  the 
Good  and  the  True,  is  in  every  part  of  the  Word.    n.  248  to  253. 

X.  That  Heresies  may  be  taken  from  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word,  but  that 
it  is  hurtful  to  confirm  them.    n.  254  to  260. 

(1.)  That  many  things  in  the  Word  are  Appearances  of  Truth,  in  which  genuine 
Truths  are  concealed,    n.  257. 

(2.)  T^at  by  confirming  the  Appearances  of  truth  Fallacies  exist,    n.  258. 

(3.)  TTiat  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word  is  a  Guard  for  the  genuine  Truths 
which  are  concealed  ivithin.    n.  260. 

(4.)  That  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the  Word  was  r  epresented  by  Cherubs,  and  signi- 
fied by  them  in  the  Word.    n.  260. 

XI.  That  the  Lord  in  the  world  fulfilled  all  things  of  the  Word,  and  thereby  be- 
came the  Word  also  in  ultimates.   n.  261,  262,  263. 

XII.  That  before  this  Word,  which  is  at  this  day  in  the  world,  there  was  a  Word 
which  is  lost.    n.  264,  265,  266. 

XIII.  That  by  means  of  the  Word  those  also  have  liglit  who  are  out  of  the  Church, 
and  have  not  the  Word.    n.  267  to  272. 

XIV.  That  unless  there  were  a  Word,  no  one  would  know  God,  Heaven  and  Hell, 
the  Life  after  death,  and  still  less  the  Lord.    n.  273  to  276. 

B 


X 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  CATECHISM  OR  DECALOGUE  EXPLAINED  AS  TO  ITS  EXTERNAL 
AND  INTERNAL  SENSE,   n.  282. 

I.  That  the  Decalogue  was  Holiness  itself,  in  the  Israelitish  Church ;  there  con- 
cerning the  Holiness  of  the  Ark,  in  which  was  the  Law.    n.  283  to  286. 

II.  That  the  Decalogue,  in  the  Sense  of  the  Letter,  contains  general  Precepts  of 
faith  and  life ;  hut,  in  the  Spiritual  and  Celestial  Senses,  all  Precepts  universally, 
n.  287  to  290. 

III.  The  First  Commandment  :  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  God  hefore  my  face. 
n.  291  to  296. 

IV.  The  Second  Commandment:  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  Name  of  Jehovah  thy 
God  in  vain,  for  Jehovah  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  Name  in  vain. 
n.  297  to  300. 

V.  The  Thiiid  Commandment:  Remember  the  Sabbath  Day  to  keep  it  holy; 
six  days  thou  shalt  labor  and  do  all  thy  work,  but  the  Seventh  Day  is  the  Sabbath  to 
Jehovah  thy  God.    ?i.  301  to  304. 

VI.  The  Fourth  Commandment  :  Honor  thy  Father  and  thy  Mother,  that  thy 
days  may  be  long,  and  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee  upon  the  earth,    n.  305  to  308. 

VII.  The  Fifth  Commandment  :  Thou  shalt  not  kill.    Ji.  309  to  312. 

VIII.  The  Sixth  Commandment:  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  ?).  313to316. 

IX.  The  Seventh  Commandment  :  Thou  shalt  not  steal,    n.  317  to  320. 

X.  The  Eighth  Commandment:  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy 
neighbor,    n.  321  to  324. 

XI.  The  Ninth  and  Tenth  Commandments  :  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
House :  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  Wife,  nor  his  Man-Servant,  nor  his  Maid- 
Servant,  nor  his  Ox,  nor  his  Ass,  nor  any  thing  that  is  thy  neighbor's.    ?!.  325  to  328. 

XII.  That  the  Ten  Precepts  of  the  Decalogue  contain  all  things  which  are  of  Love 
to  God,  and  all  things  which  are  of  Love  towards  the  Neighbor,    n.  329  to  331. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONCERNING  FAITH. 

Preface.  That  Faith  is  first  in  time,  but  that  Charily  is  iirst  in  end.    7i.  336. 

I.  That  saving  Faith  is  in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ,    n.  337  to  339. 
Since  it  is  in  a  visible  God,  in  tvhom  is  the  invisible,  n.  1339. 

II.  Tliat  Faith  in  the  sum  is,  tliat  he  who  lives  well  and  believes  aright,  is  saved  by 
the  Lord.    n.  340  to  342. 

That  the  first  thing  of  Faith  in  Him  is  an  Acknowledgment,  that  He  is  the  Son  or 
GoD.    n.  342. 

III.  That  man  receives  Faith  by  going  to  tlie  Lord,  learning  Truths  from  the  Word, 
and  living  according  to  them.    n.  343  to  348. 

Concerning  the  Esse  of  Faith ;  concer7iing  the  Essence  of  Faith  ;  concerning  the  State 
of  Faith  ;  concerning  the  Form  of  Faith,    n.  344  and  tlie  following. 

Concerning  merely  JVatural  Faith,  that  it  is  Persuasion  counterfeiting  Faith,  n.  345 
to  348. 

IV.  That  an  Abundance  of  Truths,  cohering  as  in  a  bundle,  exalts  and  perfects 
faith,    n.  349  to  354. 

(1.)  That  the  Truths  of  Faith  are  muUiplicable  to  infinitti.    n.  350. 

(2.)  That  there  is  a  Disposition  of  the  IVuths  of  Faith  into  series,  thus  as  it  were 

into  little  bundles,    n.  351. 
(3.)  lliat  Faith  is  perfected  according  to  the  abundance  and  coherence  of  Truths. 

n.  3.52  to  353. 

(4.)  That  the  Truths  of  Faith,  however  numerous  they  are,  and  diverse  they  appear, 
make  one  from  the  Lord.    n.  353. 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


XI 


(5.)  That  the  Lord  is  the  Word,  is  the  God  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  the  God  of  all 
Flesh,  the  God  of  the  Vineyard  or  Church,  the  God  of  Faith,  the  Light  itself, 
the  Truth  and  eternal  Life,  shown  from  the  Word.    n.  354. 

V.  That  Faith  without  Charity  is  not  Faith,  and  that  Charity  witliout  Faith  is  not 
Charity,  and  that  neither  lives  but  from  the  Lord.    n.  355  to  361. 

(1.)  That  man  can  procure  Faith  for  himself,    n.  356. 
(2.)  That  man  can  procure  Charity  for  himself,    n.  357. 

(3.)  That  man  can  also  procure  for  himself  the  Life  of  Faith  and  Charity,  n.  358. 
(4.)  That  nevertheless  nothing  of  Faith,  nothing  of  Charity,  and  nothing  of  the 

Life  of  each,  is  from  man,  but  from  the  Lord  alone,    n.  359. 
(5.)  Ttie  Distinction  between  Natural  Faith  and  Spiritual  Faith,  and  that  the  latter 

is  iiiivardly  in  the  former  from  the  Lord.    n.  360,  361. 

VI.  That  the  Lord,  Charity  and  Faith  make  one,  like  Life,  Will  and  Understanding 
in  man ;  and  that,  if  they  are  divided,  each  perishes  like  a  Pearl  reduced  to 
Powder,    n.  362  to  367. 

(1.)  Tluit  the  Lord,  wiih  all  his  Divine  Love,  ivith  all  his  Divine  Wisdom,  thus  with 

all  his  Divine  Life,Jlows  in  loiih  every  man.    n.  364. 
(2.)  Consequently,  that  the  Lord,  with  all  the  Essence  of  Faith  and  Charity,  flows 

in  with  every  man.    n.  365. 
(3.)  That  the  things  which  floio  in  from  the  Lord  are  received  by  man,  according  to 

his  State  and  Form.    n.  366. 
(4.)  But  that  the  man  who  divides  the  Lord,  Charity  and  Faith,  is  not  a  Form 

receiving,  but  a  Form  destroying  them.    n.  367. 

VIL  That  the  Lord  is  Charity  and  Faith  in  Man,  and  that  Man  is  Charity  and 
Faith  in  the  Lord.    n.  368  to  372. 

(1.)  That  Conjunction  with  God  is  that  by  which  Man  has  Salvation  and  eternal 
Life.    n.  369. 

(2.)  That  Conjunction  with  God  the  Father  is  not  possible,  bid  with  the  Lord,  and 

through  Him  with  God  the  Father,    n.  370. 
(3.)  That  Conjunction  ivith  the  Lord  is  reciprocal,  which  is,  that  Man  is  in  the 

Lord  and  the  Lord  in  Man.    n.  371. 
(4.)  That  this  reciprocal  Conjunction  of  the  Lord  and  Man  is  effected  by  means  of 

Charity  and  Faith,    n.  372. 

VIIL  That  Charity  and  Faith  are  together  in  Good  Works,    n.  373  to  377. 
(1.)  That  Charity  is  to  will  well,  and  that  Good  Works  are  to  do  well  from  willing 
well.    n.  374. 

(2.)  That  Charity  and  Faith  are  only  mental  and  perishable  things,  unless,  when 
it  can  be  done,  they  are  determined  to  Acts,  and  coexist  in  them.    n.  375, 376. 

(3.)  That  Charity  alone  does  not  produce  Good  Works,  still  less  Faith  alone ;  but 
that  Charity  and  Faith  together  produce  them.    n.  377. 

IX.  That  there  is  True  Faith,  Spurious  Faith,  and  Hypocritical  Faith,  n.  378  to  381. 
(1.)  That  the  Christian  Church,  in  its  infancy,  began  to  be  infested  and  torn  to 

pieces  by  Schisms  and  Heresies,  of  which  n.  378. 

(2.)  That  there  is  only  one  True  Faith,  and  that  it  is  in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  it  is  ivith  those  who  believe  Him  to  be  the  Son  of 
God,  the  God  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  one  with  the  Father,    n.  379. 

(3.)  That  Spurious  Faith  is  every  Faith  which  recedes  from  the  True,  which  is  the 
only  one ;  and  that  it  is  ivith  those  ivlio  climb  up  some  other  way,  and  re- 
gard the  Lord  not  as  God,  but  only  as  a  man.     n.  380. 

(4.)  Tiuit  Hypocritical  Faith  is  no  Faith,    n.  381. 

X.  That  there  is  no  Faith  with  the  Evil.    ji.  382  to  384. 

(1.)  That  the  Evil  have  no  Faith,  because  Evil  is  of  Hell,  and  Faith  is  of  Heaven, 
n.  38.3. 

(2.)  That  all  those  in  Cliristendom  have  no  Faith,  who  reprobate  the  Lord  and  the 
Word,  although  they  live  morally,  and  speak,  teach  and  write  rationally,  even 
concerning  Faith,    n.  384. 


xii 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONCERNING  CHARITY  OR  LOVE  TOWARDS  THE  NEIGHBOR  ;  AND 
CONCERNING  GOOD  WORKS. 

I.  That  there  are  three  universal  Loves — the  Love  of  Heaven,  the  Love  of  the 
World,  and  the  Love  of  Self.    n.  394,  395,  396. 

(1.)  Concerning  the  Will  and  the  Understanding,    n.  397. 
(2.)  Concerning  Good  and  Truth,    n.  398. 
(3.)  Concerning  Love  in  general,    n.  399. 

(4.)  Concerning  the  Love  of  Self  and  the  Love  of  the  World  in  particular,    n.  400. 
(5.)  Concerning  the  External  and  the  Internal  Man.    n.  401. 
(6.)  Concerning  the  merely  JVatural  and  Sensual  Man.    n.  402. 

II.  That  those  three  Loves,  when  they  are  rightly  subordinated,  perfect  Man ;  but 
when  they  are  not  rightly  subordinated,  they  pervert  and  invert  him.    n.  403,  404,  405. 

III.  That  every  individual  Man  is  the  Neighbor  that  is  to  be  loved,  but  according 
to  the  quality  of  his  good.    n.  40G  to  411. 

IV.  That  Man  collectively,  which  is  a  smaller  and  larger  Society,  and  that  Man  in 
what  is  composed  of  them,  which  is  one's  Country,  is  the  Neighbor  that  is  to  be  loved. 
n.  412  to  414. 

V.  That  the  Church  is  the  Neighbor  that  is  to  be  loved  in  a  higher  degree,  and 
the  Kingdom  of  the  Lord  in  the  highest,    n.  415,  416. 

VI.  That  to  love  the  Neighbor,  viewed  in  itself,  is  not  to  love  the  Person,  but  the 
Good  which  is  in  the  Person.    ?i.  417  to  419. 

VII.  That  Charity  and  Good  Works  are  two  distinct  tilings,  like  willing  well  and 
doing  well.    n.  420,  421. 

VIII.  That  Charity  itself  is  to  act  justly  and  faithfully,  in  the  Office,  Business  and 
Work  in  which  any  one  is,  and  with  whomsoever  he  has  any  Intercourse.  iu  422, 
423,  424. 

IX.  That  the  Beneficent  Acts  of  Charity  ai-e,  to  give  to  the  Poor  and  to  help  the 
Needy,  but  with  Prudence,    n.  425  to  428. 

X.  That  there  are  Debts  of  Charity,  some  domestic  and  some  private,  n.  429  to  432. 

XI.  That  the  Recreations  of  Charity  are  Dinners,  Suppers  and  social  Parties. 
71.  433,  434. 

XII.  That  the  first  thing  of  Charity  is  to  put  away  Evils,  and  that  the  second  is, 
to  do  Goods,  whicli  are  of  use  to  the  neighbor,    n.  435  to  438. 

XIII.  That  man,  in  the  exercises  of  Charity,  does  not  place  Merit  in  works,  when 
he  believes  that  all  Good  is  from  the  Lord.    n.  439  to  442. 

XIV.  That  Moral  Life,  when  it  is  at  the  same  time  Spiritual,  is  Charity,  n.  443  to 
445. 

XV.  That  the  Friendship  of  love  contracted  with  a  man,  whatever  his  quality  is,  as 
to  the  spirit,  after  death  is  hurtful.    7!.  446  to  449. 

XVI.  That  there  is  Spurious  Charity,  Hypocritical  Charity,  and  Dead  Charity,  n. 
450  to  453. 

XVII.  Tliat  tlie  Friendship  of  love  among  the  Evil  is  intestine  Hatred  towards  each 
other,    n.  454,  455. 

XVIII.  Concerning  the  Conjunction  of  Love  to  God  and  Love  towards  the 
Neighbor,  n.  456  to  458. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CONCERNING  FREE  AGENCY. 

I.  The  Precepts  and  Dogmas  of  the  present  Church  concerning  Free  Agency. 
n.  4()3  to  465. 

II.  That  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  there  were  placed  two  Trees,  one  of  life,  and  the 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


xiii 


other  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  signifies  that  Free  Agency  in  spiritual 
things  was  given  to  Man.    n.  466  to  469. 

III.  That  Man  is  not  Life,  but  a  Receptacle  of  Life  from  God.    n.  470  to  474. 

IV.  That  Man,  while  he  lives  in  the  world,  is  held  in  the  middle  between  Heaven 
and  Hell,  and  there  in  a  spiritual  equilibrium,  which  is  Free  Agency,    n.  475  to  478. 

V.  That,  from  the  Permission  of  evil,  in  which  the  internal  man  of  every  one  is,  it 
is  very  manifest  that  Man  has  Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things,    n.  478  to  482. 

VI.  That,  without  Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things,  the  Word  would  not  be  of  any 
use  ;  consequently,  the  Church  would  not  be  any  thing.    7i.  483  to  485. 

VII.  That,  without  Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things,  there  would  not  be  any  thing  of 
Man,  by  which  he  might  reciprocally  conjoin  himself  to  God ;  and  thence  there  would 
be  no  Imputation,  but  mere  Predestination,  which  is  detestable,    n.  485. 

Detestable  tilings  concerning  Predestination  are  divulged,    n.  486  to  488. 

VIII.  That,  without  Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things,  God  would  be  the  cause  of  evil, 
and  thus  there  would  be  no  Imputation  of  Charity  and  Faith,    n.  489  to  492. 

IX.  That  every  thing  spiritual  of  the  Church,  which  enters  in  Freedom,  and  which 
is  received  in  a  state  of  Freedom,  remains  ;  but  not  the  reverse.    ?i.  493  to  496. 

X.  That  the  Will  and  Understanding  of  Man  are  in  this  Free  Agency  ;  but  that  the 
doing  of  evil  in  both  worlds,  the  spiritual  and  the  natural,  is  restrained  by  laws  ;  since 
otherwise  Society  in  both  would  perish,    n.  497  to  499. 

XI.  That  if  Man  had  not  Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things,  all  in  the  whole  world 
might  be  brought,  in  one  day,  to  believe  in  the  Lord ;  but  that  the  cause  why  this 
cannot  be  done,  is,  because  that  which  is  not  received  in  a  state  of  Free  Agency  does 
not  remain,    n.  500  to  502. 

Tliat  Miracles  are  not  done  at  this  day,  because  they  take  away  Free  Agency  in  spirit- 
ual things,  and  force,    n.  501 . 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CONCERNING  REPENTANCE. 

I.  That  Repentance  is  the  first  thing  of  the  Church  with  Man.    n.  510,  511. 

II.  That  Contrition,  of  which  it  is  said  at  this  day,  that  it  precedes  Faith,  and  is 
followed  by  the  Consolation  of  the  Gospel,  is  not  Repentance.    »i.  512  to  515. 

III.  That  the  oral  Confession  alone,  that  one  is  a  Sinner,  is  not  Repentance,  n. 
516  to  519. 

IV.  That  man  is  born  to  evils  of  every  kind,  and  that,  unless  he  remove  them  in 
part  by  Repentance,  he  remains  in  them  ;  and  he  that  remains  in  them  cannot  be  saved, 
n.  520  to  524. 

What  the  Fidjilment  of  the  Law  is.    n.  523,  524. 

V.  That  the  Knowledge  of  Sin,  and  the  Discovery  of  some  one  in  one's  self,  be- 
gins Repentance.    7i.  525  to  527. 

VI.  That  actual  Repentance  is  to  explore  one's  self,  to  know  and  acknowledge  his 
sins,  to  make  Supplication  to  the  Lord,  and  to  begin  a  new  Life.    n.  528  to  531. 

VII.  That  true  Repentance  is  not  only  to  explore  the  Acts  of  one's  Life,  but  also 
the  Intentions  of  his  Will.    n.  532  to  534. 

VIII.  That  those  also  perform  Repentance,  who  do  not  explore  themselves,  but  still 
desist  from  Evils,  because  they  are  Sins ;  and  that  this  Repentance  is  performed  by 
those  who  do  the  Works  of  Charity  from  Religion,  n.  535  to  537. 

IX.  That  Confession  ought  to  be  made  before  the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  and  then 
Supplication  for  Help  and  Power  to  resist  Evils,    n.  538  to  560. 

X.  That  actual  Repentance  is  easy  with  those  who  have  performed  it  several  times, 
but  very  difficult  for  those  who  have  not  performed  it.    n.  561  to  563. 

XI.  That  he  who  has  never  performed  Repentance,  nor  looked  into  and  examined 
himself,  at  length  does  not  know  what  damnable  Evil  is,  and  what  saving  Good  is. 
n.  564  to  566. 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CONCERNING  REFORMATION  AND  REGENERATION. 

I.  That  Man,  unless  he  be  regenerated,  and  as  it  were  created  anew,  cannot  enter 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God.    n.  572  to  575. 

II.  That  the  New  Generation  or  Creation  is  effected  by  the  Lord  alone,  by  Charity 
and  Faith,  as  the  two  means,  with  the  Cooperation  of  Man.    ji.  576  to  578. 

III.  That  all,  because  all  have  been  redeemed,  may  be  regenerated,  every  one  ac- 
cording to  his  state,    n.  579  to  582. 

IV.  That  Regeneration  is  effected,  comparatively,  as  man  is  conceived,  carried  in 
the  womb,  born  and  educated,    n.  583  to  586. 

V.  That  the  First  Act  of  the  New  Generation  is  called  Reformation,  which  is  of 
the  Understanding ;  and  that  the  Second  Act  is  Regeneration,  which  is  of  the  Will, 
and  thence  of  the  Understanding,    n.  587  to  590. 

VI.  That  the  Internal  Man  is  first  to  be  reformed,  and  by  it  the  External,  n.  591 
to  595. 

VII.  That  while  this  is  done,  a  Combat  arises  between  the  internal  and  the  external 
man,  and  then  the  one  that  conquers  rules  over  the  other,    n.  596  to  600. 

VIII.  That  the  Regenerate  Man  has  a  new  Will  and  a  new  Understanding,  n. 
601  to  606. 

IX.  That  the  Regenerate  Man  is  in  communion  with  the  Angels  of  Heaven,  and 
the  Unregenerate  Man  in  communion  with  the  Spirits  of  Hell.    71.  607  to  610. 

X.  That,  as  far  as  Man  is  regenerated,  so  far  Sins  are  removed,  and  that  that  re- 
moval is  the  Remission  of  Sins.    n.  611  to  614. 

XI.  That  Regeneration  cannot  be  effected  without  Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things, 
n.  615  to  617. 

XII.  That  Regeneration  cannot  be  effected  without  Truths  by  which  Faith  is 
formed,  and  with  which  Charity  conjoins  itself,    n.  618  to  620. 

Some  things  concerning  the  Male  and  Female  Sex  in  the  Vegetable  Kingdom,   n.  585. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CONCERNING  IMPUTATION. 

I.  That  the  Faitli  of  the  present  Church,  which  alone  is  said  to  justify,  and  Imputa- 
tion, make  one.    71.  626,  627. 

II.  That  the  Imputation,  which  is  of  the  Faitli  at  this  day,  is  twofold,  one  of  the  Merit 
of  Clirist,  and  the  other  of^  Salvation  thence,    n.  628  to  631. 

III.  That  the  Faith  imputative  of  the  Merit  and  Righteousness  of  Christ  the  Re- 
deemer, first  arose  from  the  Decrees  of  the  Nicene  Synod,  concerning  three  Divine 
Persons  from  eternity  ;  which  Faith,  from  that  time  to  the  present,  has  been  received 
by  the  whole  Christian  world,    n.  6-32  to  635. 

IV.  That  the  Faith  imputative  of  the  Merit  of  Christ  was  not  known  in  the  Apostolic 
Church,  which  preceded,  and  is  nowhere  meant  in  the  Word.    71.  636  to  639. 

V.  That  an  Imputation  of  the  Merit  and  Righteousness  of  Christ  is  impossible. 
n.  640  to  ()42. 

VI.  That  there  is  an  Imputation,  but  of  Good  and  Evil.    n.  643  to  646. 

VII.  That  tlic  Faith  and  Imputation  of  the  New  Church  cannot  possibly  be  to- 
gether with  the  Faith  and  Imputation  of  the  former  Church,  and  that,  if  they  were 
together,  there  would  be  such  a  collision  and  conflict,  that  all  of  the  Church  with 
man  would  perish,    n.  647  to  649. 

VIII.  That  the  Lord  imputes  to  every  man  Good,  and  that  Hell  imputes  to  every 
man  Evil.    71.  650  to  653.  . 

IX.  That  Faith,  with  whatsoever  it  conjoins  itself,  makes  a  Sentence  :  if  true  Faith 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


XV 


conjoins  itself  with  Good,  a  Sentence  is  made  for  eternal  Life ;  but  if  Faith  conjoins 
itself  with  Evil,  a  Sentence  is  made  for  eternal  Death,    n.  654  to  657. 
X.  That  Thought  is  imputed  to  no  one,  but  Will.    n.  658  to  660. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CONCERNING  BAPTISM. 

I.  That  without  Knowledge  concerning  the  Spiritual  Sense  of  the  Word,  no  one 
can  know  what  the  two  Sacraments,  Baptism  and  the  Holy  Supper,  involve  and  effect, 
n.  667  to  669. 

II.  That  by  the  Washing,  which  is  called  Baptism,  is  meant  Spiritual  Washing, 
which  is  Purification  from  evils,  and  thus  Regeneration,    n.  670  to  673. 

III.  That  Baptism  was  instituted  in  the  place  of  Circumcision,  because  by  the  Cir- 
cumcision of  the  Foreskin  was  represented  the  Circumcision  of  the  Heart,  in  order 
that  an  Internal  Church  might  succeed  the  External,  which,  in  each  and  every  thing, 
figured  the  Internal  Church.    7i.  674  to  676. 

IV.  That  the  First  Use  of  Baptism  is  Introduction  into  the  Christian  Church,  and  then, 
at  the  same  time,  Insertion  among  Christians  in  the  spiritual  world,    n.  677  to  680. 

V.  That  the  Second  Use  of  Baptism  is  that  the  person  may  know  and  acknowledge 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Redeemer  and  Savior,  and  follow  Him.    n.  681  to  683. 

VI.  Tiiat  the  Third  Use  of  Baptism,  which  is  the  final  one,  is,  that  man  may  be 
regenerated.    ?i.  684  to  687. 

VII.  That,  by  the  Baptism  of  John,  a  Way  was  prepared,  that  Jehovah  God  might 
be  able  to  descend  into  the  world  and  perform  Redemption,    n.  688. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CONCERNING  THE  HOLY  SUPPER. 

I.  That  without  Information  concerning  the  Correspondences  of  natural  things  with 
spiritual,  no  one  can  know  the  Uses  of  the  Holy  Supper,    n.  698  to  701. 

II.  That,  from  Correspondences  being  known,  it  is  known  what  is  meant  by  the 
Flesh  and  Blood  of  the  Lord,  and  that  the  like  is  meant  by  Bread  and  Wine  ;  namely, 
that  by  the  Flesh  of  the  Lord,  and  by  Bread,  is  meant  the  Divine  Good  of  his  Love, 
and  also  all  the  Good  of  Charity ;  and  that  by  the  Blood  of  the  Lord  and  by  Wine,  is 
meant  the  Divine  Truth  of  his  Wisdom,  and  also  all  the  Truth  of  Faith ;  and  by  Eat- 
ing, Appropriation,    n.  702  to  710. 

Shown  from  the  Word  ivhat  is  meant  by  Flesh,    n.  704,  705. 
What  by  Blood,    n.  706. 
What  by  Bread,    n.  707. 
What  by  Wine.    n.  708. 

III.  That,  from  these  things  being  understood,  it  may  be  comprehended,  that  the 
Holy  Supper  contains,  universally  and  particularly,  all  things  of  the  Church,  and  all 
things  of  Heaven,    n.  711  to  715. 

IV.  That  in  the  Holy  Supper  there  is  the  whole  of  the  Lord,  and  the  whole  of  his 
Redemption,    n.  716  to  718. 

V.  That  the  Lord  is  present,  and  opens  Heaven  to  those  who  come  worthily  to  the 
Holy  Supper;  and  that  He  is  present  also  with  those  who  come  unworthily,  but  that 
He  does  not  open  Heaven  to  them.  Consequently,  that  as  Baptism  is  an  Introduction 
into  the  Church,  so  the  Holy  Supper  is  an  Introduction  into  Heaven,    n.  719  to  721. 

VI.  That  those  come  to  the  Holy  Supper  worthily,  who  are  in  Faith  in  the  Lord, 
and  in  Charity  towards  the  Neighbor,  thus  who  are  regenerated,    n.  722  to  724. 


xvi 


General  Index  of  the  Contents. 


VII.  That  those  who  come  to  the  Holy  Supper  worthily  are  in  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  in  them  ;  consequently,  that  by  the  Holy  Supper  there  is  made  a  Conjunction 
with  the  Lord.    n.  725  to  727. 

VIII.  That  the  Holy  Supper  is,  to  those  who  come  worthily,  a  Sign  and  Seal  that 
they  are  the  Sons  of  God.    n.  728  to  730. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONCERNING  THE  CONSUMMATION  OF  THE  AGE ;  CONCERNING 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  LORD;  AND  CONCERNING 
THE  NEW  CHURCH. 

A.  Tha*:  the  Consummation  of  the  Age  is  tlie  Last  Time  or  End  of  the  Church. 
£.  753  to  756. 

II.  That  at  this  day  is  the  Last  Time  of  the  Church,  which  was  foretold  and  de- 
scribed by  the  Lord  in  the  Evangelists,  and  in  the  Revelation,    n.  757  to  759. 

III.  That  this  Last  Time  of  the  Christian  Church  is  the  Night  itself,  in  which  for- 
mer Churches  have  come  to  an  end.    7i.  7G0  to  763. 

IV.  That  after  this  Night  follows  the  Morning  ;  and  that  the  Coming  of  the  Lord 
is  that.    n.  764  to  767. 

V.  That  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  not  his  coming  to  destroy  the  visible  Heaven 
and  the  habitable  Earth,  and  to  create  a  new  Heaven  and  a  new  Earth,  as  many  hith- 
erto, from  not  understanding  the  Spiritual  Sense  of  the  Word,  have  supposed,  n. 
768  to  771. 

VI.  That  this  Coming  of  the  Lord,  which  is  tlie  Second,  takes  place  in  order  tliat 
the  Evil  may  be  separated  from  the  Good,  and  that  those  may  be  saved  who  have  be- 
lieved and  do  believe  in  Him,  and  that  by  these  a  New  Angelic  Heaven  and  a  New 
Church  on  earth  may  be  formed  ;  and  that,  without  it,  no  flesh  could  be  saved.  Matt, 
xxiv.  22.    71.  772  to  775. 

VII.  That  this  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  not  in  Person,  but  that  it  is  in  the 
Word,  which  is  from  Ilim,  and  thus  Himself    ji.  776  to  778. 

VIII.  That  this  Second  Coming  is  made  through  a  Man,  before  whom  He  has 
manifested  Himself,  and  whom  He  has  filled  with  his  Spirit,  to  teach  the  Doctrines  of 
the  New  Church  by  means  of  the  Word  from  Ilini.    n.  779,  780. 

IX.  That  this  is  meant  by  the  New  Heaven  and  the  New  Jerusalem,  in  the  Rev- 
elation, xxi.  n.  781  to  785. 

X.  That  this  Church  is  the  Crown  of  all  the  Churches  which  have  been  hitherto  in 
the  world,    n.  786  to  791 . 


SUPPLEMENT. 

1.  Concerning  the  Spikitual  Wori.ii,  wiiat  it  is.    n.  792  to  795. 

2.  Concerning  Luther  in  the  spiritual  world.    ?i.  79G. 

3.  Concerning  Melanchthon  in  tlie  spiritual  world,    n.  797. 

4.  Concerning  Calvin  in  tiie  spiritual  world,    n.  798,  799. 

5.  Concerning  the  Dutch  in  the  spiritual  world.    «.  800  to  805. 

6.  Concerning  the  English  in  the  spiritual  world,    n.  806  to  812. 

7.  Concerning  the  Germans  in  the  spiritual  world,    n.  813  to  816. 

8.  Concerning  the  Papists  in  the  spiritual  world,    n.  817  to  821. 

9.  Concerning  the  Popish  Saints  in  the  spiritual  world,    ru  822  to  827. 

10.  Concerning  the  Mahometans  in  the  spiritual  world,    n.  828  to  834. 

11.  Concerning  the  Africans  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  also  somctliing  concern- 
ing the  Gentiles,    n.  835  to  840. 

12.  Concerning  the  Jews  in  the  spiritual  world,    n.  841  to  845. 


THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION, 


CONTAINING 


OF  THE 


JVEW  HEAVKN'  AND  THE  NEW  CHURCH. 


THE  FAITH  OF  THE  NEW  HEAVEN  AND  THE  NEW  CHURCH. 

1.  The  Faith,  in  a  universal  and  a  particular  form,  is  prefixed,  that  it 
may  be  as  a  face  before  the  work  which  follows ;  and  as  a  gate,  through  which 
entrance  is  made  into  a  temple ;  and  a  summary,  in  which  the  particulars 
which  follow  are  in  their  own  measure  contained.  It  is  said,  the  Faith  of 
the  Neiv  Heaven  and  the  New  Church,  because  the  heaven  where  angels  are, 
and  the  church  in  which  men  are,  make  one,  as  the  internal  and  the  ex- 
ternal with  man.  Thence  it  is,  that,  as  to  the  interiors  of  his  mind,  the 
man  of  the  church,  who  is  in  the  good  of  love  from  the  truths  of  faith, 
and  in  the  truths  of  faith  from  the  good  of  love,  is  an  angel  of  heaven  ;  where- 
fore, after  death,  he  also  comes  into  heaven,  and  there  enjoys  felicity  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  their  conjunction.  It  should  be  known,  that  this 
faith  is  in  the  New  Heaven,  which  the  Lord  is  at  this  day  establishing,  its  face, 
gate  and  summary. 

2.  The  Faith  of  the  New  Heaven  and  the  New  Church,  in  the 
UNIVERSAL  Form,  is  this  :  That  the  Lord  from  eternity,  who  is  Jehovah, 
came  into  the  world,  that  he  might  subjugate  the  hells  and  glorify  his  Human ; 
and  that,  without  this,  no  mortal  could  have  been  saved ;  and  that  those 
are  saved  who  believe  in  Him. 

It  is  said,  in  the  universal  form,  because  this  is  the  universal  of  faith;  and 
a  universal  of  faith  is  that  which  wiU  be  in  the  whole  and  every  part.  It  is 
a  universal  of  faith,  that  God  is  one  in  essence  and  in  person,  in  whom  is  a 
divine  Trinity,  and  that  the  Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ  is  He.  It  is 
a  universal  of  faith,  that  no  mortal  could  have  been  saved,  unless  the  Lord 
had  come  into  the  world.  It  is  a  universal  of  faith,  that  He  came  into  the 
world  that  He  might  remove  hell  from  man,  and  that  He  did  remove  it,  by 
means  of  combats  against  it  and  victories  over  it ;  thus  He  subjugated  it  and 
reduced  it  to  order  and  under  obedience  to  Him.self.  It  is  a  universal  of 
faith,  that  He  came  into  the  world,  that  He  might  glorify  his  Human,  which  He 


2 


The  Faith  of  the  JVeiv  HeavQii  and  the  JVew  Church. 


assumed  in  the  world,  that  is,  might  unite  it  with  the  Divine,  from  which  it 
proceeded;  thusHeliolds  hell  in  order  and  under  obedience  to  Himself  for- 
ever. Since  this  could  not  have  been  done  but  by  means  of  temptations  ad- 
mitted into  his  Human,  even  to  tlie  last  of  them,  and  the  last  of  them  was  the 
passion  of  the  cross,  therefore  He  underwent  that.  These  are  the  universals 
of  faith  concerning  the  Lord. 

The  universal  of  faith,  on  the  part  of  man,  is.  That  he  should  believe  in  the 
Lord ;  for  by  believing  in  Him,  conjunction  with  Him  is  effected,  by  which  is 
salvation.  To  believe  in  Him,  is  to  have  confidence  tliat  He  saves :  and  be- 
cause no  one  can  have  this  confidence,  except  those  who  live  well,  tlierefore 
this  also  is  meant  by  believing  in  Him.  This  the  Lord  also  says  in  John  :  This 
is  the  win  of  the  Father,  that  every  one,  who  believeth  in  the  Son,  may  have 
eternal  life,  vi.  40  ;  and  in  another  place.  He  who  believeth  in  the  Son, 
hath  eternal  life;  but  he  who  believeth  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life,  but 
the  anger  of  God  abideth  on  him,  iii.  36. 

3.  The  Faith  of  the  New  Heaven  and  the  New  Church,  in  the 
PARTICULAR  FoRM,  is  this  :  That  Jehovah  God  is  Love  itself  and  Wisdom 
itself,  or  that  he  is  Good  itself  and  Truth  itself:  and  that  He,  as  to  Divine 
Truth,  which  is  the  Word,  and  which  was  God  with  God,  descended  and 
assumed  the  Human,  to  the  end  that  He  might  reduce  to  order  all  thin'gs 
which  were  in  heaven,  and  all  things  which  were  in  hell,  and  all  things  which 
were  in  the  church ;  since,  at  that  time,  the  power  of  hell  prevailed  over  the 
power  of  heaven,  and,  upon  earth,  the  power  of  e\il  over  the  power  of  good, 
and  thence  a  total  damnation  stood  before  the  door  and  threatened.  This 
impending  damnation  Jehovah  God  removed  by  means  of  his  Human,  which 
was  Divine  Truth,  and  thus  He  redeemed  angels  and  men ;  and  afterwards 
He  united,  in  liis  Human,  Divine  Truth  with  Divine  Good,  or  Divine  Wisdom 
vvitli  Divine  Love,  and  thus,  together  with  and  in  his  glorified  Human,  re- 
turned into  his  Divine,  in  which  He  was  from  eternity.  These  things  are 
meant  by  this  passage  in  John,  The  Word  teas  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God:  and  the  Word  became  flesh,  i.  1,  14;  and  in  the  same,  / 
proceeded  from  the  Father,  and  came  into  the  ivorld :  again  I  leave  the 
world,  and  go  to  the  Father,  xvi.  28:  and  also  by  this.  We  know  that 
the  Son  of  God  hath  come,  and  given  us  understanding,  that  we  might 
know  the  True;  and  we  are  in  the  True,  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ :  This  is 
the  true  God  and  eternal  Life,  1  John  v.  20,  2L  From  diese  it  is 
manifest  that,  widiout  the  coming  of  the  Lord  into  tlie  world,  no  one 
could  have  been  saved.  It  is  similar  at  this  day  :  wherefore,  unless  the 
Lord  should  again  come  into  the  world,  in  Divine  Truth,  no  one  can  be 
saved. 

The  particulars  of  the  faith,  on  the  part  of  man,  are,  l.That  God  is  One,  in 
whom  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  and  that  He  is  the  Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus 
Christ ;  2.  That  saving  faith  is  to  believe  in  Him  ;  3.  That  evils  should 
not  be  done,  because  they  are  of  the  devil  and  from  tlie  devil ;  4.  Tiiat 
goods  should  be  done,  because  they  are  of  God  and  from  God ;  5.  And  that 
these  should  be  done  by  man  as  from  himself;  but  that  it  should  be  believed, 
that  they  are  from  the  Lord,  with  him  and  through  him.  The  two  first 
are  of  faith,  the  two  next  are  of  charity,  and  the  fiftli  is  of  tlie  conjunction 
of  charity  and  faith,  thus  of  tlie  Lord  and  jnan. 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God. 


3 


CHAPTER  I. 

CONCERNING  GOD  THE  CREATOR. 


4.  The  Christian  Church,  since  the 
time  of  the  Lord,  had  passed  through 
the  several  stages  from  infancy  to  ex- 
treme old  age.  Its  infancy  was  in  the 
time  when  the  apostles  lived,  and 
preached,  throughout  the  world,  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  the  Lord  God  the 
Savior.  That  they  preached  these  two 
things,  is  evident  from  these  words  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  :  Paul  pro- 
claimed, both  to  the  Jetvs  and  to  the 
Greeks,  repentance  towards  God,  and 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  xx. 
2L  It  is  memorable,  that  the  Lord, 
some  months  ago,  called  together  his 
twelve  disciples,  now  angels,  and  sent 
them  forth  into  all  the  spiritual  world, 
with  the  command  that  they  should 
there  preach  the  gospel  anew,  since 
the  church  which  was  instituted  by  the 
Lord  through  them,  has  at  this  day 
come  to  such  a  state  of  consummation, 
that  scarcely  any  relics  of  it  remain ; 
and  that  this  has  come  to  pass,  because 
they  divided  the  Divine  Trinity  into 
three  persons,  each  one  of  whom  is 
God  and  Lord  ;  and  that  thence  a  sort 
of  phrensy  has  issued  forth  into  the 
whole  of  theology,  and  thus  into  the 
church,  which,  from  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  is  called  Christian.  It  is  said 
a  phrensy,  because  the  minds  of 
men  have  been  driven  by  it  into 
such  a  delirium,  that  they  do  not 
know  whether  God  be  one,  or  whether 
there  be  three ;  there  is  one  in 
the  speech  of  their  lips,  but  three 


in  the  thought  of  their  mind  ;  where- 
fore there  is  a  disagreement  between 
their  mind  and  lips,  or  between  their 
thought  and  speech ;  from  which  dis- 
agreement results  the  idea  that  there 
is  no  God.  The  naturalism  which 
reigns  at  this  day  is  from  no  other 
source.  Consider,  if  you  please,  while 
the  lips  speak  of  one,  and  the  mind 
thinks  of  three,  whether  one  does  not, 
inwardly,  in  the  midst  of  the  way,  by 
turns  expel  the  other  ;  thence  it  is  that 
man  scarcely  thinks  otherwise  con- 
cerning God,  if  he  thinks  at  all,  than 
from  the  mere  word  God,  without  any 
sense  of  its  meaning  which  implies  a 
knowledge  of  Him.  Since  the  idea 
concerning  God,  with  every  notion 
of  it,  is  tims  torn  to  pieces,  I  propose 
to  treat,  in  their  order,  of  God  the  Cre- 
ator, of  the  Lord  the  Redeemer,  and 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Operator,  and 
lastly  of  the  Divine  Trinity  ;  to  the  end 
that  what  is  torn  to  pieces  may  again 
be  made  whole,  which  is  effected  while 
the  reason  of  man  is  convinced,  from 
the  Word  and  the  light  thence  proceed- 
ing, that  there  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  and 
that  it  is  in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior 
Jesus  Christ,  like  the  soul,  body  and 
proceeding  operation  in  man  ;  and  thus 
that  this  article  in  the  Athanasian  Creed 
is  true; — That  in  Christ,  God  and 
Man,  or  the  Divine  qnd  the  Human,  are 
not  two,  but  in  one  person ;  and  that,  as 
the  rational  soul  and  flesh  is  one  man, 
so  God  and  Man  is  one  Christ. 


CONCERNING  THE  UNITY  OF  GOD. 

5.  Since  the  acknowledgment  of  that  an  exordium  should  be  made  con- 
God  from  a  knowledge  of  him,  is  the  cerning  the  Unity  of  God,  which  will 
very  essence  and  soul  of  all  things  be  demonstrated  in  order  by  these  ar- 
in  universal  theology,  it  is  necessary  tides  :  I.  That  the  whole  Sacred  Scrip- 


4 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


ture,  and  thence  the  doctrines  of  churches 
in  the  Christian  tcorld,  teach  that 
God  is  one.  II.  That  there  is  a  uni- 
versal influx  into  the  souls  of  men,  that 
there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  is  one. 
III.  Thence  it  is  that,  in  all  the  tcorld, 
there  is  no  nation,  possessed  of  religion 
and  sound  reason,  ichicli  docs  not  ac- 
knowledge that  there  is  a  God,  and  that 
He  is  one.  IV.  That  as  to  what  the  one 
God  is,  7iations  and  people  have  differ- 
ed, and  still  differ,  from  several  causes. 
V.  That  human  reason,  from  many 
things  in  the  tcorld,  may,  if  it  will, 
perceive  or  conclude,  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  that  he  is  one.  VI.  That  un- 
less God  were  one,  the  univa'se  could 
not  have  been  created  and  preserved. 
VII.  That  the  man  who  docs  not  ac- 
knowledge a  God,  is  excomnmnicatcd 
from  the  church  and  condemned.  VIII. 
That  tcith  the  man  icho  docs  not  ac- 
knowledge one  God,  but  several,  nothing 
of  the  church  coheres.  But  these  arti- 
cles shall  be  explained  one  by  one. 

6.  I.  That  the  whole  Sacred 
Scripture,  and  thence  all  the 
Doctrines  of  the  Churches  in  the 
Christian  world,  teach  that  there 
IS  A  God,  and  that  He  is  one. 

That  the  whole  Sacred  Scripture 
teaches  that  there  is  a  God,  is  because, 
in  its  inmost,  it  is  no  other  than  God, 
that  is,  the  Divine  whicli  proceeds  from 
God  ;  for  it  was  dictated  by  God,  and 
nothing  else  can  proceed  from  God, 
than  that  which  is  Himself,  and  is  called 
Divine ;  this  the  Sacred  Scripture  is 
in  its  inmost.  But  in  its  derivatives, 
which  are  below  and  from  the  inmost, 
the  Sacred  Scripture  is  accommodated 
to  the  perception  of  angels  and  men  ; 
in  these  it  is  al.so  Divine,  but  in  anoth- 
er form,  in  which  it  is  called  the  Ce- 
lestial Divine,  the  Spiritual  Divine  and 
the  Natural  Divine,  whicii  are  no  oth- 
er than  coverings  of  God ;  since  God 
himself,  such  as  He  is  in  the  inmost 
of  the  Word,  cannot  be  seen  by  any 
creature.  For  he  said  to  Moses,  when 
he  prayed  that  he  might  see  the  glory 
of  Jehovah,  that  710  one  can  see  God 
and  live.  It  is  similar  with  the  in- 
most of  the  Word,  where  God  is  in  his 
^se  [to  be]  and  in  liis  essence.  But 


still  the  Divine,  which  is  the  inmost, 
and  is  covered  with  such  things  as  are 
accommodated  to  the  perceptions  of 
angels  and  men,  shines  forth,  like  light 
through  crystalline  forms,  but  various- 
ly, according  to  the  state  of  mind  which 
man  has  formed  for  himself,  from  God 
or  from  himself  To  every  one  who 
has  formed  the  state  of  his  mind  from 
God,  the  Sacred  Scripture  is  like  a 
mirror,  in  which  he  sees  God ;  but 
each  one  in  his  own  way.  The  truths 
which  he  learns  from  the  word,  and 
imbues  by  a  life  according  to  them, 
compose  that  mirror.  From  these 
things,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  evident, 
that  the  Sacred  Scripture  is  the  fulness 
of  God.  That  it  not  only  teaches  that 
there  is  a  God,  but  also  that  God  is 
one,  is  evident  from  the  truths,  which, 
as  was  said,  compose  that  mirror,  in 
that  they  cohere  in  one  series,  and 
make  man  incapable  of  thinking  of 
God  but  as  one.  Thence  it  is,  that 
every  one,  whose  reason  is  imbued  with 
any  sanctity  from  the  Word,  knows  as 
of  himself,  that  God  is  one,  and  per- 
ceives that  it  is  like  madness  to  say 
that  there  are  more.  The  angels  can- 
not open  their  lips  to  pronounce  the 
word  Gods,  for  the  celestial  aura,  in 
which  they  live,  opposes  it.  That  God 
is  one,  the  Sacred  Scripture  teaches 
not  only  thus  universally,  as  was  said, 
but  also  in  many  particular  passages, 
as  in  the  following:  Hear,  O  Israel ; 
Jehovah  our  God  is  one  Jehovah,  Dent, 
vi.  4  ;  and  in  like  manner,  Mark  xii.  '29. 
Surely  in  thee  is  God,  and  there  is  no 
other  God  beside,  Isai.  xlv.  14.  Am 
not  I  Jehovah  ?  and  there  is  no  other 
God  beside  Me,  xlv.  21.  /  am  Jeho- 
vah thy  God,  and  thou  shall  acknowl- 
edge no  God  beside  Me,  Hosca  xiii.  4. 
Thus  saith  Jehovah,  the  King  of  Israel, 
1  am  the  I^rst  and  the  Last,  and  be- 
side Me  there  is  no  God,  Isai.  xliv.  G. 
In  that  day,  Jehovah  shall  be  King 
over  all  the  earth ;  in  that  day,  Jeho- 
vah shall  he  one,  and  hie  name  one, 
Zech.  xiv.  9. 

7.  It  is  known,  that  the  doctrines  of 
the  churches  in  the  Christian  world 
teach,  that  God  is  one;  they  teach  this 
because  all  their  doctrines  are  derived 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God. 


5 


from  the  Word,  and  they  cohere  so  far 
as  one  God  is  acknowledged  not  only 
with  the  lips,  but  also  in  the  heart. 
Those  who  confess  one  God  only  with 
the  lips,  and  in  heart  three,  as  is  the 
case  with  very  many  at  this  day  in 
Christendom,  have  no  other  apprehen- 
sion of  God,  than  of  something  uttered 
by  the  lips ;  and  every  thing  relating 
to  theology  is,  to  them,  no  other  than 
as  it  were  an  idol  of  gold  enclosed  in  a 
shrine,  the  key  of  which  is  in  posses- 
sion of  the  priests  only  ;  and  when  they 
read  the  Word,  they  do  not  perceive 
any  light  in  it  or  from  it,  not  even  that 
God  is  one.  The  Word,  with  such  per- 
sons, is  as  if  it  were  stained  with  blots  ; 
and,  as  to  the  unity  of  God,  entirely 
covered.  These  are  they  w-ho  are  de- 
scribed by  the  Lord  in  Matthew  : 
Hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  not 
understand ;  and  seeing  yc  shall  see,  and 
shall  not  perceive  :  they  have  shut  tip 
their  eyes,  lest  they  should  see  with  their 
eyes,  and  hear  loith  their  ears,  and  un- 
derstand with  the/ir  heart,  and  turn 
themselves  about,  and  I  should  heal 
them,  xiii.  14,  15.  All  such  per- 
sons are  like  those  who  shun  the  light, 
and  enter  chambers  where  there  are 
no  windows,  and  feel  about  the  walls, 
and  search  for  food  and  for  money, 
and  at  length  acquire  a  vision  like 
that  of  owls,  and  see  in  darkness. 
They  are  like  a  w-oman,  having  several 
husbands,  who  is  not  a  wife,  but  a  las- 
civious harlot :  and  like  a  virgin,  who 
accepts  rings  from  several  suitors,  and  af- 
ter the  nuptials,  bestows  her  favors  upon 
one,  and  also  upon  the  others. 

8.  II.  That  there  is  a  universal 
Jnflux  into  the  Souls  of  Men,  that 
THERE  IS  a  God,  and  that  He  is  one. 

That  there  is  an  influx  from  God  into 
man,  is  evident  from  the  confession  of 
all,  that  all  good  which  in  itself  is  good, 
and  is  in  man,  and  is  done  by  him,  is 
from  God  ;  in  like  manner  all  of  charity 
and  all  of  faith  ;  for  it  is  read,  A  man 
cannot  take,  any  thing,  unless  it  he  given 
him  from  heaven,  John  iii.  27  ;  and 
Jesus  said.  Without  Me  ye  cannot  do 
any  thing,  xv.  5 ;  that  is,  not  any  thing 
which  is  of  charity  and  of  faith.  That 
this  influx  is  into  the  souls  of  men, 


is  because  the  soul  is  the  inmost  and 
highest  part  of  man,  and  the  influx 
from  God  enters  into  that,  and  thence 
descends  into  those  things  which  are 
beneath,  and  vivifies  them  according 
to  reception.     The  truths  which  will 
be  of  faith,  indeed,  flow  in  by  hearing, 
and  so  are  implanted  in  the  mind,  thus 
below  the  soul.    But  man,  by  these 
truths,  is  only  disposed  for  receiving 
the  influx  from  God  through  the  soul ; 
and  as  the  disposition  is,  such  is  the 
reception,  and  such   the  transforma- 
tion of  natural    faith   into  spiritual 
faith.    That  there  is  an  influx  from 
God  into  the  souls  of  men,  that  God  is 
one,  is  because  all  the  Divine,  taken  uni- 
versally as  well  as  particularly,  is  God; 
and  because  all  the  Divine  coheres 
as  one,  it  cannot  but  inspire  into  man 
the  idea  of  one  God  ;  and  this  idea  is 
corroborated  daily,  as  man  is  elevated 
by  God  into  the  light  of  heaven ;  for 
the  angels,  in  their  light,  cannot  force 
themselves  to  utter  the  word  Gods; 
wherefore,  also,  their  speech,  at  the 
close  of  every  sentence,  terminates  as  to 
accent  in  unity,  which  is  from  no  other 
cause,  than  from  the  influx  into  their 
souls,  that  God  is  one.    The  reason 
that,  although  it  flows  into  the  souls  of 
all,  that  God  is  one,  still  many  think 
that  his  divinity  is  divided  into  several 
of  the  same  essence,  is  because,  when 
that  influx  descends,  it  falls  into  forms 
not  correspondent,  and  the  form  itself 
varies   it,  as  is  the  case  in  all  the 
subjects  of  the  three  kingdoms  of  na- 
ture.   It  is  the  same  God  that  vivifies 
every  beast,  that  vivifies  man  ;  but  the 
recipient  form  causes  beast  to  be  beast, 
and  man  to  be  man.  It  is  similar  with  man 
while  he  induces  on  his  mind  the  form  of 
a  beast.    There  is  a  similar  influx  from 
the  sun  into  every  plant,  but  it  is  va- 
ried according  to  the  form  of  each  ; 
what  flows  into  the  vine  is  similar  to 
what   flows   into  the  thorn ;  but  if 
the  thorn  is  ingrafted  into  a  vine,  that 
influx  is  inverted,  and  proceeds  ac- 
cording to  the  form  ofthe  thorn.  The 
case  is  similar  in  the  subjects  of  the 
mineral  kingdom ;  the  light  flowing 
into  a  lime-stone  and  into  a  diamond, 
is  the  same,  but  it  becomes  bright  in 


6 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


the  latter,  and  dark  in  the  former.  As 
to  human  minds,  they  are  varied  ac- 
cording to  their  forms,  which  inwardly 
are  spiritual  according  to  faith  in  God, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  life  from  God, 
and  those  forms  become  bright  and  an- 
gelic by  faith  in  one  God  ;  but  on  the 
contrary,  they  become  dark  and  bestial 
by  faith  in  several  Gods,  which  differs 
but  little  from  faith  in  no  God. 

9.  III.  Thence  it  is,  that,  in  all 
THE  World,  there  is  no  N.ation, 
POSSESSED  of  Religion  and  sound 
Reason,  which  does  not  acknowl- 
edge A  God,  and  that  God  is  one. 

From  the  divine  influx  into  the 
souls  of  men,  treated  of  just  above, 
it  follows,  that  there  is  an  internal  dic- 
tate with  every  man,  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  that  He  is  one.  That  there 
are  still  those  wlio  deny  God,  and  who 
acknowledge  nature  instead  of  God, 
and  who  acknowledge  several  Gods, 
and  also  who  worship  images  as  Gods, 
is  because  they  liave  filled  up  the  inte- 
riors of  their  reason  or  understanding 
with  worldly  and  corporeal  tilings, 
and  thereby  have  obliterated  their  prim- 
itive idea,  or  the  idea  of  their  infancy 
concerning  God,  and  at  tlie  same  time, 
they  then  rejected  religion  from  the 
breast  to  the  back.  That  Christians 
do,  in  a  certain  manner,  acknowledge 
one  God,  api)ears  from  the  general 
Confession  of  their  faith,  which  is  as 
follows :  The  Catholic  faith  is  this, 
that  ice  should  worship  one  God  in  a 
trinity,  and  the  l^inity  in  unity  ;  there 
are  three  Divine  Persons,  the  Father, 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  yet 
there  are  not  three  Gods,  but  there  is 
one  God ;  and  there  is  one  person  of 
the  Fathr,  another  of  the  Son,  and 
another  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  their 
divinity  is  one,  their  glory  equal,  and 
their  majesty  coctcrnal;  thus  the  Fa- 
ther is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  God:  hut  although  we 
are  compelled  by  Christian  verity  to 
ronfess  each  person,  one  by  one,  to  be 
God  and  Lord,  yet  tee  are  forbidden 
by  the  Catholic  religion  to  say  there 
are  three  Gods,  and  three  Lords.  Sucii 
is  the  Christian  faith  concerning  the 
unity  of  God ;  but  tliat  (he  trinity  of  God 


and  the  unity  of  God,  in  that  Confes- 
sion, are  inconsistent  with  each  other, 
will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  on  the  Di- 
vine Trinity.  The  other  nations  in 
the  world,  who  are  in  possession  of  reli- 
gion and  sound  reason,  agree  in  ac- 
knowledging that  God  is  one  ;  all  the 
Mahometans  in  their  several  empires  ; 
the  Africans  in  many  kingdoms  of  their 
continent ;  and  also  the  Asiatics  in 
many  of  theirs ;  and  moreover  the  Jews 
at  this  day.  The  most  ancient  people 
in  the  golden  age,  such  as  had  any  re- 
ligion, worshipped  one  God,  whom  they 
called  Jehovah ;  in  like  manner  the 
ancient  people  in  the  following  age, 
before  monarchical  governments  were 
formed,  when  worldly  and  at  length 
corporeal  loves  began  to  close  up  the 
superior  parts  of  their  understanding, 
which  before  were  open,  and  then  as 
temples  and  sacred  recesses  for  the 
worship  of  one  God.  But  the  Lord  God, 
that  he  might  open  them,  and  so  re- 
store the  worship  of  one  God,  institu- 
ted a  church  among  the  posterity  of 
Jacob,  and  prefixed  to  all  the  precepts 
of  their  religion  this  commandment, 
Thoti  shall  have  no  other  God  before 
my  face,  E.xod.  xx.  3.  Jehovah,  also, 
the  name  which  he  assumed  anew  be- 
fore them,  signifies  the  supreme  and 
only  Being  from  whom  every  thing  is, 
that  is  and  exists  in  the  universe.  The 
ancient  gentiles  acknowledged  Jove 
as  the  supreme  God,  so  called  perhaps 
from  Jehovah  ;  and  many  others,  who 
composed  his  court,  they  also  clothed 
with  divinity ;  but  the  wise  men  in  the 
following  age,  as  Plato  and  Aristotle, 
confessed  that  these  were  not  gods, 
but  so  many  properties,  qualities  and 
attributes  of  one  God,  which  were  call- 
ed gods,  because  in  each  of  them  there 
was  divinity. 

10.  All  sound  rea.son,  although  not 
imbued  with  religion,  sees  that  every 
thing  which  is  divided,  unless  it  de- 
pend upon  one,  would  of  itself  fall  to 
pieces ;  for  instance,  man,  comjiosed 
of  so  many  members,  viscera  and  or- 
gans of  motion  and  sensation,  unless 
he  depended  upon  one  soul ;  and  the 
body  itself,  unless  u|)on  one  heart. 
In  like  manner,  a  kingdom,  unless  it 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God. 


7 


depended  upon  one  king ;  a  family,  un- 
less upon  one  master  ;  and  every  office, 
of  u  iiicli  there  are  many  kinds  in  eve- 
ry kingdom,  unless  upon  one  officer. 
What  would  an  army  avail  against  the 
enemy,  without  a  leader,  who  has  su- 
preme power,  and  officers  subordinate 
to  him,  each  of  whom  has  his  proper 
command  over  the  soldiers.  It  would 
be  similar  with  the  church,  unless  it 
acknowledged  one  God,  and  also  with 
the  angelic  heaven,  which  is  as  a  head 
to  the  church  upon  earth,  in  both 
which  the  Lord  is  the  soul  itself  Where- 
fore, heaven  and  the  church  are  called 
his  body  ;  which,  unless  they  acknowl- 
edged one  God,  would  both  of  them  be 
like  a  lifeless  corpse,  which,  being  of  no 
use,  would  be  cast  away  and  buried. 

11.  IV.  That  as  to  what  the 
ONE  God  is.  Nations  and  People 

HAVE  DIFFERED,  AND  STILL  DIFFER, 
FROM    SEVERAL  CaUSES. 

Tiie  first  cause  is,  that  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  and  thence  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  Him,  are  not  attaina- 
ble without  revelation  ;  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord  and  thence  an  ac- 
knowledgment, that  in  Him  dwclUtli 
nil  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodilij, 
are  not  attainable  except  from  the 
Word,  which  is  the  crown  of  revela- 
tions ;  for  man,  by  the  revelation  which 
is  given,  is  able  to  approach  God,  and 
to  receive  influx,  and  so  from  natural 
to  become  spiritual.  The  first  revela- 
tion pervaded  all  the  world,  and  the 
natural  man  had  perverted  it  in  many 
ways ;  whence  arose  the  disputes,  dis- 
sensions, heresies  and  schisms  of  reli- 
gions. The  second  cause  is,  that  the 
natural  man  cannot  perceive  and  ap- 
ply to  himself  the  things  of  God,  but 
only  the  things  of  the  world ;  where- 
fore it  is  among  the  established  doc- 
trines of  the  church,  that  the  natural 
man  is  contrary  to  the  spiritual,  and 
that  they  fight  against  each  other. 
Thence  it  is,  that  those  who  havd 
learnt  from  the  Word,  or  other  revela- 
tion, that  there  is  a  God,  have  differed, 
and  still  differ,  concerning  his  quality, 
and  also  concerning  his  unity.  Where- 
fore, those  whose  mental  sight  de- 
pended on  the  senses  of  the  body,  and 


who  still  wished  to  see  God,  formed 
for  themselves  artificial  images,  of  gold, 
silver,  stone,  and  wood, that  under  these, 
as  objects  of  sight,  they  might  worship 
God  ;  and  that  others,  who  rejected 
from  their  religious  worship  artificial 
images,  formed  for  themselves  ideal 
images  of  God  in  the  sun  and  moon, 
in  the  stars,  and  in  various  things  up- 
on the  earth.  But  those  who  suppos- 
ed themselves  to  be  wise  above  the 
common  people,  and  who  still  remain- 
ed natural,  from  the  immensity  and 
omnipresence  of  God  in  creating  the 
world,  acknowledged  nature  as  God, 
some  in  its  inmost,  some  in  its  out- 
most parts :  and  some,  that  they  might 
separate  God  from  nature,  conceived 
an  idea  of  something  most  universal, 
which  they  called  the  Being  [Ens']  of 
the  universe  ;  and  because  they  know 
nothing  more  concerning  God,  this 
Being  becomes  witli  them  a  being  of 
reason,  which  does  not  signify  any 
thing.  Who  cannot  comprehend,  that 
knowledges  concerning  God  are  mir- 
rors of  God,  and  that  those  who  know 
nothing  concerning  God,  do  not  see 
God  in  a  mirror  with  its  face  turned 
towards  their  eyes,  but  in  a  mirror 
with  its  back  towards  them,  which,  be- 
ing covered  with  mercury,  or  some 
dark,  glutinous  substance,  does  not  re- 
flect, but  suffocates  the  image  1  The 
faith  of  God  enters  into  man  through 
a  prior  way,  which  is  from  the  soul  in- 
to the  superior  parts  of  the  understand- 
ing ;  but  knowledges  concerning  God 
enter  through  a  posterior  way,  because 
they  are  imbibed  from  the  revealed 
Word,  by  the  understanding,  through 
the  senses  of  the  body,  and  there  is  a 
meeting  of  the  influxes  in  the  under- 
standing, as  a  common  centre ;  and 
there  natural  faith,  which  is  only  per- 
suasion, becomes  spiritual,  which  is 
real  acknowledgment ;  wherefore  the 
human  understanding  is  as  a  refining 
vessel,  in  which  the  change  is  effected. 

12.  V.  That  human  Reason,  from 
many  Things  in  the  World,  may,  if 

IT    WILL,    perceive,     OR  CONCLUDE, 

that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He 
IS  One. 

This  truth  may  be  confirraed  by  in- 


8 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


numerable  things  in  tiie  visible  world  ; 
for  the  universe  is  like  a  theatre,  upon 
which  are  continually  exhibited  testimo- 
nies, that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  is 
one.  But  to  illustrate  this,  I  will  adduce 
this  memorable  relation  from  the  spirit- 
ual world.  Once,  while  I  was  convers- 
ing with  the  angels,  there  arrived  some 
novitiate  spirits  from  the  natural  world, 
to  whom  I  wished  a  happy  arrival,  and 
related  many  things,  before  unknown, 
concerning  the  spiritual  world ;  and 
after  this  relation,  I  inquired  of  them 
what  theory  they  brought  with  them 
from  the  world,  concerning  God  and 
nature.  They  said  this,  that  nature  op- 
erates all  things  that  take  place  in  the 
created  universe  ;  and  that  God,  afler 
creation,  induced  and  impressed  upon 
nature  that  faculty  and  power  ;  and  that 
God  only  sustains  and  preserves  them 
lest  they  should  perish  ;  wherefore  all 
things  which  exist,  which  are  produ- 
ced and  reproduced  upon  the  earth, 
are  at  this  day  ascribed  to  nature. 
But  I  replied,  that  nature,  of  itself,  does 
not  operate  any  tiling,  but  God  through 
nature  ;  and  because  they  asked  for 
proof,  I  said,  those  who  believe  the 
divine  operation  to  be  in  every  thing 
of  nature,  can,  from  very  many  things 
which  they  see  in  the  world,  confirm 
themselves  in  favor  of  God,  much 
more  than  in  favor  of  nature ;  for 
those  who  confirm  themselves  in  favor 
of  the  divine  operation  in  every  thing 
of  nature,  attend  to  the  wonderl'ul 
things  which  are  conspicuous  in 
the  productions  of  vegetables  as 
well  as  of  animals. — In  the  Produc- 
tions of  Ve(;et.\«les.  They  observe 
that,  from  a  little  seed  sown  in  the 
ground,  there  goes  forth  a  root,  and 
by  means  of  the  root,  a  stem,  and  suc- 
cessively branches,  buds,  leaves,  flow- 
ers, and  fruits,  even  to  new  seeds,  just 
as  if  the  seed  knew  the  order  of  suc- 
cession, or  the  process  by  which  it  was 
about  to  renew  itself  What  rational 
man  can  suppose  that  the  sun,  which 
is  pure  fire,  knows  tiiis,  or  that  it  can 
instruct  its  heat  and  light  to  effect 
such  things,  or  that  it  can  intend  use?. 
The  man  whose  rational  faculty  is  ele- 
vated, while  he  sees  and  properly  con- 


siders those  things,  cannot  think  oth- 
erwise, than  that  they  are  from  him  who 
has  infinite  wisdom,  thus  from  God. 
Those  who  acknowledge  the  divine  op- 
eration in  every  thing  of  nature,  also  con- 
firm themselves  in  it  when  they  see 
those  things;  but,   on  the  contrary, 
those  who  do  not  acknowledge  it,  do 
not  see  such  things  with  the  eyes  of 
their  reason  in  their  forehead,  but  in 
the   back  of  their   head ;  who  are 
such  as  derive  all  the  ideas  of  their 
thought  from  the  senses  of  the  body, 
and  confirm  their  fallacies,  saying,  "Do 
you  not  see  the  sun  by  its  heat  and 
light  operating  all  those  things ;  what 
is  that  which  you  do  not  see ;  is  it  any 
thing?" — Those   who  confirm  them- 
selves in  favor  of  the  Divine,  attend  to 
the  wonderful  things  which  they  see  in 
the  Productions  of  Animals.    In  the 
first  place,  it  is  remarkable  in  eggs, 
that  in  them  the  chicken  is  concealed 
in  its  seed  with  every  thing  requisite 
for  its  formation,  and  also  for  its  future 
growth  after  its  exclusion,  even  until  it 
becomes  a  bird  of  its  own  species. 
Moreover,  if  wc  attend  to  winged  crea- 
tures in  general,  such  things  are  pre- 
sented to  the  mind,  which  thinks  deep- 
ly, as  excite  astonishment ;  as  that  in 
the  least  as  well  as  in  the  greatest  of 
them,  in  the  invisible  as  well  as  in 
the  visible,  that  is,  in  little  insects  as 
well  as  in  birds,  and  great  beasts,  there 
are  the  organs  of  the  senses,  which  are 
seeing,  smelling,  tasting,  and  feeling, 
and  also  the  organs  of  motion,  which 
are  muscles,  for  they  Hy  and  walk ;  as 
also  viscera  adhering  to  the  heart  and 
lungs,  which  arc  actuated  by  the  brain. 
They  who  ascribe  all  things  to  nature 
see,  indeed,  such  things,  but  they  think 
only  that  they  exist,  and  say  that  na- 
ture produces  them ;  and  they  say  this 
because  they  have  turned  away  their 
mind  from  thinking  of  the  Divine  :  and 
those  who  have  turned  themselves  away 
from  the  Divine,  while  they  behold  the 
wonderful  things   in    nature,  cannot 
think  rationally  concerning  them,  still 
less  spiritually  ;  but  they  think  sensu- 
ally and  materially  ;  and  then,  at  Icngtli, 
they  think  in  nature  from  nature,  and 
not  above  if.    They  dificr  from  beasts 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God. 


9 


C"!y  in  being  endued  with  rationality  ; 
that  is,  they  couki  understand  if  they 
would.  Those  wlio  have  averted  them- 
selves from  thinking  of  the  Divine,  and 
thereby  have  become  sensual  corpoje- 
al,  do  not  consider  that  the  sight  of 
the  eye  is  so  gross  and  material,  that 
it  sees  many  little  insects  as  one  ob- 
scure object;  and  yet  every  one  of  them 
is  endued  with  organs  of  motion  and 
sensation,  and  consequently  with  fibres 
and  vessels,  and  also  with  a  little  heart, 
pulmonary  tubes,  little  viscera  and 
brains;  and  that  these  are  contextures 
of  the  purest  things  in  nature,  and  that 
those  contextures  correspond  to  life  in 
its  lowest  degree,  by  which  the  mi- 
nutest of  them  are  distinctly  actuated. 
Since  the  siglit  of  the  eye  is  so  gross, 
that  many  insects,  with  the  innumera- 
ble parts  of  each,  appear  to  it  as  a 
small,  obscure  spot,  and  yet  sensual 
men  think  and  conclude  from  that  vis- 
ion, it  appears  how  very  gross  their 
mind  is,  and  thence  in  what  darkness 
they  are  with  respect  to  spiritual 
things. 

Every  man,  if  he  will,  may  confirm 
himself  in  favor  of  the  Divine,  from  the 
things  visible  in  nature ;  and  also  he 
does  confirm  himself,  who  thinks  con- 
cerning God,  and  his  omnipotence  in 
creating  the  universe,  and  concerning 
his  omnipresence  in  preserving  it : 
whilst,  for  instance,  he  observes  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  how  each  species 
of  them  knows  its  proper  food,  and 
where  it  is ;  how  it  distinguishes  those 
of  its  own  kind  by  their  voice  and 
figure;  how,  among  the  birds,  they 
can  distinguish  which  are  their 
friends,  and  which  their  enemies; 
how  they  unite  in  pairs,  and  celebrate 
connubial  rites ;  how  they  artfully  build 
their  nests  where  they  lay  their  eggs, 
and  sit  upon  them  during  the  proper 
time  of  incubation,  when  they  hatch 
their  young,  which  they  love  most  ten- 
derly ;  how  they  cherish  them  under 
their  wings,  procure  food,  and  nourish 
them,  until  they  are  able  to  provide 
for  themselves,  and  to  do  similar  things. 
Every  man,  who  is  disposed  to  think 
of  the  Divine  mflux  through  the  spirit- 
ual world  into  the  natural,  may  see  it 


in  those  things ;  and  he  may  also  say 
in  his  heart,  ifhe  will,  that  such  science 
cannot  be  given  to  them  from  the  su;i 
by  its  heat  and  light ;  for  the  sun,  from 
which  nature  derives  its  origin  and 
essence,  is  pure  fire ;  and  thence  the 
effluxes  of  its  heat  and  light  are  alto- 
gether dead  ;  and  thus  they  may  con- 
clude that  such  things  are  from  the 
Divine  influx  through  the  spiritual 
world  into  the  ultimates  of  nature. 

Every  man  may,  from  the  things 
visible  in  nature,  confirm  himself  in 
favor  of  the  Divine,  while  he  sees 
worms,  how,  from  the  delight  of  a 
certain  love,  they  seek  and  aspire  af- 
ter a  change  of  their  earthly  state  into 
one  analogous  to  the  heavenly  state ; 
and  how,  for  tliis  purpose,  they  crawl 
into  suitable  places,  envelope  them- 
selves with  a  covering,  and  thus  put 
themselves  into  the  womb,  that  they 
may  be  born  again,  and  thus  become 
chrysalises,  aurelice,  nymphs,  and  at 
length  butterflies ;  and  when  they  have 
undergone  these  changes  of  form,  and, 
according  to  their  species,  have  been 
clothed  with  beautiful  wings,  they  fly 
abroad  into  the  open  air,  as  into  their 
heaven,  and  there  indulge  in  pleasant 
sports,  celebrate  connubial  rites,  lay 
eggs,  and  provide  for  themselves  a  pos- 
terity ;  and  then  they  nourish  them- 
selves with  sweet  and  pleasant  food 
extracted  from  flowers.  Whoever  con- 
firms himself  in  favor  of  the  Divine, 
from  the  things  visible  in  nature,  may 
see  in  them,  while  worms,  an  image  of 
the  earthly  state  of  man,  and  when 
butterflies,  an  image  of  his  heavenly 
state ;  but  those  who  confirm  them- 
selves in  favor  of  nature,  see  them  in- 
deed, but,  because  they  have  rejected 
the  heavenly  state  of  man  from  their 
mind,  they  call  th?m  mere  operations 
of  nature. 

Every  man  may,  from  the  things 
visible  in  nature,  confirm  himself  in 
favor  of  the  Divine,  while  he  attends 
to  the  things  which  are  known  con- 
cerning bees,  that  they  know  how  to 
gather  wax,  and  suck  honey  out  of 
roses  and  flowers,  and  to  build  cells 
like  little  houses,  and  arrange  them 
in  the  form  of  a  city,  with  streets 


10 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


through  which  they  come  in  and  go 
out ;  that  at  a  distance  tliey  smell  the 
herbs  and  flowers  from  which  tiicy 
gather  wax  for  their  houses  and  honey 
for  their  food  ;  and  that,  thus  loaded, 
they  fly  back  in  the  right  direction  to 
their  hive,  and  thus  provide  for  them- 
selves food  for  the  approaching  winter, 
as  if  they  foresaw  it.  They  also  ap- 
point over  themselves  a  ruler  like  a 
queen,  from  whom  their  posterity  is 
propagated ;  they  build  for  her,  as  it 
were,  a  palace  in  an  elevated  situation, 
and  furnish  it  with  proper  guards. 
When  the  time  of  procreation  arrives, 
she  goes,  accompanied  by  her  satellites, 
called  drones,  from  cell  to  cell,  and 
lays  her  eggs,  which  lier  attendants 
cover  with  a  sort  of  ointment,  that  they 
may  not  be  injured  by  the  air.  Hence 
arises  a  new  race ;  and  afterwards, 
when  it  has  arrived  at  the  proper  age, 
and  is  able  to  do  similar  things,  it  is 
expelled  from  the  hive ;  the  swarm 
first  collects  itself  into  a  band,  that  it 
may  not  be  divided  and  dispersed,  and 
afterwards  flies  abroad  to  seek  for  it- 
self a  habitation.  About  the  time  of 
autumn,  those  drones,  because  they 
have  brought  in  nothing  of  wax  or 
honey,  are  led  forth  and  deprived  of 
their  wings,  that  they  may  not  return 
and  consume  the  food,  which  they  look 
no  pains  to  provide.  Many  otlier  things 
might  be  added  ;  whence  it  is  evident, 
that,  on  account  of  the  use  which  they 
perform  to  the  human  race,  they  have, 
from  the  Divine  influx  through  the 
spiritual  world,  a  form  of  government 
such  as  there  is  among  men  on  earth, 
yea,  among  the  angels  in  the  heavens. 
What  person  of  enlightened  reason 
does  not  see,  that  such  things,  with 
them,  are  not  from  the  natural  world  ? 
What  has  the  sun  of  the  natural  world 
in  common  w'ith  a  government  similar 
and  analogous  to  the  government  of 
heaven  ?  From  these  and  similar  things 
observable  in  brute  animals,  the  advo- 
cate and  worshipper  of  nature  con- 
firms himself  in  favor  of  nature  ;  whilst 
the  advocate  and  worshipper  of  God, 
from  the  same  thing.-!,  confirms  him- 
lelf  in  favor  of  God:  for  the  spiritual 
nan  sees  in  them  spiritual  things,  and 


the  natural  man  sees  in  them  natural 
things ;  thus  each  according  to  his 
quality.  As  to  myself,  such  things 
have  been  to  me  evident  indications 
of  the  influx  of  the  spiritual  world  into 
the  natural  from  God.  Consider  also 
whether  you  can  think  analytically 
concerning  any  form  of  government, 
or  concerning  any  civil  law,  or  con- 
cerning any  moral  virtue,  or  concern- 
ing any  spiritual  truth,  unless  the  Di- 
vine, from  his  wisdom,  flow  in  through 
the  spiritual  world.  As  to  myself,  I 
never  could,  nor  can  I  now ;  for  I  have 
perceptibly  and  sensibly  observed  that 
influx  now  for  twenty-six  years,  con- 
tinually ;  wherefore  I  say  this  fi-om  ex- 
perience. 

Can  nature  regard  use  as  an  end, 
and  dispose  uses  into  their  orders  and 
forms  ?  This  can  be  done  only  by  a 
wise  being ;  and  the  universe  could 
be  thus  ordered  and  formed  only  by 
God,  whose  wisdom  is  infinite.  Who 
else  could  foresee  and  provide  for  men 
their  food  and  clothing ;  their  food 
from  the  harvests  of  the  field,  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  and  from  animals ;  and 
their  clothing  from  the  same.  It  is 
among  those  wonderful  things,  that 
those  vile  worms,  called  silk  worms, 
should  clothe  with  silk,  and  magnificent- 
ly adorn,  both  men  and  women,  from 
kings  and  queens,  even  to  servants 
and  maids ;  and  that  those  vile  in- 
sects, called  bees,  should  furnish  wax 
for  lights,  by  which  temples  and  pala- 
ces are  illuminated.  These  and  ma- 
ny other  things  are  standing  proofs 
that  God,  from  Himself  through  the 
spiritual  world,  operates  all  things 
which  are  done  in  nature. 

To  these  things  it  is  i)roper  to  add, 
that,  in  the  .-spiritual  world,  have  been 
seen  those,  who,  from  the;  things  visi- 
ble in  the  world,  have  confirmed  them- 
selves in  favor  of  nature  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  they  became  atheists ;  and 
that  their  understanding  in  spiritual 
light  appeared  open  below  and  closed 
above,  because,  in  their  thoughts,  they 
had  looked  downwards  to  the  earth, 
and  not  upwards  to  heaven.  Above 
their  sensual  principle,  winch  is  the 
lowest  region  of  the  understanding, 


Concerning  the  Unit  if  of  God. 


11 


there  appeared,  as  it  were,  a  veil  spark- 
ling with  infernal  fire ;  in  some  cases, 
black  as  soot ;  in  others,  livid  like  a 
corpse.  Let  every  one,  therefore,  be- 
ware of  confirming  himself  in  favor  of 
nature  ;  but,  since  tiiere  is  no  want  of 
means,  let  him  confirm  himself  in  fa- 
vor of  God. 

13.  VI.  That  unless  God  were 
ONE,  THE  Universe  could  not  have 

BEEN  CREATED  AND  PRESERVED. 

That  the   unity  of  God  may  be 
inferred   from  the  creation   of  the 
universe,    is    because   the  universe 
is  a  work  cohering  as  one  irom  firsts 
to  lasts,  depending  upon  one  God,  as 
the  body  on  the  soul.    Tlie  universe 
is  so  created,  that  God  may  be  every 
where  present,  and  hold  all  and  every 
part  of  it  under  his  direction,  and  hold 
it  together  as  on?,  perpetually,  which 
is  to  preserve  it.    Hence  also  it  is, 
that  Jehovah  God  says,  That  he  is  the 
J^irst  and  the  Last,  the  Bes^inning  and 
the  Ending,  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega, 
[sai.  xliv.  G  ;  Rev.  i.  8,  17 ;  and,  in 
another  place.    That  he  maketh  all 
things,  sprcadcth  out  the  heavens,  and 
stretcheth  out  the  earth  hy  himself, 
Isai.   xliv.  24.    This  great  system, 
which  is  called  the  universe,  is  a  work 
cohering  as  one  from  firsts  to  lasts,  be- 
cause God,  in  creating  it,  had  one  end 
in  view,  which  was  an  angelic  heaven 
from  the  human  race ;  and  the  means 
to  that  end  are  all  things  of  which  the 
earth  is  composed ;  for  he  who  wills 
an  end,  also  wills  the  means;  where- 
fore he  who  contemplates  the  world  as 
a  work  containing  means  to  that  end, 
may  contemplate  the  created  universe 
as  a  work  cohering  as  one,  and  may 
see  that  the  world  is  a  complex  of  uses, 
in  successive  order,  for  the  human 
race,  from  which  is  the  angelic  heaven. 
The  Divine  Love  can  intend  no  other 
end  than  the  eternal  blessedness  of 
men  from  its  own  Divine.  Divine 
Wisdom  can  produce  nothing  else  than 
uses  which  are  means  to  that  end. 
By  contemplating  the  world   in  this 
universal  idea,  every  wise  man  may 
perceive  that  the  Creator  of  the  uni- 
verse is  one,  and  that  his  essence  is 
Love  and  Wisdom  :  wherefore  there  is 


not  a  single  thing  in  the  universe, 
which  docs  not  contain  a  use,  inoro 
or  less  remote,  for  man. 

Those  who  contemplate  some  things 
in  the  world  separately,  and  not  all  as 
united  in  a  series  in  which  are  ends, 
mediate  causes  and  effects,  and  who 
do  not  deduce  creation  from  the  Divine 
Love  through  the  Divine  Wisdom, 
cannot  see  that  the  universe  is  the 
work  of  one  God,  and  that  he  dwells 
in  every  use,  because  he  dwells  in  the 
end  ;  for  every  one  who  is  in  the  end, 
is  also  in  the  means ;  for  the  end  is  in- 
wardly in  all  the  means,  actuating  and 
directing  them.  Those  who  do  not 
contemplate  the  universe  as  the  work 
of  God,  and  as  the  habitation  of  his  love 
and  wisdom,  but  as  the  work  of  nature, 
and  the  habitation  of  the  heat  and 
light  of  the  sun,  close  the  superior 
parts  of  their  mind  towards  God,  and 
open  the  inferior  parts  of  it  for  the 
devil;  and  thence  they  put  off  the  na- 
ture of  man,  and  put  on  the  nature  of 
beasts,  and  not  only  think  themselves 
like  beasts,  but  also  become  so;  for 
they  become  fo.xes  in  cunning,  wolves 
in  fierceness,  leopards  in  treachery, 
tigers  in  cruelty,  and  crocodiles,  ser- 
pents, owls  and  bats,  according  to  the 
nature  of  those  animals.  Those  who 
are  such  also  appear,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  at  a  distance,  like  those  wild 
beasts ;  their  love  of  evil  thus  exhibits 
itself 

14.  VIL   That   the  Man  who 

DOES  NOT  ACKNOWLEDGE  A  GoD,  IS 
EXCOMMUNICATED  FROM  THE  ClIURCH, 
AND  CONDEMNED. 

That  the  man  who  does  not  acknowl- 
edge a  God,  is  excommunicated  from 
the  church,  is  because  God  is  the  all 
of  the  church,  and  divine  things,  which 
are  called  theological,  constitute  the 
church  ;  wherefore  a  denial  of  God  is 
a  denial  of  all  things  of  the  church ; 
and  this  denial  itself  excommunicates 
him ;  thus  the  man  himself,  and  not 
God,  is  the  author  of  his  excommuni- 
cation. He  is  also  condemned,  be- 
cause whosoever  is  excommunicated 
from  the  church,  is  also  excommunicat- 
ed from  heaven ;  for  the  church  upon 
earth,  and  the  angelic  heaven,  make 


12 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


one,  like  the  internal  and  eTCternal, 
and  like  the  spiritual  and  natural  in 
man.    For  man  was  so  created  by 
God,  that,  as  to  his  internal,  he  may  be 
in  the  spiritual  world,  and  as  to  his 
external,  in  the  natural  world;  thus 
he  is  created  a  native  of  both  worlds, 
in  order   that  the   spiritual,  which 
is  of  heaven,  mary  be  implanted  in 
the  natural,  which  is  of  the  earth, 
as  is  the  case  with  seed  in  the  ground  ; 
and  thus  man  may  acquire  a  fixed  and 
everlasting  existence.    The  man  who, 
by  a  denial  of  God,  has  exconununicat- 
ed  himself  from  the  church,  and  thus 
from  heaven,  has  closed  up  his  inter- 
nal man  as  to  the  will,  and  thus  as  to 
his  genial  love  ;  for  the  will  of  man  is 
the  receptacle  of  his  love,  and  be- 
comes its  habitation.    But  he  cannot 
close  up  his  internal  man,  as  to  the 
understanding;  for,  if  he  could  and 
should  do  this,  the  man  would  be  no 
longer  man.    But  the  love  of  the  will 
infatuates  the  superior  parts  of  the  un- 
derstanding ;  whence  the  understand- 
ing becomes,  as  it  were,  closed  as  to  the 
trutlis  which  are  of  faith,  and  as  to  the 
goods  which  are  of  charity;  thus  more 
and  more  against  God,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  against  the  spiritual  things 
of  the  church ;  and  thus  he  is  exclud- 
ed from  comnumion  with  tlie  angels 
of  heaven;  and,  when  thus  excluded, 
he  enters  into  communion  with  the 
satans  of  hell,  and  thinks  in  unity 
with  them ;  and  as  all  satans  deny  a 
God,  and  think  foolishly  concerning 
God  and  the  spiritual  things  of  the 
church,  so  also  does  the  man  who  is 
conjoined  with  tiiem.    When  he  is  in 
his  spirit,  as  he  is  when  left  to  himself 
at  home,  he  suflers  his  thoughts  to  be 
lod  by  the  delights  of  the  e\  il  and  the 
fdse,  which   he  has  conceived  and 
brought  forth  in  himself ;  and  then  he 
thinks  that  there  is  no  God,  but  that 
what  is  called  God  is  only  a  word  re- 
soanditig    from  pulpits,  to  bind  the 
connnon  people  to  obedience  to  the 
'  hws  of  justice,  which  are  laws  of  soci- 
ety,   lie  also  thinks  that  the  Word, 
fi-om  which  ministers  proclaim  a  God, 
is  a  collection  of  visionary  stories,  the 
sanctity  of  which   is  derived  from 


authority ;   and  that  the  Decalogue, 
or  Catechism,  is  a  little  book,  which, 
after  it  has  been  handled  by  children, 
may  be  thrown  away ;  for  it  teaciies 
that  we  should  honor  our  parents,  that 
we  should  not  do  murder,  nor  commit 
adultery,  nor  steal,  nor  bear  false  tes- 
timony ;  and  who  does  not  know  the 
same  things  from  the  civil  law  ?  Con- 
cerning the  church,  he  thinks  it  is  a 
congregation  of  weak,  simple  and  cred- 
ulous people,  who  see  what  they  do 
not  see.    Respecting  man,  and  him- 
self as  a  man,  he  thinks  as  he  does  of 
a   beast;  concerning   his   life  after 
death,  he  thinks  it  will  be  like  that  of 
a  beast  after  death.    Thus  his  inter- 
nal man  tliinks,  however  differently  the 
external  man  speaks  ;  for,  as  was  said, 
every  man  has  an  internal  and  an  ex- 
ternal ;  and  his  internal  constitutes  the 
man,  which  is  called  the  qjirit,  and 
lives  after  death  ;  and  the  external,  in 
which,  by  a  semblance  of  moralitv.  he 
plays  the  hypocrite,  is  burieu ,  ana 
then,  on  account  of  his  denial  of  God, 
he  is  condemned.    Every  man,  as  to 
his  spirit,  is  consociated  with  his  like 
in  the  spiritual  world,  and  is  as  one 
with  them  ;  and  it  has  often  been  given 
me  to  see  the  spirits  of  persons  still 
living,  some  in  angelic  societies,  and 
some  in  infernal  societies :  and  I  have 
also  been  permitted  to  converse  with 
them  for  several  days ;  and  have  won- 
dered that  man  himself,  while  he  lives 
in  his  body,  should  know  nothing  at 
all  of  this.    Thence  it  appeared,  that 
whoever  denies  a   God,   is  already 
among   the   condemned ;    and,  after 
death,  he  is  gathered  to  his  compan- 
ions. 

15.  Vllt.  That  mith  Mf.s  who 

DO  NOT  ACKNOWLEDGE  ONE  GoD,  BUT 
SEVERAL,  NOTHING  OF  THE  ChURCH 
COHERES. 

He  who  in  faith  acknowledges,  and  in 
heart  worships,  one  God,  is  in  the  com- 
munion of  saints  on  earth,  and  in  the 
connnimion  of  angels  in  heaven  :  they 
arc  cnlicd  roniintinions,  and  tiiey  are 
so  because  they  are  in  one  God,  and 
one  God  is  in  them.  The  same  are  al.so 
in  conjunction  with  tlie  whole  angelic 
heaven,  and  I  might  venture  to  say, 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God. 


13 


with  all  and  every  one  there,  for  they 
are  all  as  the  children  and  posterity  of 
one  father,  whose  minds,  manners  and 
faces  are  similar,  so  that  they  mutually 
recognise  each  other.  The  angelic 
heaven  is  arranged  into  societies  ac- 
cording to  all  the  varieties  of  the  love 
of  good ;  which  varieties  aim  at  one 
most  universal  love,  which  is  love  to 
God  ;  from  this  love  are  propagated  all 
those  who  in  faith  acknowledge,  and 
in  heart  worship,  one  God,  the  Creator 
of  the  universe,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  Redeemer  and  Regenerator.  But 
the  case  is  altogether  difl'erent  with 
those  who  do  not  approach  and  wor- 
ship one  God,  but  several ;  and  also 
with  those  who  profess  one  with  their 
lips,  and  at  the  same  time  think  of 
three,  as  do  those  in  the  church  at  this 
day,  who  distinguish  God  into  three 
persons,  and  declare  that  each  person 
by  himself  is  God,  and  attribute  to 
each  separate  qualities  or  properties, 
which  do  not  belong  to  either  of  the 
others.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass,  that 
not  only  the  unity  of  God  is  actually 
divided,  but  also  theology  itself,  and 
likewise  the  human  mind,  in  which  it 
should  reside  ;  what  thence  can  result 
but  perplexity  and  incoherency  in  the 
things  of  the  church  ?  That  such  is 
the  state  of  the  church  at  this  day,  will 
be  demonstrated  in  the  Appendix  to 
this  work.  The  truth  is,  that  the  di- 
vision of  God,  or  of  the  Divine  essence, 
into  three  persons,  each  of  which,  by 
him.self,  or  singly,  is  God,  leads  to  the 
denial  of  God.  It  is  as  if  any  one 
should  enter  a  temple  in  order  to  wor- 
ship, and  should  see,  in  a  picture  upon 
the  altar,  one  God  painted  as  the  An- 
cient of  days,  another  as  the  High 
Priest,  and  a  third  as  the  flying  jEolus, 
with  this  inscription,  "  These  three 
are  one  God  ;"  or  as  if  he  should  there 
see  the  Unity  and  Trinity  painted  as  a 
man  with  three  heads  upon  one  body, 
or  with  three  bodies  under  one  head, 
•which  is  the  form  of  a  monster.  If 
any  one  should  enter  heaven  v/ith  such 
an  idea,  he  would  certainly  be  cast  out 
headlong,  although  he  should  say  that 
the  head  or  heads  signified  essence,  and 
the  body  or  bodies,  distinct  properties. 


IG.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  one 
Rel.\tio.\  [Mf.morabile].  I  saw 
some  new  comers  from  the  nat- 
ural into  the  spiritual  world,  talking 
together  about  three  Divine  Persons 
from  eternity ;  they  were  dignitaries 
of  the  church,  and  one  of  them  a  bish- 
op. They  came  up  to  me,  and,  after 
some  conversation  concerning  the 
spiritual  world,  of  which  they  before 
had  not  known  any  thing,  I  said,  "  I 
heard  you  talking  about  three  Divine 
Persons  from  eternity  ;  and  I  beseech 
you  to  open  to  me  this  great  mystery, 
according  to  your  ideas  which  you  con- 
ceived in  the  natural  world,  whence 
you  have  lately  come."  Then  the 
primate,  looking  at  me,  said,  "  I  see  that 
you  are  a  layman ;  wherefore  I  will 
open  the  ideas  of  my  thought  concern- 
ing this  mystery,  and  teach  you. 
My  ideas  always  have  been,  and  still 
are,  that  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  .sit  in  the 
midst  of  heaven,  upon  magnificent  and 
lofty  seats  or  thrones ;  God  the  Father, 
upon  a  throne  of  the  finest  gold,  with  a 
sceptre  iii  his  hand ;  God  the  Son,  at 
his  right  hand,  upon  a  throne  of  the 
purest  silver,  with  a  crown  on  his  head  ; 
and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  near  them, 
upon  a  throne  of  shining  crystal,  hold- 
ing a  dove  in  his  hand ;  and  that 
lamps,  hanging  round  about  them  in 
triple  order,  were  glittering  with  pre- 
cious stones ;  and  that,  at  a  distance 
from  this  circus,  were  standing  innu- 
merable angels,  all  worshipping,  and 
singing  praises ;  and,  moreover,  that 
God  the  Father  is  continually  convers- 
ing with  his  Son  concerning  those 
who  are  to  be  justified ;  and  that  they 
together  decree  and  determine  who, 
upon  earth,  were  worthy  to  be  received 
among  the  angels,  and  crowned  with 
eternal  life ;  and  that  God  the  Holy 
Ghost,  having  heard  their  names,  in- 
stantly hastens  to  them  over  all  parts 
of  the  earth,  carrying  with  him  the 
gifts  of  righteousness,  as  so  many  tokens 
of  salvation  for  those  who  are  to  be 
justified ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  arrives,  and 
breathes  upon  them,  he  disperses  their 
sins,  as  a  ventilator  disperses  the 
smoke  out  of  a  furnace,  and  makes  it 


14 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


white ;  and  also  he  iakes  away  from 
their  hearts  the  hardness  of  stone,  puts 
into  them  the  softness  of  flesh;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  he  renews  their  spir- 
its or  minds,  and  regenerates  them,  and 
induces  upon  them  the  countenances 
of  infants ;  and,  at  last,  marks  their 
foreheads  with  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
and  calls  them  the  elect,  and  children 
of  God."  The  primate,  having  finished 
this  discourse,  said  to  me,  "  Thus  I  un- 
ravelled this  great  mystery  in  the 
world;  and,  because  most  of  our  order 
there  applauded  my  sentiments  on  this 
subject,  I  am  persuaded  that  you  al- 
so, who  are  a  layman,  will  acquiesce 
in  them."  After  these  things  were  said 
by  the  primate,  I  looked  at  him,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  at  the  dignitaries 
with  him,  and  observed  that  they  all 
favored  him  with  their  full  assent : 
wherefore  I  began  to  reply,  and  said, 
"  I  have  well  considered  the  exposition 
of  your  faith,  and  have  thence  collect- 
ed, that  you  have  conceived,  and  still 
cherish,  a  merely  natural  and  sensual, 
yea,  material  idea  concerning  the  tri- 
une God,  whence  inevitably  flows  the 
idea  of  three  Gods.  Is  it  not  to  think 
sensually  of  God  the  Father,  that  He 
sits  upon  a  throne  with  a  sceptre  in  his 
hand  ?  and  of  the  Son,  that  He  sits  upon 
his  throne  with  a  crown  on  his  head  ? 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  He  sits 
upon  his,  with  a  dove  in  his  hand,  and 
that,  in  obedience  to  the  decrees  of  the 
two  former.  He  runs  over  all  the  world  ? 
And  because  such  an  idea  thence  re- 
sults, I  cannot  believe  what  you  have 
declared  ;  for,  from  my  infancy,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  admit  into  my  mind 
any  other  idea  than  that  of  o.\e  God; 
and  since  I  have  received,  and  still  re- 
tain, this  idea  only,  all  that  you  have  said 
has  no  weight  with  me.  And  then  I 
saw  that,  by  the  throne  upon  which, 
according  to  the  Scripture,  Jehovah  is 
said  to  sit,  is  meant  the  kingdom;  by 
the  sceptre  and  crown,  government 
and  dominion  ;  by  sitting  on  the  right 
hand,  the  omnipotence  of  God  by 
means  of  his  Human ;  and  by  those 
things  which  are  related  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  operations  of  the  Divine 
omnipresence.     Assume,  sir,  if  you 


please,  the  idea  of  one  Gqd,  and  re- 
volve it  well  in  your  rational  mind 
\ratiocinio'\,  and  you  will  at  length 
clearly  perceive  that  it  is  so.  Indeed, 
you  also  say,  that  there  is  one  God,  and 
this  because  you  make  the  essence  of 
those  three  persons  one  and  indivisi- 
ble; yet  you  do  not  allow  any  one  to 
say,  that  the  one  God  is  one  person, 
but  that  there  are  still  three  ;  and  this 
you  do,  lest  the  idea  of  three  Gods, 
such  as  yours  is,  should  be  lost ;  and 
you  also  ascribe  to  each  a  character 
separate  from  that  of  another  :  do  you 
not  thus  divide  your  Divine  essence? 
Since  it  is  so,  how  can  you,  at  the  same 
time,  think  that  God  is  one  ?  I  could 
forgive  you,  if  you  should  say,  that  the 
Divine  is  one.  When  any  one  hears, 
that  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God, 
the  Hohj  Ghost  is  God,  and  that  each 
Person  singli/  is  God,  how  can  he  con- 
ceive that  God  is  one?  Is  it  not  a 
contradiction  which  can  never  be  be- 
lieved ?  That  they  cannot  be  said  to 
be  one  God,  but  to  be  of  a  similar  Di- 
vine, may  be  illustrated  by  these  exam- 
ples:— It  cannot  be  said  of  several  men, 
who  compose  one  senate,  synod,  or 
council,  that  they  are  one  man ;  but 
while  they  are  all  and  each  of  them  of 
one  opinion,  it  may  be  said,  that  they 
think  one  thing.  Neither  can  it  be  said 
of  three  diamonds  of  one  substance, 
that  they  are  one  diamond,  but  that 
they  are  one  as  to  substance,  and  also 
each  diamond  differs  from  the  others 
in  value,  according  to  its  own  weight; 
but  it  would  not  be  so,  if  they  were 
one,  and  not  three.  But  I  perceive  that 
the  reason  why  you  say,  that  the  three 
persons,  each  of  whom,  by  himself,  or 
singly,  is  God,  are  one  God,  and  why 
you  insist,  that  every  one  in  the  church 
sliould  thus  speak,  is,  that  sound  and 
eidightcned  reason,  througiiout  the 
whole  world,  acknowledges  tliat  God  is 
one ;  and  therefore  you  would  be  cov- 
ered with  shame,  if  you  should  not  also 
speak  in  like  manner.  But  even  while 
you  utter  with  your  lips  one  God,  al- 
though you  entertain  the  idea  of  three, 
still  that  shame  does  not  keep  those 
two  forms  of  expression  within  your 
lips,  but  you  speak  them  out."  After 


Concerning  the  Unity  of  God. 


15 


this  conversation,  the  bishop  retired 
with  his  clerical  attendants,  and,  in  re- 
tiring, he  turned  about,  and  wished  to 
exchiini,  "  Tiiere  is  one  God  ;"  but  lie 
could  not,  because  his  thought  drew 
back  his  tongue  ;  and  then,  with  open 
mouth,  he  breathed  out,  "  three  Gods." 
Those  who  were  standing  by,  laughed 
at  the  strange  sight,  and  departed. 

17.  Afterwards,  I  inquired  where  I 
might  find,  amongst  the  learned,  those 
who  are  of  the  most  acute  genius,  and 
who  stand  for  a  Divine  Trinity,  divided 
into  three  persons :  and  there  came 
three,  to  whom  I  said,  "  How  can  you 
divide  the  Divine  Trinity  into  three 
j)8rsons,  and  assert  that  each  person,  by 
himself,  or  singly,  is  God  and  Lord? 
Is  not  such  a  confession  of  the  mouth, 
that  God  is  one,  as  distant  from  the 
thought,  as  the  south  is  from  the 
north  V  To  which  they  replied,  "  It  is 
not,  in  the  least,  because  the  three  per- 
sons have  one  essence,  and  the  Divine 
Essence  is  God.  We  were,  in  the 
world,  tutors  of  a  Trinity  of  persons; 
and  the  pupil  under  our  care  was  our 
faith,  in  which  each  divine  person  has 
his  oiHce :  God  the  Father,  the  office 
of  imputation  and  donation  ;  God  the 
Son,  that  of  intercession  and  media- 
tion ;  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  of 
effecting  the  uses  of  imputation  and 
mediation."  But  tasked, "  What  do  you 
mean  by  the  Divine  Essence  V  They 
said,  "  We  mean  omnipotence,  omnis- 
cience, omnipresence,  immensity,  eter- 
nity, equality  of  majesty."  To  which  I 
said,  "  If  that  essence  outof  several  Gods 
makes  One,  you  may  add  still  more,  as 
for  example,  a  fourth,  who  is  mentioned 
in  Moses,  Job,  and  Ezekiel,  and  is 
called  God  Schaddai.  In  like  manner 
;;lso  did  the  ancients  in  Greece  and 
Italy,  who  ascribed  equal  attributes 
and  a  similar  essence  to  their  gods, 
as  to  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Neptune,  Pluto, 
Apollo,  Juno,  Diana,  Minerva,  yea, 
<nen  to  Mercury  and  Venus ;  but  still 
t!iey  could  not  say  that  all  those  were 
one  God.  And  also  you,  who  are 
three,  and,  as  I  perceive,  of  similar 
learning,  and  so  of  similar  essence  as 
to  tii'at,  still  are  not  able  to  combine 
yourselves  into  one  learned  man."  But 


at  this  they  laughed,  saying,  "  You  are 
jesting  ;  it  is  otherwise  with  the  Divine 
Essence ;  this  is  one,  and  not  tripartite, 
and  it  is  indivisible,  and  so  not  divided  ; 
it  is  not  a  subject  of  partition  and  di- 
vision." To  tliis  I  rejoined,  "Let  us  de- 
scend into  this  arena,  and  dispute ;" 
and  I  asked,  "  What  do  you  mean  by 
person,  and  what  does  that  word  sig- 
nify?" And  they  said,  "TAe  name  of  a 
person  signifies  not  ant/  part  or  quali- 
ty in  another,  but  what  subsists  in 
one's  oicn  self  [proprie  subsistit]. 
Thus  all  the  principal  doctors  of  the 
church  define  person,  and  we  agree 
with  them."  And  I  said,  "  Is  this  the 
definition  of  person  ?"  And  they  replied, 
"  It  is."  To  which  I  answered,  "  Then 
there  is  not  any  part  of  the  Father  in 
the  Son,  nor  any  of  cither  in  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost ;  whence  it  follows,  that  each 
has  his  peculiar  choice,  right  and 
power ;  and  so  there  is  not  any  thing 
which  joins  them  together  except  the 
will,  which  is  proper  to  each,  and  thus 
communicable  at  pleasure  :  are  not  the 
three  persons  tims  three  distinct  Gods? 
Again,  you  have  also  defined  person, 
that  it  is  what  subsists  in  one's  own 
self:  consequently  it  follows  that  there 
are  three  substances  into  which 
you  divide  the  Divine  Essence ;  and 
yet  this,  as  you  also  say,  is  incapable 
of  division,  because  it  is  one  and  indi- 
visible; and,  moreover,  to  each  sub- 
stance, that  is,  to  each  person,  you  at- 
tribute properties  which  are  not  in 
another,  and  which  cannot  be  commu- 
nicated to  another,  such  as  imputation, 
mediation  and  operation;  and  what 
else  thence  results,  than  that  the  three 
persons  are  three  Gods''"  At  these 
words  they  withdrew,  saying,"  We  will 
canvass  \yentilabimur'\  these  things, 
and,  having  canvassed,  we  will  an- 
swer." There  stood  by  a  certain  wise 
man,  who,  hearing  these  things,  said, 
"  I  do  not  wish,  by  such  subtle  specula- 
tions [subtiles  transennas'\,  to  look  into 
this  high  subject ;  but  without  those 
subtilties,  I  see  in  clear  light,  that,  in 
the  ideas  of  your  thought,  there  are 
three  Gods ;  but,  because  it  would  be 
to  your  shame  to  publish  them  to  all 
the  world  (for  if  you  should  publish 


16  Concerning  God  the  Creator. 

them,  you  would  be  called  madmen  words ;  and,  in  going  away,  they  mut- 

and  idiots),  therefore,  to  avoid  that  dis-  tered  out  some  terms  borrowed  from  the 

grace,  it  is  expedient  for  you  to  confess  science  of  metaphysics,  whence  I  per- 

with  your  lips  one  God."  But  the  three  ceived,  that  that  science  was  their  tri- 

disputants,  still  tenacious  of  their  own  pod,  from  which  they  wished  to  give 

opinion,  paid  no  attention  to  these  answers. 


CONCERNING  THE  DIVINE 

18.  We  shall  treat  first  of  the  Di- 
vine Esse,  and  afterwards  of  the  Divine 
Essence.  It  appears  as  if  these  two 
were  one  and  the  same ;  but  still  esse 
is  more  universal  than  essence,  for  an 
essence  supposes  an  esse,  and  from  esse 
essence  is  derived.  The  Esse  of  God, 
or  the  Divine  Esse,  cannot  be  describ- 
ed, because  it  is  above  every  idea  of  hu- 
man tliought,  into  which  nothing  else 
falls,  than  what  is  created  and  finite,  but 
not  what  is  uncreate  and  infinite,  thus 
not  the  Divine  Esse.  The  Divine 
Esse  is  Esse  itself,  from  which  all  things 
are,  and  which  must  be  in  all  thing.^, 
that  they  may  be.  A  further  notion 
of  the  Divine  Esse  may  flow  in  from 
the  following  articles  :  I.  That  the  one 
God  is  called  Jehovah  from  Esse,  thvs 
from  this ,  because  He  alone  is,  was,  and 
tcill  be,  and  because  He  is  the  First  and 
the  Last,  the  Beginning  and  the  End, 
the  Alpha  and  the  Omega.  II.  That 
the  one  God  is  Siihsfancc  itself  and 
Form  itself  ,  and.  that  angels  and  mm 
are  substances  and  forms  from  Him, 
and  that  as  far  as  they  are  in  Him  and 
He  in  them,  so  far  they  are  images  and 
likenesses  of  Him.  III.  That  the  Di- 
vine Esse  is  Esse  in  itself,  and  at  the 
^ame  time  Eiisfcre  in  itself.  TV. 
That  the  Divine  E.ssc  and  E.ii.<tcrc  in 
itself  cannot  produce  another  Divine, 
that  is  Esse  and  Existcrc  in  itself; 
consequently ,  that  another  Cod  of  the 
same  essence  is  not  possible  [dabilis]. 
V.  That  a  plurality  of  gods  amongst 
the  ancients,  and  also  amongst  the  mod- 
erns, existed  from  no  other  cause,  than 
from  not  understanding  the  Divine 
Esse.  But  these  articles  arc  to  bo 
elucidated  one  by  one. 

19.  I.  That  the  one  God  is 
CALLED  Jehovah  from  Esse,  thvs 


ESSE,  WHICH  IS  JEHOVAH. 

FROM  THIS,  BECAUSE  He  ALONE  IS  AND 
WILL   BE  ;    AND   BECAl'SE   He  IS  THE 

First  and  the  Last,  the  Beginning 
AND  THE  End,  the  Alpha  and  the 
Omega. 

That  Jehovah  signifies  I  am  and 
To  BE,  is  known;  and  that  God  was 
so  called  from  the  m.ost  ancient  times, 
is  evident  from  the  book  of  creation, 
or  Genesis,  where,  in  the  first  chap- 
ter. He  is  called  God,  'but  in  the 
second  and  the  following,  Jehovah 
God;  and  afteru-ards,  when  the  de- 
scendants of  Abraham  by  Jacob,  dur- 
ing their  sojourning  in  Egypt,  forgot 
the  name  of  God,  it  was  recalled  to 
their  remembrance  ;  concerning  whicli 
it  is  thus  written  :  Moses  said  unto  God, 
What  is  thy  ?}ame?  God  said,  I  AM 
THA  T  I  AM.  Thvs  shalt  thou  say 
to  the  children  of  Israel,  I  AM  hath 
sent  me  unto  you ;  and  t)wa  shalt  say, 
Jehovah,  the  God  of  your  fathers,  hath 
sent  me  to  you;  this  is  7ny  name  forever, 
and  this  my  memorial  from  generation 
fi)  generation,  Exod.  iii.  14,  15.  Since 
God  alone  is  the  I  AM,  and  the  Esse, 
or  Jeho.vah,  therefore  there  is  not  any 
•  thing  in  the  created  universe,  whicli 
does  not  derive  its  esse  from  Him ; 
but  in  what  manner,  will  be  seen  be- 
low. The  same  is  also  meant  by  these 
words:  lam  the  F'rst  and  the  Las', 
the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the  Alpha 
and  the  Omega,  Isaiah  xliv.  6 ;  and 
Rev.  i.  6,  11  ;^  xxii.  13;  by  w+ich  is 
signified.  Who  is  the  Itself  and  the 
Only  from  firsts  to  lasts,  from  which 
are  all  things. 

Tliat  God  is  called  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega,  the  Beginuiiip;  and  the 
liind,  is  because' Alpha  is  the  first,  and 
Omega  is  the  last  letter  in  the  (jlrec'; 
alphabet ;  and  thence  they  .><ignify  all 


Conccnun<r  the  Divine  Esse, 


It 


things  in  the  complex :  the  reason  is, 
because  every  alphabetic  letter,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  signifies  some  thing; 
and  a  vowel,  which  serves  for  sound, 
something  of  affection  or  love :  from 
this  origin  is  spiritual  or  angelic 
speech,  and  also  writing,  there.  But 
this  is  an  arcanum  hitherto  unknown ; 
for  there  is  a  universal  language,  in 
which  all  angels  and  spirits  are ;  and 
this  has  notliing  in  common  with  any 
language  of  men  in  the  world  :  every 
man  comes  into  tliis  language  after 
death,  for  it  is  implanted  in  every  man 
from  creation ;  wherefore  all  can  un- 
derstand each  other  throughout  the 
whole  spiritual  world.  It  has  been 
given  me  often  to  hear  that  language, 
and  I  have  compared  it  with  languages 
in  the  world,  and  have  found  that  it 
does  not,  even  in  the  least  degree,  make 
one  with  any  natural  language  upon 
earth :  it  differs  from  them  in  its  first 
principle,  which  is,  that  every  letter  of 
every  word  signifies  a  thing.  Thence, 
now,  it  is,  that  God  is  called  the  Alpha 
and  the  Omega,  by  which  is  signified, 
that  He  is  the  Itself  and  the  Only  from 
firsts  to  lasts,  from  which  are  all  things. 
But  concerning  this  language,  and  the 
writing  of  it,  flowing  from  the  spiritual 
thought  of  angels,  see  in  the  work 
concerning  CoNJUcjiAL  Love,  n.  326  to 
329,  and  also  in  the  following  pages. 

20.  II.  That  the  one  God  is 
Substance  itself  and  Form  itself, 
AND  that  Angels  and  Men  are  Sub- 
stances AND  Forms  from  Him;  and 
AS  far  as  they  are  in  Him  and  He 
IN  them,  so  far  they  are  Images 
and  Likenesses  of  Him. 

Since  God  is  Esse,  He  is  also  Sub- 
stance, for  an  esse,  unless  it  be  a  sub- 
stance, is  only  an  ideal  entity  [ens  ra- 
tionisl ;  for  substance,  is  a  subsisting 
entity ;  and  whoever  is  a  substance  is 
also  a  form,  for  substance  unless  it  be 
a  form,  is  an  ideal  entity  ;  wherefore 
both  can  be  predicated  of  God,  but  so 
that  He  may  be  the  only,  the  very, 
and  the  first  Substance  and  Form. 
That  this  form  is  the  very  Human,  that 
is,  that  God  is  very  Man,  all  things  of 
whom  are  infinite,  is  demonstrated  in 
the  Angelic   Wisdom  concerning 


THE  Divine  Love  and  the  Divine 
Wisdom,  published  at  Amsterdam  in 
the  year  1763 :  in  like  manner,  that 
angels  and  men  are  substances  and 
forms,  created  and  organized  for  re- 
ceiving the  Divine,  flowing  into  them 
through  heaven ;  wherefore,  in  the 
book  of  Creation,  they  are  called  im- 
ages and  likenesses  of  God,  i.  26,  27; 
and  in  other  places,  His  sons,  and 
horn  of  Him ;  but  in  the  course  of  this 
work,  it  will  be  fully  demonstrated, 
that,  in  proportion  as  man  lives  under 
the  Divine  auspices,  that  is,  suffers 
himself  to  be  led  by  God,  so  far  he  be- 
comes an  image  of  Him,  more  and 
more  interiorly.  Unless  an  idea  be 
formed  of  God,  that  he  is  the  first  sub- 
stance and  form,  and  of  his  form,  that 
it  is  the  very  human,  the  minds  of  men 
would  readily  imbibe  idle  fancies,  like 
spectres,  concerning  God  himself,  the 
origin  of  man,  and  the  creation  of  the 
world  :  of  God  they  would  conceive  no 
other  notion  than  as  of  the  nature  of 
the  universe  in  its  firsts,  thus  of  the  ex- 
panse of  the  universe,  or  as  of  empti- 
ness or  nothing ;  of  the  origin  of  men, 
as  of  the  conflux  of  the  elements  into 
such  a  form  by  chance ;  of  the  creation 
of  the  world,  that  the  origin  of  its  sub- 
stances and  forms  is  from  points,  then 
from  geometrical  lines,  which,  because 
they  are  of  no  predication,  are  there- 
fore in  themselves  not  any  thing.  With 
such  per.sons,  every  thing  of  the  church 
is  like  the  Styx,  or  the  darkness  of  Tar- 
tarus. 

21.  III.  That  the  Divine  Esse 
is  Esse  in  itself,  and,  at  the  same 
Time,  Existere  in  itself. 

That  Jehovah  God  is  Esse  in  itself, 
is  because  He  is  the  I  AM,  the  It- 
self, the  Only  and  the  First,  from 
eternity  to  eternity,  from  which  every 
thing  is  which  i.«,  that  it  may  be  some- 
thing ;  and  thus,  and  not  otherwise, 
He  is  the  Beginning  and  the  End, 
the  First  and  the  Last,  and  the  Al- 
pha and  the  Omega.  It  cannot  be  said 
that  his  Esse  is  from  itself,  because 
THIS  from  itself  supposcs  what  is 
prior,  and  thus  time,  which  is  not  ap- 
plicable to  Infinite,  which  is  called 
fi-om  eternity;  and  also  it  supposes 


18 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


another  God,  who  is  God  in  himself, 
thus  a  God  from  God,  or  that  God 
formed  himself,  and  so  could  not  be 
uncreate  or  infinite,  because  t!ius  He 
made  himself  finite  from  himself  or 
from  another.  From  this,  that  God  is 
Esse,  in  itself,  it  follows,  that  He  is 
Love  in  itself,  Wisdom  in  itself,  and 
Life  in  itself,  and  that  He  is  the  Itself, 
from  which  are  all  things,  and  to 
which  all  things  refer  themselves,  that 
they  may  be  something.  That  God 
is  Life  in  itself,  and  thus  God,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  words  of  the  Lord  in 
John,  V.  26 ;  and  in  Isaiah,  /  Jehovah 
make  all  things,  and  spread  out  the 
heavens  alone,  and  stretch  out  the  earth 
hrj  myself,  xliv.  24 ;  and  tliat  He 
alone  is  God,  and  beside  Him  there  is 
no  God,  xlv.  14,  15,  20,  21 ;  Hosea, 
xiii.  4. 

That  God  is  not  only  Esse  in  it- 
self, but  also  Existere  in  itself,  is  be- 
cause an  esse,  unless  it  exist,  is  not 
any  thing;  and,  in  like  manner,  an 
existere,  unless  it  be  from  an  esse ; 
wherefore,  one  being  given,  the  other 
is  given :  in  like  manner,  a  substance 
is  not  any  thing,  unless  it  be  also  a 
form ;  of  a  sub.stance,  unless  it  be  a 
form,  nothing  can  be  predicated ;  and 
this,  because  it  has  no  <]uality,  is  in 
itself  nothing.  The  reason  why  Esse 
and  Existere  are  here  used,  and  not  Es- 
sence and  Existence,  is  because  a  dis- 
tinction is  to  be  made  between  Esse 
and  Essence,  and  thence  between 
Existere  and  Existence,  as  between 
what  is  prior  and  what  is  posterior ; 
and  what  is  prior  is  more  universal  than 
what  is  posterior.  Infinity  and  eter- 
nity are  applicable  to  the  Divine  Esse, 
but  to  the  Divine  Essence  and  Exis- 
tence divine  love  and  divine  wisdom 
are  applicable,  and,  by  means  of 
these  two,  omnipotence  and  omnipres- 
ence ;  of  which,  therefore,  we  shall 
treat  in  their  order. 

22.  That  God  is  the  Itself,  the  On- 
ly, and  the  First,  which  is  called  E.sse 
and  Existere  in  itself,  from  which 
are  all  things  that  are  and  exist,  the 
natural  man,  by  his  own  reason,  can- 
not possibly  discover ;  for  the  natural 
man,  by  his  own  reason,  can  appre- 


hend nothing  else  than  what  is  of 
nature ;  for  this  squares  v.ith  his 
essence,  because,  from  his  infancy  and 
childhood,  nothing  else  has  entered  in- 
to it.  But  since  man  is  so  created 
that  he  may  also  be  spiritual,  because 
he  is  about  to  live  after  death,  and  then 
amongst  the  spiritual  in  their  world, 
therefore  God  has  provided  the  Word, 
in  which  He  has  not  only  revealed 
himself,  but  also  that  there  is  a  heaven 
and  a  hell ;  and  that  in  one  or  the 
other  of  these  every  man  is  about  to 
live  to  eternity,  each  according  to  his 
life  and  his  faith  at  the  same  time. 
He  has  also  revealed  in  the  Word, 
that  He  is  tiie  I  AM,  or  the  Esse,  and 
the  Itself,  and  the  Only,  which  is  in 
itself,  and  so  the  First  or  the  Begin- 
ning, from  which  are  all  things.  It  is 
by  means  of  this  revelation,  that  the 
natural  man  can  elevate  himself  above 
nature,  ihus  above  himself,  and  see 
such  things  as  are  of  God ;  but  yet  on- 
ly as  at  a  distance,  although  God  is 
nigh  to  every  man,  for  He  is  in  him 
with  his  e.<sence,  and,  because  it  is  so, 
Ho  is  nigh  to  those  who  love  Him  ;  and 
those  love  Him  who  live  according  to 
his  commandments,  and  believe  in  Him: 
these,  as  it  were,  see  Him ;  for  what 
is  faith,  but  a  spiritual  sight  that 
He  is  ?  And  what  is  a  life  according 
to  his  commandments,  but  an  actual 
acknowledgment  that  from  Him  is 
salvation  and  eternal  life?  But  those 
who  have  not  spiritual  faith,  but 
natural,  which  is  only  science,  and 
thenc  e  a  similar  life,  see  God,  indeed, 
but  nt  a  distance,  and  this  only  when 
they  are  speaking  of  Him.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  former  and  the 
latter,  is  like  that  between  those  who 
stand  in  clear  light,  <uid  see  men,  and 
touch  them,  and  those  who  stand  in  a 
thick  cloud,  from  which  they  cannot 
distinguish  men  from  trees  or  stones. 
Or  it  is  like  the  difference  between 
tho.se  who  stand  upon  a  liigh  mountain, 
where  there  is  a  city,  and  who  go  hith- 
er and  thither  and  talk  with  their  fel- 
low citizens,  and  those  who  look 
down  from  that  mountain  and  know 
not  whether  the  objects  which  they 
see  are  men,  or  beasts,  or  statues.  Nay, 


Concerning  the  J/ivine  Esse. 


19 


it  is  like  that  between  those  who 
stand  upon  some  phinetary  orb,  and 
see  tlieir  companions  tliere ;  and 
those  who  arc  in  another  planetary 
orb,  with  optical  glasses  in  their  hands, 
and  look  thither,  and  say  that  they  see 
men  there,  when  yet  they  only  see, 
in  general,  the  earthy  parts,  as  lunar 
brightness,  and  the  watery  parts,  as 
dark  spots.  Such  is  the  difference 
between  seeing  God  and  the  divine 
things  which  proceed  from  Him,  as 
they  are  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
are  in  faith,  and  at  the  same  time  in 
the  life  of  charity,  and  of  those  who 
are  only  in  science  concerning  those 
things ;  consequently,  such  is  the  dif- 
ference between  natural  and  spiritual 
men.  But  those  who  deny  the  divine 
sanctity  of  the  Word,  and  still  carry 
the  things,  which  are  of  religion,  as  it 
were,  in  a  sack  upon  their  back,  do 
not  see  God,  but  only  talk  about  Ilim, 
in  a  manner  but  little  different  from 
parrots. 

23.    IV.  That  the  Divine  Esse 

AND    ExiSTERE    IN     ITSELF,  CANNOT 

produce  another  divine,  that  is 
Esse  and  Existere  in  itself  ; 
consequently,  that  another  god 
op  the  same  essence  is  not  pos- 

SIBLE. 

That  the  one  God,  who  is  the 
Creator  of  the  universe,  is  Esse  and 
Existere  in  itself,  thus  God  in  himself, 
has  already  been  shown :  thence  it 
follows,  that  a  God  from  God  is  not 
possible,  because  the  very  essential 
Divine,  which  is  Esse  and  Existere  it- 
self, is  in  him  incommunicable.  It  is 
the  same,  whether  he  be  said  to  be 
begotten  by  God,  or  to  proceed  from 
Him ;  in  either  case,  he  would  be  pro- 
duced by  God,  and  this  differs  but  lit- 
tle from  being  created.  Wherefore, 
to  introduce  into  the  church  the  faith 
that  there  are  three  divine  persons, 
each  of  whom  singly  is  God,  and  of 
the  same  essence,  and  one  born  from 
eternity,  and  a  third  proceeding  from 
eternity,  is  altogether  to  abolish  the 
idea  of  the  unity  of  God,  and  with  this 
all  notion  of  Divinity,  and  so  to  cause 
all  the  Spiritual  of  reason  to  be  ban- 
ished into  exile ;  thence  man  becomes 
no  longer  man,  but  altogether  nat- 


ural, and  differs  from  a  beast  only  in 
possessing  the  jx)wcr  of  speccii ;  and  he 
i.s  opposed  to  all  the  spiritual  things  of 
the  church,  for  these  the  natural  man 
calls  foolishness ;  hence,  and  hence 
alone,  have  originated  such  enormous 
heresies  concerning  God.  Where- 
fore a  Divine  Trinity,  divided  into 
persons,  has  brought  into  the  church 
not  only  night,  but  also  death.  That 
an  identity  of  three  Divine  Essences 
is  an  offence  to  reason,  appeared  evi- 
dent to  me  from  the  angels,  who  said, 
that  they  could  not  even  utter  three 
equal  Divinities;  and  if  any  one  should 
come  to  them,  and  wish  to  utter  that 
expression,  he  could  not  but  turn  away 
himself;  and  after  having  given  it  ut- 
terance, he  would  become  like  the 
trunk  of  a  man,  and  would  be  cast  out, 
and  afterwards  would  go  away  to  those 
in  hell  who  do  not  acknowledge  any 
God.  The  truth  is,  that,  to  implant  in 
infants  and  children  an  idea  of  three 
divine  persons,  to  which  inevitably  ad- 
heres the  idea  of  three  Gods,  is  to 
take  away  from  them  all  spiritual  milk, 
and  afterwards  all  spiritual  meat,  and 
lastly  all  spiritual  reason,  and  to  in- 
duce upon  those,  who  confirm  them- 
selves in  it,  spiritual  death.  Those,  who 
in  faith  and  in  heart  worship  one  God. 
the  Creator  of  the  universe,  and  Him  at 
the  same  time  the  Redeemer  and  Re- 
generator, are  as  the  city  of  Zion  was 
in  the  time  of  David,  and  as  the  city 
of  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  Solo- 
mon, after  the  temple  was  built ;  but 
the  church  which  believes  in  three 
per.sons,  and  in  each  as  a  distinct  God, 
is  like  the  city  of  Zion  and  Jerusalem 
destroyed  by  Vespasian,  and  the  tem- 
ple there  burnt.  Moreover,  the  man 
who  worships  one  God,  in  whom  is  the 
Divine  Trinity,  thus  who  is  one  Per- 
son, becomes  more  and  more  a  living 
and  angelic  man ;  but  he  who  confirms 
himself  in  a  plurality  of  Gods,  from  a 
plurality  of  persons,  becomes,  by  de- 
grees, like  a  statue  made  with  movable 
joints,  in  the  midst  of  which  Satan 
stands,  and  speaks  through  its  artificial 
mouth. 

24.  V.  That  a  Plurality  of 
Gods,  in  ancient  and  also  in 
MODERN  Times,  origin.vted  from  no 


20 


Concerning  God  tfie  Creator. 


OTHER  Cause  than  from  not  under- 
standing THE  Divine  Esse. 

That  the  unity  of  God  is  most  in- 
timately inscribed  on  the  mind  of 
every  man,  since  it  is  in  the  midst  of 
all  things  which  flow  into  the  soul  of 
man  from  God,  has  been  shown  above, 
n.  8. ;  but  that  still,  it  has  not  descend- 
ed into  the  human  understanding,  is 
because  there  was  a  want  of  the  knowl- 
edges by  means  of  which  man  ought 
to  ascend  to  meet  God ;  for  every  one 
should  prepare  the  way  for  God,  that 
is,  should  prepare  himself  for  reception, 
and  this  should  be  done  by  means  of 
knowledges.    The  knowledges  which 
have  hitherto  been  wanting  to  enable 
the  human  understanding  to  penetrate 
where  it  might  see  that  God  is  one,  and 
that  only  one  Divine  Esse  is  possible, 
and  that  all  things  of  nature  are  from 
that  Esse,  are  the  following:  1.  That 
hitherto  no  one  has  known  any  thing 
concerning  the  spiritual  world,  where 
spirits  and  angels  are,  and  into  which 
every  man  comes  after  death.    2.  Al- 
so that  in  that  world,  there  is  a  sun, 
which  is  pure  love  from  Jehovah  God, 
who  is  in  the  midst  of  it.  '3.  That  from 
that  sun  proceeds  heat,  which  in  its 
essence  is  love,  and  ligiit,  which  in  its 
essence  is  wisdom.   4.  That  thence  all 
things,  which  are  in  that  world,  are 
spiritual,  and  affect  the  internal  man, 
and  form  his  will  and  understanding. 
5.  That  Jehovah  God,  out  of  his  sun, 
not  only  produced  the  spiritual  world, 
and  all  the  spiritual  things  of  it,  which 
are  innumerable  and  substantial,  but 
that  he  also   produced   the  natural 
world,   and    all   the   natural  things 
of  it,  which  are  also  innumerable, 
but  material.     6.  That  hitherto  no 
one  has  known  the  distinction  between 
what  is  spiritual  and  what  is  natural, 
nor  even  what  the  sj)iritual  is,  in  its 
essence.    7.  Nor  that  there  are  three 
degrees  of  love  and  wisdom,  according 
to  which  the  angelic  heavens  are  arrang- 
ed.   8.  And  that  the  human  mind  is 
distinguished  into  the  same  number  of 
degrees,  to  the  end  that  it  may  be  ele- 
vated after  death  into  one  of  the  heav- 
ens, v.hicli  is  eflectod   according  to 
his  life  and  faith  conjointly.    9.  And, 
finally,  that  not  a  single  particle  of  all 


those  things  could  have  existed,  but 
from  the  Divine  Esse,  which  is  the  It- 
self in  itself,  and  so  the  First,  and  the 
Beginning,  from  which  are  all  things. 
These  knowledges  have  hitherto  been 
wanting ;  yet  they  are  the  means  by 
which  man  may  ascend  and  know  the 
Divine  Esse.    It  is  said,  that  man  as- 
cends ;   but  it  is  meant  that  he  is 
elevated  by  God ;   for  man  has  free 
will,  and  the  faculty  of  procuring  for 
himself  knowledges,  and  as  he  pro- 
cures them  for  himself  from  the  Word, 
by  means  of  the  understanding,  he 
thus  prepares  a  way  by  which  God 
may  descend,  and  elevate  him.  The 
knowledges  by  means  of  which  the 
human  understanding  ascends,  being 
upheld  and  led  by  God,  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  steps  of  the  ladder  seen 
by  Jacob,  which  was  set  vpon  the 
earth,  whose  head  reached  to  heaven, 
and  by  which  the  angels  ascended, 
and  Jehovah  stood  above  it,  Genesis 
xxviii.  12,  13.   But  it  is  quite  otherwise 
when  those  knowledges  are  wanting, 
or  when  man  despises  them ;  then  the 
elevation  of  the  understanding  may  be 
compared  to  a  ladder,  raised  from  the 
ground  to  the  windows  of  the  first  sto- 
ry of  a  magnificent  palace,  where  men 
have  their  habitations,  and  not  to  the 
windows  of  the  second  story,  where 
spirits  are,  and  still  less  to  the  windows 
of  the  third  story,  where  angels  are. 
Thence  it  is,  that  man  abides  in  the 
atmospheres  and  material  things  of 
nature,  in  which  he  keeps  his  eyes, 
ears  and  nostrils ;  from  which  he  de- 
rives no  other  ideas  of  heaven,  and  of 
the  Esse  and  Essence  of  God,  than 
such  as  are  atmospherical  and  materi- 
al ;  and  whilst  a  man  thinks  from  these, 
he  does  not  form  any  judgment  con- 
cerning God,  whether  He  exists  or  not, 
or  whether  He  is  one  or  more ;  and 
still  less  what  He  is  as  to  his  Esse  and 
as  to  his  Essence.    Thence  arose  a 
plurality  of  gods  in  ancient  and  also  in 
modern  times. 


25.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  this 
Relation  [Meinorahih'^.  Some  lime 
since,  being  awaked  from  sleep,  I  fell 
into  profound  meditation  concerninff 


Concerning  the  Divine  Esse. 


21 


God ;  and  when  I  looked  uj),  I  saw 
above  me,  in  lieaven,  a  very  bright  liglit, 
in  an  oval  form ;  and  when  I  fixed  my 
eyes  upon  tliat  light,  the  light  receded  to 
the  sides,  and  entered  into  the  circum- 
ferences ;  and  then,  lo,  heaven  was 
opened  to  me,  and  I  saw  magnificent 
things,  and  angels  standing  in  the  form 
of  a  circle  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
opening,  and  they  were  talking  togeth- 
er ;  and  because  I  had  an  ardent  desire 
to  hear  what  they  were  talking  about, 
it  was  therefore  given  me  first  to  hear 
a  sound,  which  was  full  of  heavenly 
love,  and  afterwards  their  speech,  which 
was  full  of  wisdom  from  that  love. 
They  were  talking  together  about  the 
ONE  God,  and  about  conjunction 
WITH  HIM,  and  thence  salvation. 
They  spoke  ineffable  things,  most  of 
which  cannot  be  expressed  in  the 
words  of  any  natural  language ;  but 
because  I  had  sometimes  been  in  com- 
pany with  angels  in  that  heaven,  and 
then  in  a  similar  speech  with  them,  be- 
cause in  a  similar  state,  I  was  therefore 
able  now  to  understand  them,  and  to 
select  from  their  discourse  some  things 
which  may  be  rationally  expressed  in 
the  words  of  natural  language.  They 
said  that  the  Divi.\e  Esse  is  One,  the 
S.4ME,  THE  Itself,  and  Individual. 
This  they  illustrated  by  spiritual  ideas, 
saying  that  the  Divine  Esse  cannot  be 
communicated  to  several,  each  of  whom 
lias  the  Divine  Esse,  and  still  that  be 
One,  the  Same,  the  Itself,  and  Indivis- 
ible ;  for  each  one  would  think  from 
his  own  Esse  from  himself,  and  singly 
by  himself;  if  then  from  others  and 
by  others,  unanimously,  there  would 
be  several  unanimous  Gods,  and  not 
one  God ;  for  unanimity,  because  it  is 
the  agreement  of  several,  and  at  the 
same  time  of  each  one  from  himself, 
and  by  himself,  does  not  agree  with 
the  unity  of  God,  but  with  a  plurality — 
they  did  not  say  of  Gods,  because  they 
could  not ;  for  the  light  of  heaven, 
from  which  was  their  thought,  and  the 
aura  in  which  their  discourse  was  ut- 
tered, opposed  it.  They  said  also, 
that  when  they  wished  to  pronounce 
the  word  Gorls,  and  each  one  as  a  per- 
son by  himself,  the  effort  of  pronounc- 
ing was  instantly  directed  to  One,  yea, 


to  tiie  Only  God.  To  this  they  added, 
that  the  Divine  Esse  is  a  Diviin  k  Esse 
IN  Itself,  not  from  itself;  because 
from  itself  supposes  an  Esse  in  itself, 
from  another  prior  ;  thus  it  supposes  a 
God  from  God,  which  is  not  possible. 
What  is  from  God  is  not  called  God, 
but  is  called  Divine ;  for  what  is  a  God 
irom  God  ?  thus,  what  is  a  God  born  of 
God  from  eternity  ?  and  what  is  a  God 
proceeding  from  God  through  a  God 
born  from  eternity,  but  words  in  which 
there  is  nothing  of  light  from  heaven  ? 
They  said,  moreover,  that  the  Divine 
Esse,  which  in  itself  is  God,  is  the 
Same,  not  the  same  simple,  but  infin- 
ite ;  that  is,  the  Same  from  eternity  to 
eternity :  it  is  the  Same  every  where, 
and  the  Same  with  every  one,  and  in 
every  one ;  but  tliat  all  variableness 
and  cliangeableness  is  in  the  recipient ; 
the  state  of  the  recipient  causes  this. 
That  the  Divine  Esse,  which  is  God  in 
himself,  is  the  Itself,  they  illustrated 
thus :  God  is  the  Itself,  because  He  is 
Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  or  be- 
cause He  is  Good  itself  and  Truth  it- 
self, and  thence  Life  itself,  which,  un- 
less they  were  the  Itself  in  God,  they 
would  not  be  any  thing  in  heaven  and 
the  world,  because  there  would  not  be 
any  thing  of  them  relative  to  the  Itself. 
Every  quality  has  its  quality  from  that 
which  is  the  Itself  from  which  it  is,  and 
to  which  it  refers  itself  tiiat  it  may  be 
such.  This  Itself,  which  is  the  Di- 
vine Esse,  is  not  in  place,  but  with 
those,  and  in  those,  who  are  in  place, 
according  to  reception ;  since  of  Love 
and  Wisdom,  or  of  Good  and  Truth, 
and  thence  of  Life,  which  are  the  It- 
self in  God,  yea,  God  himself,  place 
cannot  be  predicated,  nor  progression 
from  place  to  place,  whence  is  Omni- 
presence ;  wherefore,  the  Lord  says, 
that  He  is  in  the  viidst  of  them ;  also, 
that  He  is  in  them,  aiid  tliey  in  Him. 
But  because  He  cannot  be  received  by 
any,  as  He  is  in  Himself,  He  appears 
as  He  is  in  his  essence,  as  a  sun  above 
the  angelic  heavens;  the  proceeding 
from  which,  as  light,  is  Himself  as  to 
wisdom,  and  the  proceeding  as  heat, 
is  Himself  as  to  love ;  that  sun  is  not 
Himself,  but  the  Divine  Love  and  the 
Divine  Wisdom,  emanating  from  Him 


22 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


proximately  round  about  Him,  appear 
to  the  angels  as  a  sun.  He  within 
the  sun  is  Man  ;  He  is  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  both  as  to  the  Di- 
vine from  which  [are  all  things], 
and  also  as  to  the  Divine  Human  ; 
since  the  Itself,  which  is  Love  itself  and 
Wisdom  itself,  was  a  soul  to  Him  from 
the  Father;  thus  the  divine  life,  which 
is  life  in  itself  It  is  otherwise  in  eve- 
ry man  ;  in  him  the  soul  is  not  life,  but 
a  recipient  of  life.  The  Lord  also 
teaches  this,  saying,  I  am  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  Life  ;  and  in  another 
place.  As  the  Father  hath  life  in 
himself,  50  also  hath  he  given  to  the 
Son  TO  have  life  in  himself,  John 
V.  26.  Life  in  Himself  is  God.  To 
this  they  added,  that  tho.«e  who  are  in 
any  spiritual  light,  may  perceive  from 
these  things,  that  the  Divine  Esse,  be- 
cause it  is  One,  the  Same,  the  Itself, 
and  thence  Indivisible,  cannot  be  in 
several ;  and  that,  if  it  should  be  said 
to  be,  manifest  contradictions  would 
result. 

26.  When  I  had  heard  these  things, 
the  angels  perceived  in  my  thought  the 
common  ideas  of  the  Christian  churcii, 
concerning  a  trinity  of  persons  in  uni- 
ty, and  their  unity  in  the  trinity  relat- 
ing to  God ;  and  also  concerning  the 
birth  of  the  Son  of  God  from  eternity  ; 
and  then  they  said,  "  What  arc  you 
thinking?  Do  you  not  derive  those 
thoughts  from  natural  light,  with  which 
our  spiritual  light  does  not  agree  ? 
Wherefore,  unless  you  remove  them 
from  your  mind,  we  shut  heaven  to  you, 
and  depart."  But  then  I  said,  "  Enter, 
I  beseech  you,  more  deeply  into  my 
thought,  and  perhaps  you  will  see  an 
agreement."  They  did  so,  and  saw 
that,  by  three  persons,  I  understood 
three  proceeding  divine  attributes, 
which  are  Creation,  Redemption, 


and  Regeneration  ;  and  that  those 
are  attributes  of  one  God  ;  and  that,  by 
the  birth  of  the  Son  of  God  from  eter- 
nity, I  understood  his  birth  foreseen 
from  eternity,  and  provided  in  time ; 
and  that  it  is  not  above  what  is  natu- 
ral and  rational,  but  contrary  to  what 
is  natural  and  rational,  to  conceive  that 
any  Son  was  born  of  God  from  eterni- 
ty ;  but  not  so,  to  conceive  that  the 
Son,  born  of  God  by  the  Virgin  Mary 
in  time,  is  the  only,  and  the  only  be- 
gotten ;  and  that  to  believe  otherwise 
is  an  enormous  error.  And  then  I 
told  them  that  my  natural  thought 
concerning  the  trinity  of  persons  and 
their  unity,  and  concerning  the  birth 
of  a  Son  of  God  from  eternity,  was  from 
the  doctrine  of  faith  of  the  church, 
Vfliich  has  its  name  from  Athanasius. 
Then  the  angels  said,  "  Well.''  And 
they  requested  me  to  say  from  their 
mouth,  that  if  any  one  does  not  ap- 
proach the  very  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  ho  cannot  come  into  heaven,  be- 
cause heaven  is  heaven  from  Him,  the 
onlv  God,  and  that  this  God  is  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  the  Lord  Jehovah,  from 
eternity  Creator,  in  time  Redeemer, 
and  to  eternity  Regenerator ;  thus 
who  is  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  and  that  this  is  the  gos- 
pel, which  is  to  be  preached.  After 
these  things,  the  heavenly  light,  which 
was  before  seen,  returned  over  the 
opening,  and,  by  degrees,  descended 
thence,  and  tilled  the  interiors  of  my 
mind,  and  illustrated  my  ideas  con- 
cerning the  trinity  and  unity  of  God. 
And  tiien  I  saw  tlic  ideas,  which  I  had 
at  first  entertained  concerning  tiiem, 
and  which  were  merely  natural,  sepa- 
rated, as  chaff  is  separated  from  wheat 
by  winnowing,  and  carried  away,  as 
by  a  wind,  to  the  northern  region  of 
heaven,  and  there  dispersed. 


CONCERNING  THE  INFINITY  OF  GOD,  OR  HIS  IMMENSITY  AND 

ETERNITY. 

27.  There  are  two  things  peculiar  and  the  other  is  Time  ;  and  because 
to  the  natural  world,  which  cause  all  that  world  was  created  by  God,  and 
things  there  to  be  finite  ;  one  is  Space,    spaces  and  times  were  created  togeth- 


Concerning  ihc  Infinitii  of  God. 


23 


er  witli  that  world,  and  make  it  iinitt;, 
therefore,  it  is  p.'oper  to  treat  of  tlieir 
two  beginnings,  wliich  are  Immensity 
and  Eternity ;  for  tlie  immensity  of 
God  has  relation  to  spaces,  and  his 
eternity,  to  times ;  and  his  Infinity 
comprehends  both  inmiensity  and  eter- 
nity. But  because  infinity  transcends 
what  is  finite,  and  tlie  knowledge  of  it 
a  finite  mind,  therefore,  that  it  may  in 
some  manner  be  perceived,  it  is  expe- 
dient to  treat  of  it  in  this  series :  I. 
That  God  is  infinite,  since  He  is  and 
exists  in  Himself,  and  all  things  in  the 
universe  are  and  exist  from  Him.  II. 
That  God  is  infinite,  since  He  was  be- 
fore the  world,  thus  before  spaces  and 
times  arose.  III.  That  God,  since  the 
world  was  made,  is  in  space  without 
space,  and  in  time  toithout  time.  IV. 
That  infinity,  in  relation  to  spaces,  is 
called  immensitjj,  and  in  relation  to 
times,  is  called  eternity;  and  that, 
although  there  arc  these  relations,  still 
there  is  nothing  of  space  in  his  im- 
mensity, and  nothing  of  time  in  his 
eternity.  V.  Tliat  enlightened  rea- 
son, from  very  many  things  in  the 
world,  maf  see  the  infinity  of  God  the 
Creator.  VI.  That  every  created 
thing  is  finite,  and  that  the  infinite  is 
infinite  things,  as  in  its  receptacles,  and 
in  men  as  in  its  images.  But  these 
things  shall  be  explained  one  by  one. 

28.  I.  That  God  is  infinite, 
SINCE  He  is  and  exists  in  Him- 
self, AND  ALL  Things  in  the  Uni- 
verse ARE  AND  EXIST  FHOM  HiM. 

It  has  already  been  shown,  that  God 
is  One,  and  that  He  is  the  It- 
self, and  that  He  is  the  first  Esse  of 
all  things,  and  that  all  things  which 
are,  exist,  and  subsist  in  the  universe, 
are  from  Him ;  thence  it  follows,  that 
He  is  infinite.  That  human  reason 
may  see  this  from  very  many  things  in 
the  created  universe,  will  be  demon- 
strated in  the  sequel.  But,  although 
the  human  mind,  from  those  things, 
may  acknowledge,  that  the  first  Being, 
or  the  first  Esse,  is  infinite,  still  it  can- 
not know  what  that  is,  and,  therefore, 
it  cannot  define  it  otherwise,  than  that 
it  is  the  Infinite  All,  and  that  it  sub- 
sists in  itself,  and  thence  that  it  is  the 


very  and  the  only  Substance,  and,  be- 
cause nothing  is  predicable  of  a  sub- 
stance, unless  it  be  a  form,  that  it  is 
the  very  and  the  only  Form.  But  still 
what  are  these  things?  It  does  not 
thus  appear  what  the  Infinite  is ;  for 
the  human  mind,  however  highly  ana- 
lytical and  elevated,  is  itself  finite, 
and  v/hat  is  finite  in  it  cannot  be  re- 
moved ;  wherefore,  it  is  by  no  means 
capable  of  seeing  the  infinity  of  God, 
as  it  is  in  itself,  thus  God ;  but  it  may 
see  Him  in  the  shade  behind,  as  it  was 
said  to  Moses,  while  he  prayed  to  see 
God,  that  he  was  put  in  the  hole  of 
a  rock,  and  saw  his  back  parts,  Exod. 
xxxiii.  20  to  28.  By  the  back  parts  of 
God  are  meant  the  things  visible  in 
the  world,  and,  in  particular,  the  things 
perceptible  in  the  Word.  Hence  it 
appears,  that  it  is  vain  to  wish  to  know 
what  God  is  in  his  esse  or  in  his  sub- 
stance ;  but  that  it  is  enough  to  ac- 
knowledge Him  from  finite,  that  is, 
created  things,  in  which  He  is  infinite- 
ly. Whosoever  is.  anxious  to  know 
more,  may  be  compared  to  a  fish  drawn 
out  into  the  air,  or  to  a  bird  put  into 
the  receiver  of  an  air-pump,  which,  as 
the  air  is  pumped  out,  gasps  for  breath, 
and  at  last  expires.  He  may  also  be 
compared  to  a  ship,  which,  when  it 
is  overcome  by  a  tempest,  and  does  not 
obey  the  rudder,  is  carried  upon  the 
rocks  and  quicksands.  So  it  is  with 
those  who  wish  to  know  the  infinity  of 
God  from  within,  not  contented  that 
they  may  acknowledge  it  from  without, 
from  manifest  tokens.  It  is  related  of 
a  certain  philosopher  amongst  the  an- 
cients, that  he  cast  himself  into  the  sea, 
because  he  could  not  see,  in  the  light  of 
his  mind,  or  comprehend,  the  eternity 
of  the  world  ;  what  would  he  have 
done,  if  he  had  desired  to  comprehend 
the  infinity  of  God  ? 

29.  II.  That  God  is  infinite, 
SINCE  He  was  before  THE  World, 
THUS  before  Spaces  and  Times 
arose. 

In  the  natural  world,  there  are 
times  and  spaces,  but  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  not  so  actually,  but 
still  apparently.  The  reason  why 
times   and   spaces   were  introduced 


24 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


into  the  worlds,  was,  that  one  tiling 
might  be  distinguished  from  another, 
great  from  small,  many  from  few  ;  thus 
quantity  from  quantity,  and  so  quality 
from  quality  ;  and  that,  by  meaiis  of 
them,  the  senses  of  the  body  might  be 
able  to  distinguish  their  objects,  and 
the  senses  of  the  mind  theirs,,  and  thus 
might  be  affected,  think  and  choose. 
Times  were  introduced  into  the  natu- 
ral world  by  the  rotation  of  the  earth 
about  its  axis,  and  by  the  progression 
of  those  rotations,  from  station  to  sta- 
tion, along  the  zodiac  ;  while  these 
changes  appear  to  be  made  by  the  sun, 
from  which  the  whole  terraqueous 
globe  derives  its  heat  and  light. 
Thence  are  the  times  of  the  day,  which 
arc  morning,  noon,  evening  and  night; 
and  the  times  of  the  year,  which  are 
spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter; 
the  times  of  days,  according  to  light  and 
darkness,  and  the  times  of  years,  ac- 
cording to  heat  and  cold.  But  spaces 
were  introduced  into  the  natural  world, 
by  the  earth's  being  formed  into  a 
globe,  and  filled  with  various  kinds  of 
matter,  the  parts  of  which  were  distin- 
guished from  each  other,  and  at  the 
same  time  extended.  But  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  there  arc  not  material 
spaces,  and  times  corresponding  with 
them ;  but  still  there  are  appearances 
of  them,  which  appearances  are  ac- 
cording to  the  differences  of  the  states, 
in  which  are  the  minds  of  spirits  and 
angels  there;  wherefore,  times  and 
spaces  there  conform  themselves  to  the 
affections  of  their  will,  and  thence  to 
the  thoughts  of  their  understanding; 
but  those  appearances  are  real,  be- 
cause constant,  according  to  their 
state.  The  common  opinion  concern- 
ing the  state  of  souls  after  death,  and 
thence  also  of  angels  and  spirits,  is,  that 
they  are  not  in  any  extense,  and,  con- 
sequently, not  in  space  and  time;  ac- 
cording to  which  idea,  it  is  said  of 
souls  after  death,  that  they  are  in  an 
undetermined  somewhere,  and  that 
spirits  and  angels  are  aerial  beings 
[pinumnfd],  of  which  no  other  idea  is 
entertained,  than  as  of  ether,  air,  va- 
por, or  wind  ;  when,  nevertheless,  they 
are  substantial  men,  and  live  together. 


like  men  of  the  natural  world,  upon 
spaces  and  in  times,  which,  as  was 
said,  are  determined  according  to  the 
states  01  their  minds.  If  it  were  not 
so,  that  is,  if  tliere  were  no  spaces  and 
times,  that  whole  world,  where  souls 
arc  gathered  after  death,  and  where 
spirits  and  angels  dwell,  might  be 
drawn  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  or 
concentrated  upon  the  point  of  a  sin- 
gle hair.  This  would  be  possible,  if 
there  were  no  substantial  extense 
there  ;  but  since  this  is  there,  there- 
fore angels  dwell  as  separately  and  dis- 
tinctly irom  each  other,  yea,  more  dis- 
tinctly, than  men  who  have  a  mate- 
rial extense.  But  times  there  are  not 
distinguished  into  days,  weeks,  months 
and  years,  because  the  sun  there  does 
not  appear  to  rise  and  set,  nor  to  re- 
volve, but  it  remains  stationary  in  the 
east,  in  the  middle  degree  between  the 
zenith  and  the  horizon.  They  also 
have  spaces,  because  all  things  in  that 
world  are  substantial,  as  in  the  natu- 
ral world  they  are  material ;  but  con- 
cerning these  things,  more  will  be  said 
in  the  Lemma  of  this  chaptgr  concern- 
ing Creation.  From  what  has  been 
said  above,  it  may  be  comprehended, 
that  spaces  and  times  make  finite  all 
and  every  thing  in  both  worlds,  and 
thence  that  men  arc  finite,  not  only  as 
to  their  bodies,  but  also  as  to  their 
souls  ;  and  in  like  manner  angels  and 
spirits.  From  all  these  things  it  may 
be  concluded,  that  God  is  infinite,  that 
is,  not  finite  ;  because  He,  as  the  Cre- 
ator, Maker  and  P'ormer  of  the  uni- 
verse, made  all  things  finite  ;  and  He 
made  them  finite  by  means  of  his  sun, 
in  the  midst  of  which  He  is,  and  which 
consists  of  the  divine  essence,  which 
proceeds  as  a  sphere  from  Him.  There 
and  thence  is  the  first  of  finiteness,  and 
its  progression  extends  even  to  ulti- 
mates  in  the  nature  of  the  world.  It 
follows,  that  He  in  Himself  is  infinite, 
because  He  is  tincreated.  But  what 
is  infinite  appears  to  man  as  not  any 
thing,  l)ecause  man  is  finite,  and 
thinks  from  what  is  finite  ;  wherefore, 
if  what  is  finite  which  adheres  to  his 
thought,  were  taken  away,  it  would 
seem  to  him  as  if  the  residue  were  not 


Concerning  the  Infinity  of  God. 


25 


any  thing  ;  yet  the  trutli  is,  that  God 
is  infinitely  all,  and  that  man,  respect- 
ively, is  of  iiimsclf  not  any  thing. 

30.  III.  That  God,  since  the 
World  avas  made,  is  in  Space 
WITHOUT  Space,  and  in  Time  with- 
out Time. 

That  God,  and  the  Divine  which 
proceeds  immediately  from  him,  is 
not  in  space,  ahhough  he  is  om- 
nipresent, and  with  every  man  in 
the  world,  and  with  every  angel 
in  heaven,  and  with  every  spirit 
under  heaven,  cannot  be  compre- 
hended by  a  merely  natural  idea, 
but  it  may,  in  some  degree,  by  a  spirit- 
ual idea.  The  reason  why  it  cannot 
be  comprehended  by  a  merely  natural 
idea,  is  because  in  that  idea  there  is 
space ;  for  it  is  formed  from  such 
things  as  are  in  the  world,  in  all  and 
in  every  one  of  which,  that  is  visible 
to  the  eye,  there  is  space  :  every  thing 
great  and  small  there  is  of  space  ;  eve- 
ry thing  long,  broad  and  high  there  is 
of  space  ;  in  a  word,  every  measure, 
figure,  and  form  there  is  of  space.  But 
still  inai^  may,  in  some  degree,  com- 
prehend this  by  natural  thought,  pro- 
vided he  admit  into  it  something  of 
spiritual  light.  But,  in  the  first  place, 
something  shall  be  said  concerning  an 
idea  of  spiritual  thought ;  this  derives 
nothing  from  space,  but  it  derives  its 
all  from  state.  State  is  predicated  of 
love,  of  life,  of  wisdom,  of  affections, 
of  joys,  in  general  of  good  and  truth  ; 
a  truly  spiritual  idea  concerning  those 
things  has  nothing  in  common  with 
space  ;  it  is  above,  and  looks  down  upon 
the  ideas  of  space  under  it,  as  heaven 
looks  down  upon  the  earth.  The  rea- 
son why  God  is  present  in  space  with- 
out space,  and  in  time  without  time,  is 
because  God  is  always  the  same  from 
eternity  to  eternity  ;  thus  such  before 
the  world  was  created  as  after  it ;  and 
in  God,  and  in  the  sight  of  God,  there 
were  no  spaces  nor  times  before  crea- 
tion, but  after  it ;  wherefore,  because 
He  is  the  same,  He  is  in  space  with- 
out space,  and  in  time  without  time : 
thence  it  follows  that  nature  is  sepa- 
rate from  Him,  and  yet  He  is  omni- 
present in  it ;  scarcely  otherwise  than  as 


life  is  in  every  substantial  and  material 
part  of  man,  although  it  does  not  min- 
gle itself  witii  them  ;  comparatively  as 
light  in  the  eye,  sound  in  the  ear,  taste 
in  the  tongue,  or  as  ether  in  the  land 
and  water,  by  means  of  which  the  terra- 
queous globe  is  held  together,  and  made 
to  revolve,  and  so  on ;  and  if  these  agents 
should  be  taken  away,  the  substantial 
and  material  subjects  would  in  a  mo- 
ment fall  to  pieces  or  be  destroyed  ; 
yea,  the  human  mind,  if  God  were  not 
every  where  and  at  all  times  present  in 
it,  would  be  dissipated,  like  a  bubble 
in  the  air,  and  both  spheres  of  the 
brain,  in  which  it  acts  from  its  princi- 
ples, would  go  off  into  froth,  and  thus 
every  thing  human  would  become  dust 
of  the  earth,  or  an  odor  flying  in  the 
atmosphere.  Since  God  is  in  all  time 
without  time,  therefore,  in  his  Word,  He 
speaks  of  the  past,  and  of  the  future,  in 
the  present,  as  in  Isaiah ;  A  Child  is  born 
.  to  us ;  a  Son  is  given  to  us,  whose  name 
is  Hero,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  ix.  C; 
and  in  David  ;  /  will  announce  concern- 
ing the  statute,  Jehovah  said  to  me, 
Thou  art  my  Son ;  to-day  have  I  begot- 
ten Thee,  Psalm  ii.  7.  These  words  are 
concerning  the  Lord,  who  was  about  to 
come  :  wherefore  it  is  also  said  in  the 
same,  A  thousand  years  in  thy  sight 
are  as  yesterday.  Psalm  xc.  4.  That 
God  is  every  where  present  in  the 
whole  world,  and  yet  not  any  thing 
proper  to  the  world  is  in  Him, that  is, 
not  any  thing  which  is  of  space  and 
time,  may  be  clearly  seen  from  very 
many  other  passages  in  the  Word,  by 
those  who  see  and  search,  as  from  this 
passage  in  Jeremiah  :  Am  not  la  God 
at  hand,  and  not  a  God  afar  off? 
Will  a  man  be  hidden  in  coverts,  that  I 
may  not  see  him  ?  Do  not  J  fill  all 
heaven  and  all  the  earth?  xxiii. 
23,  24. 

31.  IV.  That  the  Infinity  of 
God  in  Relation  to  Spaces  is  call- 
ed Immensity,  and  in  Relation  to 
Times  it  is  called  Eternity  ;  aivd 

THAT,    although    THERE    ARE  THESE 

Relations,  still  there  is  Nothing 
OF  Space  in  His  Immensity,  and 
Nothing  of  Time  in  His  Eter- 
nity. 


26 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


That  the  infinity  of  God,  in  relation 
to  spaces,  is  called  immensity ,  is  because 
immense  is  predicated  of  whatsoever  is 
great  and  large,  and  also  of  what  is  ex- 
tended, and  in  this  of  what  is  spacious. 
But  that  the  infinity  of  God,  in  relation 
to  times,  is  called  eternity,  is  because 
the  phrase  "to  eternity"  is  predicat- 
ed of  things  progressive  without  end, 
which  are  measured  by  times ;  as  for 
example,  the  things  which  are  of  space 
are  predicated  of  the  terraqueous  globe 
viewed  in  itself ;  and  the  things  which 
are  of  time  are  predicated  of  its  rota- 
tion and  progression ;  the  latter  also 
make  times,  and  the  former  make 
spaces ;  and  they  are  thus  presented  by 
the  .senses  in  the  perception  of  reflect- 
ing minds.  But  in  God  there  is  noth- 
ing of  space  and  time,  as  was  shown 
above;  and  yet  their  beginnings  are  from 
God ;  thence  it  follows,  that  his  infin- 
ity, in  relation  to  spaces,  is  meant  by 
immensity ;  and  his  infinity,  in  rela-. 
tion  to  times,  is  meant  by  eternity. 
But  in  heaven,  the  angels  understand 
bj  the  immensity  of  God,  his  Divinity 
as  to  Esse,  and  by  eternity,  his  Divin- 
ity as  to  Existere ;  and  also  by  im- 
mensity, the  Divinity  as  to  love,  and 
by  eternity,  the  Divinity  as  to  wisdom. 
The  reason  is,  because  the  angels  ab- 
stract spaces  and  times  from  the  Di- 
vinity, and  then  those  notions  result. 
But  since  man  cannot  think  otherwise 
than  from  ideas  derived  from  such 
things  cis  arc  of  space  and  time,  he 
cannot  perceive  any  thing  concerning 
the  immensity  of  God  before  spaces, 
and  of  his  eternity  before  times ;  yea, 
•if  he  wishes  to  perceive  them,  it  is  as 
if  his  mind  were  falling  into  a  swoon ; 
almost  like  one,  who,  having  fallen  into 
the  water,  is  in  the  .state  of  drowning,  or 
like  one,  in  an  earth(iuakc,  on  the  §ve 
of  being  overwhelmed  ;  yea,  if  he  should 
persist  in  penetrating  into  those  things, 
he  might  easily  fall  into  a  delirium,  and 
from  this  be  led  to  a  denial  of  God.  I 
also  was  once  in  a  similar  state,  while 
thinking  what  God  was  from  eternity, 
what  he  did  before  tlic  world  was  cre- 
ated;  whether  he  deliberated  concern- 
ing creation,  and  contrived  tlie  plan  of 


it;  whether  deliberate  thought  were 
possible  in  a  pure  vacuum  ;  beside  other 
vain  things.  But  lest,  by  such  things, 
I  should  become  delirious,  I  was  ele- 
vated by  the  Lord  into  the  sphere  and 
light  in  which  the  interior  angels  are ; 
and,  after  the  idea  of  space  and  time, 
in  which  my  thought  was  before,  was 
there  a  little  removed,  it  was  given  me 
to  comprehend,  that  the  eternity  of  God 
is  not  an  eternity  of  time,  and  that 
because  time  was  not  before  the  world, 
it  was  utterly  vain  to  think  such  things 
concerning  God ;  and  also  because  the 
Divine  from  eternity,  thus  abstracted 
from  all  time,  does  not  involve  days, 
years  and  ages,  but  that  all  these  are 
to  God  an  instant,  I  concluded,  that  the 
world  was  created  by  God,  not  in  time, 
but  that  times  were  introduced  by  God 
with  creation.  To  these  things  I  shall 
add  this  memorable  circumstance  : 
There  appear,  at  one  extremity  of  the 
spiritual  world,  tv.o  statues,  in  a  mon- 
strous human  form,  with  their  mouths 
wide  open,  and  their  jaws  dilated,  by 
which  those  seem  to  themselves  to  be 
devoured,  who  think  vain  aq^  foolish 
things  concerning  God  from  eternity ; 
but  they  are  the  fantasies,  into  which 
those  cast  themselves,  who  think  ab- 
surdly and  improperly  concerning  God 
before  the  world  was  created. 

32.  V.  That  ENLifiHTENED  Rea- 
son, FROM  VERY  MANY  ThIXGS  IN  THE 

World,  may  see  the  Infinity  of 
God. 

Some  things  shall  be  enumerated, 
from  which  human  reason  may  see  the 
infinity  of  God,  which  are,  1.  That  in 
the  created  universe  there  are  not  two 
things  which  are  the  same  :  that  such 
identity  does  not  exist  in  simultaneous 
things,  human  learning,  by  means  of 
human  reason,  has  seen  and  proved ; 
and  yet  the  substantial  and  material 
things  in  the  universe,  considered  indi- 
vidually, are  infinite  in  number.  And 
that  there  is  not  an  identity  of  two  ef- 
fects in  things  which  are  successive  in 
the  world,  may  be  concluded  from  the 
rotation  of  the  earth,  in  that  its  eccen- 
tricity at  the  poles  causes  that  not 
any  thing  should  ever  return  the  same. 


Concerning  the  Infinity  of  God. 


27 


That  it  is  so,  is  evident  from  Ini- 
man  faces,  in  that  throughout  tlic 
whole  world  there  is  not  any  one 
face  altogether  similar,  or  the  same 
with  another,  neither  can  there  be  to 
eternity;  this  infinite  variety  could  not 
by  any  means  exist,  but  from  the  infin- 
ity of  God  the  Creator.  II.  That  the 
mind  of  one  is  never  exactly  sijnilar  to 
that  of  another;  wherefore  it  is  said,m«- 
tiy  men,  many  minds ;  consequently  the 
will  and  the  understanding  of  one  is 
never  exactly  similar  and  the  same  with 
those  of  another ;  hence,  also,  neither  is 
the  speech  of  one,  as  to  the  sound  and 
as  to  the  thought  whence  it  proceeds, 
nor  his  action,  as  to  the  gesture  and 
as  to  the  affection,  exactly  similar  to 
that  of  another ;  from  which  infinite 
variety,  also,  the  infinity  of  God  the 
Creator  may  be  seen  as  in  a  mirror. 
III.  That  there  is  a  kind  of  immensity 
and  eternity  innate  in  every  seed,  as 
well  of  animals  as  of  vegetables ;  an 
immensity,  in  that  it  may  be  multiplied 
to  infinity ;  and  an  eternity,  in  that 
such  multiplication  has  continued  hith- 
erto, without  interruption,  from  the  cre- 
ation of  yie  v.'orld,  and  may  continue 
perpetually.  From  the  animal  king- 
dom take,  for  example,  the  fishes  of  the 
sea,  which,  if  they  should  multiply  ac- 
cording to  the  abundance  of  tlieir  seed, 
within  20  or  30  years  would  fill  the 
ocean  so  that  it  would  consist  of  fish 
only ;  thence  the  water  of  it  would  over- 
flow and  thus  destroy  all  the  earth ; 
but,  lest  t^is  should  take  place,  it  was 
provided  by  God  that  one  fish  should 
be  food  for  another.  It  is  similar  with 
the  seeds  of  vegetables ;  if  as  many  of 
them,  as  annually  arise  from  one,  should 
be  planted,  within  20  or  30  years  they 
would  cover  the  surface  not  only  of 
one  earth,  but  also  of  several ;  for  there 
are  shrubs  of  which  every  single  seed 
produces  a  hundred  and  a  thousand 
others.  Try  it  by  calculation,  multiply- 
ing the  product  of  one,  successively, 
into  20  or  30,  and  you  will  see.  From 
both  cases,  of  vegetables  and  animals, 
the  divine  immensity  and  eternity,  from 
which  a  resemblance  cannot  but  be 
produced,  may  be  seen  as  in  a  common 


face.  IV.  The  infinity  of  God  may 
appear  to  the  eye  of  enlightened  rea- 
son, from  the  infinity  to  which  every 
science  may  grow,  and  thence  the  in- 
telligence and  wisdom  of  every  man ; 
both  of  which  may  grow  as  fi  tree  from 
seeds,  alid  as  forests  and  gardens  from 
trees ;  for  there  is  no  end  of  them  ;  the 
memory  of  man  is  their  ground,  and 
the  understanding  is  where  their  ger- 
mination, and  the  will  is  where  their 
fructification,  is  effected ;  and  these 
two  faculties,  the  understanding  and 
the  will,  are  such  that  they  may  be 
cultivated  and  perfected  in  the  world, 
to  the  end  of  life,  and  afterwards  to 
eternity.  V.  The  infinity  of  God  the 
Creator  may  also  be  seen  from  the  in- 
finite number  of  stars,  which  are  so 
many  suns ;  and  thence  there  are  as 
many  worlds.  That  in  the  starry  heav- 
en, also,  there  are  earths,  upon  which 
are  men,  beasts,  birds  and  vegetables, 
has  been  shown  in  a  little  work  written 
from  things  seen.  VI.  The  infinity 
of  God  appeared  still  more  evident  to 
me,  from  the  angelic  heaven,  and  also 
from  hell,  seeing  that  they  are  both  of 
them  orderly  divided  and  subdivided 
into  iimumerable  societies  or  congre- 
gations, according  to  all  the  varieties 
of  the  love  of  good  and  evil,  and  that 
every  one  obtains  a  place  according. to 
his  love ;  for  there  all  of  the  human 
race,  since  the  creation  of  the  world, 
are  collected,  and  are  to  be  '  col- 
lected, to  ages  of  ages ;  and  that,  al- 
though every  one  has  his  own  place  or 
habitation,  still  all  there  are  so  joined 
together,  that  the  whole  angelic  heaven 
represents  one  divine  man,  and  all  hell 
one  monstrous  devil.  From  these  two, 
and  from  the  infinite  wonders  in  them, 
the  immensity,  together  with  the  onmi- 
potence  of  God,  is  manifestly  exhibited 
to  view.  VII.  Who  also  cannot  per- 
ceive, if  he  elevates  a  little  the  rational 
powers  of  his  mind,  that  the  life  to 
eternity,  which  every  man  has  after 
death,  is  not  communicable  but  from 
an  eternal  God.  VIII.  Besides  those 
things,  there  is  a  sort  of  infinity  in 
many  things,  which  fall  into  natural 
light  and  into  spiritual  light  with  man : 


28 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


Into  natural  light — that  there  are  vari- 
ous series  in  geometry  which  go  on  to 
infinity ;  that,  between  the  three,  de- 
grees of  ahitude,  there  is  a  progress  to 
intinity,  in  that  the  first  degree,  which 
is  called  natural,  cannot  be  perfected 
and  elevated  to  the  perfection  of  the 
second  degree,  which  is  called  spirit- 
ual, nor  this  to  the  perfection  of  the 
third,  which  is  called  celestial.  The 
case  is  similar  with  respect  to  the  end, 
cause  and  effect ;  as  that  the  effect 
cannot  be  perfected  so  that  it  may  be- 
come as  its  cause,  nor  the  cause,  so 
that  it  may  become  as  its  end.  This 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  atmospheres, 
of  which  there  are  three  degrees;  for 
the  highest  is  the  aura ;  under  this  is  the 
ether;  and  below  this  is  the  air;  and 
no  quality  of  the  air  can  be  elevated 
to  any  quality  of  the  ether,  nor  any  of 
this  to  any  quality  of  the  aura ;  and 
yet  an  elevation  of  perfections  to  infin- 
ity is  possible  in  each.  Into  spiritual 
light — that  natural  love,  which  is  that 
of  a  beast,  cannot  be  elevated  into 
spiritual  love,  which,  from  creation, 
was  implanted  in  man :  the  case  is 
similar  with  the  natural  intelligence  of 
a  beast,  in  relation  to  the  spiritual  intel- 
ligence of  a  man  ;  but  these  things, 
because  they  are  as  yet  unknown,  will 
be  explained  in  another  place.  From 
these  things  it  is  evident,  that  the  uni- 
versals  of  tlie  world  are  perpetual  types 
of  the  infinity  of  God  the  Creator;  but 
in  what  manner  particulars  resemble 
universals,  and  represent  the  infinity  of 
God,  is  an  abyss ;  and  it  is  an  ocean, 
in  which  the  human  mind  may,  as  it 
were,  sail ;  but  it  must  beware  of  the 
tempest,  arising  from  the  natural  man, 
which  may  overwhelm  the  ship,  with 
the  masts  and  sails,  from  the  stern, 
where  the  natural  man  stands  confid- 
ing in  himself. 

33.   VI.   That   eveuy  created 

Tni.NG  IS  FINITE,  AND  THAT  THE  IN- 
FINITE IS  IN  FINITE  Things  as  in 
Receptacles,  and  in  Men  as  in  its 
Images. 

That  every  created  thing  is  finite, 
is  because  all  things  are  from  Jeho- 
vah God,  by  means  of  the  sun  of  the 
spiritual  world,  which  proximately  en- 


compasses Him ;  and  that  sun  is  of 
the  substance  which  proceeded  from 
Him,  the  essence  of  which  is  love  ;  out 
of  that  sun,  by  means  of  its  heat  and 
light,  the  universe  was  created,  fi-om  the 
firsts  to  the  lasts  of  it.  But  to  explain 
in  order  the  progress  of  creation,  does 
not  belong  to  this  place  :  some  scheme 
of  it  will  be  given  in  the  following 
pages.  It  is  important  here  only  to 
know,  that  one  thing  was  .formed  from 
another,  and  that  thence  were  made 
degrees,  three  in  the  spirituar  world, 
and  three,  corresponding  to  them,  in  the 
natural  world,  and  as  many  in  the  quies- 
cent things  of  which  the  terraqueous 
globe  consists.  But  whence  and  what 
those  degrees  are,  has  been  fiilly 
explained  in  the  Angelic  Wisdom 
Concerning  the  Divine  Love  and 
the  Divine  Wisdom,  published  At 
Arnsterdam  inthe  year  1703;  and  in  a 
small  treatise  concerning  The  Inter- 
course OF  the  Soul  and  Body,  pub- 
lished at  London  in  the  year  1709. — 
It  is  by  means  of  these  degrees,  that  all 
posterior  things  are  receptacles  of  prior 
things,  and  these  of  things  still  prior, 
and  thus  in  order  receptacles  (ft"tlic  prim- 
itives of  which  the  sun  of  the  angelic  heav- 
en consists,  and  thus  that  finite  things 
are  receptacles  of  the  infinite.  This  also 
coincides  with  the  wisdom  of  the  an- 
cients, according  to  which  all  and  every 
thing  is  divisible  to  infinity.  The  com- 
mon idea  is,  that,  because  what  is  finite 
does  not  comprehend  what  is  infinite, 
finite  things  cannot  be  rectptacles  of 
the  infinite.  But,  from  those  things 
which  arc  said  in  my  works  concern- 
ing the  creation,  it  is  evident  that  God 
first  made  his  infinity  finite,  by  sub- 
stances emitted  from  Himself,  from 
which  exists  his  proximate  encompass- 
ing sphere,  which  makes  the  sun  of  the 
spiritual  world ;  and  that  afterwards,  by 
means  of  that  sun,  He  perfected  other 
encompassing  spheres,  even  to  the  last, 
which  consists  of  things  quiescent ;  and 
that  thus,  by  means  of  degrees,  He  made 
the  world  finite  more  and  more.  Tiiese 
things  are  adduced  in  order  that  human 
reason  may  be  satisfied,  which  does  not 
rest  unless  it  see  the  cause. 


Concerning  the 

34.  That  the  Infinite  Divine  is  in 
men,  as  in  its  images,  is  evident  from 
the  Word,  where  this  is  read :  At 
length  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in 
our  image,  after  our  likeness ;  therefore 
God  created  man  into  his  own  image, 
into  the  image  of  God  He  created  him. 
Gen.  i.  26,  27 :  from  which  it  follows, 
that  man  is  an  organ  recipient  of  God, 
and  that  he  is  an  organ  according  to 
the  quality  of  reception.  Tlie  human 
mind,  from  which  and  according  to 
which  man  is  man,  is  formed  into  three 
regions,  according  to  three  degrees :  in 
the  first  degree,  it  is  celestial,  in  which 
also  are  the  angels  of  the  highest  heav- 
en ;  in  the  second  degree,  it  is  spiritual, 
in  which  also  are  the  angels  of  the 
middle  heaven ;  and  in  the  third  de- 
gree, it  is  natural,  in  which  also  are 
the  angels  of  the  lowest  heaven.  The 
human  miud,  organized  according  to 
those  three  degrees,  is  a  receptacle  of 
the  divine  influx;  but  still  the  Divine 
flows  in  no  further  than  as  man  prepares 
the  way,  or  opens  the  door  ;  if  he  does 
this  even  to  the  highest,  or  celestial 
degree,  then  man  becomes  truly  an 
image  of  God,  and  after  death  he  be- 
comes an  angel  of  the  highest  heaven ; 
but  if  he  prepares  the  way,  or  opens 
the  door,  only  to  the  middle  or  spiritual 
degree,  then,  indeed,  man  becomes  an 
image  of  God,  but  not  in  that  perfec- 
tion, and  after  death  he  becomes  an 
angel  of  the  middle  heaven ;  but  if  he 
prepares  the  way,  or  opens  the  door, 
only  to  the  lowest  or  natural  degree, 
then  man,  if  he  acknowledges  a  God, 
and  worships  him  witii  actual  piety,  be- 
comes an  image  of  God  in  the  lowest 
degree,  and  after  death  he  becomes  an 
angel  of  the  lowest  heaven.  But  if  he 
does  not  acknowledge  a  God,  and  does 
not  worship  him  with  actual  piety,  he 
puts  off  the  image  of  God,  and  becomes 
like  an  animal,  except  that  he  enjoys 
the  faculty  of  understanding  and  thence 
of  speech.  If  he  then  shuts  up  the 
highest  natural  degree,  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  highest  celestial,  he  be- 
comes, as  to  love,  like  a  beast  of  the 
earth ;  but  if  he  shuts  up  the  middle 
natural  degree,  which  corresponds  to 
the  middle  spiritual,  he  becomes,  as  to 


Injiiiitij  of  God.    ,  2§ 

love,  like  a  fox,  and  as  to  the  sight  of 
the  understanding,  like  a  bird  of  the 
evening;  but  if  he  also  shuts  up  the 
lowest  natural  degree,  as  to  its  spiritual 
part,  he  becomes,  as  to  love,  like  a  wild 
beast,  and  as  to  the  undcr.standing  of 
truth,  like  a  fish.  The  divine  life  which, 
by  influx  from  the  sun  of  the  angelic 
heaven,  actuates  man,  may  be  compar- 
ed with  the  light  from  the  sun  of  the 
world,  and  with  the  influx  of  it  into  a 
transparent  object;  the  reception  of 
life  in  the  highest  degree,  with  the  in- 
flux of  light  into  a  diamond ;  the 
reception  of  life  in  the  second  degree, 
with  the  influx  of  light  into  a  crystal ; 
and  the  reception  of  life  in  the  lowest 
degree,  with  the  influx  of  light  into 
glass,  or  into  a  transparent  membrane  ; 
but  if  this  degree,  as  to  its  spiritual 
part,  be  entirely  shut  up,  which  is  done 
when  God  is  denied  and  Satan  is  wor- 
shipped, the  reception  of  life  from  God 
may  be  compared  with  the  influx  of 
light  into  the  opaque  things  of  the  earth, 
as  into  rotten  wood,  or  into  the  turf  of  a 
bog,  or  into  dung,  &c. ;  for  man  then 
becomes  a  spiritual  carcass. 


35.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  this 
Relation.  I  was  once  in  great 
astonishment  at  the  vast  multitude  of 
men,  who  ascribe  creation,  and  thence 
all  things  which  are  under  the  sun, 
and  all  things  which  are  above  the 
sun,  to  nature ;  saying,  from  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  heart,  when  they 
see  any  thing,  "  Is  not  this  of  nature  1" 
And  when  they  are  asked,  why  they 
say  that  those  things  are  of  nature,  and 
why  not  of  God,  when,  nevertheless, 
they  sometimes  say,  with  the  rest  of 
the  world,  that  God  created  nature, 
and  thence  they  may  just  as  well  say, 
that  those  things  which  they  "see  are 
of  God,  as  that  they  are  of  nature, 
they  answer  with  an  internal  tone, 
scarcely  audible,  "What  is  God  but 
nature  ?"  All  such,  from  the  persuasion 
of  the  creation  of  tlic  universe  by  na- 
ture, and  from  that  insanity  as  from 
wisdom,  appear  so  elated,  that  they 
look  upon  all  who  acknowledge  the 
creation  of  the  universe  by  God,  as 


30 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


ants  which  creep  upon  the  ground,  and 
tread  the  beaten  path,  and  upon  some 
as  butterflies,  which  tiy  in  the  air,  call- 
ing their  opinions  dreams,  because  they 
see  what  they  do  not  see,  saying,  "  Who 
has  seen  God,  and  who  does  not  see 
nature."  While  I  wias  in  astonishment 
at  the  multitude  of  such  persons,  an 
angel  stood  at  my  side,  and  said  to 
me,  "  What  are  you  meditating  about  ?" 
and  I  replied,  "  About  the  multitude  of 
such  persons  as  believe  that  nature  is 
of  itself,  and  thus  the  creator  of  the 
universe."  And  the  angel  said  to  me, 
"  All  hell  is  of  such,  and  they  are  called 
there  satans  and  devils;  satans,  who 
have  confirmed  themselves  in  favor  of 
nature,  and  thence  have  denied  God ; 
devils,  who  have  lived  wickedly,  and 
thus  have  rejected  from  their  hearts  all 
acknowledgment  of  God.  But  I  will 
conduct  you  to  the  gymnasiums,  which 
are  in  the  soutli-western  quarter,  where 
such  are,  who  are  not  yet  in  hell."  And 
he  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  led  me 
along ;  and  I  saw  small  houses,  in  which 
were  gymnasiums,  and,  in  the  midst  of 
them,  one  which  was  like  a  palace 
to  the  rest :  it  was  built  of  pitch-color- 
ed stones,  which  were  covered  with 
little  plates,  as  of  glass,  sparkling  as  it 
were  with  gold  and  silver,  like  those 
which  are  called  selcnites,  or  stones 
used  instead  of  glass ;  and  here  and 
there  were  interspersed  glittering  shells. 
Hither  we  came,  and  knocked ;  and 
presently  one  opened  the  door  and  said, 
"Welcome;"  and  he  ran  to  the  tablc.and 
brought  four  books,  and  said,  "These 
books  are  the  u  isdoni  which  is  at  this 
day  applauded  by  many  kingdoms ; 
this  book,  or  wisdom,  is  applauded  by 
many  in  France ;  this,by  many  in  Ger- 
many ;  this,  by  some  in  Holland  ;  and 
this,by  some  in  Britain  :"  he  said,  more- 
over, "K  you  wish  to  see  it,  I  will  make 
these  books  shine  before  your  eyes ;" 
and  then  he  poured  forth  and  around 
the  glory  of  his  ftmie,  and  the  books 
instantly  shone  as  from  light,  but  tliis 
light,  before  our  eyes,  immediately 
vanished ;  and  then  'we  asked  what 
he  was  now  v.riting;  and  he  replied, 
that  ho  Was  producing,  and  bring- 
ing forth  from  his  treasures,  things 


which  are  of  inmost  wisdom,  which  in 
a  summary  are  these :   I.  Whether 

NATURE  BE  OF  LIFE,  OR  WHETHER  LIFE 
BE  OF  NATURE.  11.  WhETHER  THE  CEN- 
TRE BE  OF  THE  EXPANSE,  OR  WHETHER 
THE    EXPANSE    BE    OF    THE  CENTRE. 

ni.  Concerning  the  centre  of 
THE  expanse  and  OF  LIFE.  Hav- 
ing said  this,  he  placed  himself  again 
upon  the  seat  at  the  table,  but  we  walk- 
ed in  his  gymnasium,  which  was  spa- 
cious. He  had  a  candle  upon  the  table, 
because  the  light  of  the  sun  was  not 
there,  but  the  nocturnal  light  of  the 
moon ;  and  what  appeared  to  me  won- 
derfiil,  the  candle  seemed  to  be  carried 
round  about  there,  and  to  give  light ; 
but  because  it  had  not  been  snuffed,  it 
gave  but  little  light.  And  when  he 
wrote,  we  saw  images  in  various  forms, 
flying  from  the  table  to  the  walls,  which, 
in  that  nocturnal  light  of  .the  moon, 
appeared  like  beautiful  Indian  birds ; 
but  when  we  opened  the  door,  they 
appeared,  in  the  day-light  of  the  sun, 
like  those  birds  of  the  evening,  which 
have  wings  of  network  ;  for  they  were 
appearances  of  truth,  which,  by  con- 
firmations, became  fallacies,  which  had 
been  ingeniously  connected  by  him  in 
a  series.  After  we  had  seen  them,  we 
came  up  to  the  table,  and  asked  him 
what  he  was  now  writing.  He  said, 
concerning  the  first  question  :  Wheth- 
er nature  be  of  LIFE,   OR  WHETHER 

LIFE  BE  OP  nature  ;  and  of  this  he 
said  that  he  could  confirm  both  sides^ 
and  cause  them  to  be  true ;  but 
because  something  was  concealed 
within,  which  he  feared,  he  durst  con- 
firm only  this.  That  nature  is  of  life, 
that  is,  from  life,  and  not  That  life  is 
of  nature,  that  is,  from  nature.  We 
asked  him,  courteously,  what  it  was 
that  was  concealed  within,  wlrich  he 
feared.  He  replied,  that  it  was  that 
he  should  be  called  by  the  clergy  a 
naturalist,  and  thus  an  atheist,  and  by 
the  laity  a  man  of  unsound  reason; 
since  both  tlie  former  and  the  latter, 
either  believe  from  a  blind  faith,  or  see 
from  the  sight  of  those  who  confirm  it. 
But  then,  from  an  indignation  of  zeal 
for  the  truth,  we  addressed  him,  saying, 
"  Friend,  you  are  very  much  deceived  ; 


Concerning  the  Infinity  of  God. 


31 


your  wisdom,  which  is  an  ingenuity  of 
writing,  has  sechiced  you,  and  the  glory 
of  fame  lias  induced  you  to  confirm 
what  you  do  not  believe.  Do  you 
not  know,  that  the  human  mind  is 
capable  of  being  elevated  above  the 
sensual  things,  which  are  in  the 
thougiits,  from  the  senses  of  the  body, 
and  that  when  it  is  elevated,  it  sees 
those  things  which  are  of  life  above, 
and  those  things  which  are  of  nature 
below  1  What  else  is  life,  but  love  and 
wisdom  1  and  what  else  is  nature  but 
their  receptacle,  by  which  they  may 
produce  their  effects  or  uses  ?  Can  these 
be  one,  except  as  the  principal  and 
instrumental  are  so?.  Can  light  be  one 
with  the  eye,  or  sound  with  the  ear  1 
Whence  are  the  sensations  of  these  but 
from  life  1  whence  their  forms,  but  from 
nature  .'  W^hat  is  the  human  body 
but  an  organ  of  life?  Is  not  all,  and 
every  tiling  there,  organically  formed 
for  producing  those  things  which  the 
love  wills,  and  the  understanding 
thinks?  Are  not  the  organs  of  the 
body  from  nature,  and  love  and  thought 
from  life?  And  are  not  these  entirely 
distinct  from  each  other  1  Elevate  the 
keen  sight  of  your  genius  yet  a  little 
higher,  and  you  will  see  that  it  is  of 
life  to  be  affected  and  to  think,  and 
that  it  is  of  love  to  be  affected,  and  of 
wisdom  to  think,  and  both  are  of  life ; 
for,  as  was  said,  love  and  wisdom  are 
life.  If  you  elevate  the  faculty  of  un- 
derstanding a  little  highei\  still,  you  will 
see,  that  love  and  wisdom  could  not 
exist,  unless  tliey  had  an  origin  some- 
where, and  that  their  origin  is  Love 
itself,  and  Wisdom  itself,  and  thence 
Life  itself;  and  these  are  God  from 
whom  nature  is."  Afterwards  we  con- 
versed with  him  about  the  second. 
Whether  the  expanse  be  of  the 
centre,  or  whether  the  centre 
BE  OF  THE  EXPANSE  ;  and  we  asked 
him  why  he  canvassed  this.  He  re- 
plied, to  the  end  that  he  might  con- 
clude concerning  the  centre,  and  the 
expanse  of  nature,  and  of  life ;  and 
thus  concerning  the  origin  of  the  one 
and  the  other.  And  when  we  asked 
him  what  was  his  opinion,  he  replied 
concerning  these,  just  as  before,  that 


he  could  confirm  botli  sides,  but  that, 
for  fear  of  the  loss  of  fame,  he  would 
confirm  that  the  expanse  is  of  the  cen- 
tre, that  is,  from  the  centre;  "  ahhough 
I  know,  that  before  the  sun,  there  may 
have  been  something,  and  this  every 
where  in  the  expanse ;  and  that  this, 
from  itself,  flowed  together  into  order, 
thus  into  the  centre."  But  then  we 
again  addressed  him,  from  an  indignant 
zeal,  and  said,  "Friend,  you  are  beside 
yourself"  And  when  lie  heard  this,  he 
drew  back  the  seat  from  the  table,  and 
looked  timidly  at  us,  and  then  listened, 
but  smiling :  we,  however,  continued 
the  discourse  by  saying,  "What  is  more 
indicative  of  insanity  than  to  say  that 
the  centre  is  from  the  expanse  ?  By 
your  centre,  we  understand  the  sun, 
and  by  your  cipansc,  we  understand 
the  universe ;  and  thus  that  the  uni- 
verse may  have  existed  without  the 
sun.  Does  not  the  sun  make  nature, 
and  all  its  properties,  which  depend 
solely  on  the  light  and  heat  proceeding 
from  the  sun,  through  the  atmospheres? 
Where  these  are,  we  have  said  before  ; 
but  whence  they  are,  we  will  say  in  the 
following  discussion.  Arc  not  the  at- 
mospheres, and  all  things  which  are 
upon  the  earth  as  surfaces,  and  the 
sun  as  their  centre  ?  What  would  all 
those  things  be  without  the  sun  ?  Could 
they  subsist  a  moment?  How,  then, 
could  all  those  things  have  existed  be- 
fore the  sun  ?  Is  not  subsistence  per- 
petual existence  ?  Since,  therefore,  the 
subsistence  of  all  things  of  nature  is 
from  the  sun,  it  follows,  that  the  exist- 
ence of  all  things  is  so  too.  Every 
one  sees  this,  and  from  his  own  per- 
ception acknowledges  it.  Does  not 
what  is  posterior  subsist  also,  as  well 
as  exist,  from  what  is  prior  ?  If  the 
surface  were  prior,  and  the  centre  pos- 
terior, would  not  the  prior  subsist  from 
the  posterior,  which  yet  is  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  order  ?  How  can  posterior 
things  produce  prior,  or  exterior,  in- 
terior, or  grosser,  purer  ?  Thence,  how 
can  surfaces,  which  make  the  expanse, 
produce  the  centre?  Who  does  not 
see  that  this  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
nature?  We  have  adduced  these  ar- 
guments from  the  analysis  of  reason. 


32 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


to  prove  that  the  expanse  exists  from 
the  centre,  and  not  the  centre  from 
the  expanse,  although  every  one,  who 
thinks  justly,  sees  this  without  those 
arguments.  You  said  that  the  expanse 
flowed  together  into  the  centre  from 
itself;  did  it  by  chance  flow  thus  into 
such  wonderful  and  stupendous  order, 
that  one  thing  is  for  the  sake  of  another, 
and  all  and  every  thing  for  the  sake  of 
man  and  his  eternal  life?  Can  nature, 
from  any  love,  by  any  wisdom,  intend 
ends,  provide  causes,  and  thus  produce 
effects,  that  such  things  may  exist  in 
their  order  ?  Can  nature  make  angels 
of  men,  and  a  heaven  of  angels,  and 
cause  those  who  are  there  to  live  for- 
ever ?  Propose  and  consider  these 
things,  and  your  idea  concerning  the 
existence  of  nature  from  nature  will 
fall."  After  this,  we  asked  him  what 
he  had  thought,  and  what  he  then 
thought,  concerning  the  third.  Con- 
cerning THE  CENTRE  AND  UlIE  EX- 
PANSE OF  NATURE  AND  OF  LIFE  ;  whetll- 

er  he  believed,  that  the  centre  and  the 
expanse  of  life  is  the  same  with  the 
centre  and  the  expanse  of  nature, 
lie  said  that  he  hesitated,  and  that  he 
formerly  thought,  that  the  interior  ac- 
tivity of  nature  was  life,  and  that  love 
and  wisdom,  which  essentially  make 
the  life  of  man,  were  thence ;  and  that 
the  hre  of  the  sun,  by  heat  and  light, 
through  the  medium  of  the  atmos- 
plieres,  jtroduced  it ;  but  that  now, 
from  what  he  h^d  heard  concerning 
the  life  of  men  after  death,  lie  was  in 
doubt ;  and  that  this  doubt  carried  his 
mind  sometimes  upwards,  and  some- 
times downwards;  and  when  upwards, 
he  acknowledged  a  centre,  of  which  lie 
before  had  not  known  any  thing;  and 
when  downwards,  he  saw  the  centre, 
which  he  believed  the  only  one,  ancl 
that  life  was  from  the  centre,  of  which 
he  before  had  not  known  any  thing, 
and  that  nature  was  from  the  centre, 
which  he  before  believed  to  be  the  only 
one,  and  that  each  centre  had  an  ex- 
panse around  it.  To  this  we  said, 
"  Well ;"  if  he  would  only  look  also  at 
the  centre  and  the  expanse  of  nature, 
from  the  centre  and  the  expanse  of  life, 
and  not  conversely.  And  we  instructed 


him  that,  above  the  angelic  heaven, 
there  is  a  sun,  which  is  pure  love,  to  ap- 
pearance fiery,  as  the  sun  of  the  world  ; 
and  that  from  the  heat  which  proceeds 
from  that  sun,  angels  and  men  have  will 
and  love,  and  that  from  the  light  thence, 
they  have  understanding  and  wisdom  ; 
and  that  those  things  which  are  thence, 
are  called  spiritual;  and  that  those 
things,  which  proceed  from  the  sun  of 
the  world,  are  containers  or  receptacles 
of  life,  and  are  called  natural;  then, 
that  the  expanse  of  the  centre  of  life 
is  called  the  Spiritual  World,  which 
subsists  from  its  sun ;  and  that  the  ex- 
panse of  the  centre  of  nature  is  called 
the  Natural  World,  which  subsists 
from  its  sun.  Now,  because  spaces 
and  times  cannot  be  predicated  of  love 
and  wisdom,  but  instead  of  them,  states, 
it  follows,  that  the  expanse  around  the 
sun  of  the  angelic  lieaven,  is  not  an 
extense,  but  still  in  the  extense  of  the 
natural  sun,  and  with  the  living  sub- 
jects there  according  to  reception,  and 
the  reception  is  according  to  forms  and 
states.  But  then  he  asked,  "Whence  is 
the  fire  of  the  sun  of  the  world,  or  of 
nature  1"  We  replied,  that  it  is  from 
the  sun  of  the  angelic  heaven,  which 
is  not  fire,  but  divine  love  proximately 
proceeding  from  God,  who  is  in  the 
mid.st  of  it ;  and  because  he  wondered 
at  this,  we  demonstrated  it  thus:  "Love, 
in  its  essence,  is  spiritual  fire ;  thence 
it  is,  that  yi'/r,  in  the  Word,  in  its  spir- 
itual sense,  ;;ignifies  love  ;  whcrelbre 
priests  in  the  temples  pray,  that  heaven- 
ly fire  may  fill  the  hearts,  by  which  they 
mean  love.  The  fire  of  the  altar,  and 
tlie  fire  of  the  candlestick,  in  the  tab- 
ernacle, amongst  the  Israelites,  rep- 
resented no  other  than  the  divine 
love.  The  heat  of  the  blood,  or  the 
vital  heat  of  men,  and  of  animals 
in  general,  is  from  no  other  source 
than  from  the  love  whicli  makes  their 
life;  thence  it  is,  that  man  is  enkii|- 
dled,  grows  warm,  and  is  inflamed, 
whilst  his  love  is  exalted  to  zeal,  or 
excited  to  anger  and  indignation. 
Wherefore  from  this,  that  spiritual  heat, 
whicli  is  love,  produces  natural  heat 
with  men,  to  such  a  degree  that  it  en- 
kindles their  faces  and  limbs,  it  may 


Concerning  the  Essence  of  God.  33 


be  evident,  that  the  fire  of  the  natural 
sun  existed  from  no  other  source,  than 
froin  the  fire  of  the  spiritual  sun,  which 
is  Divine  Love.  Now,  because  the 
expanse  arises  from  the  centre,  and 
not  the  centre  from  the  expanse,  as 
we  said  above,  and  the  centre  of  life, 
which  is  the  sun  of  the  angelic  heaven, 
is  the  Divine  Love,  proximately  pro- 
ceeding from  God,  who  is  in  the  midst 
of  that  sun ;  and  because  the  expanse 
of  that  centre,  which  is  called  the 


spiritual  iporld,  is  thence ;  and  because 
the  sun  of  the  world  existed  from  that 
sun,  and  from  this,  its  expanse,  which 
is  called  the  natural  world,  it  is  mani- 
fest, that  the  universe  was  created  by 
God."  After  this  we  departed,  and  he 
accompanied  us  out  of  the  court  of  his 
gymnasium,  and  talked  with  us  con- 
cerning heaven  and  hell,  and  concern- 
ing the  divine  auspices,  with  new 
sagacity  of  genius. 


CONCERNING  THE  ESSENCE  OF  G 

DIVINE 

36.  We  have  distinguished  between 
the  Esse  of  God  and  the  Essence 
of  God,  because  there  is  a  distinc- 
tion between  the  infinity  of  God 
and  the  love  of  God ;  and  infinity  is 
applicable  to  the  Esse  of  God,  and  love 
to  the  Essence  of  God  ;  for  the  Esse  of 
God,  as  was  said  above,  is  more  uni- 
versal than  the  Essence  of  God :  in 
like  manner,  the  infinity  is  more  uni- 
versal than  the  love  of  God ;  where- 
fore, infinite  is  an  adjective  belonging 
to  the  essentials  and  attributes  of  God, 
all  which  are  called  infinite ;  as  it  is 
said  of  the  Divine  Love,  that  it  is  infi- 
nite, of  the  Divine  Wisdom,  that  it  is 
infinite,  and  of  the  Divine  Power,  in 
like  manner  ;  not  that  the  Esse  of  God 
existed  before,  but  because  it  enters 
into  the  Essence,  as  an  adjunct,  coher- 
ing with,  determining,  forming,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  elevating  it.  But  this 
member  of  this  chapter,  like  the  for- 
mer, shall  be  divided  into  the  following 
articles :  I.  That  God  is  Love  itself 
and  Wisdom  itself,  and  that  these  two 
make  his  Essence.  IL  That  God  is 
Good  itself  and  Truth  itself;  because 
Good  is  of  Love,  and  Truth  is  of 
Wisdom.  III.  That  Love  itself  and 
Wisdom  itself  are  Life  itself,  which 
is  Life  in  itself.  IV.  That  Love  and 
Wisdom,  in  God,  make  one.  V.  Tliat 
the  Essence  of  Love  is,  to  love  others 
out  of  itself,  to  desire  to  he  one  toith 
them,  and  to  make  them  happy  from  it- 
self.   VL  That  these  properties  of  the 


OD,  WHICH  IS  DIVINE  LOVE  AND 
WISDOM. 

Divine  Love  were  the  cause  of  the  cre- 
ation of  the  universe,  and  that  they  are 
the  cause  of  its  preservation.  But  of 
these  one  by  one. 

37.  I.  That  God  is  Love  itself 
AND    Wisdom    itself,    and  that 

THESE   TWO  make   HiS  EsSENCE. 

That  love  and  wisdom  are  the  two 
essentials,  to  which  all  the  infinite 
things  which  are  in  God,  and  which 
proceed  from  Him,  refer  themselves, 
the  first  antiquity  saw ;  but  the 
ages  following  successively,  as  they 
withdrew  their  minds  from  heaven,  and 
immersed  them  in  worldly  and  corpo- 
real things,  could  not  see  it ;  for  they 
began  not  to  know  what  love  is,  in  its 
essence,  and  thence  what  wisdom  is,  in 
its  essence  ;  not  knowing  that  love,  ab- 
stracted from  form,  cannot  exist,  and 
that  it  operates  in  a  form,  and  by  a 
form.  Now,  because  God  is  the  very, 
and  the  only,  and  thus  the  first  Sub- 
stance and  Form,  whose  essence  is  love 
and  wisdom  ;  and  because  out  of  Him 
all  things  were  made,  that  were  made  ; 
it  follows,  that  He  created  the  universe, 
with  all  and  every  thing  of  it,  out  of 
love  by  wisdom ;  and  that  thence  the 
Divine  Love,  together  with  the  Divine 
Wisdom,  is  in  all  and  every  created 
subject.  Love,  moreover,  is  not  only 
the  essence,  which  forms  all  things, 
but  it  also  unites  and  conjoins  them, 
and  thus  keeps  them,  whan  formed,  in 
connexion.  These  things  may  be  il- 
lustrated by  innumerable  things  in  the 


34 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


world ;  as  by  the  heat  and  light  from 
the  sun,  which  are  the  two  essentials 
and  universals,  by  means  of  which  all 
and  every  thing,  upon  the  earth,  exists 
and  subsists :  these  are  there,  because 
they  correspond  to  the  Divine  Love 
and  the  Divine  Wisdom ;  for  the  heat, 
which  proceeds  from  the  sun  of  the 
spiritual  world,  in  its  essence,  is  love  ; 
and  the  light  thence,  in  its  essence,  is 
wisdom.  They  may  also  be  illustrated 
by  the  two  essentials  and  universals,  by 
which  human  minds  exist  and  subsist, 
which  are  the  will  and  the  under- 
standing; for  of  these  two  the  mind 
of  every  one  consists ;  and  those  two 
are  and  operate  in  all  and  every  thing 
of  it.  The  reason  is,  because  the  will 
is  the  receptacle  and  habitation  of  love, 
and  the  understanding,  of  wisdom ; 
wherefore  those  two  faculties  corre- 
spond to  the  Divine  Love  and  the  Di- 
vine Wisdom,  from  which  they  origin- 
ate. Moreover,  those  same  things  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  two  essentials  and 
universals,  by  which  human  bodies  ex- 
ist and  subsist,  which  are  the  heart 
and  THE  LUNGS ;  or  the  systole  and 
diastole  of  the  heart,  and  the  respira- 
tion of  the  lungs  :  that  these  two  oper- 
ate in  all  and  every  thing  there,  is 
known ;  the  reason  is,  because  the 
heart  corresponds  to  love,  and  the  lungs 
to  wisdom ;  which  correspondence 
is  fully  demonstrated  in  the  Ancjelic 
Wisdom  concerning  the  Divine 
Love  and  Divine  Wisdom,  published 
at  Amsterdam.  That  love  as  the 
bridegroom  or  husband,  produces  or 
begets  all  forms,  but  by  wisdom  as 
the  bride  or  wife,  may  be  proved  by 
innumerable  things,  both  in  the  spirit- 
ual and  the  natural  world ;  this  only 
is  to  be  okserved,  tliat  the  whole  an- 
gelic heaven  is  arranged  into  its  form, 
and  preserved  in  it,  from  the  Divine 
Love  by  the  Divine  Wisdom.  Those 
who  deduce  the  creation  of  the  world 
from  any  other  source  than  from  the 
Divine  Love  by  the  Divine  Wisdom 
and  do  not  know  that  those  two  make 
the  Divine  Essence,  descend  from  the 
siglit  of  reason  to  the  sight  of  the  eye, 
and  kiss  nature  as  the  creator  of  the 
universe,  and  thence  conceive  chime- 


ras, and  bring  forth  phantoms ;  they 
think  fallacies,  reason  from  them,  and 
conclude  eggs,  in  which  are  birds  of 
night.  Such  cannot  be  called  minds, 
but  eyes  and  ears  without  understand- 
ing, or  thoughts  without  a  soul ;  they 
speak  of  colors,  as  if  they  existed  with- 
out light,  of  the  existence  of  trees,  as 
if  without  seed,  and  of  all  the  things  of 
the  world,  as  if  without  a  sun ;  since 
they  make  derivatives,  priinitives,  and 
effects,  causes  ;  and  so  they  turn  every 
thing  upside  down,  and  lull  to  sleep  the 
pov.  ers  of  reason,  and  thus  see  dreams. 

38.  IL  That  God  is  Good  itself 
and  Truth  itself,  because  Good  is 
OF  Love,  and  Truth  is  of  Wisdom. 

It  is  universally  known,  that  all 
things  refer  themselves  to  good  and 
truth ;  a  proof  that  all  things  derived 
their  existence  from  love  and  wisdom  ; 
for  all  that  proceeds  from  love  is  called 
good — for  this  is  sensibly  perceived — 
and  the  delight  by  which  love  mani- 
fests itself;  is  every  one's  good  ;  but  all 
that  which  proceeds  from  wisdom  is 
called  (ruth — for  wisdom  consists  of 
nothing  but  truths,  and  affects  its  ob- 
jects with  the  pleasantness  of  light : 
and  this  pleasantness,  while  it  is  per- 
ceived, is  truth  from  good.  Wlierefore 
love  is  the  complex  of  all  goodnesses, 
and  wisdom  is  the  complex  of  all  truths; 
but  both  the  former  and  the  latter  are 
from  God,  who  is  Love  itself,  and 
thence  Good  itself,  and  Wisdom  itself, 
and  thence  Truth  itself  Thence  it 
is,  that  m  the  church  there  are  two  es- 
senthals,  which  are  called  dian'tij  and 
faith,  of  which  all  ami  every  thing  of 
the  church  consists,  and  which  will  be 
in  all  and  every  thing  of  it :  the  reason 
is,  because  all  the  goods  of  the  cluirch 
are  of  charity,  and  are  called  charity  ; 
and  all  its  truths  are  of  faith,  and  are 
called  faith.  The  delights  of  love, 
which  are  also  the  delights  of  charity, 
cause  what  is  good  to  be  called  good  ; 
and  the  pleasantness  of  wisdom,  which 
is  also  the  pleasantness  of  faith,  causes 
what  is  true  to  be  called  true ;  for  de- 
lights and  pleasantnesses  make  their 
life,  and  witiiout  life  from  them,  goods 
and  truths  are  like  inanimate  things,  and 
they  are  also  unfruitful.    But  the  de- 


Concerning  the  Essence  of  God. 


35 


liglits  of  love  are  of  two  kinds,  as  are 
also  tlie  pleasantnesses,  which  appear  as 
of  wisdom ;  for  there  are  the  deliglits 
of  the  love  of  good,  and  the  delights  of 
the  love  of  evil,  and  thence  there  arc 
the  pleasantnesses  of  the  faitliof  trutii, 
and  the  pleasantnesses  of  the  faith  of 
the  false.  Those  two  delights  of  love, 
from  the  sensation  of  them  in  the  sub- 
jects in  which  they  are,  are  called 
good ;  and  those  two  pleasantnesses  of 
faith,  from  the  perception  of  them,  are 
also  called  good ;  but  because  they  are 
in  the  understanding,  they  are  no  oth- 
er than  true ;  although  they  are  oppo- 
site to  each  other  ;  and  the  good  of  one 
love  is  good,  and  the  good  of  the  oth- 
er love  is  evil ;  also  the  truth  of  one 
faith  is  true,  and  the  truth  of  the  other 
faith  is  false.  But  the  love  whose  de- 
lights are  essentially  good,  is  like  the 
heat  of  the  sun,  fructifying,  vivifying 
and  operating  in  fertile  grounds,  in  use- 
ful plants,  and  fields  of  corn  ;  and  where 
it  operates,  there  is  jn'oduced,  as  it 
were,  a  paradise,  a  garden  of  the  Lord, 
and,  as  it  were,  the  land  of  Canaan ; 
and  the  pleasantness  of  its  truth  is  as 
the  light  of  the  sun  in  the  time  of 
spring,  and  as  the  influx  of  light  into  a 
crystal  vessel,  in  which  are  beautiful 
flowers,  and  from  which,  when  open- 
ed, there  breathes  forth  a  fragrant  per- 
fume ;  but  the  delight  of  the  love  of 
evil  is  as  the  heat  of  the  sun,  parching, 
killing,  and  operating  in.barren  ground, 
in  noxious  plants,  as  in  thorns  and  bri- 
ers ;  and  where  it  operates,  there  is 
produced  a  desert  of  Arabia,  where  are 
hydras  and  venomous  serpents ;  and 
the  pleasantness  of  its  false  is  as  the 
light  of  the  sun  in  the  time  of  winter, 
and  as  light  flowing  into  a  bottle,  in 
which  there  are  worms,  swimming  in 
vinegar,  and  reptiles  of  a  noisome 
smell.  It  should  be  known,  that  every 
good  forms  itself  by  truths,  and  also 
clothes  itself  with  them,  and  thus  dis- 
tinguishes itself  from  other  goods ;  and 
also,  that  the  goods  of  one  stock  or 
kind  bind  themselves  into  bundles, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  clothe  them,  and 
thus  distinguish  themselves  from  oth- 
ers :  that  thus  formations  are  effected,  is 
manifest  from  all  and  every  thing  in  the 


human  body  ;  and  that  similar  forma- 
tions are  effected  in  the  human  mind, 
is  evident,  because  there  is  a  perpetual 
correspondence  of  all  things  of  the 
mind  with  all  things  of  the  body. 
Thence  it  follows,  that  the  human 
mind  is  organized,  inwardly,  of  spirit- 
nal  substances,  and  outwardly,  of  nat- 
ural substances,  and  lastly  of  material 
substances.  The  mind,  the  delights  of 
whose  love  are  good,  consists,  inward- 
ly, of  spiritual  substances,  such  as  are 
in  heaven  ;  but  the  mind,  the  delights 
of  whose  love  are  evil,  consists,  inward- 
ly, of  spiritual  substances,  such  as  are 
in  hell ;  and  the  evils  of  the  latter  are 
bound  into  bundles  by  falses,  and  the 
goods  of  the  former  are  bound  into 
bundles  by  truths.  Since  there  are  such 
bindings  of  goods  and  evils  into  bun- 
dles, therefore  the  Lord  says.  That 
the  tares  are  to  be  hound  together  into 
bundles,  to  be  burnt,  and  in  like  man- 
ner all  things  that  offend,  Matt.  xiii. 
30,  40,  41.  John  xv.  6. 

39.  III.  That  God,  because  He 
IS  Love  itself  and  Wisdom  it- 
self, IS  Life  itself,  which  is  Life 

IN  ITSELF. 

It  is  said  in  John,  The  Word  icas 
tvith  God,  and  the  Word  toas  God;  in 
Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light 
of  men,  i.  1,  4.  By  God,  there, 
is  meant  the  Divine  Love,  and  by  the 
Word,  the  Divine  Wisdom ;  and  Di- 
vine Wisdom  is  properly  life,  and  life 
is  properly  the  light  which  proceeds 
from  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world,  in 
the  midst  of  which  is  Jehovah  God. 
Divine  Love  forms  life,  as  fire  forms 
light.  There  are  two  properties  in 
fire,  that  of  burning,  and  that  of  shin- 
ing ;  from  its  burning  property  pro- 
ceeds heat,  and  from  its  shining  prop- 
erty proceeds  light.  In  like  manner, 
there  are  two  things  in  love ;  one,  to 
which  the  burning  property  of  fire  cor- 
responds, which  is  something  most  in- 
timately affecting  the  will  of  man  ;  and 
another,  to  which  the  shining  property 
of  fire  corresponds,  which  is  something 
most  intimately  affecting  the  under- 
standing of  man.  Thence  man  has 
love  and  intelligence ;  for,  as  has  been 
several  times  said  above,  from  the  sun 


36 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


of  the  spiritual  world  proceeds  heat, 
which,  in  its  essence,  is  love ;  and 
light,  which,  in  its  essence,  is  wisdom  ; 
and  those  two  flow  into  all  and  every 
thing  of  the  universe,  and  affect  them 
most  intimately ;  and  with  men,  into 
their  will  and  understanding,  which 
two  were  created  receptacles  of  the  in- 
flux; the  will,  the  receptacle  of  love, 
and  the  understanding,  the  receptacle 
of  wisdom.  Thence  it  is  manifest,  that 
the  life  of  man  dwells  in  his  under- 
standing, and  that  it  is  such  as  his  wis- 
dom is,  and  that  the  love  of  the  will 
modifies  it. 

40.  It  is  also  read  in  John,  As  the 
Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath 
He  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in 
Himself  v.  26 ;  by  which  is  meant, 
that  as  the  Divine,  which  was  from 
eternity,  lives  in  itself,  so  also  the  Hu- 
man, which  it  assumed  in  time,  lives 
in  itself  Life  in  itself  is  the  very 
and  the  only  life,  from  which  all  an- 
gels and  men  live.  Human  reason 
may  see  this  from  the  light  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  sun  of  the  natural 
world,  in  that  this  is  not  creatable,  but 
that  forms,  receiving  it,  arc  created ; 
for  eyes  are  its  recipient  forms,  and  the 
light,  flowing  in  from  the  sun,  causes 
them  to  see.  It  is  similar  with  life, 
which,  as  was  said,  is  the  light  pro- 
ceeding from  the  sun  of  the  spiritual 
world,  that  it  is  not  creatable,  but  that  it 
flows  in  continually,  and,  as  it  enlight- 
ens, it  also  enlivens  the  understanding 
of  man ;  consequently,  that,  because 
light,  life  and  wisdom  are  one,  wisdom 
is  not  creatable  ;  so  neither  is  faith,  nor 
truth,  nor  love,  nor  charity,  nor  good ; 
but  that  forms  receiving  them  are  cre- 
ated ;  human  and  angelic  minds  arc 
those  forms.  Let  every  one,  therefore, 
be  cautious  how  he  persuades  himself, 
that  he  lives  from  himself;  and  also,  that 
he  is  wise,  believes,  loves,  perceives 
truth,  and  wills  and  does  good  from 
himself;  for  so  far  as  any  one  indulges 
such  a  persuasion,  he  casts  down  his 
mind  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  from 
spiritual  becomes  natural,  sensual,  and 
corporeal ;  for  he  shuts  u])  the  superior 
regions  of  his  mind,  whence  he  be- 
comes blind,  as  to  all  the  things  which 


are  of  God  and  heaven  and  the  church ; 
and  then,  all  that  he  may  by  chance 
think,  reason  and  speak  concerning 
them,  is  done  in  foolishness  because 
in  darkness,  and  then,  at  the  same 
time,  he  is  confident  that  they  are  of 
wisdom  ;  for  when  the  superior  regions 
of  the  mind,  where  the  true  light  of 
life  dwells,  are  shut  up,  the  region  be- 
low them  opens  itself,  into  which  only 
the  light  of  the  world  is  admitted ;  and 
this  light  separate  from  the  light  of  the 
superior  regions,  is  a  fallacious  light 
in  which  falses  appear  as  truths,  and 
truths  as  falses,  and  reasoning  from 
falses  as  wisdom,  and  from  truths  as 
madness;  and  then  he  believes  himself 
to  be  endued  with  the  keen  sight  of  an 
eagle,  although  he  sees  the  things 
which  are  of  wisdom  no  more  than  a 
bat  sees  in  the  light  of  day. 

41.  IV.  Th.\t  Love  and  Wisdom, 
IN  God,  m.\ke  one. 

Every  wise  man  in  the  church 
knows,  that  all  the  good  of  love  and 
charity  is  from  God ;  in  like  manner, 
all  the  truth  of  wisdom  and  faith  :  that 
it  is  so,  human  reason  may  also  see,  if 
it  only  knows  that  the  origin  of  love 
and  wisdom  is  from  the  sun  of  the  spir- 
itual world,  in  the  midst  of  which  is 
Jeiiovah  God ;  or,  what  is  the  same, 
that  it  is  from  Jehovah  God,  through 
the  sun,  which  is  round  about  Ilim  ;  for 
the  heat  proceeding  from  that  sun,  in 
its  essence,  is  love,  and  the  light  thence 
proceeding,  in  its  essence,  is  wisdom  : 
thence  it  is  manife^t,  as  in  clear  day- 
light, that  love  and  wisdom,  in  that  ori- 
gin, are  one;  consequently  in  God, 
from  whom  is  the  origin  of  that  sun. 
This  may  be  illustrated,  also,  from  the 
sun  of  the  natural  world,  which  is  pure 
fire,  in  that  heat  proceeds  from  its 
fiery  property,  and  light  proceeds  from 
the  splendor  of  its  fiery  property  ;  and 
thus  that  both  are,  in  their  origin,  one. 
But  that  they  are  divided  in  proceeding, 
is  evident  from  the  subjects,  some  of 
which  receive  more  of  heat,  and  some, 
more  of  light :  this  is  the  case,  especi- 
ally with  men ;  in  them,  the  light  of 
life,  which  is  intelligence,  and  the 
heat  of  life,  which  is  love,  are  divided ; 
which  is  done  because  man  is  to  be 


Concerning  the  Es.iencc  of  God. 


37 


reformed  and  regenerated ;  and  tliis 
cannot  be  done,  unless  the  light  of  life, 
which  is  intelligence,  teaches  him  what 
ought  to  be  willed  and  loved.  It  should, 
however,  be  known,  that  God  is  con- 
tinually operating  the  conjunction  of 
love  and  wisdom  in  man,  but  that  man, 
unless  he  looks  to  God,  and  believes  in 
Him,  continually  operates  to  effect 
tlieir  division ;  wherefore,  as  far  as 
those  two,  the  good  of  love  or  charity, 
and  the  truth  of  wisdom  or  faith,  are 
conjoined  in  man,  so  far  man  is  an 
image  of  God,  and  is  elevated  to  heav- 
en, and  into  heaven,  where  the  angels 
are ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  as  far  as 
those  two  are  divided  by  man,  so  far 
lie  becomes  an  image  of  Lucifer  and 
the  dragon,  and  is  cast  down  from 
heaven  to  earth,  and  then  under  the 
earth  into  hell.  From  the  conjunction 
of  those  two,  the  state  of  man  becomes 
like  the  state  of  a  tree  in  the  time  of 
spring,  when  the  heat  conjoins  itself 
equally  with  the  light;  whence  it  pro- 
duces buds,  blossoms,  and  fruit;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  from  the  division  of 
those  two,  the  state  of  man  becomes 
like  the  state  of  a  tree  in  the  time  of 
winter,  when  the  heat  recedes  from  the 
light,  w  hence  it  is  stripped  and  divest- 
ed of  all  its  foliage  and  verdure.  When 
spiritual  heat,  which  is  love,  separates 
itself  from  spiritual  light,  which  is  wis- 
dom, or,  what  is  the  same,  charity 
from  faith,  the  man  becomes  like  sour 
and  rotten  ground,  in  which  worms  are 
bred,  and,  if  it  produces  shrubs,  their 
leaves  are  covered  with  lice,  and  are 
consumed.  For  the  allurements  of  the 
love  of  evil,  which,  in  themselves,  are 
concupiscences,  burst  forth,  wiiich  the 
understanding,  instead  of  subduing  and 
restraining,  loves,  pampers  and  clier- 
ishes.  In  a  w'ord,  to  divide  love  and 
wisdom,  or  charity  and  faith,  which 
two  God  continually  endeavors  to  join 
together,  is  comparatively  like  depriv- 
ing the  face  of  its  redness,  whence 
comes  a  death-like  paleness ;  or  like 
taking  away  the  whiteness  from  the 
redness,  whence  the  face  beomes  like 
a  burning  torch.  It  is  like  like  dis- 
solving the  marriage  connection  be- 
tween two  partners  and  so  making  the 


wife  a  harlot,  and  the  husband  an  adul- 
terer ;  for  love,  or  charity,  is  as  the 
husband,  and  wisdom,  or  faith,  is  as 
the  wife ;  and  when  those  two  are  sep- 
arated, spiritual  whoredom  and  adul- 
tery ensue,  which  are  the  falsification 
of  truth,  and  the  adulteration  of  good. 

42.  Moreover,  it  should  be  known, 
that  there  are  three  degrees  of  love  and 
wisdom,  and  thence  three  degrees  of 
life,  and  that  the  human  mind,  accord- 
ing to  these  degrees,  is  formed,  as  it 
were,  into  regions,  and  that  life,  in  the 
highest  retrion,  is  in  the  highest  degree, 
and  in  the  second  region,  in  a  lower 
degree,  and  in  the  last  region,  in  the 
lowest  degree.  These  regions  are 
successively  opened  in  man ;  the  last 
region,  where  life  is  in  the  lowest 
degree,  is  opened  from  infancy  to  child- 
hood, and  this  is  done  by  the  sciences ; 
the  second  region,  where  life  is  in  a 
higher  degree,  from  childhood  to  youth, 
and  this  is  done  by  knowledges  from 
the  sciences ;  and  the  highest  region, 
where  life  is  in  the  highest  degree,  from 
youth  to  manhood  and  onwards,  and 
this  is  done  by  the  perception  of  truths, 
both  moral  and  spiritual.  It  should  be 
further  known,  that  the  perfection  of 
life  consists  not  in  thought,  but  in  the 
perception  of  trutli  from  the  light  of 
truth;  the  differences  of  life  with  men 
may  be  thence  ascertained ;  for  there 
are  some,  who,  as  soon  as  they  hear 
the  truth,  perceive  that  it  is  truth  ;  these 
are  represented  in  the  spiritual  world 
by  eagles  :  there  are  others,  who  do 
not  perceive  truth,  but  conclude  it 
from  confirmations,  by  appearances; 
and  these  are  represented  by  singing 
birds  :  there  are  others,  w  ho  believe  a 
thing  to  be  true,  because  it  was  assert- 
ed by  a  man  of  authority  ;  these  are 
represented  by  magpies :  and,  also, 
there  are  others,  who  are  not  willing, 
and  then  not  able,  to  perceive  truth, 
but  only  the  false  ;  the  reason  is,  be- 
cause they  are  in  the  light  of  infatua- 
tion, in  which  light,  the  false  appears 
as  truth,  and  the  truth  appears,  either 
as  something  above  the  head,  hid  in  a 
thick  cloud,  or  as  a  meteor,  or  as  the 
false ;  the  thoughts  of  these  are  repre- 
sented by  owls,  and  their  speech  by 


38 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


screech-owls.  Those  amongst  them, 
who  have  confirmed  their  falses,  cannot 
bear  to  hear  truths ;  and  as  soon  as  any 
truth  strikes  the  drum  of  their  ears, 
they  repel  it  with  aversion,  just  as  the 
stomach,  when  loaded  with  bilious 
matter,  nauseates  and  vomits  out  food. 

43.  V.  That  the  Essence  of  Love 
IS  TO  love  Others  out  of  Itself,  to 

DESIRE  TO  BE  ONE  WITH  THEM,  AND  TO 
MAKE  THEM  HAPPY  FROM  ItSELF. 

There  are  two  things  which  make 
the  essence  of  God — love  and  wisdom ; 
but  there  are  three  things  which  make 
the  essence  of  his  love — to  love  others 
out  of  itself,  to  desire  to  be  one  with 
them,  and  to  make  them  happy  from 
itself:  the  same  three  things  also 
make  the  essence  of  his  wisdom,  be- 
cause love  and  wisdom,  in  God,  make 
one,  as  was  shown  above  ;  but  love 
wills  those  things,  and  wisdom  pro- 
duces them.  The  first  essential, 
which  is,  to  love  others  out  of  itself,  is 
acknowledged  from  the  love  of  God 
towards  the  whole  human  race ;  and 
for  their  sake  God  loves  all  the  things 
which  he  has  created,  because  they 
are  means ;  for  he  who  loves  the  end  also 
loves  the  means ;  and  all  persons  and 
all  tilings  are  out  of  God,  because  they 
are  finite,  and  God  is  infinite.  The 
love  of  God  goes  and  extends  itself, 
not  only  to  good  persons  and  good 
things,  but  also  to  evil  persons  and 
evil  things  ;  consequently,  not  only  to 
those  persons  and  things  which  are  in 
heaven,  but  also  to  those  which  are  in 
hell ;  thus  not  only  to  Michael  and 
Gabriel,  but  also  to  the  devil  and  Sa- 
tan ;  for  God  is  every  where,  and  from 
eternity  to  eternity  the  same.  He 
says  also,  that  He  maketh  his  sun  rise 
on  the  good  and  the  evil,  and  that 
He  sendeth  rain  upon  the  just  and  the 
unjust,  Matt.  V.  45.  But  the  reason, 
that  evil  persons  and  evil  things  are 
still  evil,  is  in  the  subjects  and  objects 
themselves,  in  that  they  do  not  receive 
the  love  of  God,  as  it  is,  and  according 
to  its  inmost  intlu.K,  but  as  they  them- 
selves arc,  just  as  tiie  thorn  and  the 
nettle  do  with  the  heat  of  the  sun  and 
the  rain  of  heaven.  Thk  seoond 
essential   of  the   love    OF  God, 


which  is  to  desire  to  be  one  with  them, 
is  acknowledged  also  from  his  con- 
junction with  the  angelic  heaven,  with 
the  church  upon  earth,  with  every 
one  there,  and  with  every  good  and 
truth  which  enter  into  and  make  man 
and  the  church  ;  love  also,  viewed  in 
itself,  is  nothing  but  an  effort  to  con- 
junction ;  wherefore,  that  this  object 
of  the  essence  of  love  might  be  ob- 
tained, God  created  man  into  his  image 
and  likeness,  with  which  conjunction 
may  be  effected.  That  the  Divine 
Love  continually  intends  conjunction, 
is  manifest  from  tlie  words  of  the  Lord, 
that  He  icills  that  they  may  be  one. 
He  in  them  and  they  in  Him,  and  that 
the  love  of  God  may  be  in  them,  John 
xvii.  21,  22,  23,  26.  The  third  es- 
sential OF  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  to  mahr  them  happy  from  itself ,  is 
acknowledged  from  eternal  life,  which 
is  blessedness,  happiness,  and  felicity 
without  end,  which  God  gives  to  those 
who  receive  his  love  in  themselves ;  for 
God,  as  He  is  love  itself,  i.s  also  bless- 
edness itself ;  for  every  love  breathes 
forth  from  itself  a  delight,  and  the 
Divine  Love,  blessedness  itself,  happi- 
ness, and  felicity  to  eternity.  Thus 
God  makes  angels  happy  from  Himself, 
and  also  men  after  death,  which  is 
effected  by  conjunction  with  them. 

44.  That  such  is  the  Divine  Love,  is 
known  from  its  sphere,  which  pervades 
the  universe,  and  affects  every  one 
according  to  his  state;  it  especially 
affects  parents,  from  which  it  is  that 
they  tenderly  love  their  children, 
who  are  out  of  themselves,  that  they 
desire  to  be  one  with  them,  and  that 
they  desire  to  make  them  happy  from 
themselves.  This  sphere  of  Divine 
Love  affects  not  only  the  good,  but  also 
the  evil ;  and  not  only  men,  but  also 
beasts  and  birds  of  every  kind.  For 
what  else  does  a  mother  think  of,  when 
she  has  brought  forth  her  child,  than 
that  she  may,  as  it  were,  unite  herself 
with  it,  and  provide  for  its  good  ? 
What  other  concern  has  a  bird,  when 
she  has  hatched  her  young,  than  to 
cherish  them  under  her  wings,  and 
through  their  little  mouths  to  put  food 
into  their  throats?    That  dragons  and 


Concerning  the  Essence  of  God. 


39 


vipers  also  love  their  young,  is  known. 
That  universal  sphere  affects,  in  a 
special  manner,  those  who  receive  that 
love  of  God  in  themselves,  who  are 
such  as  hclieve  in  God  and  love  their 
neighbor ;  charity  with  them  is  an 
image  of  that  love.  Friendship 
amongst  the  good  also  resembles  that 
love;  for  a  friend,  at  his  table,  gives 
to  a  friend  the  better  things ;  he  kisses 
and  caresses  liim,  takes  him  by  the 
hand,  and  proffers  useful  offices.  The 
sympathies  and  efforts  of  homogeneous 
and  similar  things  to  conjunction,  de- 
rive their  origin  from  no  other  source. 
That  same  divine  sphere  operates  also 
into  inanimate  things,  as  into  trees  and 
plants,  but  through  the  sun  of  the  world 
and  its  heat  and  light ;  for  the  heat 
enters  them  from  without,  conjoins 
itself  witii  them,  and  causes  them  to 
bud,  blossom,  and  bear  fruit,  which 
things  are  in  the  place  of  blessedness 
in  animals;  that  heat  does  this,  because 
it  corresponds  to  spiritual  heat,  which 
is  love.  Representations  of  the  opera- 
tion of  this  love  are  also  exhibited  in 
various  subjects  of  the  mineral  king- 
dom ;  types  of  it  are  presented  in  their 
exaltation  to  uses,  and  thence  to  cor- 
responding values. 

45.  From  the  description  of  the  es- 
sence of  Divine  Love,  it  may  be  seen 
w'hat  is  the  essence  of  diabolical  love ; 
this  may  be  seen  from  the  opposite. 
Diabolical  love  is  the  love  of  self;  and 
this  is  called  love,  but,  viewed  in  itself, 
it  is  hatred,  for  it  does  not  love  any  one 
out  of  itself,  nor  does  it  desire  to  be 
conjoined  to  others,  that  it  may  do  good 
to  them,  but  only  that  it  may  do  so  to 
itself;  from  its  inmost,  it  continually 
desires  to  rule  over  others,  to  possess 
the  goods  of  others,  and  at  last  to  be 
worshipped  as  a  god.  This  is  the 
reason  why  those  who  are  in  hell  do 
not  acknowledge  God,  but  worship, 
as  gods,  those  who  have  power  over 
others;  thus  inferior  and  superior,  or 
lesser  and  greater  gods,  according  to 
the  extent  of  their  power  ;  and  because 
every  one  there  desires  that  in  heart 
he  also  burns  with  hatred  against  his 
god,  and  the  god  against  those  who  are 
under  his  power;  and  he  reputes  them 
as  vile  slaves,  with  whom,  indeed,  he 


speaks  courteously,  as  long  as  they 
adore  him,  but  he  rages  as  from  fire 
against  others,  and  also  inwardly,  or 
in  his  heart,  against  his  dependents ; 
for  the  love  of  self  is  the  same  with  the 
love  of  robbers,  who  mutually  kiss  each 
other,  while  they  are  engaged  in  rob- 
beries, but  afterwards  they  burn  with 
the  desire  of  killing  each  other,  that 
they  may  also  rob  each  other  of  their 
booty.  This  love  causes  its  lusts  to 
appear  at  a  distance,  in  hell  where  it 
reigns,  like  various  species  of  wild 
beasts,  some  like  foxes  and  leopards, 
some  like  wolves  and  tigers,  and  some 
like  crocodiles  and  venomous  serpents  ; 
and  the  deserts  where  they  live,  to 
consist  only  of  heaps  of  stones,  or  of 
naked  gravel,  with  bogs  interspersed, 
in  which  frogs  croak,  and  also  dismal 
birds  fly  over  their  cottages  and  scream. 
The  ochim,  tziim  and  jiim,  which  are 
mentioned  in  the  prophetical  parts  .of 
the  Word,  where  the  love  of  ruling 
from  the  love  of  self  is  spoken  of,  are 
nothing  else.  Isaiah  xiii.  21.  Jcrtm. 
1.  39.    Psalm  Ixxiv.  15. 

46.  VI.  That  these  Piioperties 
OF  THE  Divine  Love  were  the 
Cause  of  the  Creation  of  the  Uni- 
verse, AND  that  they  ARE  THE 
Cause  of  its  Preservation. 

That  those  three  essentials  of  the 
Divine  Love  were  the  cause  of  crea- 
tion, may  be  clearly  seen  from  an  at- 
tentive examination  of  them.  That 
THIS  first,  whicli  is  to  love  others  out 
of  itself,  was  a  cause,  is  evident  from 
tlie  universe,  which  is  out  of  God,  as 
the  world  is  out  of  the  sun ;  and  there- 
fore He  can  extend  his  love  into  the 
universe,  and  exercise  it  in  it,  and  so 
rest.  It  is  read  also,  that  after  God 
had  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth, 
he  rested ;  and  that  thence  the  day  of 
the  Sabbath  was  made.  Gen.  ii.  2,  3. 
That  the  second,  which  is  to  loill  to 
be  one  with  them,  was  a  cause,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  creation  of  man  into  the 
image  and  likeness  of  God ;  by  which 
is  meant,  that  man  was  made  a  form 
receptive  of  love  and  wisdom  from  God, 
so  that  God  can  unite  himself  with  him, 
and,  for  the  sake  of  him,  with  all  and 
every  thing  of  the  universe,  which  are 
no  other  than  mediums;  for  conjunction 


40 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


with  a  final  cause,  is  also  a  conjunction 
with  the  mediate  causes.  That  all 
things  were  created  for  the  sake  of 
man,  is  manifest  also  from  the  book  of 
Creation,  or  Genesis,  i.  28,  29,  30. 
That  the  third,  which  is  to  make 
them  happy  from  itself,  is  a  cause,  is 
evident  from  the  angelic  heaven,  which 
is  provided  for  every  man  who  receives 
the  love  of  God,  where  all  are  made 
happy  from  God  alone.  That  those 
three  essentials  of  the  love  of  God,  are 
also  the  cause  of  the  preservation  of 
the  universe,  is  because  preservation 
is  perpetual  creation,  as  subsistence  is 
perpetual  existence ;  and  the  Divine 
Love,  from  eternity  to  eternity,  is  the 
same  ;  thus  such  as  it  was  in  creating 
the  world,  such  it  is  and  continues  to 
be,  in  the  created  world. 

47.  From  these  things,  rightly  per- 
ceived, it  may  be  seen,  that  the  uni- 
verse is  a  work  cohering  from  firsts  to 
lasts,  because  it  is  a  work  continent  of 
ends,  causes  and  effects,  in  an  indisso- 
luble connection ;  and  because  in  all 
love  there  is  an  end,  and  in  all  wisdom 
the  promotion  of  an  end  by  mediate 
causes,  and  through  them  to  effects, 
which  are  uses,  it  follows  also,  that 
the  universe  is  a  work  continent  of 
divine  love,  divine  wisdom,  and  uses, 
and  thus  a  work  altogether  coherent 
from  firsts  to  lasts.  That  the  uni- 
verse consists  of  perpetual  uses  pro- 
duced by  wisdom  and  originated  by 
love,  every  wise  man  may  sec  as  in  a 
mirror,  while  he  procures  to  himself  a 
general  idea  of  the  creation  of  the 
universe,  and  in  that  views  the  partic- 
ulars; for  the  particular  parts  adapt 
themselves  to  tiic  whole,  and  the  whole 
disposes  them  into  such  a  form  that  they 
may  agree.  That  it  is  so,  will  be  more 
fully  illustrated  in  the  following  pages. 


48.  To  this  I  shall  add  this  Ri:- 
lation.  I  was  once  conversing  with 
two  angels  ;  one  was  from  the  eastern 
heaven,  and  the  other  from  the  south- 
ern heaven.  When  they  perceived  that 
I  was  meditating  arcana  of  wisdom 
concerning  love,  they  said,  "Do  you 
know  any  thing  about  the  exercises  of 
wisdom  in  our  world  ?"    I  replied,  that 


I  did  not;  and  they  said,  "  There  are 
many,  and  that  those  who  love  truths 
from  spiritual  affection,  or  truths  be- 
cause they  are  truths,  and  because  by 
them  is  wisdom,  meet  together  at  a 
given  signal,  and  canvass  and  determine 
those  questions  which  are  of  deeper  un- 
derstanding."   They  then  took  me  by 
the  hand,  saying,  "  Follow  us  and  you 
shall  see  and  hear,  for  the  signal  of 
the  meeting  has  been  given  to-day." 
I  was  led  over  a  plain  to  a  hill,  and, 
behold,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  a  portico 
of  palm  trees,  continued  even  to  its 
top ;  we  entered  it,  and  ascended  ;  and 
upon  the  top  or  summit  of  the  hill, 
there  appeared  a  grove,  and  between 
the  trees,  the  ground,  being  elevated, 
formed  as  it  were  a  theatre,  within 
which  was  a  smooth  floor,  paved  witli 
little  stones  of  various  colors.  Around 
it,  in  the  form  of  a  square,  were  placed 
seats,  upon  which  the  lovers  of  wisdom 
were  sitting;  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
theatre,  there  was  a  table,  upon  which 
lay  a  paper  sealed  with  a  seal.  Those 
who  sat  on  the  seats  invited  us  to  the 
seats  still  vacant;  and  I  replied  that  I 
was  led  hither  by  two  angels,  that  I 
might  see  and  hear,  and  not  that  I 
might  sit.    And  then  those  two  angels 
uent  into  the  middle  of  the  floor  to 
the  table,  and  loosed  the  seal  of  the 
paper,  and  read,  in  the  presence  of 
those  who  were  sitting,  the  arcana  of 
wisdom  written  on  the  paper,  which 
they  were  now  to  canvass  and  unfold. 
They  were  written  by  angels  of  the 
third  heaven,  and  let  down  upon  the 
table.   There  were  three  arcana  :  Thf. 
FIRST — "  ^Vhat  is  ihe  inio'^c  of  God, 
and  what  ihe  likeness  of  God,  into 
which  man  was  created  ?"   The  second 
— "  Whi/  is  not  num  born  into  the  sci- 
ence of  any  love,  when  yet  beasts  anel 
birds,  noble  as  well  as  ignoble,  are  born 
into  the  sciences  of  all  their  lores  ?" 
Tun  THIRD — "  What  does  the  tree  of 
life  signify  ;  and  what  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil;  and  what 
the  eating  from  them  ?"  Underneath 
v.  as  written — "  Join  tiiose  three  togeth- 
er into  one  sentence,  and  write  it  upon 
a  new  paper,  and  put  it  back  upon  this 
table,  and  we  will  see  it  :  if  the  sen- 
tence appear  true  and  just  on  the  bai- 


Concerning  the  Essence  of  God. 


41 


ance,  to  each  of  you  shall  be  given 
the  prize  of  wisdom."  Tiie  two  angels, 
having  read  this,  retired,  and  were  car- 
ried up  into  their  heavens.  And  then 
those  who  sat  upon  tiie  seats  began 
to  canvass  and  unfold  the  arcana 
proposed  to  them ;  and  they  spoke  in 
order ;  first,  those  who  sat  towards  the 
North,  then  those  towards  the  West, 
afterwards  those  towards  the  South, 
and  lastly  those  towards  the  East. 
And  they  took  up  the  first  subject  of 
investigation,  which  was,  "  What  is 

THE  IMAGE  OF  GoD,  AND  WHAT  THE 
LIKENESS   OF   GoD,    INTO  WHICH  MAN 

WAS  CREATED  ?"  And  then,  in  the 
first  place,  these  words  from  the  book 
of  Creation,  were  read  to  them  all : 
God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
IMAGE,  according  to  our  likeness  ; 
and  God  created  man  into  his  own 
IMAGE ;  He  made  him  in  the  likeness 
of  God,  Gen.  i.  In  the  day  when  God 
created  man,  He  made  him  in  the  like- 
ness op  God,  Gen.  v.  1. 

Those  who  sat  towards  the  North 
spoke  first,  saying,  that  "  The  image 
of  God  and  the  likeness  of  God  are 
the  two  lives  breathed  into  man  by 
God,  which  are  the  life  of  the  will,  and 
the  life  of  the  understanding ;  for  it  is 
read,  Jehovah  God  breathed  into  the 
nostrils  of  Adam  the  breath  of  lives, 
and  man  was  made  into  a  living  sonl. 
Gen.  ii.  7.  By  which  seems  to  be 
meant,  that  there  was  breathed  into 
him  the  will  of  good,  and  the  percep- 
tion of  truth,  and  thus  the  soul  of  lives  ; 
and  because  life  from  God  was  breath- 
ed into  him,  an  image  and  a  likeness 
signify  integrity  from  love  and  wisdom, 
and  from  justice  and  judgment  in  him." 
Those  who  sat  towards  the  West  fa- 
vored these,  adding  however  this, 
that  "  The  state  of  integrity  breathed 
into  him  by  God,  is  continually  breath- 
ed into  every  man  after  him  ;  but  that 
it  is  in  man  as  in  a  receptacle,  and 
that  man,  as  he  is  a  receptacle,  is  an 
image  and  likeness  of  God."  After- 
wards the  third  in  order,  who  were 
those  who  sat  towards  the  South,  said, 
"  The  image  of  God  and  the  likeness  of 
God  are  two  distinct  things,  but  united 
in  man  by  creation  ;  and  we  see,  as 


from  a  kind  of  interior  light,  that  the 
image  of  God  may  be  lost  by  man,  but 
not  the  likeness  of  God.  This  appears, 
as  it  wcre,through  a  veil,  from  this,  that 
Adam  retained  the  likeness  of  God  af- 
ter he  had  lost  the  image  of  God ;  for  it 
is  read  after  the  curse,  Behold  the 
man  is  become  as  one  of  us,  in  knowing 
good  and  evil.  Gen.  iii.  22.  And  af- 
terwards he  is  called  a  likeness  of  God, 
and  not  an  image  of  God,  Gen.  v.  1. 
But  let  us  leave  to  our  companions, 
who  sit  towards  the  east,  and  are  thence 
in  superior  light,  to  say  what  is  prop- 
erly the  image  of  God,  and  what  is  prop- 
erly the  likeness  of  God."  And  then, 
after  silence  was  made,  those  who  sat  to- 
wards the  East  rose  up  from  their  seats, 
and  looked  up  to  the  Lord  ;  and  after- 
wards they  sat  down  again  upon  their 
seats  and  said,  that  "  An  image  of 
God  is  a  receptacle  of  God ;  and  be- 
cause God  is  Love  itself  and  Wisdom 
itself,  an  image  of  God  is  the  reception 
of  love  and  wisdom  from  God  in  it ; 
but  that  a  likeness  of  God  is  a  perfect 
likeness  and  a  full  appearance,  as  if  love 
and  wisdom  were  in  man,  and  thence  as 
if  they  were  altogether  his  ;  for  man, 
by  the  senses,  perceives  no  otherwise 
than  that  he  loves  from  himself,  and  is 
wise  from  himself ;  or  that  he  wills  good 
and  understands  truth  from  himself ; 
when,  nevertheless,  nothing  of  this  is 
from  himself,  but  from  God.  God 
alone  loves  from  himself,  and  is  wise 
from  himself,  because  God  is  Love  itself 
and  Wisdom  itself;  the  likeness  or  ap- 
pearance that  love  and  wisdom,  or  good 
and  truth,  are  in  man,  as  his,  causes 
that  man  may  be  man,  and  that  he  may 
be  conjoined  to  God,  and  thus  live  to 
eternity  ;  whence  it  flows,  that  man  is 
man  from  this,  that  he  can  will  good 
and  understand  truth,  altogether  as 
from  himself,  and  still  know  and  believe 
that  it  is  from  God  ;  for  as  he  knows 
and  believes  this,  God  puts  his  image 
in  man ;  it  would  be  otherwise,  if  he 
should  believe  it  is  from  himself,  and 
not  from  God."  When  these  things 
were  said,  there  came  upon  them  a 
zeal  from  the  love  of  truth,  from  which 
they  spoke  these  words :  "  How  can 
man  receive  any  thing  of  love  and  wis- 


42 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


dom,  and  retain  it,  and  re-produce  it, 
unless  he  sensibly  perceives  it  as  his 
own?  And  how  can  conjunction  with 
God,  by  means  of  love  and  wisdom,  be 
effected,  unless  there  be  given  to  man 
something  reciprocal  of  conjunction  ? 
For  without  reciprocation,  no  conjunc- 
tion is  possible,  and  the  reciprocation 
of  conjunction  is,  that  man  should  love 
God,  and  do  those  things  which  are 
of  God,  as  from  himself,  and  yet  be- 
lieve that  it  is  from  God.  Besides,  how 
can  man  live  to  eternity,  unless  he  be 
conjoined  to  the  eternal  God  ?  Con- 
sequently, how  can  man  be  man,  with- 
out that  likeness  in  him  f  To  these 
words  all  assented,  and  said,  "  Let  a 
conclusion  be  made  from  them  ;"  and 
this  was  made  :  "  Man  is  a  receptacle 
of  God,  and  a  receptacle  of  God  is  an 
image  of  God ;  and  because  God  is 
Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  man  is  a 
receptacle  of  them ;  and  a  receptacle 
becomes  an  imaa;e  of  God  according 
as  It  receives;  and  man  is  also  a  like- 
ness of  God  from  this,  that  he  sensibly 
perceives  in  himself  that  those  things 
which  are  from  God,  are  in  him  as  his  ; 
but  still  so  nmch  of  that  likeness  is  an 
image  of  God,  as  acknowledges  that 
love  and  wisdom,  or  good  and  truth, 
are  not  in  him  his,  and  thence  nei- 
ther from  him,  but  only  in  God,  and 
thence  from  God."  After  tliis,  they 
took  up  the  next  object  of  investigation, 
"  Why  man  is  not  born  into  the 

SCIENCE  of  any  LOVE,  WHEN  YET 
BEASTS  AND  BIRDS,  NOBLE  AS  WELL 
AS  IGNOBLE,  ARE  BORN  INTO  THE  SCI- 
ENCES  OF  ALL  THEIR  LOVES."  First 

they  confirmed  the  truth  of  the  propo- 
sition from  various  things ;  as,  con- 
cerning man,  that  he  is  born  into  no 
science,  not  even  into  the  science  of 
conjugial  love;  and  they  inquired  and 
heard  from  examiners,  that  an  infant 
does  not  even  know  the  breast  of  its 
mother,  from  any  innate  science,  hut 
that  it  learns  this  by  being  applied  to 
it  by  its  mother  or  nurse ;  and  that  it 
only  knows  how  to  suck,  and  that  it 
derives  this  from  continual  suction  in 
the  mother's  womb ;  and  that,  after- 
wards, it  does  not  know  how  to  walk, 
nor  to  articulate  sound  into  any  human 


voice,  yea  nor  to  sound  the  affec- 
tions of  its  love,  as  beasts  do;  moreover, 
that  it  knows  not  what  food  is  suitable 
for  it,  as  beasts  do,  but  that  it  lays  hold 
of  whatever  comes  in  its  way,  whether 
clean  or  unclean,  and  puts  it  into  its 
mouth.  The  examiners  said,  that 
"  Man,  without  instruction,  knows 
nothing  at  all  about  the  modes  of  lov- 
ing the  sex,  and  that  not  even  virgins 
and  young  men  know  any  thing  of  this, 
without  instruction  from  others.  Tn  a 
word,  man  is  born  corporeal,  like  a 
worm,  and  continues  corporeal,  unless 
he  acquires  knowledge, intelligence  and 
wisdom  from  others."  After  this,  they 
proved  that  animals,  noble  as  well  as 
ignoble,  such  as  the  beasts  of  the  earth, 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  reptiles,  the 
fishes,  and  the  little  worms  which  are 
called  insects,  are  born  into  all  the 
sciences  of  the  loves  of  their  life,  as 
into  all  things  concerning  nourishment, 
into  all  things  concerning  habitation, 
into  all  thinjis  concerning  the  love  of 
the  sex  and  prolification,  and  into  all 
things  concerning  the  education  of 
their  young.  These  things  they  con- 
firmed by  the  wonderful  things  which 
they  recalled  to  remembrance,  from 
what  they  had  seen,  heard  and  read 
in  the  natural  world,  in  which  they 
once  lived,  and  in  which  there  are  not 
representative,  but  real  beasts.  After 
the  truth  of  tlie  proposition  was  thus 
established,  they  applied  their  minds 
to  investigate  and  discover  the  causes 
by  means  of  which  they  might  untold 
and  lay  open  this  mystery ;  and  they  all 
said  that  those  things  could  not  but 
exist  from  the  Divine  Wisdom,  that 
man  may  be  man,  and  beast  may  be 
beast ;  and  that  thus  the  imperfection 
of  man's  nativity  is  his  perfection,  and 
the  perfection  of  a  beast's  nativity  is  its 
imperfection. 

Then  those  on  the  North  began 
first  to  open  their  minds,  and  said, 
that  "  Man  was  born  without  sciences, 
that  he  might  be  able  to  receive  them 
all ;  but,  if  he  were  born  into  sciences, 
he  would  not  be  able  to  receive  any,  ex- 
cept those  into  which  lie  was  born,  and 
then  he  would  not  be  able  to  appropri- 
ate any  to  himself;"  which  they  illus- 


Concerning  the  Essence  of  God. 


43 


trated  by  this  comparison  :  "  Man,  at 
first,  is  born  like  ground  in  wliich  no 
seeds   have    been  sown,  but  which 
can  yet  receive  all,  and  bring  them 
forth,  and  cause  them  to  bear  fruit ; 
but  a  beast  is  like  ground  already 
sown,  and  covered  over  with  grass  and 
herbs,  which  receives  no  other  seeds 
than  those  which  have  been  sown ;  and, 
if  others  should  be  sown,  they  would  be 
suffocated.    Thence  it  is,  that  man  is 
many  years  in  coming  to  his  growth, 
during  which  he  may  be  cultivated  like 
the  ground,    and  produce  grain  of 
every  kind,  flowers  and  trees ;  but  a 
beast  comes  to  its  growth  in  a  few 
years,  during  which  it  can  be  cultivat- 
ed for  no  other  things    than  those 
which  are  born  with  it."  Afterwards, 
those  on  the  West  spoke,  and  said, 
that  "  Man  is  not  born  science,  like 
a  beast,  but  that  he  is  born  a  facul- 
ty, and  an  inclination ;  a  faculty  to 
know,  and  an  inclination  to  love  ;  and 
that  he  is  born  a  faculty,  not  only  for 
loving  those  things  which  are  of  self 
and  the  world,  but  also  those  which  are 
of  God  and  heaven  ;  consequently,  that 
man  is  born  an  organ,  which  scarcely 
lives  by  the  external  senses,  except  ob- 
scurely, but  by  no  internal  senses,  to 
the  intent,  that  he  may,  by  degrees, 
live,  and  become  a  man ;  first,  a  natural 
man  ;  afterwards,  a  rational  man  ;  and, 
lastly,  a  spiritual  man ;  which  would 
not  be  the  case,  if  he  were  born  into 
sciences  and  loves,  as  beasts  are ;  for 
the  sciences  and  affections  of  love, 
which  are  born  with  one,  limit  that 
progression  ;  but  mere  faculties  and  in- 
clinations, born  with  one,  limit  nothing ; 
wherefore,  man  may  be  perfected  in  sci- 
ence, intelligence  and  wisdom,  to  eter- 
nity."   Those  on  the  South  took  up 
the  subject,  and  declared  their  opinion, 
saying,  that  "  It  is  impossible  for  man 
to  derive  any  science  from  himself,  but 
he  may  derive  it  from  others,  since  no 
science  was  born  with  him ;  and  be- 
cause he  cannot  derive  any  science 
from  himself,  neither  can  he  any  love, 
since,  where  there  is  no  science,  there 
is  no  love ;  science  and  love  are  insep- 
arable companions ;  they  can  no  more 
be  separated,  than  the  will  and  under- 


standing, or  affection  and  thought ;  yea, 
no  more  than  essence  and  form  ;  where- 
fore, as  man  receives  science  from  oth- 
ers, love  adjoins  itself  to  it,  as  its  com- 
panion.    The  universal  love,  which 
adjoins  itself,  is  the  love  of  knowing, 
and  afterwards  of  understanding  and 
becoming  wise ;  and  these  loves  are  in 
man  only,  and  not  in  beasts,  and  they 
flow  in  from  God.    We  agree  with  our 
companions  from  the  West,  that  man  is 
not  born  into  any  love,  and  thence  not 
into  any  science ;  but  that  he  is  only 
born  into  an  inclination  to  love,  and 
thence  into  a  faculty  to  receive  sci- 
ences, not  from  himself,  but  from  oth- 
ers, that  is,  through  others  :   it  is  said, 
through  others,  because  neither  did 
those  receive  any  thing  from  themselves, 
but  originally  from  God.    We  agree 
also  with  our  companions  towards  the 
North,  that  man,  at  first,  is  born  like 
ground,  in  which  not  any  seeds  have 
been  sown,  but  in  which  all  seeds,  as 
well  noble  as  ignoble,  may  be  sown  : 
thence  it  is,  that  man  was  called  man 
from  the  ground,    and  Adam  from 
Adama,  which  is  the  ground.  To 
this  we  add,  that  beasts  are  born  into 
natural  loves,  and  thence  into  the  sci- 
ences corresponding  to  them  ;  but  still 
from  the  sciences  they  do  not  derive 
any  knowledge,  nor  thought,  nor  intel- 
ligence, nor  wisdom,  but  that  they  are 
led  to  them  from  their  loves,  almost  in 
the  same  manner  as  blind  men  are  led 
through  the  streets  by  dogs ;  for,  as  to 
the  understanding,  they  are  blind  ;  or 
rather  like  persons  walking  in  sleep,, 
who  do  what  they  do  from  a  blind  sci- 
ence, while  the  understanding  is  fast 
asleep."    Lastly,  those  on  the  E.\st 
spoke,  and  said,  "  We  consent  to  those 
things  which  our  brethren  have  spoken, 
that  man  knows  nothing  from  himself, 
but  from  others,  and  through  others, 
that  he  may  know  and  acknowledge 
that  all  science,  intelligence  and  wis- 
dom are  from  God,    and  that  man 
could  not  otherwise  be  born  and  begot- 
ten of  God,  and  become  an  image  and 
likeness  of  Him;  for  he  becomes  an 
image  of  God,  by  acknowledging  and 
believing,  that  all  the  good  of  love  and 
charity,  and  all  the  truth  of  wisdom  and 


44 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


faith,  were  received,  and  are  received, 
by  him  from  God,  and  nothing  from 
himself ;  and  he  is  a  likeness  of  God,  in 
that  he  sensibly  perceives  those  things 
in  himself,  as  if  from  himself ;  and  he 
sensibly  perceives  this,  because  he  is 
not  born  into  sciences,  but  receives 
them  ;  and  what  he  receives,  appears  to 
him  as  from  himself  To  perceive 
thus,  is  given  to  man  by  God,  that  he 
may  be  a  man,  and  not  a  beast ;  since 
by  this,  that  he  wills,  thinks,  loves, 
knows,  understands,  and  is  wise,  as 
from  himself,  he  receives  sciences,  and 
exalts  them  into  intelligence,  and  by 
their  uses  into  wisdom ;  thus  God  con- 
joins man  to  himself,  and  man  conjoins 
himself  to  God.  These  things  could 
not  have  been  effected,  unless  it  had 
been  provided  by  God,  that  man  should 
be  born  in  total  ignorance."  After 
this  declaration,  all  desired  that  a  con- 
clusion should  be  made  from  the  things 
canvassed  ;  and  this  was  made  :  "  That 
man  is  born  into  no  science,  in  order  that 
he  may  be  able  to  come  into  them  all, 
and  advance  tointelligence,and  through 
this  to  wisdom  ;  and  that  man  is  born 
into  no  love,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
able  to  come  into  all,  by  applications 
of  the  sciences  from  intelligence,  and 
into  love  to  God  through  love  towards 
the  neighbor,  and  thus  to  be  conjoined 
to  God,  and  by  that  means  to  become  a 
man,  and  to  live  to  eternity." 

After  this,  they  took  the  paper,  and 
read  the  third  object  of  investigation, 
which  was.  What  does  the  tuee  of 
LIFE   .signify;    wh.\t  the  tree  of 

THE  knowledge  OF  GOOD  AND  EVIL  ; 
AND   WHAT  THE   EATING   KKOM  THEM? 

And  they  all  requested,  that  those  who 
Avere  from  the  East  would  unfold  this 
mystery,  because  it  is  of  deeper  under- 
standing, and  because  those  who  are 
from  the  East  are  in  flammeous  light, 
that  is,  in  the  wisdom  of  love  ;  and  this 
wisdom  is  meant  by  the  garden  of 
Eden,  in  which  those  two  trees  were 
placed.  And  they  answered,  "We 
will  speak ;  but,  because  man  does  not 
take  any  from  him.self,  but  from  God, 
wc  will  speak  from  Him,  but  still  from 
ourselves,  as  from  ourselves."  And  then 
they  said,  "A  tree  signifies  man,  and 


its  fruit,  the  good  of  life ;  thence,  by  the 
tree  of  life,  is  signified  man  living  from 
God ;  and  because  love  and  wisdom, 
and  charity  and  faith,  or  good  and 
truth,  make  the  life  of  God  in  man,  by 
the  tree  of  life  is  signified  the  man  in 
whom  those  things  are  from  God,  and 
who  has  thence  eternal  life.  Similar 
things  are  signified  by  the  tree  of  life, 
from  which  it  will  be  given  to  eat.  Rev. 
ii.  7,  xxii.  2,  14.  By  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  is  signified 
man  believing  that  he  lives  from  him- 
self, and  not  from  God;  thus,  that  love 
and  wisdom,  charity  and  faith,  that 
is,  good  and  truth,  are  in  man,  his, 
and  not  God's ;  believing  this,  because 
he  thinks,  and  wills,  and  speaks,  and 
acts,  in  all  likeness  and  appearance,  as 
from  himself ;  and  because  man  thence 
persuades  himself  that  he  is  a  God, 
therefore  the  serpent  said,  God  cloth 
know,  that,  in  the  day  when  ye  shall 
cat  of  the  fruit  of  that  tree,  your  eyes 
icill  be  opened^  and  ye  will  be  as  God, 
knowing  good  and  evil,  Gen.  iii.  5. 
By  eating  from  those  trees  is  signified 
reception  and  appropriation  ;  by  eating 
from  the  tree  of  life,  the  reception  of 
eternal  life  ;  by  eating  from  the  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  the 
reception  of  damnation.  By  the  ser- 
pent is  meant  the  devil,  as  to  the  love 
of  self,  and  the  pride  of  one's  own  in- 
telligence ;  and  that  love  is  the  pos- 
sessor of  that  tree,  and  the  men  wl;o 
are  in  pride  from  that  love,  are  those 
trees.  They  are,  therefore,  in  an 
enormous  error,  who  believe  that 
Adam  was  wise,  or  did  good  from  him- 
self, and  that  this  was  his  state  of  in- 
tegrity ;  when,  yet,  Adam  himself, 
on  account  of  that  belief,  was  curs- 
ed ;  for  this  is  signified  by  eating  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil ;  wherefore,  he  tiien  fell  from  the 
state  of  integrity  which  he  had  from 
this,  that  he  believed  that  he  was  wiso 
and  did  good  from  God,  and  not  at 
all  from  himself;  for  this  is  meant  by 
eating  from  the  tree  of  life.  The  Lord 
alone,  when  He  was  in  the  world,  was 
wise  from  Himself,  and  did  good  from 
Himself,  because  the  Divine  Itself, 
from  nativity,  was  in  Him,  and  was 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


45 


his ;  wherefore  tiho  by  his  own  pow- 
er, lie  became  a  Redeemer  and  Sa- 
vior." From  ail  tiiese  things,  they 
made  this  conclusion;  that  "By  the 
tree  of  life,  and  by  the'  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  by 
eating  from  them,  is  meant,  that  the 
life  of  man  is  God  in  him,  and  that 
then  he  has  heaven  and  eternal  life, 
and  that  the  death  of  man  is  the  per- 
suasion and  belief  that  the  life  of  man 
is  not  God,  but  himself,  whence  he  has 
hell  and  eternal  death,  which  is  damna- 
tion." 

After  this,  they  looked  at  the  paper 
which  was  left  by  the  angels  upon  the 
table,  and  saw  written  underneath, 
Join  those  three  together  into  one 
SENTENCE ;  and  then  they  collected 
them,  and  saw  that  those  three  cohered 
in  one  series,  and  that  that  series  or 
sentence  is  this  ;  that  "  Man  was  cre- 
ated, that  he  might  receive  love  and 
wisdom  from  God,  and  yet  in  all  like- 
ness as  from  himself,  and  tliis  for  the 
sake  of  reception  and  conjunction  ;  and 
that,  therefore,  man  is  not  born  into 
any  love,  nor  into  any  science,  nor 
even  into  any  power  of  loving  and  be- 
coming wise  from  himself ;  wherefore, 


if  he  ascribes  all  the  good  of  love,  and 
all  the  truth  of  wisdom,  to  God,  he  be- 
comes a  living  man  ;  but  if  he  ascribes 
them  to  himself,  he  becomes  a  dead 
man."  This  tiiey  wrote  on  a  new  pa- 
per, and  laid  it  upon  the  table  ;  and  lo, 
suddenly  the  angels  came  in  a  bright 
cloud,  and  carried  the  paper  away  into 
heaven  ;  and,  after  it  was  read  there, 
those  who  sat  upon  the  seats  heard 
thence  the  words,  "  Well,  well,  well." 
And  immediately  there  appeared  one 
thence,  as  it  were  flying,  who  had,  as 
it  were,  two  wings  about  the  feet,  and 
two  about  the  temples,  bringing  the 
prizes,  which  were  robes,  caps,  and 
wreaths  of  laurel;  and  he  alighted, 
and  gave  to  those  towards  the  Nortii, 
robes  of  an  opaline  color  ;  to  those 
towards  the  West,  robes  of  a  scarlet 
color ;  to  those  towards  the  South, 
caps,  whose  borders  were  adorned  with 
bands  of  gold  and  pearls,  and  the  ele- 
vations of  the  left  side  with  diamonds, 
cut  in  the  form  of  flowers ;  but  to  those 
towards  the  East  he  gave  wreaths 
of  laurel  in  which  were  rubies  and 
sapphires.  And  they  all,  decorated 
with  these  rewards,  left  the  school 
of  wisdom,  and  went  home  with  joy. 


CONCERNING  THE  OMNIPOTENCE,  OMNISCIENCE  AND  OMNIPRESENCE 

OF  GOD. 


49.  We  have  treated  of  the  Divine 
Love  and  the  Divine  Wisdom,  and 
shown  that  these  two  are  the  Divine 
Essence  :  it  follows  now  to  treat  of  the 
Omnipotence,  Omniscience  and  Om- 
nipresence of  God,  because  these 
three  proceed  from  the  Divine  Love 
and  the  Divine  Wisdom,  scarcely  oth- 
erwise than  the  power  and  presence  of 
the  sun  in  this  world,  and  in  all  and 
every  part  of  it,  by  means  of  light  and 
heat.  The  heat  also  from  the  sun  of  the 
spiritual  world,  in  the  midst  of  which 
is  Jehovah  God,  in  its  essence,  is  Di- 
vine Love,  and  the  light  thence  is  Di- 
vine Wisdom ;  whence  it  is  manifest, 
that  as  infinity,  immensity  and  eterni- 
ty appertain  to  the  Divine  Esse,  so  om- 


nipotence, omniscience  and  omnipres- 
ence appertain  to  the  Divine  Essence. 
But  because  those  three  universal  pred- 
icables  of  the  Divine  Essence  have 
not  hitherto  been  understood,  because 
their  progression,  according  to  their 
own  ways,  which  are  the  laws  of  order, 
was  unknown,  it  is  proper  to  exhibit 
them  here  by  distinct  articles,  which 
will  be,  L  That  Omnipotence,  Omnis- 
cience and  Omnipresence  are  of  the 
Divine  Wisdom  from  the  Divine  Love. 
II.  That  the  Omnipotence,  Omnis- 
cience and  Omnipresence  of  God  can- 
not be  known,  unless  it  be  knoicn  what 
Order  is,  and  unless  these  properties  of 
it  be  known,  that  God  is  Order,  and 
that,  at  the  creation.  He  introduced  Or- 


46 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


der  into  the  universe,  and  into  all  and 
every  part  of  it.  III.  That  the  Om- 
nipotence of  God  in  the  universe,  and 
in  all  and  every  pai't  of  it,  proceeds 
and  operates  according  to  the  laws  of 
his  Order.  IV.  That  God  is  omnis- 
cient, that  is,  perceives,  sees  and  knows 
all  and  every  thing,  even  to  the  most 
minute,  vdiich  is  done  according  to  Or- 
der;  and  thence  also  whatever  is  done 
contrary  to  Order.  V.  That  God  is 
omnipresent  from  the  firsts  to  the  lasts 
of  his  Order.  VI.  That  man  was 
created  a  form  of  Divine  Order.  VII. 
That  man  is  so  far  in  power  against 
the  evil  and  the  false  from  the  Divine 
Omnipotence,  and  that  he  is  so  far  in 
wisdom  concerning  the  good  and  the 
true  from  the  Divine  Omniscience,  and 
that  he  is  so  far  in  God  from  the  Di- 
vine Omnipresence,  as  he  lives  accord- 
ing to  Divine  Order.  But  these  arti- 
cles are  to  be  explained  one  by  one. 

50.  I.  That  Omnipotence,  Omnis- 
cience AND  Omnipresence  are  of 
THE  Divine  Wisdom  from  the  Di- 
vine Love. 

That  omnipotence,  omniscience 
and  omnipresence  are  of  the  Divine 
Wisdom  from  the  Divine  Love,  is  an 
arcanum  from  heaven,  which  has  not 
hitherto  shone  in  the  understanding  of 
any  one ;  because  no  one  has  yet  known 
what  love  is  in  its  essence,  nor  what 
wisdom  thence  is  in  its  essence,  and  still 
less  concerning  the  influx  of  one  into 
the  other,  which  is,  that  love,  with  all 
and  every  thing  of  it,  flows  into  wis- 
dom, and  resides  in  it,  as  a  king  in 
his  kingdom,  or  as  a  master  in  his 
house,  and  relinquishes  all  the  govern- 
ment of  justice  to  judgment ;  and  be- 
cause justice  is  of  love,  and  judgment 
is  of  wisdom,  he  relinquishes  all  the 
government  of  love  to  his  wisdom  ;  but 
this  arcanum  will  receive  additional 
light  in  what  follows :  in  the  mean 
time,  lot  it  serve  for  a  canon.  That 
God  is  ojnnipotent,  omniscient,  and 
omnipresent,  by  means  of  the  wisdom 
of  his  love,  is  also  meant  by  these 
words  in  John ;  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  tras  God.  All  things 
were  ma'le  by  Him,  and  without  Him 


there  icas  nothing  made  that  was  made. 
In  Him  loas  life,  and  the  life  teas  the 
light  of  men  ;  and  the  world  teas  made 
hy  Him  ;  and  the  Word  became  flesh, 

i.  1,  3,  4,  10',  14.  By  the  Wordxhexe, 
is  meant  the  Divine  Truth,  or,  what 
amounts  to  the  same,  the  Divine  Wis- 
dom ;  wherefore  it  is  also  called  life 
and  light ;  and  life  and  light  are  no 
other  than  wisdom. 

51.  Since,  in  the  Word,  justice  is 
predicated  of  the  Divine  Love,  and 
judgment  of  the  Divine  Wisdom, 
therefore  some  passages  shall  be  ad- 
duced to  prove,  that  the  government  of 
God  is  effected  in  the  world  by  means 
of  those  two;  which  passages  are — 
Jehovah,  Justice  and  Judgment  are 
the  support  of  thy  throne.  Psalm  Ixxxix. 

15.  Let  him  who  gloricth,  glury  in 
this,  that  Jehovah  doeth  Judgment 
and  Justice  in  the  earth,  Jerem.  ix. 
23.  Let  Jehovah  be  eralfcd,  because 
He  hath  filed  the  earth  with  Judgment 
ffnrf  Justice,  Isaiah  xxxiii.  5.  Judg- 
ment shcdlfloto  as  water,  and  Justice 
as  a  mighty  torrent,  Amos  v.  24.  Je- 
hovah, thy  Justice  is  as  the  moun- 
tains of  God,  thy  Judgments  are  as  a 
great  abyss.  Psalm  xxxvi.  7.  Jeho- 
vah will  bring  forth  his  Justice  as  the 
light,  and  his  Judgment  as  the  noon- 
day. Psalm  xxxvii.  6.  Jehovah  will 
judge  his  people  in  Justice,  and  his 
miserable  ones  in  Judgment,  Psalm 
Ixxii.  2.  lllien  I  shall  have  learned 
the  Judgments  of  thy  Justice,  Psalm 
cxix.  7,  164.  I  will  betroth  thee  unto 
Me  in  Justice  and  Judgment,  Hosea 

ii.  19.  Zion  shall  be  redeemed  in  Jus- 
tice, and  her  converts  in  Judgment, 
Isaiah  i.  27.  He  shall  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  Datnd,  and  upon  his  king- 
dom, to  establish  it  in  Judgment  and 
Justice,  Isaiah  ix.  7.  /  will  raise 
unto  David  a  righteous  branch,  who 
shall  reign  as  king,  and  shall  do  Judg- 
ment and  Justice  in  the  earth,  Jerem. 
xxiii.  5 ;  xxxiii.  15  :  and  in  other  places 
it  is  said,  that  they  ought  to  do  Jus- 
tice and  Judgment,  as  in  Isaiah  i.  21 ; 
v.  16;  Iviii.  2;  Jerem.  iv.  1;  xxii.  3, 
13,  15;  Ezekiel  xviii.  5;  xxxiii.  14, 

16,  19;  Amos  vi.  12;  Mich.  vii.  9; 
Deut.  xxxiii.  21  ;  John  xvi.  8,  10,  11. 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


47 


52.  11.  That  the  Omnipotence, 
0.mn1science  and  omnipresence  of 
God  cannot  be  known,  unless  it 
BE  known  wh.vt  Order  is,  and  un- 
less these  Properties  op   it  be 

KNOWN,  THAT  GOD  IS  OrDER,  AND 
TH.\T,  AT  THE  CrEATION,  He  INTRO- 
DUCED Order  into  the  Universe, 

AND  into    all    and    EVERY  PaRT  OF 

it. 

How  many  and  how  great  absurdi- 
ties liave  crept  into  the  minds  of  men, 
and  thence,  through  the  heads  of  in- 
novators, into  the  church,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  not  understanding  the 
Order  in  which  God  created  the  uni- 
verse, and  all  and  every  part  of  it,  will 
be  evident  from  the  bare  mention  of 
them  in  the  following  pages.  But 
here  we  will  first  explain  Order,  by  a 
general  definition  of  it.  Order  is  the 
quality  of  the  disposition,  determi- 
nation and  activity  of  the  parts,  sub- 
stances or  entities  which  make  the  form, 
whence  is  the  state,  whose  perfection 
wisdom  from  its  love  produces,  or 
whose  imperfection  the  insanity  of 
reason  from  cupidity  forges.  In 
this  definition,  substance,  form  and 
state  are  mentioned  ;  and  by  substance, 
we  at  the  same  time  mean  form,  be- 
cause every  substance  is  a  form,  and 
the  quality  of  the  form  is  its  state,  the 
perfection  or  imperfection  of  which  re- 
sults from  order.  But  these  things, 
because  they  are  metaphysical,  cannot 
but  be  in  darkness ;  but  this  will  be 
dispersed  in  what  follows  by  applica- 
tions to  examples,  which  will  illustrate 
the  subject. 

53.  That  God  is  Order,  is  because 
He  is  Substance  itself  and  Form  itself; 
Substance,  because  all  things  which 
subsist,  existed  and  exist  from  Him ; 
Form,  because  every  quality  of  sub- 
stances arose  and  arises  from  Him : 
quality  is  derived  from  no  other  source 
than  from  form.  Now,  because  God  is 
the  very,  the  only,  and  the  first  Sub- 
stance and  Form,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
the  very  and  the  only  Love,  and  the  very 
and  the  only  Wisdom,  and  because  wis- 
dom from  love  makes  form,  and  the 
state  and  quality  of  this  is  according 
to  the  order  therein,  it  follows  that 


God  is  Order  itself,  and  that,  from  Him- 
self, He  introduced  order  into  the  uni- 
verse, and  also  into  all  and  every  part 
of  it,  and  that  He  introduced  the  most 
perfect  order,  because  all  things  which 
He  created  were  good,  as  it  is  read  in 
the  book  of  Creation.  It  will  be  de- 
monstrated in  its  proper  place,  that 
evils  began  to  exist  at  the  same  time 
with  hell,  thus  after  creation.  But 
now  to  such  things  as  more  readily  en- 
ter, more  clearly  enlighten,  and  more 
gently  affect,  the  understanding. 

54.  But  what  the  order  is,  in  which 
the  universe  was  created,  cannot  be 
fully  explained  but  by  many  pages : 
some  sketch  of  it  will  be  exhibited  in 
the  following  Lemma  concerning  cre- 
ation. It  is  to  be  held,  that  all 
things  in  the  universe  were  created  in 
their  orders,  so  that  they  may  subsist 
each  one  by  itself,  and  that  from  the 
beginning  they  were  so  created,  that 
they  may  conjoin  themselves  with  the 
universal  order,  to  the  intent,  that  each 
particular  order  may  subsist  in  the  uni- 
versal, and  thus  make  one.  But  to 
refer  to  some  examples  :  Man  is  creat- 
ed according  to  his  order,  and  also 
every  particular  part  of  him,  accord- 
ing to  its  order ;  as  the  head  and  the 
body,  each  according  to  its  order ;  the 
heart,  the  lungs,  the  liver,  the  pancreas, 
the  stomach,  according  to  their  orders  ; 
every  organ  of  motion,  which  is  called 
a  muscle,  according  to  its  order ;  and 
every  organ  of  sense,  as  the  eye,  tlie  ear, 
the  tongue,  each  respectively,  according 
to  its  order  ;  nay,  there  is  not  the  small- 
est artery  or  fibril  there,  which  is  not  ac- 
cording to  its  order  ;  and  yet  these  in- 
numerable parts  conjoin  themselves 
with  the  whole,  and  so  insert  them- 
selves in  it,  that  they  together  make 
one.  The  case  is  similar  with  other 
things,  the  bare  mention  of  which  is 
sufficient  for  illustration ;  every  beast 
of  the  earth,  every  bird  of  the  air,  eve- 
ry fish  of  the  sea,  every  reptile,  nay, 
every  worm,  even  to  the  moth,  is  creat- 
ed according  to  its  order  ;  in  like  man- 
ner, every  tree,  every  grove,  every 
shrub,  and  every  herb,  according  to  its 
order ;  and  moreover  every  stone  and 
every  mineral,  even  to  every  particle 


48 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  is  according 
to  its  order. 

55.  Who  does  not  see,  that  there  is 
not  an  empire,  kingdom,  dukedom,  re- 
public, state,  or  family,  which  is  not 
established  by  laws,  which  make  the 
order,  and  thus  the  form,  of  its  govern- 
ment ?  In  each  of  them,  the  laws  of 
justice  are  in  the  highest  place,  politi- 
cal laws  in  the  second,  and  economi- 
cal laws  in  the  third  :  if  these  are  com- 
pared with  man,  the  laws  of  justice 
make  his  head,  political  laws  his  body, 
and  economical  laws  his  dress ;  where- 
fore also  these,  like  the  dress,  may  be 
changed.  But  as  to  what  concerns 
the  order,  according  to  which  the 
church  is  established  by  God,  it  is  this ; 
that  God  is  in  all  and  every  part  of  it ; 
and  the  neighbor  is  he  towards  whom 
order  is  to  be  exercised.  The  laws  of 
that  order  are  as  many  as  there  are 
truths  in  the  Word ;  the  lav.'s  which 
relate  to  God  will  make  its  head,  the 
laws  which  relate  to  the  neighbor  will 
make  its  body,  and  the  ceremonies 
will  make  the  dress ;  for  unless  these 
hold  the  others  together,  in  their  order, 
it  would  be  as  if  the  body  were  strip- 
ped naked,  and  exposed  to  the  heat  in 
summer,  and  to  the  cold  in  winter ;  or 
as  if  the  walls  and  roof  should  be  re- 
moved from  a  temple,  and  thus  the 
sacred  asylum,  the  altar,  and  the  pul- 
pit, should  stand  without  protection, 
exposed  to  various  violences. 

56.  III.  That  the  Omnipotence 
OF  God,  as  well  in  the  Universi; 

AS  IN  ALL  AND  EVERY  PaRT  OE  IT, 
PROCEEDS   AND    OPERATES  ACCORDING 

TO  THE  Laws  oi-  iiis  Order. 

God  is  omnipotent,  because  He  has 
all  power  from  Himself,  and  ail  others 
from  IJim.  His  power  and  will  are  one  ; 
and  because  He  wills  nothing  but  what 
is  good,  therefore  He  can  do  nothing 
but  what  is  good.  In  the  spiritual 
world,  no  one  can  do  any  thing  con- 
trary to  liis  own  will ;  this  they  derive 
there  from  God,  whose  power  and  will 
are  one.  God  also  is  Good  itself;  where- 
fore, whilst  He  does  good.  He  is  in 
Himself,  and  He  cannot  go  out  of  Him- 
self. Thence  it  appears,  that  iiis  om- 
nipotence proceeds  and  operates  within 


the  sphere  of  the  extension  of  good, 
which  is  infinite  ;  for  this  sphere,  from 
the  inmost,  fills  the  universe  and  all 
and  every  thing  there  ;  and,  from  the 
inmost,  governs  those  things  which  are 
without,  as  far  as  they  conjoin  them- 
selves according  to  their  orders  ;  and  if 
they  do  not  conjoin  themselves,  still  it 
sustains  them,  and  with  all  effort  labors 
to  bring  them  into  order,  according  to 
the  universal  order  in  which  God  is 
in  his  omnipotence  ;  and  if  this  is  not 
effected,  they  are  cast  out  from  Him, 
where,  nevertheless,  He  sustains  tliem 
from  the  inmost.  From  this  it  is  evi- 
dent, that  the  Divine  Omnipotence 
can  by  no  means  go  out  from  itself  to 
the  contact  of  any  thing  evil,  nor  pro- 
mote it  from  itself,  for  evil  turns  itself 
away  ;  thence  it  is,  that  evil  is  entirely 
separated  from  Him,  and  cast  into  hell, 
between  which  and  heaven,  where  He 
is,  there  is  a  great  gulf  From  these 
few  things  it  may  be  seen  how  deliri- 
ous they  are,  who  think,  and  more  so 
who  believe,  and  still  more  so  who 
teach,  that  God  can  condemn  any  one, 
curse  any  one,  cast  any  one  into  hell, 
predestinate  the  soul  of  any  one  to 
eternal  death,  avenge  injuries,  be  an- 
gry, or  punish.  He  cannot  even  turn 
away  his  face  from  any  one,  or  look  at 
him  with  astern  countenance;  these 
and  similar  things  are  contrary  to  his 
essence,  and  what  is  contrary  to  tliis, 
is  contrary  to  Himself 

57.  It  is,  at  this  day,  a  prevailing 
opinion,  tliat  the  omnipotence  of  God 
is  like  the  absolute  power  of  a  king  in 
the  world,  who  can  at  his  pleasure  do 
whatever  he  wills,  absolve  and  condemn 
whom  he  pleases,  make  the  guilty  in- 
nocent, declare  the  faithless  faithful, 
exalt  the  vinwortliy  and  undeserving 
above  the  worthy  and  deserving ;  nay, 
that  he  can,  under  any  pretext,  deprive 
his  subjects  of  their  goods,  and  sen- 
tence them  to  death ;  besides  other 
similar  things.  From  this  infatuated 
opinion,  faith  and  doctrine,  concerning 
the  divine  omnipotence,  as  many  falsi- 
ties, fallacies  and  chimeras  have  flowed 
into  tlie  church,  as  there  are  changes, 
articulations,  and  generations  of  faith 
therein ;  and  as  many  more  may  yet 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


49 


flow  in,  as  would  equal  the  number  of 
pitchers  which  might  be  filled  with 
water  from  a  large  lake,  or  of  serpents 
which  creep  out  of  their  holes,  and  re- 
gale on  a  sunny  day  in  the  desert  of 
Arabia.  What  need  is  there  of  more 
than  two  words,  omnipotence  and 
faith ;  and  then  to  spread  before  the 
vulgar  conjectures,  fables  and  trifles, 
such  as  fall  into  the  senses  of  the  body  .' 
For  reason  is  utterly  banished,  and 
when  reason  is  banished,  in  what  does 
the  thought  of  man  excel  that  of  a 
bird  that  flies  over  his  head  ;  or  what 
is  the  spirituality,  which  man  has  above 
the  beasts,  but  something  like  the 
stench  in  the  dens  of  beasts,  which  is 
agreeable  to  the  wild  beasts,  but  not  to 
man,  unless  he  be  like  them?  If  the 
extension  of  the  divine  omnipotence 
were  to  do  evil  as  well  as  good,  what 
would  be  the  distinction  between  God 
and  the  devil  ?  Would  it  be  any  other 
than  that  between  two  monarchs,  one 
of  whom  is  a  king,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  tyrant,  and  the  other  a  tyrant, 
whose  power  is  restrained,  whence  he 
is  not  to  be  called  a  king ;  or  that  be- 
tween two  shepherds,  one  of  whom  is 
permitted  to  act  the  part  of  a  sheep, 
and  also  of  a  leopard  ;  and  the  other  is 
not  permitted  to  do  so?  Who  may  not 
know  that  good  and  evil  are  opposites, 
and  that  if  God,  from  his  omnipotence, 
could  will  the  one  and  the  other,  and, 
from  willing,  could  do  them.  He  could 
do  nothing  at  all  ?  Thus  He  would  have 
no  power,  much  less  omnipotence. 
This  would  be  as  if  two  wheels,  in  a 
contrary  motion,  should  mutually  act 
against  each  other,  from  which  re-ac- 
tion, both  wheels  would  stop  and  be 
entirely  at  rest ;  or  like  a  ship  in  a 
torrent  driving  it  contrary  to  its  course, 
which,  unless  it  rest  at  anchor,  would 
be  carried  away  and  lost ;  or  like  a 
man  who  has  two  wills  opposed  to  each 
other,  one  of  which  must  necessarily 
be  at  rest,  while  the  other  acts  ;  but  if 
both  should  act  at  the  same  time,  de- 
lirium or  giddiness  would  seize  his 
mind. 

58.  If  the  omnipotence  of  God  were, 
according  to  the  faith  at  this  day,  abso- 
lute for  doing  evil  as  well  as  good, 


would  it  not  be  possible,  nay,  easy,  for 
God  to  elevate  all  hell  into  heaven,  and 
to  convert  devils  and  satans  into  angels, 
and  to  purify  every  sinner  upon  earth 
in  a  moment  from  his  sins,  to  renew, 
sanctify  and  regenerate  him,  and  from 
a  child  of  wratli  to  make  a  child  of 
grace,  that  is,  to  justify  him ;  which 
would  be  done  merely  by  the  applica- 
tion and  imputation  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  his  Son  ?  But  God  by  his 
omnipotence  cannot  do  this,  because  it 
is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  his  order  in 
the  universe,  and  at  the  same  time 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  order  prescrib- 
ed to  every  man,  which  are,  that  they 
should  conjoin  themselves  by  a  mutual 
inclination ;  that  it  is  so,  will  be  seen 
in  the  sequel  of  this  work.  From  that 
infatuated  opinion  and  faith  concern- 
ing the  omnipotence  of  God,  it  would 
result,  that  God  could  convert  every 
man-goat  into  a  man-sheep,  and,  of  his 
good  pleasure,  remove  him  from  his 
left  to  his  right  side  ;  also,  that  He 
could  change  the  spirits  of  the  dragon 
into  the  angels  of  Michael,  and  that 
He  could  give  to  a  man,  whose  under- 
standing is  like  that  of  a  mole,  the 
sight  of  an  eagle ;  in  a  word,  from  a 
man-owl,  make  a  man-dove.  These 
things  God  cannot  do,  because  they 
are  contrary  to  the  laws  of  his  own 
order,  although  He  continually  wills 
and  endeavors  to  effect  them.  If  He 
could  have  done  such  things.  He  would 
not  have  permitted  Adam  to  obey  the 
serpent,  and  take  fruit  from  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and 
put  it  to  his  mouth  ;  if  He  could  have 
done  it.  He  would  not  have  permitted 
Cain  to  kill  his  brother,  David  to  num- 
ber the  people,  Solomon  to  build  tem- 
ples to  idols,  and  the  kings  of  Judah 
and  Israel  to  profane  the  temple,  as 
they  so  often  did ;  nay,  if  He  could 
have  done  it.  He  would  have  saved 
the  whole  human  race,  without  excep- 
tion, through  the  redemption  of  his 
Son,  and  would  have  extirpated  all 
hell.  The  ancient  gentiles  ascribed 
such  omnipotence  to  their  gods  and 
goddesses,  whence  arose  their  fabulous 
stories,  as  concerning  Deucalion  and 
Pyrrha,  that  the  stones  thrown  behind 


50 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


them  became  men  and  women ;  con- 
cerning Apollo,  that  he  changed  Daph- 
ne into  a  laurel ;  concerning  Diana, 
that  she  changed  a  hunter  into  a  stag ; 
and  that  another  of  their  gods  turned 
the  virgins  of  Parnassus  into  magpies. 
There  is,  at  this  day,  a  similar  belief 
concerning  the  divine  onuiipotence, 
whence  so  many  fanatical,  and  thence 
heretical  opinions,  have  been  introduc- 
ed into  the  world,  in  every  country 
where  there  is  any  religion. 

59.  IV.  That  God  is  Omniscient, 

THAT  IS,  PERCEIVES,  SEES  AND  KNOWS 
ALL  AND  EVERY  ThING,  EVEN  TO  THE 

most  minute,  which  is  done  acc9rd- 
ing  to  Order,   and  thence  also 

WHAT   IS  done   contrary  TO  OrdER. 

That  God  is  omniscient,  that  is, 
perceives,  sees  and  knows  all  things, 
is,  because  he  is  Wisdom  itself,  and 
Light  itself;  and  Wisdom  itself  per- 
ceives all  things,  and  Light  itself  sees 
all  things.  That  God  is  Wisdom  itself, 
was  shown  above ;  that  He  is  Light 
itself,  is  because  lie  is  the  sun  of  the 
angelic  heaven,  which  enlightens  the 
understandings  of  all  angels  and  all 
men  ;  for,  as  the  eye  is  enlightened  by 
the  light  of  the  natural  sun,  so  the  un- 
derstanding is  enlightened  by  the  ligiit 
of  the  spiritual  sun  ;  nor  is  it  only  en- 
lightened, but  it  is  also  filled  with  in- 
telligence, according  to  the  love  of 
receiving  it,  since  this  light,  in  its 
essence,  is  wisdom  ;  wherefore  in  David 
it  is  said,  that  God  dwellcth  in  light 
inaccessible. ;  and  in  the  Revelation, 
that,  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  they  have 
no  need  of  a  candle,  because  the  Lord 
God  enlightcneth  them  ;  and  in  John, 
that  the  Word  which  was  in  the  begin- 
ning with  God,  and  was  God,  is  the 
light,  ichich  enlightcneth  every  mcin  that 
Cometh  into  the  world.  By  the  Word 
is  meant  the  Divine  Wisdom.  Thence 
it  is,  that  the  angels,  as  far  as  they  are 
in  wisdom,  are  so  far  in  the  brightness 
of  light ;  and  thence  also  it  is,  that  in 
the  Word,  where  light  is  mentioned, 
wisdom  is  meant. 

60.  That  God  perceives,  sees  and 
knows  all  things,  even  to  the  most 
minute,  which  are  done  according  to 
order,  is,  because  order  is  universal 


from  all  the  several  parts  ;  for  the  seve- 
ral parts,  taken  together,  are  called  a 
universal,  as  the  particulars  are  called  a 
general;  and  a  universal,  together  with 
all  its  several  parts,  is  a  work  cohering 
as  one,  so  that  one  part  cannot  be  touch- 
ed and  affected,  without  communicat- 
ing to  the  rest  some  sensible  perception 
of  it.    It  is  from  this  quality  of  order 
in  the  universe,  that  there  is  something 
similar  in  all  created  things  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  but  this  will  be  illustrated  by 
comparisons  taken  from  visible  things. 
In  the  whole  man,  there  are  general 
things  and  particular  things,  and  the 
general  include  the  particular  therein, 
and  unite  themselves  together  by  such 
a  connection,  that  one  depends  upon 
another  :  this  is  done  by  this,  that  there 
is  a  general  covering  about  every  mem- 
ber there,  and  that  this  insinuates  itself 
into  every  part  therein,  so  that  they 
make  one  in  every  office  and  use.  For 
example,  the  covering  of  every  muscle 
enters  into  every  moving  fibre,  and 
from  itself  clothes  them  ;  in  like  man- 
ner, the  coverings  of  the  liver,  the 
pancreas  and  the  spleen,  enter  into  all 
the  particular  parts  which  are  within  ; 
in  like  manner  the  covering  of  the 
lungs,  which  is  called  the  pleura,  into 
the  interior  parts  of  the  lungs;  and  in 
like  manner  the  pericardium,  into  all 
and  every  part  of  the  heart ;  and,  gen- 
erally, the  peritonanim,  by  anastomo- 
ses, with  the  coverings  of  all  the  visce- 
ra ;  in  like  manner  the  meninges  of  the 
brain ;  these,  by  threads  emitted  from 
them,  enter  into  all  the  glands  below 
them,  and,  through  these,  into  all  the 
fibres,  and,  through  these,  into  all  parts 
of  the  body  ;  thence  it  is,  that  the  head, 
from  the  brains,  governs  all  and  every 
thing  subject  to  itself    These  things 
are  adduced,  merely  for  the  purpose 
that,  from  visible  things,  some  idea 
may  be  formed,  how  God  perceives, 
sees  and  knows  all  things,  even  to  the 
most  minute,  which  are  done  according 
to  order. 

(H.  That  God,  from  those  things 
which  are  according  to  order,  perceives, 
sees  and  knows  all  and  every  thing, 
even  to  the  most  minute,  which  is  done 
contrary  to  order,  is,  because  God  does 


Concerning  the  Omniscience  of  God. 


51 


not  hold  man  in  evil,  but  withholds  him 
from  evil  ;  thus  he  does  not  lead  hini, 
but  strives  with  him.    From  that  per- 
petual striving,  struggling,  resistance, 
repugnance,  and  reaction  of  the  evil 
and  the  false,  against  his  good  and 
truth,  thus  against  Himself,  He  per- 
ceives both  their  quantity  and  qual- 
ity. This  follows  from  the  omnipresence 
of  God,  in  all  and  every  part  of  his 
order,  and,  at  tlie  same  time,  from  his 
perfect  knowledge  of  all  and  every 
tiling  there  ;  comparatively,  as  he  who 
has  an  ear  for  music  and  harmony, 
accurately   notices  every  discordant 
and  unharmonious  sound,  as  soon  as 
it  enters ;  in  like  manner,  he  whose 
senses  are  in  their  delight,  readily  per- 
ceives what  is  undelightful ;  or,  as  the 
eye,  which  is  looking  at  a  beautiftil  ob- 
ject, sees  it  distinctly  while  any  thing 
ugly  is  at  the  side  of  it ;   wherefore  it 
is  customary  for  painters  to  place  an 
ugly  face  at  the  side  of  a  handsome 
one.    It  is  similar  with  the  good  and 
the  true,  while  they  strive  against  the 
evil  and  the  false ;  for  they  are  distinct- 
ly perceived  from  their  opposites ;  for 
every  one,  who  is  in  good,  can  perceive 
what  is  evil ;  and  he  who  is  in  truth, 
can  see  what  is  false ;  the  cause  is, 
because  good  is  in  the  heat  of  heaven, 
and  truth  in  its  light ;  but  evil  is  in 
the  cold  of  hell,  and  the  false  in  its 
darkness ;  which  may  be  illustrated  by 
this,  that  the  angels  of  heaven  can  see 
whatever  is  done  in  hell,  and  what 
monsters  are  there ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  spirits  of  hell  cannot  see  any 
thing  at  all  that  is  done  in  heaven,  and 
not  even  the  angels,  any  more  than  a 
blind  man,  or  more  than  an  eye  looking 
into  the  naked  air,  or  ether.  Those 
whose  understandings  are  in  the  light 
of  wisdom,  are  like  those  who,  at 
noon-day,  stand  upon  a  mountain,  and 
see  clearly  all  things  that  are  below  ;  and 
those  who  are  in  still  superior  light, 
are,  comparatively,  like   those  who, 
through   telescopes,   see  the  objects 
around  and  below  them,  as  if  they  were 
present ;  but  those  who  are  in  the  in- 
fatuated light  of  hell,  from  the  confir- 
mation of  falsities,  are  like  those  who 
stand  upon  the  same  mountain,  in  the 


time  of  night,  with  lanterns  in  their 
hands,  and  .see  nothing  but  the  nearest 
objects,  and  the  forms  of  these  indis- 
tinctly, and  their  colors  confusedly. 
A  man  who  is  in  some  light  of  truth, 
and  yet  in  evil  of  life,  while  he  is  in 
the  delight  of  his  love  of  evil,  does  not 
at  first  see  truths,  otherwise  than  as  a 
bat  sees  linen,  hanging  in  a  garden,  to 
which  it  flies,  as  to  its  place  of  refuge ; 
and  afterwards  he  becomes  as  a  bird 
of  night,  and  at  length  as  an  owl ;  and 
then  he  becomes  like  a  chimney-sweep- 
er, sticking  close  to  a  black  chimney, 
who,  when  he  raises  his  eyes  upwards, 
sees  the  sky  beyond  the  smoke,  and 
when  he  looks  downwards,  he  sees  the 
fire  from  which  the  smoke  arises. 

G2.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the 
perception  of  opposites  differs  from  the 
perception  of  relatives;    for  opposites 
are  without,  and  contrary  to  those  things 
which  are  within ;  for  an  opposite  begins 
to  be,  when  one  thing  entirely  ceases  to 
be  any  thing,  and  another  thing  rises 
up  with  the  effort  of  counteracting  the 
former,  as  a  wheel  which  acts  against 
a  wheel,  or  a  stream  against  a  stream  ; 
but  relatives  have  respect  to  the  dispo- 
sition of  many  and  various  things  in 
convenient  and  agreeable  order,  as  of 
precious  stones  of  divers  colors  in  the 
stomacher  of  a  queen,  or  of  different 
colored  flowers  in  an  ornaniental  gar- 
land.   There  are,  therefore,  relatives 
in  each  opposite,  in  the  good  as  well 
as  in  the  evil,  and  in  the  true  as  well 
as  in  the  false  ;  thus  in  heaven  as  well 
as  in  hell ;  but  the  relatives  in  hell  are 
all  opposite  to  the  relatives  in  heaven. 
Now,  because  God  perceives  and  sees, 
and  thence  knows,  all  the  relatives  in 
heaven,  from  the  order  in  which  He  is, 
and  thence  perceives,  sees  and  knows 
all  the  opposite  relatives  in  hell,  as  it 
follows  from  what  was  said  above,  it  is 
manifest  that  God  is  omniscient  in  hell 
as  well  as  in  heaven,  and  likewise 
among  men  in  the  world ;  thus  that 
He  perceives,  sees  and  knows  their 
evils  and  falses,  from  the  good  and  the 
true,  in  which  He  is,  and  which,  in 
their  essence,  are  Himself ;  for  it  is 
read,  If  I  ascend  into  heaven,  Thou 
art  there  ;  if  I  lay  me  down  in  hell,  be- 


52 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


hold  Thou  art  there.  Psalm  cxxxix.  8 ; 
and  in  another  place,  If  they  dig 
through  into  hell,  thence  shall  my  hand 
take  them,  Amos  ix.  2,  3. 

63.  V.  That  God  is  Omnipresent, 
FROM  THE  Firsts  to  the  Lasts  of 
HIS  Order. 

That  God  is  omnipresent,  from  the 
firsts  to  the  lasts  of  his  order,  is  by 
means  of  the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun 
of  the  spiritual  world,  in  the  midst  of 
which  He  is :  by  means  of  this  sun, 
order  was  made,  and  from  it  He  sends 
forth  heat  and  light,  which  pervade  the 
universe,  fi-om  the  firsts  to  the  lasts  of 
it,  and  produce  the  life  of  men  and 
every  animal,  and  also  the  vegetative 
soul  in  every  germ  upon  the  earth ; 
and  those  two  flow  into  all  and  every 
thing,  and  cause  every  thing  to  live 
and  grow,  according  to  the  order  im- 
pressed upon  them  at  the  creation ;  and 
because  God  is  not  extended,  and  yet 
fills  all  the  extenses  of  the  universe. 
He  is  omnipresent.  That  God  is  in 
all  space  without  space,  and  in  all  time 
without  time,  and  that  thence  the  uni- 
verse, as  to  essence  and  order,  is  the 
fullness  of  God,  has  been  elsewhere 
shown ;  and  because  it  is  so,  by  omni- 
presence He  perceives  all  things;  by 
onmiscience  He  provides  all  things; 
and  by  omnipotence  He  operates  all 
tilings;  whence  it  is  manifest,  that 
omnipresence,  omniscience  and  omnip- 
otence make  one,  or  that  one  supposes 
another,  and  thus  that  they  cannot  be 
separated. 

64.  Tlie  divine  omnipresence  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  wonderful  presence 
of  angels  and  spirits  in  the  spiritual 
world.  In  this  world,  because  there  is 
no  space,  but  only  an  appearance  of 
space,  an  angel  or  a  spirit  may,  in  a 
moment,  become  present  to  another, 
provided  he  comes  into  a  similar  aflxic- 
tion  of  love,  and  thence  tiiought,  for 
these  two  make  the  appearance  of 
space.  That  such  is  the  presence  of 
all  there,  was  manifest  to  me  from  this, 
that  I  could  sec  Africans  and  Indians 
there  very  near  me,  although  they  are 
so  many  miles  distant  upon  earth  ;  nay, 
that  I  could  become  present  to  those 
who  are  in  other  planets  of  this  system, 


and  also  to  those  who  are  in  the  planets 
in  other  systems,  out  of  this  solar  sys- 
tem. By  virtue  of  this  presence,  not 
of  place,  but  of  the  appearance  of  place, 
I  have  conversed  with  apostles,  deceas- 
ed popes,  emperors  and  kings ;  with 
the  founders  of  the  present  church, 
Luther,  Calvin  and  Melancthon ;  and 
with  others  fi'om  distant  countries. 
Since  such  is  the  presence  of  angels 
and  spirits,  what  limits  can  be  set  to 
the  Divine  presence  in  the  universe, 
which  is  infinite  !  The  reason  that 
angels  and  spirits  have  such  presence, 
is,  because  every  affection  of  love,  and 
thence  every  thought  of  the  under- 
standing, is  in  space  without  space, 
and  in  time  without  time ;  for  any  one 
can  think  of  a  brother,  relation  or 
friend  in  the  Indies,  and  then  have  him, 
as  it  were,  present  to  him  ;  in  like  man- 
ner, he  may  be  affected  with  their  love  by 
recollection.  By  these  things,  because 
they  are  familiar  to  every  one,  the  di- 
vine omnipresence  may,  in  some  de- 
gree, be  illustrated  ;  and  also  by  human 
thoughts,  as,  when  any  one  recalls  to 
his  remembrance  what  he  has  .seen 
upon  a  journey  in  various  places,  he  is, 
as  it  were,  present  at  those  places. 
Nay,  the  sight  of  the  body  emulates  that 
same  presence ;  the  eye  does  not  per- 
ceive distances,  except  by  intermediate 
objects,  which,  as  it  were,  measure 
them.  The  sun  itself  would  be  near 
the  eye,  nay,  in  the  eye,  unless  in- 
termediate objects  discovered  that  it  is 
so  distant :  that  it  is  so,  writers  on  op- 
tics have  also  observed  in  their  books. 
Such  presence  has  each  sight  of  man, 
botii  intellectual  and  corporeal,  because 
his  spirit  sees  through  his  eyes ;  but 
no  beast  has  similar  pre.«ence,  because 
they  have  not  any  spiritual  sight. 
From  these  things,  it  is  evident,  that 
God  is  omnipresent,  from  the  firsts  to 
the  lasts  of  his  order :  that  He  is  also 
omnipresent  in  hell,  was  shown  in  the 
preceding  article. 

65.  VI.  That  Man  was  created 
A  Form  of  Divine  Order. 

That  man  was  created  a  form  of 
divine  order,  is  becau.se  he  was  cre- 
ated an  image  and  likeness  of  God  ; 
and  because  God  is  Order  itself,  he  was 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


53 


created  an  image  and  likeness  of  or- 
der. There  are  two  things  from  wiiicli 
order  exists,  and  by  whicli  it  subsists — 
Divine  Love  and  Divine  Wisdom  ;  and 
man  was  created  a  receptacle  of  tliem ; 
wherefore,  also,  he  was  created  in  the 
order  according  to  which  those  two 
act  in  the  universe,  and,  principally 
according  to  which  they  act  in  the  an- 
gelic heaven ;  thence  all  that  heaven 
is,  in  the  greatest  effigy,  a  form  of  divine 
order ;  and  that  heaven  is,  in  the  sight 
of  God,  as  one  man ;  and,  also,  there 
is  a  plenary  correspondence  between 
that  heaven  and  man ;  for  there  is  not 
any  society  in  heaven,  which  does  not 
correspond  to  some  member,  viscus  or 
organ  in  man.  Wherefore  it  is  said 
in  heaven,  that  this  society  is  either  in 
the  province  of  the  liver,  or  the  pan- 
creas, or  the  spleen,  or  the  stomach,  or 
the  eye,  or  the  ear,  or  the  tongue,  &c. ; 
the  angels  themselves  also  know  in 
what  jurisdiction  of  any  part  of  man 
they  dwell.  That  it  is  so,  has  been 
given  me  to  know  to  the  life.  I  have 
seen  a  society,  consisting  of  several 
thousands  of  angels,  as  one  man  ; 
whence  it  was  manifest,  that  heaven, 
in  the  complex,  is  an  image  of  God, 
and  an  image  of  God  is  a  form  of  di- 
vine order. 

66.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  all 
things  which  proceed  from  the  sun  of 
the  spiritual  world,  in  the  midst  of 
which  is  Jehovah  God,  have  some  re- 
semblance to  man,  and  that  thence, 
whatsoever  things  exist  in  that  world, 
conspire  to  the  human  form,  and,  in 
their  inmost,  they  exhibit  it  <  whence 
all  the  objects,  which  are  presented  to 
the  eyes  there,  are  representatives  of 
man.  There  appear  there  animals  of 
every  kind,  and  they  are  likenesses  of 
the  affections  of  the  love,  and  thence 
of  the  thoughts,  of  the  angels ;  and 
likewise  shrubberies,  flower-gardens, 
and  green  fields  there ;  and  it  is  given 
to  know  what  affection  this  and  that 
object  represents ;  and,  what  is  won- 
derful, when  their  inmost  sight  is  open- 
ed, they  know  their  own  image  in  those 
things ;  and  this  is  the  case,  because 
every  man  there  is  his  own  love,  and 
thence  his  own  thought ;  and  because 


the  affections,  and  thence  the  thoughts, 
ill  every  man,  are  various  and  manifold, 
and  some  of  tliem  represent  the  affec- 
tion of  one  animal,  and  some  of  another ; 
therefore,  images  of  their  alTections 
are  thus  exhibited.  But  more  will  be 
seen  concerning  these  things  in  the 
following  member  concerning  Crea- 
tion. From  these  things  also  appears 
the  truth,  that  the  end  of  creation  was 
an  angelic  heaven  from  the  human 
race ;  consequently  man,  in  whom 
God  may  dwell  as  in  his  receptacle ; 
thence  is  the  reason  why  man  was  cre- 
ated a  form  of  divine  order. 

67.  God,  before  the  creation,  was 
Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  and 
these  two  in  the  effort  of  doing  uses ; 
for  love  and  wisdom,  without  use,  are 
only  volatile  things  of  reason,  and  they 
also  fly  away,  unless  they  apply  them- 
selves to  use.  The  two  foriner  also, 
separate  from  the  third,  are  like  birds 
which  are  flying  over  a  great  ocean, 
and  at  length,  being  wearied  with  fly- 
ing, they  fall  down,  and  are  drowned. 
Thence  it  is  evident,  that  the  universe 
was  created  by  God,  that  uses  might 
exist ;  wherefore  also  the  universe 
may  be  called  a.  theatre  of  uses;  and 
becau.se  man  was  the  principal  end  of 
creation,  it  follows,  that  all  and  every 
thing  was  created  for  the  sake  of  man, 
and  thence  that  all  and  every  thing  of 
order  was  brought  together  into  him, 
and  concentrated  in  him,  that  God 
might  do  primary  uses  through  him. 
Love  and  wisdom,  without  their  third, 
which  is  use,  may  be  compared  to  the 
heat  and  light  of  the  sun,  which,  un- 
less they  operated  upon  men,  animals 
and  vegetables,  would  be  empty  things ; 
but  they  become  real,  by  influx  into 
them,  and  operation  in  them.  There 
are  also  three  things,  which  follow  each 
other  in  order,  end,  cause  and  effect : 
and  it  is  known,  in  the  learned  world, 
that  the  end  is  not  any  thing,  unless 
it  have  respect  to  the  efficient  cause, 
and  that  the  end  and  this  cause  are 
not  any  thing,  unless  the  effect  be 
produced  ;  the  end  and  the  cause  may, 
indeed,  be  abstractly  contemplated  in 
the  mind,  but  still  for  the  sake  of  some 
effect,  which  the  end  intends  and  the 


54 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


cause  procures.  It  is  similar  with 
love,  wisdom  and  use  ;  and  use  is  what 
love  intends  and  produces  by  the  cause ; 
and  when  the  use  is  produced,  love 
and  wisdom  really  exist,  and  make  for 
themselves  a  habitation  and  abode  in 
it,  and  rest,  as  it  were,  in  their  own 
house.  It  is  similar  with  the  man  in 
whom  are  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God, 
while  he  is  doing  uses ;  and  that  he 
may  do  the  uses  of  God,  he  is  created  an 
image  and  likeness,  that  is,  a  form,  of 
divine  order. 

68.  VII.  That  Man  is  so  far  in 
Power  against  the  Evil  and  the 
False,  from  the  Divine  Omnipo- 
tence, AND  that  he  is  SO  FAR  IN  WlS- 
DOM  concerning   THE  GoOD  AND  THE 

True, FROM  the  Divine  Omniscience, 

AND  THAT  HE  IS  SO  FAR  IN  GoD  FROM 

THE  Divine  Omnipresence,  as  he 

LIVES  according  TO  DiVINE  OrDER. 

The  reason  that  man  is  so  far  in 
power  against  the  evil  and  the  false, 
from  the  divine  omnipotence,  as  he  lives 
according  to  divine  order,  is,  because 
no  one  can  resist  evils,  and  the  falses 
thence,  but  God  alone  ;  for  all  evils,  and 
the  falses  thence,  are  from  hell ;  and  in 
hell  they  cohere  as  one,  just  as  all  goods, 
and  the  truths  thence,  do  in  heaven ; 
for,  as  was  said  above,  the  whole  heav- 
en is,  in  the  sight  of  God,  as  one  man, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  hell  as  one 
giant,  which  is  a  monster  ;  wherefore, 
to  act  against  one  evil  and  one  false 
thence,  is  to  act  against  that  monstrous 
giant,  or  hell ;  and  this  no  one  can  do 
but  God,  because  He  is  omnipotent ; 
whence  it  is  manifest,  that  man,  un- 
less he  goes  to  the  omnipotent  God, 
has,  from  himself,  no  more  power 
against  tlie  evil,  and  the  false  thence, 
than  a  fisli  has  against  the  ocean,  than 
a  flee  against  a  whale,  or  than  a  parti- 
cle of  (lust  against  a  falling  mountain, 
and  much  less  than  a  locust  has  against 
an  elephant,  or  a  fly  against  a  camel. 
And,  moreover,  man  has  still  less  pow- 
er against  the  evil,  and  the  false  thence, 
because  he  is  born  in  evil,  and  evil 
cannot  act  against  itself  Hence  it 
follows,  that  unless  a  man  lives  accord- 
ing to  divine  order,  that  is,  unless  he 
acknowledges  God  and  his  omnipo- 


tence, and  from  this,  protection  against 
hell ;  and,  moreover,  unless  man,  on 
his  part,  fights  with  the  evil  in  himself 
(for  this  together  with  that  is  of  order), 
he  cannot  but  be  immersed  and  over- 
whelmed in  hell,  and  there  be  driven 
about  by  evils,  one  after  another,  as  a 
boat  on  the  sea  is  driven  about  by  tem- 
pests. 

69.  The  reason  that  man  is  so  far  in 
wisdom,  concerning  the  good  and  the 
true,  from  the  divine  omniscience,  as  he 
lives  according  to  divine  order,  is,  be- 
cause all  the  love  of  good,  and  all  the 
wisdom  of  truth,  or  all  the  good  of 
love,  and  all  the  truth  of  wisdom,  are 
from  God.  That  it  is  so,  is  also  ac- 
cording to  the  confession  of  all  the 
churches  in  the  Christian  world  ; 
whence  it  follows,  that  man  cannot  be 
interiorly  in  any  truth  of  wisdom  un- 
less from  God,  because  God  is  Omnis- 
cience, that  is,  infinite  wisdom.  The 
human  mind  is  distinguished  into  three 
degrees,  like  the  angelic  heaven,  and 
thence  it  may  be  elevated  to  a  degree 
higher  and  higher,  and  also  it  may 
be  let  down  to  a  degree  lower  and 
lower ;  but  as  far  as  it  is  elevated  to 
the  higher  degrees,  so  far  it  is  elevated 
into  wisdom,  because  into  the  light 
of  heaven ;  and  this  cannot  be  done, 
except  by  God ;  and  as  far  as  it  is  ele- 
vated thither,  so  far  it  is  a  man ;  and 
as  far  as  it  is  let  down  to  tlie  lower  de- 
grees, so  far  it  is  in  the  infatuated  light 
of  hell,  and  so  far  it  is  not  a  man,  but 
a  beast.  Man,  also,  for  this  reason, 
stands  erect  upon  his  feet,  and  looks 
towards  heaven  with  his  face,  and  can 
elevate  it  to  the  zenith ;  but  a  beast 
stands  upon  his  feet,  in  a  posture  par- 
allel with  the  earth,  and  with  his  whole 
countenance  looks  thither  ;  nor  can 
he,  without  difliculty,  raise  it  up  to- 
wards lieaven.  The  man  who  elevates 
his  mind  to  God,  and  acknowledges 
that  all  the  truth  of  wisdom  is  from 
Him,  and,  at  the  same  time,  lives  ac- 
cording to  order,  is  like  one  who  stands 
upon  a  high  tower,  and  sees  a  populous 
city  below  him,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
whatever  is  done  there  in  the  streets ; 
but  the  man  who  confirms  in  himself 
the  idea,  that  all  the  truth  of  wisdom 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


55 


is  from  the  natural  light  with  him,  thus 
from  himself,  is  like  one  who  stays  in  a 
cavern  under  that  tower,  and  looks, 
tlirougli  the  holes  there,  into  the  same 
city  ;  lie  sees  nothing  but  the  walls  of 
one  house  in  that  city,  and  how  the 
bricks  there  cohere.  Again,  the  man 
who  derives  wisdom  from  God,  is  like 
a  bird  Hying  aloft,  which  looks  about 
upon  all  things  that  are  in  the  gardens, 
woods  and  villages,  and  flies  to  those 
things  which  are  of  use  to  it ;  but  the 
man  who  derives  such  things  as  are 
of  wisdom,  from  himself,  without  a 
belief  that  they  are  still  from  God,  is 
like  a  hornet,  which  flies  along  near 
the  ground,  and  wlien  it  sees  a  heap 
of  dung,  it  flies  to  it,  and  regales  itself 
with  its  stench.  Every  man,  as  long 
as  he  lives  in  the  world,  walks  in  the 
midst  between  heaven  and  hell,  and 
thence  is  in  equilibrium,  so  that  he 
has  freedom  of  will  to  look  upwards  to 
God,  or  downwards  to  hell :  if  he  looks 
upwards  to  God,  he  acknowledges  that 
all  wisdom  is  from  God,  and  he,  as  to 
his  .spirit,  is  actually  with  the  angels  in 
heaven  ;  but  he  who  looks  downwards, 
as  every  one  does  who  is  in  the  false 
from  evil,  is,  as  to  his  spirit,  actually 
with  the  devils  in  hell. 

70.  Tliat  man  is  so  far  in  God,  from 
the  divine  omnipresence,  as  he  lives 
according  to  order,  is  because  God  is 
omnipresent,  and  because  where  He 
is,  in  his  order,  there  He  is  as  in  Him- 
self; because  He  is  Order  itself,  as  was 
shown  above.  Now,  because  man  was 
created  a  form  of  divine  order,  God  is 
in  him,  and,  so  far  as  he  lives  accord- 
ing to  divine  order,  fully  ;  but  if  he 
does  not  live  according  to  divine  order, 
still  God  is  in  him,  but  in  the  highest 
parts  of  him,  and  gives  him  the  power 
to  understand  truth  and  to  will  good ; 
that  is.  He  gives  him  a  faculty  for  un- 
derstanding, and  an  inclination  for 
loving ;  but  as  far  as  man  lives  contra- 
ry to  order,  so  far  he  shuts  up  the  low- 
er parts  of  his  mind,  or  spirit,  and 
thus  prevents  God  from  descending  and 
filling  the  lower  parts  of  him  with  his 
pre.sence ;  thence  God  is  in  him,  but 
he  not  in  God.  It  is  a  general  canon 
in  heaven,  that  God  is  in  every  man, 


evil  as  well  as  good,  but  that  man  is 
not  in  God,  unless  he  lives  according 
to  order ;  for  the  Lord  says,  that  He 
loillcth  that  man  should  be  in  Him,  and 
He  in  man,  John  xv.  4.  That  man 
is  in  God,  by  a  life  according  to  order, 
is  because  God  is  omnipresent  in  the 
universe,  and  in  all  and  every  part  of 
it,  in  the  inmost  of  those  parts,  for 
these  are  in  order ;  but  in  those  things 
which  are  contrary  to  order,  which  are 
such  only  as  are  out  of  the  inmost, 
God  is  omnipresent  by  a  continual 
struggle  with  them,  and  by  a  continual 
effort  to  bring  them  back  to  order ; 
wherefore,  as  far  as  man  allows  him- 
self to  be  brought  back  to  order,  so  far 
God  is  omnipresent  in  the  whole  of 
him ;  consequently,  so  far  God  is  in 
him  and  he  in  God.  The  absence  of 
God  from  man  is  no  more  possible 
than  the  absence  of  the  sun,  by  means 
of  heat  and  light,  from  the  earth  ;  the 
objects  of  the  earth,  however,  are  not 
affected  by  the  sun's  virtue,  except  so 
far  as  they  receive  the  light  and  boat 
proceeding  from  it,  as  is  done  in  the 
time  of  spring  and  summer.  These 
tilings  may  be  thus  applied  to  the  om- 
nipresence of  God ;  that  man  is  so  far 
in  spiritual  heat,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
in  spiritual  light,  that  is,  in  the  good 
of  love  and  in  the  truth  of  wisdom,  as 
he  is  in  order.  Spiritual  heat  and 
light,  however,  are  not  like  natural 
heat  and  light ;  for  natural  heat  re- 
cedes from  the  earth  in  the  time  of 
winter,  and  light  in  the  time  of  night ; 
and  this  is  the  case,  because  the  earth, 
by  its  rotations  about  its  axis,  and  its 
revolutions  about  the  sun,  makes  those 
times.  But  spiritual  heat  and  light  are 
not  so;  for  God,  by  means  of  his  sun, 
is  present  with  both,  and  does  not  un- 
dergo changes,  as  the  sun  of  the  world 
apparently  does.  Man  himself  turns 
himself  away,  comparatively,  as  the 
earth  turns  from  its  sun  ;  and  when  he 
turns  himself  away  from  the  truths  of 
wisdom,  he  is  like  the  earth  turned 
from  its  sun  in  the  time  of  night ;  and 
when  he  turns  himself  away  from  the 
goods  of  love,  he  is  like  the  earth  turn- 
ed from  its  sun  in  the  time  of  winter. 
Such  is  the  correspondence  between 


66 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


the  eifects  and  uses  from  the  sun  of  the 
spiritual  world,  and  the  effects  and  uses 
from  the  sun  of  the  natural  world. 


71.  To  the  above  shall  be  added  three 
Relations.  First.  I  once  heard  un- 
der me,  as  it  were,  a  roaring  of  the  sea ; 
and  I  asked,  "What  is  this?"  And 
some  one  said  to  me,  that  it  was  a 
tumult  amongst  those  who  are  gathered 
together  in  the  lower  part  of  the  earth, 
which  is  next  above  hell ;  and  present- 
ly the  ground,  which  made  a  cover- 
ing over  them,  opened  wide,  and  lo 
through  the  opening,  there  flew  out  in 
flocks,  birds  of  night,  which  spread 
themselves  to  the  left  hand  ;  and  imme- 
diately after  them,  rose  up  locusts, 
which  leaped  upon  the  grass  of  the 
ground,  and  made  a  desert  wherever 
they  came ;  and  a  litde  afterwards,  I 
heard  alternately  from  those  birds  of 
night,  as  it  were  a  howling,  and  at  the 
side  a  horrid  screaming,  as  it  were  from 
spectres  in  the  woods.  After  this,  I 
saw  beautiful  birds  from  heaven,  which 
spread  themselves  to  the  right  hand : 
those  birds  were  remarkable  for  their 
wings  as  of  gold,  interspersed  with 
streaks  and  spots  as  of  silver,  and  upon 
the  heads  of  some  of  them  were  crests 
in  the  form  of  crowns.  Whilst  I  was 
looking  and  wondering  at  these  things, 
suddenly  a  spirit  raised  himself  up 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  earth  where 
that  tunnilt  was,  who  could  trans- 
form himself  into  an  angel  of  light ; 
and  he  cried,  "  Where  is  he  who  speaks 
and  writes  concerning  the  order,  to 
which  tlie  omnipotent  God  has  tied 
himself,  in  relation  to  man?  We  have 
heard  these  things  below,  through  the 
covering."  While  he  was  above  that 
earth,  he  ran  through  a  paved  street, 
and  at  length  came  to  me,  and  imme- 
diately feigned  himself  an  angel  of 
heaven,  and  speaking  in  a  tone  not  his 
own,  he  said,  "  Are  you  the  man  who 
thinks  and  speaks  concerning  order? 
Tell  me,  briefly,  what  order  is,  and 
some  things  which  are  of  order."  And 
I  replied,  "  I  will  tell  you  the  general 
things,  but  not  the  particulars,  because 
you  cannot  comprehend  them."  And 


1  said,  "I.  That  God  is  Order  itself 
II.  That  He  created  man  from  order, 
in  order  and  to  order.  III.  That  He 
created  his  rational  mind  according 
to  the  order  of  the  whole  spiritual 
world,  and  his  body  according  to  the 
order  of  the  whole  natural  world  ; 
wherefore  man  was  called,  by  the  an- 
cients, a  little  heaven,  and  a  little  world. 
IV.  That  thence  it  is  a  law  of  order, 
that  man,  from  his  little  heaven,  or  lit- 
tle spiritual  world,  should  govern  his 
little  world,  or  his  little  natural  world, 
as  God,  from  his  great  heaven,  or  spir- 
itual world,  governs  the  great  w'orld,  or 
natural  world,  in  all  and  every  part  of 
it.  V.  That  it  is  a  law  of  order  thence 
resulting,  that  man  ought  to  introduce 
himself  into  faith  by  truths  from  the 
Word,  and  into  charity  by  good  works, 
and  thus  to  reform  and  regenerate 
himself  VI.  That  it  is  a  law  of  or- 
der, that  man  shoidd  purify  himself 
from  sins  by  his  own  labor  and  power, 
and  not  stand  still  in  a  belief  of  his 
inability,  and  expect  that  God  should 
immediately  wipe  away  his  sins.  VII. 
It  is  also  a  law  of  order,  that  man 
should  love  God  with  all  his  soul,  and 
with  all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as 
himself,  and  not  wait  and  expect  that 
such  love  should  be  infused  into  his 
mind  and  his  heart, immediately, by  God, 
as  bread  from  tlie  baker  is  put  into  his 
mouth;  besides  many  similar  things." 
When  the  satan  had  heard  these  things, 
he  replied,  with  a  mild  voice,  in  which 
there  was  inwardly  craft,  "  What 
is  it  that  you  say  ?  that  man,  of  his 
own  power,  is  to  introduce  himself 
into  order,  by  obeying  its  laws?  Do 
you  not  know,  that  man  is  not  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace?  that  all 
things  are  given  to  him  freely  ?  and 
that  he  cannot  take  any  thing  to  him- 
self, unless  it  be  given  him  from  heav- 
en ?  and  that  man,  of  himself,  has  no 
more  power  to  act  than  the  statue,  Lot's 
wife,  or  no  more  than  Dagon,  the 
idol  of  the  Philistine*;  at  Ekron?  and 
that  thus  it  is  impossible  for  man  to 
justify  himself,  which  nuist  be  done 
by  laith  and  charity  ?"  In  reply  to 
these  questions,  I  only  said,  "  It  is  also 
a  law  of  order,  that  man,  by  his  own 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


57 


labor  and  power,  should  procure  to 
himself  faitli,  by  means  of  truths  from 
the  Word,  and  yet  he  sliould  believe, 
that  not  a  grain  of  faitli  is  from  him- 
self, but  from  God ;  and  also  that  man, 
by  his  own  labor  and  power,  should 
justify  himself,  and  yet  he  should  be- 
lieve, that  not  a  jot  of  justification  is 
from  himself,  but  from  God.  Is  it  not 
commanded,  that  man  should  believe 
in  God,  and  love  God  with  all  his 
strength,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself? 
Think,  and  say  how  these  things  could 
have  been  commanded  by  God,  if  man 
had  no  power  to  obey  and  do  them." 
When  the  satan  had  heard  this,  he  was 
changed  as  to  his  face,which  from  white 
became  at  first  dark,  and  then  black ; 
and,  speaking  from  his  own  mouth,  he 
said,  "  You  have  spoken  paradoxes 
against  paradoxes ;"  and  then  he  in- 
stantly sunk  down  to  his  companions, 
and  disappeared.  And  the  birds  on 
the  left  hand,  together  with  the  spec- 
tres, uttered  unusual  sounds,  and  cast 
themselves  into  the  sea,  which  is  there 
called  the  Sea  Suph,  and  the  locusts 
followed  them  by  leaps ;  and  the  air 
was  purified,  and  the  earth  was  cleared 
of  those  wild  creatures,  and  the  tumult 
below  ceased,  and  it  became  tranquil 
and  serene. 

72.  Second  Relation.  I  once 
heard  an  unusual  murmur  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  I,  in  the  spirit,  followed  the 
direction  of  the  sound,  and  approached 
to  it.  When  I  came  to  the  beginning 
of  it,  behold  there  was  a  company  of 
spirits  reasoning  about  Imputation  and 
Predestination.  They  were  Dutch- 
men and  Englishmen  ;  and  some  from 
other  nations  were  intermixed,  who, 
at  the  conclusion  of  every  argument, 
exclaimed,  "Wonderful!  Wonderful!" 
The  question  discussed  was,  "Why  God 
does  not  impute  the  merit  and  righte- 
ousness of  his  Son  to  all  and  every  one 
created  and  afterwards  redeemed  by 
Him.  Is  He  not  omnipotent  ?  Could 
He  not,  if  He  would,  make  Lucifer, 
the  dragon,  and  all  the  goats,  archan- 
gels? Is  He  not  omnipotent?  Why 
does  He  permit  the  injustice  and  im- 
piety of  the  devil  to  triumph  over  the 
righteousness  of  his  Son,  and  over  the 


piety  of  the  worshippers  of  God  ?  What 
is  easier  for  God  than  to  bestow  faith, 
and  thus  salvation,  upon  all  ?  What  is 
necessary  for  this  but  a  single  word  ? 
And  if  all  are  not  saved,  does  He  not 
act  contrary  to  his  own  words,  which 
are,  that  He  desires  the  salvation  of 
all,  and  the  death  of  none  ?  Say,  there- 
fore, from  whom,  and  in  whom,  is  the 
cause  of  the  damnation  of  those  who 
perish."  And  then  one  of  the  Dutch- 
men, a  Supralapsarian  Predestinarian, 
said,  "  Is  not  this  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  the  Almighty  ?  Shall 
the  clay  find  fault  with  the  potter,  be- 
cause he  has  made  of  it  a  vessel  of  dis- 
honor V  And  another  said,  "  The 
salvation  of  every  one  is  in  His  hand 
as  a  balance  in  the  hand  of  him  who 
uses  it."  There  stood  at  the  sides 
some  who  were  simple  in  faith  and 
upright  in  heart,  some  of  them  in- 
flamed in  their  eyes,  some  as  it  were 
amazed,  some  as  it  were  intoxicat- 
ed, and  some  as  it  were  suffocat- 
ed, muttering  amongst  themselves, 
"  What  have  we  to  do  with  those 
deliriums?  Their  faith  has  infatuat- 
ed them,  which  is,  that  God  the 
Father  imputes  the  righteousness  of 
his  Son  to  whomsoever  and  whenso- 
ever He  pleases,  and  sends  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  give  assurances  of  that  right- 
eousness ;  and,  lest  man  should  claim 
any  thing  to  himself,  in  the  work  of 
salvation,  he  must  be  altogether  like  a 
stone  in  the  business  of  justification, 
and  like  a  stock  in  spiritual  things." 
And  one  of  them  thrust  himself  into 
the  company,  and  speaking  with  a  loud 
voice,  he  said,  "  O  you  simpletons, 
your  reasoning  is  futile.  You  are 
totally  ignorant  that  the  omnipotent 
God  is  Order  itself,  and  that  the  laws 
of  order  are  myriads,  even  as  many  as 
there  are  truths  in  the  Word,  and  that 
God  cannot  act  contrary  to  them,  be- 
cause to  act  contrary  to  them,  would 
be  to  act  contrary  to  Himself,  and  thus 
not  only  contrary  to  his  justice,  but 
also  contrary  to  his  omnipotence." 
And  he  saw  at  his  right  hand,  as  it 
were  a  sheep,  and  a  lamb,  and  a  dove 
flying ;  and  at  his  left  hand,  as  it  were 
a  goat,  a  wolf,  and  a  vulture ;  and  he 


58 


Conceminsr  God  the  Creator. 


said,  "  Do  you  suppose  tliat  God,  by 
virtue  of  his  omnipoteuce,  could  change 
that  goat  into  a  sheep,  or  that  wolf  into 
a  lamb,  or  that  vulture  into  a  dove,  or 
the  contrary  ?  No ;  for  it  is  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  his  order,  of  which  not 
even  a  tittle  can  fall  to  the  ground, 
according  to  his  own  words.  How, 
then,  can  He  insert  the  righteousness 
of  his  Son's  redemption  into  any  one 
who  rebels  against  the  la^v■s  of  his 
righteousness  ?  How  can  Righteous- 
ness itself  commit  unrighteousness, 
predestinate  any  to  hell,  cast  any  into 
the  fire,  at  which  the  devil  stands  with 
torches  in  his  hand  to  feed  it  1  O 
simpletons,  destitute  of  the  spirit  ! 
your  faith  has  seduced  you.  Is  it  not 
as  a  snare  in  your  hands  for  catching 
doves?"  A  certain  magician,  hearing 
these  words,  formed  a  snare,  as  it  were, 
from  that  faith,  and  hung  it  upon  a 
tree,  saying,  "  You  will  see  that  I 
shall  catch  that  dove."  And  presently 
a  hawk  flew  up,  and  put  his  neck  into 
the  snare,  and  was  caught ;  and  the 
dove,  seeing  the  hawk,  flew  away. 
The  by-standers  wondered,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  Even  this  sport  is  a  proof  of 
justice." 

73.  The  next  day  there  came  to  me 
several  from  the  company  who  were 
in  the  faith  of  predestination  and  im- 
putation, and  they  said,  "  We  are,  as 
it  were,  drunken,  not  with  wine,  but 
with  the  discourse  of  that  man  yester- 
day. He  spoke  concerning  omnipo- 
tence, and,  at  the  same  time,  concern- 
ing order ;  and  concluded  that,  as 
there  is  divine  omnipotence,  so  also 
there  is  divine  order,  nay,  that  God 
himself  is  Order ;  and  he  said,  that 
there  are  as  many  laws  of  order  as 
there  are  truths  in  the  Word,  which 
are  not  only  thousands,  but  myriads  of 
myriads,  and  that  God  is  bound  to  his 
laws  there,  and  man  to  his.  What,  then, 
is  the  divine  omnipotence,  if  it  is  tied 
up  by  laws  ?  for  thus  all  that  is  absolute 
recedes  from  omnipotence  ;  and,  in 
that  case,  is  not  the  power  of  God  less 
than  that  of  a  king  in  the  world,  who 
is  a  monarch  ?  for  he  can  change  the 
laws  of  justice  at  his  pleasure,  and  act 
absolutely,   like  Octavius  Augustus, 


and  also  like  Nero.  After  we  began 
to  think  of  omnipotence  tied  up  by 
laAvs,  we  became,  as  it  were,  drunken, 
and  are  ready  to  fall  into  a  swoon,  un- 
less a  remedy  be  quickly  applied  ;  for, 
according  to  our  faith,  we  have  prayed 
that  God  the  Father  would  have  mer- 
cy on  us,  for  the  sake  of  his  Son ;  and 
we  believed,  that  He  could  have  mercy 
on  whom  He  would,  and  remit  sins  to 
whom  He  pleased,  and  save  whom  He 
would ;  and  we  durst  not  take  away 
the  least  particle  from  his  omnipotence. 
Wherefore,  to  bind  God  with  the  chains 
of  any  of  his  own  laws,  we  regarded 
as  great  wickedness,  because  it  seem- 
ed contradictory  to  his  omnipotence." 
Having  said  these  words,  they  looked 
at  me,  and  1  at  them,  and  I  saw  that 
they  were  amazed;  and  I  said,  "I 
will  pray  to  the  Lord,  and  thence  will 
bring  to  yovi  a  remedy,  by  illustrating 
this  subject ;  but  now  only  by  exam- 
ples." And  I  said,  "The  omnipo- 
tent God  created  the  world,  from  the 
order  in  Himself,  and  thus  into  the  or- 
der in  which  He  is,  and  according  to 
which  He  governs ;  and  He  stamped 
upon  the  universe,  and  upon  all  and 
every  part  of  it,  its  proper  order :  up- 
on man,  beast,  bird,  fish,  worm  and 
tree  of  every  kind  ;  nay,  upon  the  grass 
its  own  order.  But,  to  illustrate  by 
examples,  I  will  briefly  adduce  the  fol- 
lowing :  The  laws  of  order,  prescrib- 
ed to  man,  are,  tliat  man  should  ac- 
quire for  himself  truths  from  the  Word, 
and  think  of  them  naturally,  and,  as 
far  as  he  can,  rationally,  and  thus  pro- 
cure for  himself  natural  faith  :  the  laws 
of  order,  then,  on  the  part  of  God, 
are,  that  He  .should  approach  and  fill 
the  truths  with  his  divine  light,  and 
thus  man's  natural  faith,  whicii  is  only 
science  and  persuasion,  with  his  divine 
essence  ;  thus,  and  not  otherwise,  sav- 
ing faith  is  produced.  The  case  is 
similar  with  charity  :  but  we  will  men- 
tion some  particulars.  God  cannot, 
according  to  the  laws  of  his  order, 
remit  sins  to  any  man,  except  so  far 
as  man,  according  to  his  laws,  ceases 
from  them.  God  cannot  spiritually 
regenerate  man,  except  so  far  as  man, 
according  to  his  laws,  naturally  regen- 


Concerning  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 


59 


crates  himself.  God  is  in  the  perpet- 
ual effort  of  regenerating,  and  thus  of 
saving  man ;  but  this  He  cannot  effect, 
except  as  man  prepares  liimself  a  re- 
ceptacle, and  tluis  prepares  the  way  for 
God,  and  opens  the  door ;  a  bride- 
groom cannot  enter  into  the  chamber 
of  a  virgin  not  betrothed  to  him ;  slie 
shuts  the  door,  and  keeps  the  key  with 
her  within ;  but  after  the  virgin  has 
been  betrothed,  she  gives  the  key  to 
the  bridegroom.  God  could  not,  by 
his  omnipotence,  have  redeemed  men, 
unless  He  had  become  man  ;  nor  could 
He  have  made  his  Human  Divine,  un- 
less his  Human  had  been,  at  first,  as 
the  human  of  an  infant,  and  afterwards 
as  the  human  of  a  boy ;  and  unless 
the  Human  afterwards  had  formed  it- 
self into  a  receptacle  and  habitation, 
into  which  its  Father  might  enter ; 
which  was  done  by  fulfilling  all  things 
of  the  Word,  that  is,  all  the  laws  of 
order  there  ;  and  as  far  as  He  did  this, 
so  far  He  united  Himself  to  the  Father, 
and  the  Father  united  Himself  to  Him. 
But  these  are  a  few  things,  adduced 
for  the  sake  of  illustration,  that  you  may 
see,  that  the  divine  omnipotence  is  in 
order,  and  that  its  government,  which 
is  called  Providence,  is  according  to 
order  ;  and  that  it  acts  continually  and 
eternally  according  to  the  laws  of  its 
order ;  and  that  it  cannot  act  contrary 
to  them  nor  change  them,  as  to  a  sin- 
gle tittle,  because  order,  with  all  its 
laws,  is  Himself"  When  these  words 
were  spoken,  a  radiant  light,  of  a 
golden  color,  flowed  in  through  the 
roof,  and  formed  cherubs  flying  in  the 
air  ;  and  the  effulgence  thence  en- 
lightened the  temples  of  some  towards 
the  occiput,  but  not  as  yet  towards  the 
forehead ;  for  they  muttered,  "  We  are 
still  ignorant  what  order  is."  And  I 
said,  "  It  will  be  revealed  to  you,  when 
the  things  hitherto  said  to  you  shall 
have  received  some  light." 

74.  Third  Relation.  I  saw,  at 
a  distance,  several  gathered  together, 
with  caps  on  their  heads ;  some  with 
caps  bound  around  with  silk  and  who 
were  of  the  ecclesiastic  order ;  some 
with  caps  whose  borders  were  adorned 
with  bands  of  gold,  who  were  of  the 


civil  order ;  all  these  were  men  of 
science  and  erudition  ;  and,  moreover, 
I  s.aw  some  with  turbans,  who  were 
illiterate.  I  approached,  and  heard 
them  conversing  together  concerning 
Divine  Power  without  limits,  saying, 
that'  if  it  proceeded  according  to  any 
established  laws  of  order,  it  could  not 
be  without  limits,  but  limited,  and  thus 
power,  and  not  omnipotence.  But  who 
does  not  see,  that  no  law  of  necessity 
can  compel  omnipotence  to  do  so,  and 
not  otherwise  ?  Certainly,  while  we 
think  of  omnipotence,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  the  laws  of  order,  according 
to  which  it  is  obliged  to  proceed,  our 
preconceived  ideas  concerning  om- 
nipotence fall,  like  a  hand  when  its 
staff  is  broken.  When  they  saw  me 
near  them,  some  of  them  ran  up  to  me, 
and,  with  some  vehemence,  said,  "Are 
you  the  man  that  has  circumscribed 
God  with  laws,  as  with  bonds  ?  How 
insolent  this  is!  Thus  you  have  also 
torn  to  pieces  our  faith,  upon  which  our 
salvation  is  founded,  in  the  midst  of 
which  we  place  the  righteousness  of 
the  Redeemer ;  upon  that,  the  om- 
nipotence of  God  the  Father ;  and  we 
make  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
an  appendage ;  and  the  efficacy  of  it 
is  in  the  absolute  impotency  of  man,  in 
spiritual  things,  for  whom  it  is  enough 
to  speak  of  the  fullness  of  justification, 
which  is  in  that  faith,  from  the  om- 
nipotence of  God.  But  we  have  heard 
that  you  see  vanity  in  it,  because  there 
is  in  it  nothing  of  divine  order  on  the 
part  of  man."  On  hearing  these 
words,  I  opened  my  mouth,  and,  speak- 
ing with  a  loud  voice,  I  said,  "  Learn 
the  laws  of  divine  order,  and  after- 
wards open  that  faith,  and  you  will  see 
a  vast  desert,  and  in  it  an  oblong  and 
crooked  Leviathan,  and  all  around  it, 
nets,  as  it  were,  entangled  into  an  in- 
explicable knot;  but  do  you,  as  it  is 
read  of  Alexander,  when  he  saw  the 
Gordian  knot,  that  he  drew  his  sword, 
and  cut  it  in  two,  and  thus  loosed  its 
entanglements,  and  threw  its  thongs 
on  the  ground,  and  trampled  them  un- 
der his  feet."  At  these  words,  the 
congregation  bit  their  tongues,  wishing 
to  sharpen  them  for  invectives;  but 


60 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


they  durst  not,  because  they  saw  heav- 
en open  above  me,  and  heard  a  voice 
thence — "  Listen  with  moderation  to 
hear,  for  the  first  time,  wliat  is  the  or- 
der, according  to  the  laws  of  which 
the  omnipotent  God  acts.  God  from 
Himself,  as  Order,  in  order  and  into 
order,  created  the  universe,  and  like- 
wise man,  in  whom  He  fixed  the  laws 
of  his  order,  by  which  he  became  an 
image  and  likeness  of  God ;  which  laws, 
in  the  sum,  are,  that  he  should  believe 
in  God  and  love  his  neighbor,  and  as 
far  as  he  does  those  two  things  by  nat- 
ural power,  so  far  he  makes  himself  a 
receptacle  of  the  divine  omnipotence, 
and  so  far  God  conjoins  Himself  to 
him,  and  him  to  Himself ;  thence  his 
faith  becomes  living  and  saving,  and 
his  practice  becomes  charity,  also  liv- 
ing and  saving.  But  it  should  be 
known,  that  God  is  perpetually  present, 
and  continually  strives  and  acts  in  man, 
and  also  touches  his  free  will,  but  never 
violates  it ;  for  if  He  should  violate  the 
free  will  of  man,  man's  dwelling  in 
God  would  perish,  and  there  would  be 
that  of  God  only  in  man  ;  and  this 
dwelling  is  in  all,  as  well  in  those  who 
are  upon  the  earth  as  in  those  who  are 
in  the  heavens,  and  also  in  those  who 
are  in  the  hells ;  for  thence  is  their 
power  to  will  and  understand.  But 
there  is  no  reciprocal  dwelling  of  man 
in  God,  except  with  those  who  live 
according  to  the  laws  of  order  pre- 
scribed in  the  Word  ;  and  these  become 
images  and  likenesses  of  Him,  and  to 
them  paradise  is  given  for  a  possession, 
and  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life  for 
food.  But  the  rest  gather  themselves 
together  around  the  tree  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil,  and  talk  with 
the  serpent  there,  and  eat ;  but  after- 
wards they  aie  driven  out  of  paradi.se ; 
yet  God  does  not  leave  them,  but  they 
leave  God."  Those  in  caps  under- 
stood and  approved  the.se  words ;  but 
those  in  turbans  denied,  and  said,  "  Is 
not  omnipotence  thus  limited  ?  and  is 
not  limited  omnipotence  a  contradic- 
tion ?"  But  I  replied,  "  It  is  not  a 
contradiction  to  act  omnipotently  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  justice,  and  with 
judgment,  or  according  to  the  laws 


inscribed  on  love  from  wisdom ;  but  it  is 
a  contradiction,  that  God  can  act  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  his  own  justice  and 
love ;  and  this  would  not  be  from  judg- 
ment and  wisdom.  Such  a  contradic- 
tion is  implied  in  your  faith,  which  is, 
that  God  can,  out  of  mere  grace,  jus- 
tify the  unjust,  and  endow  him  with 
all  the  gifts  of  salvation  and  the  re- 
wards of  life.  But  I  will  say,  in  a  few 
words,  what  the  omnipotence  of  God 
is.  God,  by  his  omnipotence,  created 
the  universe,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in- 
troduced order  into  all  and  every  part 
of  it;  God  also,  by  his  omnipotence, 
preserves  the  universe,  and  watches 
over  the  order  there,  with  all  its  laws, 
perpetually,  and  when  any  thing  gets 
out  of  order.  He  puts  it  back  again, 
and  .re-establishes  it.  Moreover,  God, 
by  his  omnipotence,  established  the 
church,  and  revealed  the  laws  of  its 
order  in  the  Word ;  and  when  it  fell 
from  order.  He  re-established  it,  and 
when  it  fell  totally.  He  came  down  into 
the  world, and, by  assuming  the  Human, 
He  clothed  himself  with  onniipotencc, 
and  restored  it.  God,  by  his  onmipo- 
tence,  and  also  his  omniscience,  ex- 
amines every  one  after  death,  and  pre- 
pares the  righteous,  or  the  sheep,  for 
their  places  in  heaven,  and  forms  heav- 
en from  them ;  and  He  prepares  the 
unrighteous,  or  the  goats,  for  their 
places  in  hell,  and  forms  hell  from 
them  ;  and  He  disposes  both  heaven 
and  hell  into  societies  and  congrega- 
tions, according  to  all  the  varieties  of 
their  love,  which, in  heaven,  are  as  many 
as  the  stars  in  the  firmament  of  the 
world ;  and  He  joins  the  societies  in 
heaven  together  into  one,  that  they  may 
be  as  one  man  in  his  sigiit ;  in  like  man- 
ner, the  congregations  in  hell,  that  they 
may  be  as  one  devil ;  and  He  separates 
the  former  from  the  latter  by  a  gulf, 
lest  hell  should  do  violence  to  heaven, 
and  lest  heaven  should  occasion  tor- 
ment in  hell ;  for  those  who  are  in  hell 
are  tormented  in  proportion  as  heaven 
flows  in.  Unless  God,  by  his  omnipo- 
tence, should  every  instant  act  in  heav- 
en and  in  hell,  the  bestial  nature  would 
enter  into  men  to  such  a  degree,  that 
they  could  no  longer  be  restrained  by 


Concerning  the  Creation  of  the  Universe. 


61 


the  laws  of  any  order,  and  thus  tlie 
human  race  would  perish.  These  and 
similar  things  would  happen,  unless 
God  were  Order,  and  onniipotent  in  or- 
der." On  hearing  these  words,  tliose 
who  wore  caps  went  away,  with  their 


caps  under  their  arms,  praising  God ;  for, 
in  that  world,  the  intelligent  wear  caps. 
Not  so  those  who  wore  turbans,  be- 
cause they  are  bald,  and  baldness  signi- 
fies dullness  or  stupidity ;  and  these  went 
away  to  the  left,  but  those  to  the  right. 


CONCERNING  THE  CRE 

75.  Since,  in  this  first  chapter,  we 
treat  of  God  the  Creator,  we  ought  al- 
so to  treat  of  the  creation  of  the  uni- 
verse by  Him ;  as,  in  the  following 
chapter  concerning  the  Lord  the  Re- 
deemer, we  shall  also  treat  of  Redemp- 
tion. But  no  one  can  obtain  for  him- 
self a  just  idea  concerning  the  crea- 
tion of  the  universe,  unless  some  uni- 
versal knowledges,  previously  acquired, 
put  the  understanding  into  a  state  of 
perception  ;  which  knowledges  will  be 
the  following :  I.  That  there  are  two 
worlds,  the  spiritual  world,  in  which 
angels  and  spirits  are  ;  and  the  natural 
world,  in  which  men  are.  II.  That  in 
each  world  there  is  a  sun,  and  that  the 
sun  of  the  spiritual  world  is  pure  love 
from  Jehovah  God,  who  is  in  the  midst 
of  it ;  and  that  from  that  sun  proceed 
heat  and  light;  and  that  the  heat 
thence  proceeding,  in  its  essence,  is 
love,  and  that  the  light  thence  pro- 
ceeding, in  its  essence,  is  wisdom,  and 
that  those  two  affect  the  will  and  un- 
derstanding of  man,  the  heat  his  will, 
and  the  light  his  understanding ;  but 
that  the  sun  of  the  natural  world  is 
pure  fire,  and  that  therefore  the  heat 
thence  is  dead ;  in  like  manner,  the 
light ;  and  tliat  they  serve  for  clothing 
and  support  to  spiritual  heat  and 
light,  that  they  may  pass  to  man.  III. 
Then,  that  those  two  things,  which 
proceed  from  the  sun  of  the  spiritual 
world,  and  thence  all  the  things  which 
exist  there  by  means  of  them,  are  sub- 
stantial, and  are  called  spiritual;  and 
that  the  two  similar  things,  which  pro- 
ceed from  the  sun  of  tlie  natural  world, 
and  thence  all  the  things  which  exist 
here  by  means  of  them,  are  material, 
and  are  called  natural.    IV.  That  in 


TION  OF  THE  UNIVERSE. 

each  world  there  are  three  degrees, 
which  are  called  degrees  of  altitude, 
and  thence  three  regions,  according  to 
which  the  three  angelic  heavens  are 
arranged,  and  according  to  which  hu- 
man minds  are  arranged,  which  thus 
correspond  to  the  three  angelic  heav- 
ens ;  and  that  other  things  are  arrang- 
ed in  like  manner,  both  here  and  there. 
V.  That  there  is  a  correspondence  be- 
tween those  things  which  are  in  the 
spiritual  world,  and  those  things  which 
are  in  the  natural  world.  VI.  That 
there  is  an  order,  into  which  all  and 
every  thing  in  both  worlds  was  creat- 
ed. VII.  That  an  idea  concerning 
these  things  ought  first  of  all  to  be  ob- 
tained; and,  unless  this  be  done,  the 
human  mind,  from  mere  ignorance 
concerning  them,  may  easily  fall  into 
the  idea  of  the  creation  of  the  universe 
by  nature,  and  say,  only  from  the  au- 
thority of  the  church,  that  nature  was 
created  by  God ;  but  because  it  knows 
not  how,  if  it  inquires  into  it  more  in- 
teriorly, it  falls  headlong  into  natural- 
ism, which  denies  God.  But  because 
it  would  be  the  work  of  a  large  vol- 
ume, to  explain  and  demonstrate  those 
things  in  a  proper  manner,  one  by  one, 
and,  also,  as  it  does  not  properly  enter 
into  such  a  system  of  theology  as  this, 
as  a  lemma,  or  an  argument,  I  will 
only  adduce  some  Relations,  from 
which  an  idea  of  the  creation  of  the 
universe  by  God  may  be  conceived, 
and  from  conception,  some  birth,  re- 
presenting it,  may  be  produced. 


76.  First  Relation.  On  a  cer- 
tain day,  I  was  engaged  in  meditation 
about  the  creation  of  the  universe ;  and 


G2  Concerning  ^od  the  Creator. 

because  this  was  perceived  by  the  an-  that  the  sun,  from  which  all  natural 
gels  who  were  above  me  on  the  right  things  proceed,  is  pure  fire.  Knowing 
side,  where  were  some  who  had  sev-  these  things,  on  a  certain  time,  \vhen  I 
eral  times  meditated  and  reasoned  on  was  in  illustration,  I  was  enabled  to 
the  same  subject,  therefore  one  de-  perceive  that  the  universe  was  created 
scended  and  invited  me,  and  I  became  by  Jehovah  God,  by  means  of  the  sun, 
in  the  spirit,  and  accompanied  him ;  in  the  midst  of  which  He  is ;  and  be- 
and  after  I  entered,  I  was  conducted  cause  love  cannot  exist,  except  together 
to  the  prince,  in  whose  palace  I  saw  with  wisdom,  that  the  universe  was 
several  hundreds  assembled,  and  the  created  by  Jehovah  God,  from  his  love 
prince  in  the  midst  of  them.    And  by  his  wisdom.  That  it  is  so,  is  evinced 
then  one  of  them  said,  "  We  perceiv-  by  all  and  every  thing  that  I  have  seen 
ed  here,  that  you  were   meditating  in  the  world  where  you  are,  and  that 
about  the  creation  of  the  universe,  and  I  have  seen  in  the  world  where  I  am, 
we  have  several  times  been  in  a  simi-  as  to  the  body.    But  to  explain  how 
lar  meditation,  but  could  never  come  the  progress  of  creation  was  made, 
to  a  conclusion,  since  in  our  thoughts  from  its  beginning,  would  be  too  prolix; 
was  fixed  the  idea  of  a  chaos;  that  this  but,  when  I  was  in  illustration,  I  per- 
was,  as  it  were,  a  great  egg,  out  of  ceived,  that  by  means  of  the  light  and 
which  proceeded"^  all  and  every  thing  heat  from  the  sun  of  your  world,  spir- 
of  the  universe  in  their  order ;  when  itual  atmospheres,  which  in  themselves 
yet  we  now  perceive,  that  so  great  a  are  substantial,  were  created  one  from 
universe  could  not  have  been  thus  pro-  another  ;  and  because  there  were  three, 
duced.     Then,  also,  there  was  fixed  and  thence  three  degrees  of  them, 
in  our  minds  another  idea,  which  was,  three  heavens  were  made ;  one  for  the 
that  all  things  were  created  by  God  angels  who  are   in  the  highest  de- 
out  of  nothing ;  and  yet  we  now  per-  gree  of  love  and  wisdom,  another  for 
ceive,  that  nothing  is  made  out  of  noth-  the  angels  wlio  are  in  the  second  de- 
ing ;  and  our  minds  have  not  yet  been  gree,  and  the  third  for  the  angels 
able  to  extricate  themselves  from  these  who  are  in  the  lowest  degree  :  but, 
two  ideas,  and  to  see  creation  in  any  because  this  spiritual  universe  cannot 
light,  how  it  was  effected ;  wherefore,  exist  without  a  natural  universe,  in 
we  have  called  you  out  from  the  phace  which  it  may  produce  its  effects  and 
where  you  were,  that  you  may  disclose  uses,  that  then  the  sun,  from  which  all 
your  meditation  concerning  this  sub-  natural  things  proceed,  was  created  at 
ject."    On  hearing  these  words,  I  re-  the  same  time,  and  by  this,  in  like 
plied,  "I  will  do  so."    And  I  said,  manner,  by  means  of  light  and  heat, 
"  I  meditated  on  this  subject  for  a  long  three  atmospheres,  encompassing  the 
time,  but  to  no  purpose ;   but  after-  former,  as  the  shell  does  the  kernel, 
wards,  wlicn  I  was  admitted  by  the  or  the  bark  of  a  tree  the  wood  ;  and  at 
Lord   into   your  world,  I  perceived  last,  by  means  of  these,  the  terraque- 
that  it  would  be  vain  to  conclude  any  ous  globe,  where  arc  men,  bea.<ts  and 
thing  concerning  tlie  creation  of  tiie  fishes,  also  trees,  shrubs  and  lierbs, 
universe,  unless  it  be  first  known,  that  was  formed  of  diflerent  kinds  of  earths, 
there  are  two  worlds,  one  in  which  which  consist  of  loom,  stones  and  min- 
angels  are,  and  another  in  which  men  erals.    But   this  is  a  very  general 
are;  and  that  men,  at  death,  pass  out  sketch  of  the  creation  and  its  progrcs- 
of  their  v.'orId  into  the  other ;  and  then  sion  ;  i)ut  the  particulars  and  singulars 
also  I  saw,  that  there  were  two  suns,  cannot  be  explained,  except  by  volumes 
one  from  which  all  spiritual  things  of  books ;  but  all  things  lead  to  the 
l)roceed,  and  the  other  from  which  all  conclusion,  that  God  did  not  create  tiie 
natural  things  proceed ;  and  that  the  universe  out  of  nothing,  because,  as 
sun,  from  which  all  spiritual  things  you  said,  Nothing  is  made  out  of  not/i- 
procced,  is  pure  love  from  Jehovah  iiig;  but  by  means  of  the  sun  of  the 
God,  wlio  is  in  t!ie  midst  of  it;  and  angelic  heaven,  which    is   from  his 


Concerning  the  Creation  of  the  Universe. 


G3 


Esse,  and  thence  is  pure  love,  together 
with  wisdom.  That  the  universe,  by 
wliicli  is  meant  both  worlds,  the  spir- 
itual and  the  natural,  was  created  from 
the  divine  love,  by  the  divine  wisdom, 
all  and  every  part  of  it  testifies  and 
proves ;  and  you,  if  you  consider  the 
parts  of  the  universe  in  their  order 
and  connection,  from  the  light  in 
which  the  perceptions  of  your  under- 
standings are,  may  clearly  see  it.  But 
it  should  be  kept  in  mind,  that  the  love 
and  wisdom,  which  in  God  make  one, 
are  not  love  and  wisdom,  in  an  abstract 
sense,  but  in  Him  as  a  substance ;  for 
God  is  the  very,  the  only,  and  thence 
the  first  Substance  and  Essence,  which 
is  and  subsists  in  itself  That  all  and 
every  thing  was  created  from  the  di- 
vine love  and  the  divine  wisdom,  is 
meant  by  these  words  in  John ;  Tlie 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God;  all  things  loerc  made  by 
Him;  and  the  world  was  made  by 
Him,  i.  1,  3,  10.  God  there,  signi- 
fies the  divine  love,  and  the  Word 
signifies  the  divine  truth,  or  the  di- 
vine wisdom ;  wherefore  the  Word 
there  is  called  light,  and  by  light, 
when  spoken  of  God,  is  meant  the  di- 
vine wisdom."  After  this,  when  I 
was  saying  farewell,  rays  of  light,  from 
the  sun  there,  descended  through  the 
angelic  heavens,  into  their  eyes,  and 
through  them  into  the  habitations  of 
their  mind  ;  and,  when  thus  illustrated, 
they  favored  the  things  that  had  been 
said  by  me,  and  afterwards  followed 
me  into  the  outer  court,  and  my  former 
companion  to  the  house  where  I  was, 
and  from  thence  he  reascended  to  his 
society. 

77.  Second  Relation.  One  morn- 
ing, when  I  had  awaked  from  sleep, 
and  was  meditating  in  the  serene  twi- 
light of  the  morning,  before  it  was 
broad  day-light,  I  saw  through  the 
window,  as  it  were  a  flash  of  light- 
ning, and  presently  I  heard,  as  it  were, 
a  clap  of  thunder.  While  I  was  won- 
dering whence  this  was,  I  heard  from 
heaven,  that  there  were  some  not  far 
from  me,  who  were  reasoning  sharply 
concerning  God  and  Nature,  and 
tl.at  the  flashing  of  the  light,  like  light- 


ning, and  the  clapping  of  the  air,  like 
thunder,  were  correspondences,  and 
thence  appearances  of  the  conflict  and 
collision  of  arguments,  on  one  side  iu 
favor  of  God,  and  on  the  other  in  fa- 
vor of  nature.  The  beginning  of  this 
spn-itual  combat  was  this  :  There  were 
some  satans  in  hell,  who  said  amongst 
themselves,  "O  that  we  might  be  al- 
lowed to  speak  with  the  angels  of 
heaven,  and  we  would  completely  and 
fully  demonstrate,  that  what  they  call 
God,  from  whom  are  all  things,  is  na- 
ture ;  thus,  that  God  is  only  a  word, 
unless  nature  be  meant."  And  be- 
cause those  satans  believed  this,  with 
the  whole  heart,  and  the  whole  soul, 
and  wished  to  speak  with  the  angels  of 
heaven,  it  was  given  to  them  to  ascend 
out  of  the  filth  and  darkness  of  hell, 
and  to  speak  with  two  angels  then  de- 
scending from  heaven.  They  were  in 
the  world  of  spirits,  which  is  in  the 
midst,  between  heaven  and  hell.  The 
satans,  when  they  saw  the  angels  there, 
ran  quickly  to  them,  and  cried  with  a 
furious  voice,  "  Are  you  the  angels  of 
heaven,  with  whom  we  are  allowed  to 
engage  in  reasoning  concerning  God 
and  nature  ?  You  are  called  wise,  be- 
cause you  acknowledge  God;  but  oh, 
how  simple  you  are !  Who  has  ever 
seen  God?  or  who  understands  what 
God  is  ?  Who  can  conceive  that  God 
reigns,  and  that  He  can  govern  the 
universe,  and  all  and  every  part  of  it  ? 
Who,  except  the  vulgar  and  the  lowest 
of  the  people,  acknowledges  what  he 
does  not  see  and  understand  ?  What 
is  more  evident  than  that  nature  is  all 
in  all  ?  Who  has  seen  any  thing  with 
the  eye,  but  nature  ?  Who  has  heard 
any  thing  with  the  ear,  but  nature? 
Who  has  smelt  any  thing  with  the 
nose,  but  nature  ?  Who  has  tasted  any 
thing  with  the  tongue,  but  nature? 
Who  has  perceived  any  thing  with  the 
touch  of  the  hand  or  body,  but  nature  ? 
Are  not  the  senses  of  the  body  our 
witnesses  of  truths  ?  Who  cannot  swear 
fi-om  those  things,  that  it  is  so  ?  Is  not 
respiration,  by  which  our  body  lives,  al- 
so a  witness  ?  What  else  do  we  breathe, 
but  nature  ?  Are  not  our  heads  and 
yours  in  nature?    Whence  is  there 


64 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


influx  into  the  thoughts  of  our  heads, 
but  from  nature  ?  And  if  nature  be 
taken  away,  can  you  think  any  thing  ?" 
Beside  many  other  things  of  a  similar 
kind.  The  angels,  on  hearing  these 
things,  replied,  "  You  speak  in  this 
manner,  because  you  are  merely  sen- 
sual. All  in  hell  have  the  ideas  of 
their  thoughts  immersed  in  the  senses 
of  the  body,  nor  are  they  able  to  ele- 
vate their  minds  above  them ;  where- 
fore we  forgive  you.  The  life  of  evil, 
and  the  faith  of  the  false,  have  so 
closed  up  the  interiors  of  your  minds, 
that  elevation  above  sensual  things, 
with  you,  is  not  possible,  except  in  a 
state  removed  from  evils  of  life  and 
falses  of  faith ;  for  a  satan  can  under- 
stand the  truth,  when  he  hears  it,  as  well 
as  an  angel,  but  he  does  not  retain  it, 
because  evil  obliterates  the  truth  and 
induces  the  false.  But  we  perceive 
that  you  are  in  a  state  thus  removed, 
and  so  you  can  understand  the  truth 
which  we  speak ;  wherefore  attend  to 
those  things  which  we  shall  say."  And 
they  said,  "  You  have  been  in  the 
natural  world,  and  you  have  departed 
thence,  and  now  you  are  in  the  spirit- 
ual world ;  did  you  ever  before  know 
any  thing  concerning  a  life  after  death  ? 
Did  you  not  before  deny  it,  and  make 
yourselves  like  the  beasts  ?  Did  you 
before  know  any  thing  concerning 
heaven  and  hell  ?  or  any  tiling  con- 
cerning the  light  and  heat  of  this 
world?  or  concerning  this,  that  you 
are  no  longer  within  nature,  but  above 
it?  For  this  world,  and  all  the  things 
of  it,  are  spiritual ;  and  spiritual  things 
are  above  natural  things,  so  that  not 
even  the  least  thing  of  nature,  in 
which  you  were,  can  flow  into  this 
world.  But  you,  because  you  believed 
nature  to  be  a  god  or  a  goddess,  also 
believe  the  light  and  heat  of  this  world 
to  be  the  light  and  heat  of  the  natural 
world,  when  yet  it  is  not  so ;  for  natu- 
ral light  here  is  darkness,  and  natural 
heat  here  is  cold.  Did  you  know 
any  thing  concerning  the  sun  of  this 
world,  from  which  our  light  and  our 
heat  proceed  ?  Did  you  know  that  this 
sun  is  pure  love,  and  that  the  sun  of 
the  natural  world  is  pure  fire?  and 


that  the  sun  of  the  world,  which  is 
pure  fire,  is  that  from  which  nature 
exists  and  subsists?  and  that  the  sun  of 
heaven,  which  is  pure  love,  is  that  from 
which  life  itself,  which  is  love  together 
with  wisdom,  exists  and  subsists? 
and  thus,  that  nature,  which  you  make 
a  god  or  a  goddess,  is  entirely  dead  ? 
You  can,  if  a  guard  be  given  to  you, 
ascend  with  us  into  heaven ;  and  we 
can,  if  a  guard  be  given,  descend  with 
you  into  hell ;  and  you  will  see  in 
heaven  magnificent  and  splendid 
things,  but  in  hell,  vile  and  filthy 
things ;  that  difference  is,  because  all 
in  heaven  worship  God,  and  all  in  hell 
worship  nature  ;  and  those  magnificent 
and  splendid  things  in  the  heavens 
are  correspondences  of  the  affections 
of  the  love  of  good  and  truth ;  but 
those  vile  and  filthy  things  in  the  hells 
are  correspondences  of  the  affections 
of  the  love  of  the  evil  and  the  false. 
From  all  these  things  now  conclude, 
whether  God  or  whether  nature  be  all 
in  all."  To  this  the  satans  replied, 
"  In  the  state  in  which  we  are  now, 
we  can  conclude,  from  what  we  have 
heard,  that  there  is  a  God  ;  but  when 
the  delight  of  evil  fills  our  minds,  we 
see  nothing  but  nature."  Those  two 
angels  and  the  satans  were  standing 
not  far  from  me,  wherefore  I  saw  and 
heard  them  ;  and,  behold,  I  saw  around 
them  many  who  had  been  celebrated 
for  erudition  in  the  natural  world,  and 
I  wondered,  that  those  scholars  should 
stand  now  near  the  <^ngcls,  and  now 
near  the  satans,  and  that  they  should 
favor  tliose  near  whom  they  were 
standing ;  and  it  was  said  to  me,  that 
the  changes  of  their  situation  were 
changes  of  the  state  of  their  mind, 
wliich  soinetimcs  favored  one  side, 
and  sometimes  the  other ;  for  they 
were,  as  to  faith,  like  Vcrtiimni,  or 
changelings.  "  And  we  will  tell  you 
a  secret :  we  looked  down  upon  the 
earth  at  those  who  were  celebrated  for 
erudition,  and  we  found  six  hundred 
in  a  thousand  in  favor  of  nature,  and 
the  rest  i;i  favor  of  God  :  and  these 
in  favor  of  God,  liecause  they  had  fre- 
quentlvsaid, — not  from  the  uuder.'^tand- 
ing,  but  from  what  ihcy  had  heard, — 


Concerning  the  Creation  of  the  Universe. 


65 


that  nature  is  from  God  ;  for  tlic  prac- 
tice of  speaiving  from  memory  and  re- 
collection, although  not  at  the  same 
time  from  thougiit  and  intelligence, 
produces  an  appearance  of  faith."  Af- 
ter'this,  a  guard  was  given  to  the  sa- 
tans,  and  they  ascended  with  the  two 
angels  into  heaven,  and  they  saw  mag- 
nificent and  splendid  things ;  and  then, 
in  the  illustration  from  the  light  of 
heaven  there,  they  acknowledged  that 
there  is  a  God,  and  that  nature  was 
created  to  be  subservient  to  the  life 
which  is  from  God ;  and  that  nature 
in  itself  is  dead  ;  and  that  thus  it  does 
nothing  from  itself,  but  is  actuated  by 
life.  Having  seen  and  perceived  these 
things,  they  descended ;  and,  while 
they  were  descending,  the  love  of  evil 
returned,  and  closed  their  understand- 
ing above,  and  opened  it  below ;  and' 
then  there  appeared  above  it,  as  it 
were,  a  dark  shade,  sparkling  from 
infernal  fire ;  and,  as  soon  as  they 
touched  the  earth  with  their  feet,  the 
ground  under  them  opened,  and  they 
sunk  down  again  to  their  companions. 

78.  Third  Rel.\tion.  The  next 
day,  an  angel  came  to  me  from  another 
society  of  heaven,  and  said,  "  We 
have  heard  there,  that,  in  consequence 
of  meditating  on  the  creation  of  the 
universe,  you  were  invited  into  a  soci- 
ety near  ours,  and  that  there  you  said 
such  things  about  the  creation  as  they 
favored  then,  and  have  since  recollect- 
ed with  pleasure.  I  will  now  show 
you  how  animals  and  vegetables  of 
every  kind  were  produced  by  God." 
And  he  led  me  along  into  a  large  green 
field,  and  said,  "  Look  around."  And 
I  looked  around,  and  saw  birds  of  the 
most  beautiful  colors,  some  flying, 
some  perching  upon  the  trees,  and 
some  upon  the  ground,  plucking  little 
leaves  from  the  roses ;  amongst  the 
birds  were  also  doves  and  swans.  Af- 
ter these  things  vanished  fi-om  my 
sight,  I  saw,  not  far  from  me,  flocks  of 
sheep  with  lambs,  and  of  goats  and 
kids ;  and.  round  about  those  flocks, 
I  saw  herds  of  cows  and  calves,  and 
also  of  camels  and  mules :  and  in  a 
certain  grove,  stags  with  high  horns ; 
and  also  unicorns.    After  these  things 


were  .seen,  he  said,  "  Turn  your  face 
towards  the  east."  And  I  saw  a  gar- 
den, in  which  were  fruit-trees,  as 
orange-trees,  citrons,  olives,  vines,  fig- 
trees,  pomegranates,  and  also  shrubs, 
which'  bore  berries.  Afterwards  he 
said,  "  Look  now  towards  the  south." 
And  I  saw  fields  of  grain  of  various 
kinds — wheat,  oats,  barley  and  beans ^ 
and  round  about  them,  beds  of  roses, 
exhibiting  colors  beautifully  variegated ; 
but,  towards  the  north,  groves  full  of 
chestnut-trees,  paim-trees,  linden-trees, 
plane-trees,  and  other  trees,  all  in  the 
richest  foliage.  When  I  had  seen 
these,  he  said,  "  All  those  things  which 
you  have  seen  are  correspondences  of 
the  afflections  of  the  love  of  the  angels, 
who  are  in  the  vicinity."  And  they 
told  me  to  what  affections  every  thing 
corresponded ;  and,  moreover,  that  not 
only  those  things,  but  also  all  the  other 
things  which  are  presented  to  our 
eyes  as  objects  of  siglit,  are  corre- 
spondences ;  such  as  houses  and  the 
furniture  in  them,  tables  and  meats, 
and  clothes,  and  also  coins  of  gold  and 
silver,  as  also  diamonds  and  other 
precious  stones,  with  which  wives  and 
virgins  in  heaven  are  adorned.  "  From 
all  these  things,  we  perceive  what 
each  one  is  as  to  love  and  wisdom. 
Those  things  which  are  in  our  houses, 
and  serve  for  uses,  constantly  remain 
there ;  but  to  the  eyes  of  those  who 
wander  from  one  society  to  another, 
such  things  are  changed  according  to 
consociation.  These  things  have  been 
shown  to  you,  in  order  that  you  might 
see  the  whole  creation  in  a  particular 
type ;  for  God  is  Love  itself  and  Wis- 
dom itself;  and  the  affections  of  his 
love  are  infinite,  and  the  perceptions  of 
his  wisdom  are  infinite ;  and  of  these, 
all  and  every  thing  that  appears  upon 
the  earth  are  correspondences ;  thence 
are  birds  and  beasts,  thence  trees  and 
shrubs,  thence  corn  and  other  grain, 
thence  herbs  and  grass  of  every  kind ; 
for  God  is  not  extended,  but  still  He  is 
in  the  extense  every  where ;  thus  in 
the  universe  from  its  firsts  to  its  lasts ; 
and  because  He  is  omnipresent,  such 
correspondences  of  the  affections  of 
his  love  and  wisdom  are  in  the  whole 


66 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


natural  world  ;  but  in  our  world,  which 
is  called  the  spiritual  world,  there  are 
similar  correspondences  with  those 
who  receive  aftections  and  perceptions 
from  God  ;  tlie  difference  is,  that  such 
things,  in  our  world,  are  created  by 
God  instantaneously,  according  to  the 
affections  of  the  angels;  but  in  your 
world,  they  were  created  in  like  man- 
ner at  the  beginning  ;  but  it  was  pro- 
vided, that,  by  generations  of  one  from 
another,  they  should  be  perpetually  re- 
newed, and  thus  that  creation  should 
be  continued.  The  reason  why  crea- 
tion, in  our  world,  is  instantaneous, 
and  in  yours  continued  by  generations, 
is,  because  the  atmospheres  and  earths 
of  our  world  are  spiritual,  and  the  at- 
mospheres and  earths  of  your  world 
are  natural ;  and  natural  things  were 
created  that  they  miglu  clothe  spiritual 
things,  as  the  skin  clothes  the  bodies 
of  men  and  animals,  and  the  rind  and 
bark  clothe  the  trunks  and  branches 
of  trees,  the  maters  and  meninges  the 
brain,  the  coats  the  nerves,  and  the 
delicate  membranes, the  nervous  fibres, 
&LQ,.  Thence  it  is,  that  all  tliose 
things  which  are  in  your  world  are 
constant,  and  constantly  return  every 
year."  To  this  the  angel  added, 
"Relate  these  things,  which  you  have 
seen  and  heard,  to  the  inhabitants  of 
your  world,  because  hitherto  they  have 
been  in  entire  ignorance  concerning 
the  spiritual  world  ;  and  without  some 
knowledge  of  it,  no  one  can  know,  nor 
even  guess,  that  creation  is  continual 
in  our  world,  and  that  it  was  similar  to 
this  in  yours,  while  the  universe  was 
created  by  God." 

After  this,  we  talked  upon  various 
subjects,  and  at  last  concerning  hell ; 
as,  that  no  such  things  as  ;ire  in  heav- 
en appear  there,  but  only  the  oppo- 
sites ;  since  the  affections  of  their  love, 
which  are  the  lusts  of  evil,  are  opposite 
to  the  affections  of  the  love  in  which 
the  angels  of  heaven  are.  Wherefore, 
with  those  in  hell,  and  generally  in 
their  deserts,  there  appear  birds  of  night, 
as  bats,  and  various  kinds  of  owls,  and 
also  wolves,  leopards,  tigers,  rats  and 
mice  ;  moreover,  venomous  serpents  of 
every  kind,  such  as  dragons  and  croco- 


diles ;  and  where  there  is  any  spot  of 
grass,  there  grow  briers,  nettles,  thorns 
and  thistles,  and  some  poisonous  plants, 
which  at  times  vanish,  and  then  appear 
only  heaps  of  stones,  and  bogs  in  which 
frogs  croak.  All  these  things  are 
also  correspondences  ;  but,  as  was  said, 
correspondences  of  the  affections  of 
their  love,  which  are  the  lusts  of  evil. 
Yet  such  things  were  not  created  there 
by  God,  nor  were  they  created  in  the 
natural  world,  where  similar  things  ex- 
ist ;  for  all  things  that  God  created  and 
creates,  were  and  are  good ;  but  such 
things  upon  the  earth  arose  together 
with  hell,  which  exists  from  men,  who, 
by  aversion  from  God,  after  death  be- 
came devils  and  satans.  But  because 
these  direful  things  began  to  hurt  our 
ears,  we  averted  our  thoughts  from 
them,  and  recollected  the  things  which 
we  had  seen  in  the  heavens. 

79.  Fourth  Rei..\tio.\.  Once, 
when  I  was  engaged  in  thinking  of 
the  creation  of  the  universe,  there  came 
to  me  some  from  the  Christian  world, 
who,  in  their  time,  were  philosophers 
among  the  most  celebrated,  and  reput- 
ed wise  above  the  rest;  and  they  said, 
"  We  perceive  that  you  are  thinking  of 
the  creation ;  tell  us  what  your  mind 
is  about  it."  But  I  replied,  '"  Tell  first 
what  yours  is."  And  one  said,  "My 
mind  is,  that  creation  is  from  nature,  and 
thus  that  nature  created  itself,  and  that 
it  was  from  eternity ;  for  there  is  not, 
and  cannot  be,  a  vacuum.  But  what 
do  we  see  with  our  eyes,  hear  with  our 
ears,  smell  with  our  nostrils,  and  re- 
ceive into  our  breast  by  respiration,  ex- 
cept nature,  which,  because  it  is  with- 
out us,  is  also  within  us?"  Another, 
hearing  these  words,  said,  "  You  talk 
of  nature,  and  make  it  the  creator  of 
the  universe  ;  but  you  do  not  know 
how  nature  operates  in  producing  the 
universe  ;  wherefore  I  will  tell  you.  It 
folded  up  itself  into  vortexes,  which 
dashed  against  each  other,  like  clouds, 
or  like  houses  when  they  fall  together 
in  an  earthquake ;  and,  by  means  of 
that  collision,  the  denser  parts  collect- 
ed themselves  together,  whence  was 
formed  the  earth ;  and  the  looser 
parts  separated  themselves  from  these, 


Concerning  the  Creation  of  the  Universe. 


6.7 


and  also  collected  themselves  together, 
whence  were  formed  seas ;  and  the 
parts  still  lighter  separated  themselves 
irom  these,  whence  were  formed  the 
air  and  ether ;  and  from  the  lightest  of 
these,  the  sun.  Have  you  not  seen, 
that  when  oil,  water  and  dust  of  the 
earth  are  mixed  together,  they  sepa- 
rate of  their  own  accord,  and  arrange 
themselves  in  order,  one  above  an- 
other?" Then  another,  hearing  that, 
said,  "  You  speak  from  fancy.  Who 
does  not  know,  that  the  first  origin 
of  all  things  was  chaos,  which,  in 
magnitude,  filled  a  fourth  part  of  the 
universe ;  and  that  in  the  midst  of  it 
was  fire ;  and  round  about  it,  ether ; 
and  around  this,  matter  ;  and  that  that 
chaos  was  shivered,  and  through  the 
chinks  burst  out  fire,  as  from  .^tna 
and  Vesuvius,  whence  originated  the 
sun  ;  and  that,  after  this,  the  ether 
evolved  and  diflfused  itself,  whence 
originated  the  atmosphere  ;  and  at  last 
the  residue  of  matter  collected  itself 
into  a  globe,  whence  originated  the 
earth  ?  As  to  the  stars,  they  are 
only  luminaries  in  the  e.xpanse  of  the 
universe,  which  sprung  from  the  sun 
and  its  fire  and  light;  for  the  sun,  at 
first,  was,  as  it  were,  an  ocean  of  fire, 
which,  lest  it  should  burn  the  earth, 
severed  from  itself  little  shining  flames, 
which,  being  located  in  the  circumfer- 
ence, completed  the  universe ;  thence 
originated  its  firmament."  But  there 
stood  one  among  them  who  said, 
"  You  are  mistaken ;  you  appear  to 
yourselves  to  be  wise,  and  I  appear  to 
you  simple ;  but  still,  in  my  simplicity, 
I  have  believed,  and  do  believe,  that 
the  universe  was  created  by  God  ;  and 
because  nature  is  of  the  universe,  that 
all  nature  was  then  created  at  the  same 
time.  If  nature  created  itself,  would 
it  not  have  been  from  eternity  ?  But 
oh,  what  folly !"  And  then  one  of 
those  wise  men,  so  called,  ran  up  nearer 
and  nearer  to  him  who  spoke,  and  put ' 
his  left  ear  to  his  mouth,  for  his  right 
ear  was  stopped  up,  as  it  were  with 
cotton,  and  asked  what  he  said  ;  and 
he  repeated  the  same ;  and  then  he 
who  ran  up,  looked  around  to  see 
whether  any  priest  were  present ;  and 


he  saw  one  at  the  side  of  him  who 
spoke ;  and  then  he  replied,  saying, 
"  1  also  confess,  that  all  nature  is  froni 
God,  but" — And  then  he  went  away, 
and,  whispering  to  his  companions,  he 
said,  "  I  said  this  because  the  priest 
was  present ;  but  you  and  I  know  that 
nature  is  from  nature ;  and  because 
thus  nature  is  God,  I  said  that  all  na- 
ture is  from  God.  But" — Then  the 
priest,  hearing  their  whispering,  said, 
"  Your  wisdom,  which  is  merely  philo- 
sophical, has  seduced  you,  and  has  so 
closed  the  interiors  of  your  minds,  that 
no  light  from  God  and  from  his  heaven 
could  flow  in  and  enlighten  you ;  you 
have  extinguished  it.  Consider,"  said 
he,  "  and  decide  among  yourselves, 
whence  are  your  souls,  which  are  im- 
mortal, whether  they  were  from  na- 
ture, or  whether  they  were  at  the  same 
time  in  that  great  chaos."  On' hearing 
this,  the  former  went  away  to  his  com- 
panions, requesting  that  they,  together 
with  him,  would  solve  this  knot  of  a 
question  ;  and  they  concluded,  that  the 
human  soul  is  nothing  but  ether,  and 
that  thought  is  nothing  but  a  modifica- 
tion of  ether,  by  means  of  the  sun's 
light;  and  ether  is  of  nature.  And 
they  said,  "  Who  does  not  know  that 
we  speak  by  means  of  the  air,  and  that 
thought  is  nothing  but  speech  in  a 
purer  air,  which  is  called  ether ;  thence 
it  is,  that  thought  and  speech  make 
one.  Who  cannot  perceive  this  from 
man  while  he  is  an  infant  1  He  first 
learns  to  speak,  and,  by  degrees,  to 
speak  with  himself,  and  this  is  to 
think.  What  then  is  thought,  but  a 
modification  of  ether  ?  and  what  else  is 
the  sound  of  speech,  but  a  modulation 
of  air?  Whence  we  conclude,  that 
the  soul,  which  thinks,  is  of  nature." 
But  some  of  them  dissented  not,  indeed, 
from  the  rest,  but  illustrated  the  state 
of  the  question,  saying,  that  "  Souls 
sprung  into  existence  when  the  ether 
gathered  itself  together  from  that  great 
chaos,  and  then,  in  the  highest  region, 
divided  itself  into  innumerable  indi- 
vidual forms,  which  infuse  themselves 
into  men,  while  they  begin  to  think 
from  purer  air,  which  are  then  called 
souls."     Hearing  this,  another  said, 


68 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


"  I  grant  that  the  individual  forms, 
formed  by  the  ether  in  the  higher  re- 
gion, may  have  been  innumerable ; 
but  still  the  men  born  since  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  have  exceeded  their 
number  ;  how,  then,  could  those  ethe- 
real forms  suffice  ?  Wherefore  I  have 
thought  with  myself,  that  the  souls, 
which  go  out  of  the  mouth  of  men 
when  they  die,  may  return  to  the  same, 
and  begin  and  end  a  life  similar  to  the 
former;  that  many  of  the  wise  men 
believe  similar  things  and  a  metemp- 
sychosis, is  known."  Besides  these, 
other  conjectures  were  broached  by 
the  rest,  which,  because  they  were  ut- 
terly foolish,  I  pass  by.  After  an 
hour  or  so,  the  priest  returned ;  and 
then  he,  who  before  spoke  of  the  crea- 
tion of  the  universe  by  God,  told  him 
their  decisions  concerning  the  soul ;  on 
hearing  which,  the  priest  said  to  them, 
"  You  have  spoken  just  as  you  thought 
in  the  world,  not  knowing  that  you  are 
not  in  that  world,  but  in  another, 
which  is  called  the  spiritual  world;  all 
those  who  have  become  sensual  cor- 
poreal, by  confirmations  in  favor  of 
nature,  know  no  otherwise  than  that 
they  are  in  the  same  world  in  which 
they  were  born  and  educated  :  the  rea- 
son is,  because  there  they  were  in  a 
material  body,  but  here  they  are  in  a 
substantial  body ;  and  a  substantial 
man  sees  himself  and  his  companions 
around  him,  just  as  a  material  man 
sees  liimself  and  his  companions 
around  him  ;  for  the  substantial  is  the 
primitive  of  the  material ;  and  because 
you  think,  see,  smell,  taste  and  speak 
in  like  manner  as  in  the  natural  world, 
therefore  you  suppose,  that  the  same 
nature  is  here,  when  yet  the  nature  of 
this  world  is  as  different  and  distant 
from  the  nature  of  that  world,  as  the 
substantial  is  from  the  material,  or  the 
spiritual  from  the  natural,  or  the  prior 
from  the  posterior ;  and  because  the 
nature  of  the  world  in  which  you  be- 
fore lived  is  respectively  dead,  there- 
fore you,  by  confirmations  in  favor  of 
it,  are  become,  as  it  were,  dead;  but  in 
respect  to  those  things  which  are  of 
God,  heaven  and  the  church,  and 
also  in  respect  to  that  which  relates  to 


your  souls.  But  still  every  man,  the 
bad  as  well  as  the  good,  may,  as  to  the 
understanding,  be  elevated  even  into 
the  light  in  which  the  angels  of  heav- 
en are,  and  then  see  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  that  there  is  a  life  after 
death,  and  that  the  soul  of  man  is  not 
ethereal,  and  thus  from  the  nature  of 
that  world,  but  spiritual,  and  there- 
fore that  it  will  live  to  eternity.  The 
understanding  may  be  in  that  angelic 
light,  provided  natural  loves,  which 
are  from  the  world,  and  for  it  and  its 
nature,  and  from  the  body,  and  for  it 
and  its  proprium,  be  removed;" — and 
then,  in  an  instant,  those  loves  were 
removed  by  the  Lord  ;  and  it  was  given 
them  to  speak  with  the  angels,  and 
from  their  conversation,  while  in  that 
state,  they  perceived  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  that,  after  death,  they  live  in 
another  world ;  wherefore  they  were 
covered  with  shame,  and  exclaimed, 
"  We  have  been  mad,  we  have  been 
mad !"  But  because  this  was  not 
their  proper  state,  and  thence,  after 
some  minutes,  it  became  tedious  and 
irksome,  they  turned  themselves  away 
from  the  priest,  and  would  not  hear  his 
speecli  any  longer ;  and  thus  they  re- 
turned into  their  former  loves,  which 
were  merely  natural,  worldly  and  cor- 
poreal ;  and  they  went  away  to  the 
left,  from  society  to  society,  and  at 
length  came  to  a  way  where  the  de- 
lights of  their  loves  blew  upon  them, 
and  they  said,  "  Let  us  go  tliis  way  ;" 
and  they  went,  and  descended,  and  at 
length  came  to  those  who  were  in  the 
delights  of  similar  loves,  and  farther. 
And  because  their  delight  was  the  de- 
light of  doing  evil,  and  in  the  way  they 
also  did  evil  to  many,  they  were  im- 
pri.soned,  and  became  demons :  and 
then  their'  delight  was  changed  into 
what  is  undelightful,  because  they 
were  curbed  and  restrained,  by  piuiish- 
ments  and  the  fears  of  them,  from  their 
former  delight,  which  made  their  na- 
ture ;  and  they  asked  tho.se  who  were 
in  the  same  prison,  whether  they  were 
alxjut  to  live  so  to  eternity.  Some  there 
replied,  "  We  have  been  here  sever- 
al ages,  and  we  are  to  remain  for 
ages  of  ages;  since  the  nature,  which 


Concerning  the  Creation  of  the  Universe.' 


69 


we  contracted  in  the  world,  cannot  bo 
changed  nor  expelled  by  punishments ; 
and  whenever  it  is  expelled  by  them,  still, 
after  a  sliort  lapse  of  time,  it  returns. 

80.  Fifth  Relation.  Once  a  sa- 
tan,  by  permission,  ascended  out  of 
hell,  together  with  a  woman,  and  came 
to  the  house  where  I  was ;  on  seeing 
whom,  I  shut  the  window,  but  yet 
through  it  I  talked  with  them,  and 
asked  the  satan  whence  he  came.  He 
said,  "  From  the  company  of  his  asso- 
ciates." And  I  asked,  "  Whence  came 
the  woman?"  He  said,  "From  the 
sanie."  She  was  from  a  company  of 
Sirens,  who  know  how  to  induce  upon 
themselves,  by  means  of  fantasies,  all 
the  habits  and  figures  of  beauty  and  or- 
nament: at  one  time,  they  figure  the 
beauty  of  Venus ;  at  another,  graceful- 
ness of  person,  as  it  were  of  a  nymph  of 
Parnassus ;  at  another,  they  adorn  them- 
selves, as  it  were,  with  the  crowns  and 
robes  of  a  queen,  and  walk  magnificent- 
ly, leaning  upon  asilver  cane.  Such,  in 
the  world  of  spirits,  are  harlots,  and 
they  study  fantasies.  Fantasy  is 
produced  by  sensual  thought,  whilst 
ideas  from  any  interior  thought  are 
shut  up.  I  asked  the  satan  whether 
she  was  his  wife.  He  replied,  "  What 
is  a  wife  ?  I  do  not  know  what  a  wife 
is,  nor  does  my  society.  She  is  my 
harlot."  And  then  she  breathed  lascivi- 
ous desire  into  the  man,  which  also 
Sirens  know  how  to  do  dexterously  ; 
and  he,  on  receiving  it,  kissed  her,  and 
said,  "  Ah,  my  Adonis !"  But  to  pro- 
ceed to  serious  things :  i  asked  the 
satfin  what  was  his  employment ;  and 
he  said,  "  My  employment  is  the  pur- 
suit of  learning :  do  you  not  see  the 
laurel  upon  my  head  ?"  for  this  his 
Adonis  had  formed  by  her  art,  and, 
standing  behind,  she  placed  it  upon 
his  head.  And  I  said,  "  Since  you  are 
come  from  a  society  where  there  are 
schools  of  learning,  tell  me  what  you 
believe,  and  what  your  associates  be- 
lieve, concerning  God."  He  replied, 
"  Our  God  is  the  universe,  vvliich  also 
we  call  nature,  and  which  the  simple 
amongst  us  call  the  atmosphere,  which 
to  them  is  air ;  but  the  wise  call  it  the 
atmosphere,  which  also  is  ether.  God, 


heaven,  angels,  and  the  like,  about 
which  many  tell' many  stories  in  this 
world,  are  empty  words  and  fictions 
taken  from  meteors,  which  play  before 
the  eyes  of  many  here.  Are  not  all 
the  things  which  appear  upon  the  earth 
created  by  the  sun  ?  Are  not  worms, 
with  wings  and  without  wings,  pro- 
duced at  every  coming  of  the  sun,  in 
the  time  of  spring  ?  And  do  not  the 
birds,  from  his  heat,  mutually  love  each 
other,  and  breed  ? 

"Does  not  the  earth,  warmed  by 
his  heat,  bring  forth  seeds  into 
plants,  and  at  length  into  fruits,  as  an 
offspring?  Is  not  thus  the  universe  a 
God,  and  nature  a  Goddess ;  and  does 
not  she,  as  a  wife,  conceive,  bring 
forth,  educate  and  nourish  them  ?" 
Moreover,  I  asked  what  he  and  his 
society  believed  concerning  religion. 
He  replied,  that  "  Religion,  with  those 
of  us  who  are  learned  above  the  vulgar, 
is  nothing  but  a  charm  for  the  common 
people,  which,  about  the  sensitive  and 
imaginative  powers  of  their  mind,  is, 
as  it  were,  an  aura,  in  which  the  ideas  of 
piety  fly  like  butterflies  in  the  air ;  and 
their  faith,  which  connects  those  ideas; 
as  it  were,  into  a  chain,  is  like  a  silk- 
worm, in  a  silken  envelope,  from  which 
it  flies  forth  as  the  king  of  butterflies. 
For  the  common  herd  of  the  illiterate 
love  images  above  the  sensual  things 
of  the  body  and  of  the  thought  thence, 
on  account  of  a  strong  desire  that  they 
may  fly ;  thus,  also,  they  make  for 
themselves  wings,  that  they  may  ele- 
vate themselves  like  eagles,  and  boast 
before  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
saying, '  Look  at  me.'  But  we  believe 
what  we  see,  and  love  what  we  touch." 
And  then  he  touched  his  harlot,  and 
said,  "  I  believe  this,  because  I  see 
and  touch  it ;  but  as  for  such  ludicrous 
things,  we  cast  them  out  through  our 
windows,  and  drive  them  away  with  a 
blast  of  ridicule."  Afterwards,  I  ask- 
ed what  he,  together  with  his  associ- 
ates, believed  concerning  heaven  and 
hell.  He  replied,  with  a  loud  laugh, 
"  What  is  heaven,  but  the  ethereal 
firmament  in  its  light?  and  what  are 
the  angels  there,  but  spots  wandering 
about  the  sun  ?  and  the  archangels,  but 


70 


Concerning  God  the  Creator. 


comets  with  a  long  tail  ?  And  what  is 
hell,  but  bogs,  where  are  frogs  and 
crocodiles,  which,  in  the  imagination  of 
those  people,  are  devils  ?  Besides  these 
ideas  concerning  heaven  and  hell,  all 
the  rest  are  trifles,  introduced  by  some 
primate,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring 
glory  from  an  ignorant  populace."  But 
all  these  things  he  spoke  just  as  he 
had  thought  concerning  them  in  the 
world,  not  knowing  that  he  was  living 
after  death,  and  having  forgotten  all 
that  he  heard,  when  he  first  enter- 
ed the  world  of  spirits  ;  wherefore,  to 
the  question  concerning  a  life  after 
death,  he  replied,  that  "  It  is  an  ima- 
ginary entity  ;  and  that  perhaps  some 
effluvia,  arising  from  a  dead  body  in 
the  tomb,  in  form  as  a  man,  or  some- 
thing which  is  called  a  spectre,  about 
which  some  people  tell  fabulous  stories, 
had  introduced  some  such  thing  into 
the  imaginations  of  men."  On  hear- 
ing these  words,  I  could  no  longer  re- 
strain  my  laughter  from  bursting  forth, 
and  I  said,  "  Satan,  you  are  raving 
mad.    Why,  now,  are  you  not  in  form 


a  man  ?  Do  you  not  speak,  see,  hear 
and  walk  ?  Recollect  that  you  once 
lived  in  another  world,  which  you  have 
forgotten,  and  that  now,  after  death, 
you  live,  and  that  you  have  been  talk- 
ing just  as  you  did  before."  And  re- 
collection was  given  to  him,  and  he 
remembered,  and  then  he  was  ashamed, 
and  cried,  "  I  am  mad :  I  have  seen 
heaven  above,  and  heard  the  angels 
there  speaking  ineff"able  things ;  but 
this  when  I  had  recently  arrived  here ; 
but  now  I  will  retain  this  in  order  to 
relate  it  to  my  companions,  from  whom 
I  came,  and  perhaps  they  likewise  will 
then  be  ashamed."  And  he  kept  in  hi§ 
mouth,  that  he  would  call  them  mad ; 
but,  as  he  descended,  forgetfulness  ex- 
pelled recollection,  and  when  he  was 
there,  he  was  as  mad  as  ever,  and  call- 
ed those  things  which  he  heard  from 
me  nonsense.  Such  is  the  state  of 
thought  and  speech  of  satans  after 
death.  Those  are  called  satans,  who 
have  confirmed  themselves  in  the  belief 
of  falses ;  and  those  devils,  who  have 
confirmed  evils  in  themselves  by  life. 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


71 


CHAPTER  II, 


CONCERNING  THE  LORD  THE  REDEEMER. 


81.  In  the  former  chapter,  we  have 
treated  of  God  the  Creator,  and  at 
the  isame  time  of  creation ;  but  in 
this  chapter  we  are  to  treat  of  the  Lord 
the  Redeemer,  and  at  the  same  time 
also  of  redemption  ;  and  in  the  fol- 
'  lowing  chapter,  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
at  the  same  time  of  the  divine  opera- 
tion. By  the  Lord  the  Redeemer,  we 
mean  Jehovah  in  the  Human  ;  for  that 
Jehovah  himself  descended  and  as- 
sumed the  Human,  for  the  purpose  of 
accomplishing  redemption,  will  be  de- 
monstrated in  what  follows.  The  rea- 
son why  it  is  said  the  Lord,  and  not 
Jehovah,  is  •because  Jehovah,  in  the 
Old  Testament,  is  called  the  Lord  in 
the  New,  as  is  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages :  It  is  said  in  Moses,  Hear,  O 
L^racl,  Jeuov All  your  God  is  one  Jeho- 
vah ;  and  thou  shalt  love  Jehovah  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  Deut.  vi.  4,  5;  but  in  Mark; 
The  Lord  your  God  is  one  Lord,  a7id 
thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  hcurj:  and  with  all  thy  soid,  xii. 
29,  30.  Also  in  Isaiah ;  Prepare  a 
way  for  Jghov.\h  ;  make  smooth  in  the 
desert  a  path  for  our  God,  xl.  3 ;  but 
in  Luke ;  Thou  shalt  go  before  the 
face  of  the  Lord,  to  prepare  a  way 
for  Him,  i.  76  ;  besides  in  other 
passages.  And  also  the  Lord  com- 
manded his  disciples  to  call  Him  Lord, 
and  therefore  He  was  so  called  by  the 
apostles,  in  their  Epistles,  and  after- 
wards by  the  apostolic  church,  as  ap- 
pears from  their  creed,  which  is  called 
the  "  Apostles'  Creed."  The  reason 
was,  because  the  Jews  durst  not  use 
the  name  Jehovah,  on  account  of  its 
sanctity  ;  and  also,  by  Jehovah  is  meant 
the  Divine  Esse,  which  was  from  eter- 
nity, and  the  Human,  which  He  as- 
sumed, in  time,  was  not  that  Es.se. 
What  the  Divine  Esse,  or  Jehovah,  is, 
was  shown  in  the  foregoing  chapter. 


n.  18  to  26,  and  n.  27  to  35.    For  this 

reason,  here  and  in  what  follows,  by 
the  Lord,  we  mean  Jehovah  in  his  Hu- 
man. Now,  because  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  Lord  exceeds,  in  excel- 
lence, all  the  knowledges  which  are 
given  in  the  church,  and  even  those 
which  are  in  heaven,  the  arrangement 
shall  be  so  ordered,  that  that  knowledge 
may  come  into  the  light,  which  there- 
fore will  be  this :  I.  That  Jehovah, 
the  Creator  of  the  universe,  descended 
and  assumed  the  Human,  that  He  inight 
redeem  and  save  men.  II.  That  He 
descended  as  the  Divine  Truth,  which 
is  the  Word,  and  yet  that  He  did  not 
separate  the  Divine  Good.  III.  That 
lie  assumed  the  Human  according  to 
his  divine  order.  IV.  That  the  Hu- 
man, by  which  He  sent  Himself  into 
the  world,  is  what  is  called  the  Son  of 
God.  V.  That  the  Lord,  by  acts  of 
redemption,  made  Himself  righteous- 
ness. VI.  That  by  the  same  acts,  He 
united  Himself  to  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  Himself  to  Him ;  also  accord- 
ing to  divine  order.  VII.  That  thus 
God  became  Man,  and  Man  God,  in 
one  person.  VIII.  Tliat  the  progres- 
sion to  union  was  the  state  of  his  ex- 
iitanition,  (or  humiliation,)  and  that 
the  union  itself  is  the  state  of  his  glo- 
rification. IX.  That  hereafter  no  one 
among  Christians  can  come  into  heaven, 
unless  he  believes  in  the  Lord  God  the 
Savior,  and  goes  to  Him  alone.  But 
these  things  shall  be  explained  one  by 
one. 

82.  I.  Th.\t  Jehovah,  the  Crea- 
tor OF  THE  Universe,  descended 

AND  ASSUMED  THE  HuMAN,  THAT  He 
MIGHT  REDEEM  AND   SAVE  MeN. 

In  the  Christian  churches  at  this 
day,  it  is  believed  that  God,  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  universe,  begat  a  Son  from 
eternity,  and  that  this  Son  descended 
and  assumed  the  Human,  to  redeem 


72 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


and  save  men ;  but  this  is  erroneous, 
and  falls  of  itself  to  the  ground,  v/hile 
it  is  considered  that  God  is  one,  and 
that  it  is  more  than  fabulous  in  the  eye 
of  reason,  that  the  one  God  should 
have  begotten  a  Son  from  eternity,  and 
also  that  God  the  Father,  together  with 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  each  of 
whom  singly  is  God,  should  be  one 
God.  This  fabulous  represelitation  is 
entirely  dissipated,  while  it  is  demon- 
strated from  the  Word,  that  Jehovah 
God  himself  descended,  and  became 
Man,  and  also  Redeemer.  As  it  re- 
gards the  first-  T/iat  Jehovah  God  him- 
self descended  and  became  Man,  is  evi- 
dent from  these  passages :  Behold  a 
Virgin  shcdl  conceive  and  bring  forth 
a  Son,  icho  shall  be  called  God  m  ith 
r.'5,  Isaiah  vii.  14.  Matt.  i.  22,  23.  A 
Child  horn  to  us,  a  Son  is  given 
to  us,  upon  whose  shoulder  shall  be  the 
government,  and  his  name  shall  be  call- 
ed Wonderful,  God,  Hero,  Father 
OF  Eternity,  the  Prince  of  Pearr, 
Isaiah  ix.  G.  It  shall  be  said  in  that 
day,  Lo,this  is  our  Goo,  whom  ice  have 
expected  to  deliver  us ;  this  is  Jehovah, 
whom  we  have  expected;  let  us  exult 
and  rejoice  in  his  salvation,  xxv.  9. 
The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness,Prepare  a  way  for  Jehovah;  aiake 
smooth  in  the  desert  a  path  for  our 
God  ;  and  all  flesh  shall  see  together, 
xl.  3,  5.  Behold,  the  Lord  Jehovah  is 
coming  in  the  mighty  one,  and  his  arm 
shall  rule  for  Him  ;  behold,  his  reward 
is  with  Him,  and  he  shall  feed  his  flock 
Ziie  a  shepherd,  xl.  10,  II.  Jehovab 
said,  Sing  and  rejoice,  O  daughter  of 
Zion  ;  behold,  I  am  coming  to  dwell  in 
the  midst  of  thee ;  then  rnany  nations 
shall  cleave  to  Jehovah  in  that  day, 
Zech.  ii.  14,  15.  I  Jehovah  have 
called  thee  in  righteousness,  and  I  will 
give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people ;  I 
AM  Jehovah  ;  this  is  my  name,  and 

MY     glory     I     WILL     NOT     GIVE  TO 

another,  Isaiah  xii.  6, 7,  8.  Behold, 
the  days  are  coining,  ichen  I  will  raise 
up  unto  David  a  righteous  Branch, 
toho  shall  reign  king,  and  do  judg- 
ment and  justice  in  the  earth,  and  this 
is  his  name,  Jehovah  our  Richteoi  s- 
NEss,  Jerem.  xxiii.  5,  6.  xxxiii.  15,  IG; 


besides  in  many  passages,  where  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  is  called  the  day 
OF  Jehovah,  as  Isaiah  xiii.  6,  9,  13,  22. 
Ezek.  xxxi.  25.  Joel  i.  15.  ii.  1,  2,  11. 
iii.  24.  iv.  1,  4,  18.  Amos  v.  13,  }8, 
20.  Zeph.  i.  7  to  18.  Zech.  xiv.  1,  4 
to  21 ;  and  in  other  places.  That 
Jehovah  himself  descended  and  assum- 
ed the  Human,  is  very  evident  in  Luke, 
where  are  these  words :  Mary  said  to 
the  angel,  Hoiu  shall  this  be  done,  since 
I  know  not  a  man  ?  To  whom  the  an- 
gel replied.  The  Holy  Spirit  shall 
come  upon  thee,  and  the  virtue  of  the 
Most  High  shall  overshadow  thee  ;  . 
lohence  the  Holy  Thing  that  is  born  of 
thee,  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God,  i. 
34,  35.  And  in  Matthew  :  The  angel 
said  to  Joseph,  fh.'.  bridegroom  of  Mary, 
in  a  dream.  That  which  is  born  in  her 
is  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  Joseph 
knew  her  not,  until  she  brought  forth  a 
Son,  and  called  his  name  Jesus,  i.  20, 
25.  That  by  the  Holy  Spirit  is  meant" 
the  Divine,  which  proceeds  from  Jeho- 
vah, will  be  seen  in  the  third  chapter 
of  this  work.  Who  does  not  know, 
that  the  child  has  the  soul  and  life  from 
tiie  father,  and  that  the  body  is  from 
the  soul  ?  What,  therefore,  is  said 
more  plainly,  than  that  the  Lord  had 
his  soul  and  life  from  Jehovah  God? 
and,  because  the  Divine  cannot  be 
divided,  that  the  Divine  itself  was  his 
soul  and  life  ?  Wherefore  flie  Lord  so 
often  called  Jehovah  God  liis  Father, 
and  Jehovah  God  called  Ilim  his  Son. 
What,  then,  can  be  heard  more  ludi- 
crous, than  that  the  soul  of  our  Lord 
was  from  the  mother  Mary,  as  both  the 
Roman  Catholics  and  the  Reformed  at 
this  day  dream,  not  having  as  yet  been 
awaked  by  the  Word. 

83.  Tliat  a  Son,  born  from  eternity, 
descended  and  assumed  the  Human, 
evidently  appears  as  erroneous,  and  is 
dissipated,  from  the  passages  in  the 
Word,  in  which  Jehovah  hiuiself  says, 
tliat  He  himself  is  the  Savior  and  the 
Redeemer,  which  are  the  following : 
Am  not  /  Jehovah  ?  and  there  is  no  God 
rise  besides  Me ;  a  just  ( iod  and  a  Sa- 
vior there  is  N.OT  resides  Me,  Isaiah 
xlv.  21 , 22.  Jehovah, rtHf/  besides 
Me  there  is  no  Savior,  xliii.  \  \.  lam 


Conccmiitg  the  Lord  (he  Jiedcciiicr. 


73 


Jehovah  thv  God,  and  thou  sludt  not 
acknowledge  a  God  besides  Me ;  there 
IS  NO  Savior  besides  Me,  Hosea  xiii. 
4.  That  alljlesli  may  know  that  I  Jeho- 
vah am  thy  Savior  and  thy  Redeem- 
er, Isaiah  xlix.  20.  Ix.  10.  As  for  our 
Redeemer,  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  his 
NAME,  xlvii.  4.  Their  Redeemer  is 
MIGHTY ;  Jehovah  oe  hosts  is  his 
N.YME,  Jcrem.  1.  34.  Jehovah,  my  Rock 
and  my  Redeemer,  Psalm  xix.  15. 
Thus  said  Jehovah,  thy  Redeemer, 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  I  am  Jehovah 
thy  God,  Isaiah  xlviii.  17.  xliii.  24. 
xlix.  7.  Thus  said  Jehovah  thy  Re- 
deemer, /  a/rt  Jehovah,  maketh 
all  things,  even  alone  by  myself,  xliv.  24. 
Thus  sajV/ Jehovah,  the  King  of  Israel, 
a/irf^zs  Redeemer,  Jehovah  of  hosts, 
lam  the  First  and  the  Last,  and  besides 
Me  there  is  no  God,  xliv.  0.  Thou,  Je- 
hovah, art  our  Father,  our  Redeemer 
from  eternity  is  thy  name,  Ixiii.  10. 
With  the  mercy  of  eternity  I  will  have 
mercy,  thus  said  Jehovah  thy  Redeem- 
er, liv.  8.  Thou  hast  redeemed  me, 
Jehovah,  God  of  truth,  Psalm  xxxi.  0. 
Let  Israel  hope  in  Jehovah,  because  in 
Jehovah  is  mercy,  and  with  Him  is 
plenteous  Redemption,  and  He  will 
redeem  Israel  from  all  his  iniquities, 
cxxx.  7, 8.  Jehovah  God,  andrnr  Re- 
deemer the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  the 
God  of  the  whole  earth  shall  He 
BE  CALLED,  Isaiah  liv.  5.  From  these 
passages  and  very  many  others,  every 
man  who  has  eyes,  and  a  mind  opened  by 
meansof  them,  may  see  that  God,  who  is 
one,  descended  and  became  Man,  for  the 
purpose  of  accomplishing  the  work  of  re- 
demption. Who  cannot  see  this,  as  in 
the  morning  light,  while  he  attends  to 
those  very  divine  declarations,  which 
have  been  adduced?  But  those  who 
are  in  the  shade  of  night,  from  confir- 
mation in  favor  of  the  birth  of  another 
God  from  eternity,  and  concerning  his 
descent  and  redemption,  close  their 
eyelids  at  those  divine  declarations,  and 
in  that  state  think  how  they  may  apply 
them  to  their  falses,  and  pervert  them. 

84.    There   are    several  reasons, 
which  will  be  explained  in  the  course 
of  the  following  pages,  why  God  could 
not  redeem  men,  that  is,  deliver  them 
10 


from  damnation  and  hell,  except  by 
the  assumed  Human ;  for  redemption 
was  the  subjugation  of  the  hells,  and 
the  establisluncnt  of  order  in  the  heav- 
ens, and,  after  this,  the  institution  of  a 
church  :  these  things,  God  by  his  om- 
nipotence could  not  etfect,  except  by 
means  of  tiie  Human ;  as  no  one  can 
work  unless  he  has  an  arm ;  also  his 
Human  is  called  in  the  Word,  the  Arm 
of  Jehovah,  Isaiah  xl.  10;  liii.  1 ;  and 
also  as  no  one  can  attack  a  fortified 
city,  and  destroy  the  temples  of  the 
idols  which  are  therein,  except  by 
means  of  proper  powers.  That,  in  this 
divine  work,  God  had  omnipotence  by 
means  of  his  Human,  also  is  manifest 
from  the  Word  ;  for  God,  who  is  in  the 
inmost,  and  thus  the  purest  things,  other- 
wise might  have  passed  in  vain  into  the 
ultimates  in  which  the  hells  are,  and 
in  which  the  men  of  that  time  vvere, 
comparatively  as  the  soul  cannot  do 
any  thing  without  a  body,  or  as  no 
one  can  conquer  enemies,  which  do 
not  come  into  his  sight,  or  to  which  he 
cannot  come  and  approach  with  any 
arms,  as  spears,  shields,  or  muskets. 
To  accomplish  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion without  the  Human,  was  as  im- 
possible for  God,  as  it  is  for  man  to 
subjugate  the  Indies,  and  not  trans- 
port soldiers  thither  by  means  of  ships ; 
or  as  it  is  to  make  trees  grow  only  by 
the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun,  unless 
the  air  were  created,  through  which 
the  heat  and  light  might  pass,  and  un- 
less the  earth  vvere  created,  out  of 
which  they  might  be  produced ;  nay, 
it  is  as  impossible,  as  to  cast  nets  into 
the  air,  and  catch  fishes  there,  and  not 
in  the  water  ;  for  Jehovah,  as  He  is  in 
Himself,  cannot,  by  his  omnipotence, 
touch  any  devil  in  hell,  nor  any  devil 
upon  earth,  and  repress  him  and  his 
fury,  and  subdue  his  violence,  unless 
He  be  in  the  lasts,  as  He  is  in  the 
firsts  :  He  is  in  the  last^n  his  Human  ; 
wherefore,  in  the  Word,  He  is  called 
the  First  and  the  Last,  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega,  the  Beginning  and  the  End. 

85.  II.  That  Jehovah  descended 
AS  the  Divine  Truth,  which  is  the 
Word,  and  yet  that  He  did  not 
separate  the  Divine  Good. 


74 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


There  are  two  things  wliich  make 
the  essence  of  God,  the  Divine  Love  and 
the  Divine  Wisdom ;  or,  what  is  the 
same,  the  Divine  Good  and  the  Divine 
Truth.    That  these  two  are  the  essence 
o'f  God,  was  demonstrated .  above,  n. 
36  to  48.    These  two,  in  the  Word, 
are  meant  also  by  Jehovah  God;  by 
J("/(oi'«//,  the  Divine  Love  or  the  Divine 
Good,  and  by  God,  the  Divine  Wisdom 
or  the  Divine  Truth ;  thence  it  is,  that, 
in  the  Word,  they  are  distinguished  in 
various  ways,  and  sometimes  only  Je- 
hovah is  named,  and  sometimes  only 
God  ;  for  where  it  is  treated  of  the  Di- 
vine Good,  there  it  is  said  Jehovah; 
and  where  of  the  Divine  Truth,  there 
God;  and  where  of  both,  there  Jeho- 
vah  God.    That  Jehovah  God  de- 
scended as  the  Divine  Truth,  which  is 
the  Word,  is  evident  in  John,  where 
are  these  words ;  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Woi-d  was  God.  AH 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  teas  nothing  made  that  was  made. 
And  the    Word  became  flesh,  and 
dwelt  amongst  us,  i.  1,  3,  14.   That  by 
the  Word  is  there  meant  the  Divine 
Truth,  is  because  the  Word,  which  is  in 
the  church,  is  the  Divine  Truth  itself; 
for  it  was  dictated  by  Jehovah  Himself, 
and  what  is  dictated  by  Jehovah,  is 
purely  the  Divine  Truth, and  can  be  no 
other ;  but,  because  that  passed  through 
the  heavens,  even  into  the  world,  it  be- 
came acconnnodated  to  the  angels  in 
heaven,  and  also  to  men  in  the  world. 
Thence  there  is,  in  the  Word,  a  spirit- 
ual sense,  in  which  Divine  Truth  is  in 
the  light,  and  a  natural  sense,  in  which 
Divine  Truth  is  i^i  the  shade  ;  wherefore 
the  Divine  Truth,  in  this  Word,  is  what 
is  meant  in  John.    This  appears  still 
more  clearly  from  tliis,  that  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world  that  He  might  ful- 
fill all  things  of  the  Word  ;  wherefore 
it  is  so  often  read,  that  this  and  tliat 
was  done  by  Him  that  the  Scripture 
might  be  fulfilled.    No  other  than  the 
Divine  Truth  is  meant  by  the  Messiah 
or  Christ;  nor  any  other  by  the  Son  of 
Man  ;  nor  any  other  by  the  Comforter, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which  the  Lord  sent 
niter  his  departure.    That  He  repre- 


sented Himself  as  that  Word,  in  his 
transfiguration  before  the  three  dis- 
ciples on  the  mount  [Matt.  xii.  Mark 
ix.  and  Luke  ix.),  and  also  before 
John  {Rev.  i,  12  to  16),  will  be  seen  in 
the  chapter  concerning  the  Sacred 
Scripture.    That  the  Lord,  in  the 
world,  was  the  Divine  Truth,  appears 
from  his  own  words :  /  am  the  Way, 
the  Truth  and  tJie  Life,  John  xiv. 
6;    and  from  these,   We  know  that 
the  Son  of  God  hath  come,  and  given 
us  %indcrstanding,  that  we  may  know 
the  TRUTH,  and  tee  are  in  the  truth, 
IN  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  :    This  is  the 
true  God  and  eternal  life,  1  John  v. 
20,  21 ;  and  still  further  by  his  being 
called  the  light,  as  in  these  passages : 
He  icas  the  true  light,  whirh  cnlight- 
encth  every  man  that  conieth  into  the 
7Corld,  John  i.  4,  9.    Jesus  said,  Yet 
for  a  little  while  the  light  is  with  you : 
walk  while  ye  have  light,  lest  darkness 
overtake  you:  while  ye  have  hmuT,  be- 
lieve in  the  light,  that  ye  may  be  sons 
of  the  LIGHT,  xii.  3o,  36,  46.    /  am  the 
LIGHT  of  the  world,  ix.  5.  Simeon 
said.  Mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation, 
a  LIGHT  for  the  revelation  of  the  gen- 
tiles, Luke  ii.  30,  31,  32.    IViis  is  the 
judgment,  that  light  hath  come  into 
the  jvorld;  he  who  doeth  the  truth, 
Cometh  to  the  light,  John  iii.  19,  21 : 
besides  other  places,  where  by  the 
light  is  meant  the  Divine  Truth. 

86.  The  reason  why  Jehovah  God 
descended  into  the  world  as  the  Divine 
Truth  was,  that  He  might  do  the  work 
of  redemption ;  and  redemption  was 
the  subjugation  of  the  hells,  the  estab- 
lishment of  order  in  the  heavens,  and, 
after  this,  the  institution  of  a  church. 
Tlie  Divine  Good  is  not  competent  to  ef- 
fect those  things,  but  the  Divine  Truth 
from  the  Divine  Good :  tlie  Divine  Good, 
considered  in  itself,  is  as  the  round 
hilt  of  a  sword,  or  as  blunt  wood,  or  as 
a  naked  bow ;  but  the  Divine  Truth 
from  the  Divine  Good,  is  as  a  sharp 
sword,  and  as  wood  in  the  form  of  a 
spear,  and  as  a  bow  with  arrows, 
which  are  serviceable  against  an  ene- 
my. By  swords,  spears,  and  bows, 
in  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word, 
also  are  meant  truths  fighting :  see 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


75 


"  Apocalypse  Revealed,"  n.  52,  298, 
430,  where  this  is  demonstrated :  nor 
could  the  falses  and  evils  in  which  the 
hells  were  and  perpetually  are,  be  at- 
tacked, conquered  and  subjugated 
otherwise  than  by  the  divine  truth 
from  the  Word ;  nor  could  the  new 
heaven,  which  also  was  then  made,  be 
founded,  formed  and  arranged  in  order 
by  any  other  means ;  nor  could  the 
New  Church  upon  earth  be  instituted 
by  any  other  means.  Moreover,  all 
the  strength,  all  the  virtue,  and  all  the 
power  of  God,  is  of  the  divine  truth 
from  the  divine  good.  This  was  the 
reason  why  Jehovah  God  descended  as 
divine  truth,  which  is  the  Word ;  there- 
fore it  is  said  in  David,  Gird  thy  sword 
upon  thy  thigh,  O  Mighty,  and  in 
thy  honor  ascend;  ride  upon  tue 
Word  of  Truth  ;  thy  right  hand  will 
teach  thee  loonderful  things ;  thine  ar- 
rows are  sharp ;  thine  enemies  shall  fall 
under  thee,  Psalm  xlv.  4,  5,  G.  These 
words  are  concerning  the  Lord,  and 
concerning  his  combats  with  the  hells, 
and  concerning  liis  victories  over  them. 

87.  What  good  without  truth  is, 
and  what  truth  from  good  is,  appears 
manifestly  from  man ;  all  his  good 
resides  in  the  will,  and  all  his  truth  in 
the  understanding ;  and  the  will  from 
its  good  cannot  do  any  thing  except  by 
the  understanding ;  it  cannot  work,  it 
cannot  speak,  it  cannot  feel ;  all  its 
virtue  and  power  is  by  means  of  the 
understanding,  consequently  by  means 
of  truth,  for  the  understanding  is  the 
receptacle  and  habitation  of  truth. 
The  case  is  similar  with  these  as  with 
the  operation  of  the  heart  and  lungs  in 
the  body  ;  the  heart,  without  the  respi- 
ration of  the  lungs,  does  not  produce 
any  motion  or  any  sensation,  but  the 
respiration  of  the  lungs  from  the  heart 
does  both ;  which  is  evident  in  swoons 
with  those  who  are  suffocated  and 
drowned  in  water,  in  whom  respiration 
ceases,  while  the  systolic  activity  of  the 
heart  still  continues ;  that  such  have 
neither  motion  nor  sensation,  is  known. 
It  is  similar  with  embryos  in  the  womb 
of  the  mother ;  the  reason  is,  because 
the  heart  corresponds  to  the  will  and 
its  goods,  and  the  lungs  to  the  under- 


standing and  its  truths.  In  the  spirit- 
ual world,  the  power  of  truth  is  most 
conspicuous ;  an  angel  who  is  in  divine 
trutlis  from  tlic  Lord,  although,  as  to 
the  body,  he  is  as  weak  as  an  infant, 
can  put  to  flight,  pursue  to  hell,  and 
thrust  into  the  caverns  there,  even  a 
troop  of  infernal  spirits,  who  appear  as 
the  Anakim  and  the  Nephalim,  that  is, 
as  giants ;  and  when  they  go  out  of  the 
caverns,  they  dare  not  approach  the 
angel.  Those  who  are  in  divine  truths 
from  the  Lord  are  in  that  world  as  li- 
ons, although,  as  to  their  bodies,  they 
are  no  stronger  than  sheep.  It  is 
similar  with  men  who  are  in  divine 
truths  from  the  Lord,  against  evils  and 
falses,  consequently  against  phalanxes 
of  devils,  who,  considered  in  their 
essence,  are  no  other  than  evils  and 
falses.  The  reason  why  there  is  such 
strength  inherent  in  divine  truth  is, 
because  God  is  Good  itself  and  Truth 
itself,  and  He  created  the  universe  by 
the  divine  truth ;  and  all  the  laws  of 
order,  by  which  He  preserves  the  uni- 
verse, are  truths.  Wherefore  it  is 
said  in  John,  that  By  the  Word  cdl 
things  loere.  made,  and  without  if  noth- 
ing was  made  that  was  made,  i.  3,  10; 
and  in  David,  By  the  Word  of  Jeho- 
vah the  heavens  loere  made,  and  all  the 
host  of  them  hy  the  breath  of  his 
mouth,  Psalm  xxxiii.  6. 

88.  That  God,  although  He  de- 
scended as  the  divine  truth,  still  did 
not  separate  the  divine  good,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  conception,  concerning 
which  it  is  read,  that  The  virtue  of 
the  Most  High  overshadowed  Mary, 
Luke  j.  35 ;  and  by  the  virtue  of  the 
Most  High,  is  meant  the  divine  good. 
The  same  is  evident  from  the  pas- 
sages, where  He  says  that  the  Father  is 
in  Him,  and  He  in  the  Father ;  that  all 
things  of  the  Father  are  his ;  and  that 
the  Father  and  He  are  one ;  besides 
many  other  things ;  by  the  Father  is 
meant  the  Divine  Good. 

89.  III.  ThatGod  ASSUMED  THE  Hu- 
man ACCORDING  TO  HIS  DiVlNE  OrDER. 

In  the  section  concerning  the  divine 
omnipotence-  and  omniscience,  it  was 
shown,  that  God,  at  the  creation,  in- 
troduced order  into  the  universe,  and 


76 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


into  all  and  every  part  of  it ;  and  that 
therefore  the  omnipotence  of  God,  in 
the  universe  and  in  all  and  every  part 
of  it,  proceeds  and  operates  according 
to  the  laws  of  his  divine  order,  concern- 
ing which  we  have  treated  above  in  a 
series  from  n.  47  to  74.  Now,  because 
God  descended,  and  because  He  is 
Order  itself,  as  also  was  there  demon- 
strated, in  order  that  He  also  might 
actually  become  Man,  He  could  not 
but  be  conceived,  carried  in  the  womb, 
brought  forth,  educated,  and  succes- 
sively learn  the  sciences,  and  by  them 
be  introduced  into  intelligence  and 
wisdom.  Wherefore,  as  to  the  Human, 
He  was  an  infant  as  an  infant,  a  boy 
as  a  boy,  &c. ;  with  this  difference 
only,  that  He  perfected  those  progres- 
sive states  sooner,  more  fully  and  more 
perfectly,  than  others.  That  He  ad- 
vanced thus  progressively  according  to 
order,  is  evident  from  these  words  in 
Luke ;  A7id  the  Child  Jesus  grew,  and 
was  strengthened  in  spirit,  and  increas- 
ed in  zvisdom,  in  age,  and  in  favor  with 
God  and  man,  ii.  43,  50.  That  He 
did  so  sooner,  more  fully  and  more 
perfectly,  than  others,  appears  from 
those  things  which  are  said  of  Him  in 
the  same  Evangelist ;  as  that  when  He 
was  a  Boy  of  twelve  years.  He  sat  in  the 
temple  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors,  and 
taught ;  and  that  all  ivho  heard  Him 
were  astonished  at  his  intelligence  and 
answers,  ii.  46,  47  ;  and  afterwards,  iv. 
16  to  22, 32.  This  was  done,  because 
the  divine  order  is,  that  man  should 
prepare  himself  for  the  reception  of 
God ;  and  as  he  prepares  himself,  so 
God  enters  into  him,  as  into  his  habi- 
tation and  house  ;  and  that  preparation 
is  made  by  means  of  knowledges  con- 
cerning God,  and  concerning  the  spir- 
itual things  which  are  of  the  church, 
and  thus  by  intelligence  and  wisdom ; 
for  it  is  a  law  of  order,  that  as  far  as 
man  'accedes  and  approaches  to  God, 
which  he  should  do  altogether  as  from 
himself,  so  far  God  accedes  and  ap- 
proaches to  man,  and  in  the  midst  of 
him  conjoins  Himself  with  him.  That 
the  Lord  proceeded  according  to  this  or- 
der, even  to  union  with  his  Father,  will 
be  further  demonstrated  in  what  follows. 


90.  Those  who  do  not  know,  that 
the  divine  omnipotence  proceeds  and 
operates  according  to  order,  may  hatch 
out  of  their  fancy  many  things  oppo- 
site and  contradictory  to  sound  reason, 
as  why  God  did  not  assume  the  Human 
immediately,  without  such  a  progres- 
sion ;  why  He  did  not  create  or  com- 
pose for  Himself  a  body  out  of  the 
elements,  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world,  and  thus  exhibit  himself  to  be 
seen  as  God-Man,  before  the  Jewish 
people,  nay,  before  the  whole  world ; 
or,  if  He  would  be  born,  why  He  did 
not  infuse  into  the  embryo  itself,  or  into 
Himself  as  an  infant,  all  his  Divine ; 
or  why  He  did  not,  after  his  birth, 
raise  Himself  up  to  the  stature  of  a 
perfect  man,  and  speak  immediately 
from  the  divine  wisdom.  Such  and 
similar  things  those  may  conceive  and 
bring  forth,  who  think  concerning  tlie 
divine  omnipotence  without  order ;  and 
thus  may  fill  the  church  with  deliriums 
and  trifles,  as  also  has  been  done ;  as 
that  God  could  beget  a  Son  from  eter- 
nity, and  cause  that  a  third  God  also 
should  then  proceed  from  Himself  and 
the  Son ;  then  that  He  could  be  angry 
with  the  human  race,  give  them  over 
to  execration,  and  be  willing  to  be 
brought  back  to  mercy  by  his  Son,  and 
this  by  his  intercession  and  the  remem- 
brance of  his  cross ;  and,  moreover, 
that  He  could  put  into  man  the  righte- 
ousness of  his  Son,  and  insert  it  in  his 
heart,  as  a  simple  substance,  according 
to  Wolfius,  in  which,  as  the  author 
himself  says,  are  all  things  of  the  Son's 
merit ;  but  that  it  cannot  be  divided, 
since,  if  it  be  divided,  it  falls  into 
nothing  ;  and,  moreover,  that  He  can, 
as  by  a  papal  bull,  remit  sins  to  wliom- 
soever  He  will,  or  purify  the  most  im- 
pious person  from  his  black  evils,  and 
thus  make  one  who  is  black  as  a  devil, 
white  as  an  angel  of  light,  withotit 
man's  moving  himself  any  more  than 
a  stone,  or  while  he  stands  still  as  a 
statue  or  as  an  idol ;  besides  many 
other  foolish  notions,  which  those  who 
maintain  that  the  divine  power  is  ab- 
solute, without  any  knowledge  or  ac- 
knowledgment of  order,  may  scatter 
about  as  a  winnower  scatters  chaff  iu 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


77 


the  air.  These,  in  spiritual  things, 
whicli  arc  of  lieavon  and  tlie  church, 
and  tlience  of  eternal  life,  may  wander 
from  divine  truths,  like  a  blind  man  in 
the  woods,  who  now  falls  upon  stones, 
now  dashes  his  forehead  against  a 
tree,  now  entangles  his  hair  in  its 
branches. 

91.  Divine  miracles  also  have  been 
done  according  to  divine  order,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  Order  of  the  Liflitx  of 
the  Spiritual  World  into  the  Natural; 
concerning  which  order  no  one  has 
hitherto  known  any  thing,  because  no 
one  has  known  any  thing  of  the  spir- 
itual world.  But  what  that  order  is, 
w-ill  be  made  manifest  in  its  time,  when 
we  treat  of  Divine  Miracles,  and  of 
Magical  Miracles. 

92.  IV.  That  the  Human,  by 
WHICH  God  sent  Himself  into  the 
WORLD,  IS  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Lord  frequently  said,  that  the 
Father  sent  Him  into  the  world,  and 
that  He  was  sent  by  the  Father  ;  as 
Matt.  X.  40.  XV.  24.  John  iii.  17,  24. 
V.  23,  24,  36,  37,  38.  vi.  29,  39,  40, 
44,  57.  vii.  16,  18,  28,  29.  viii.  16, 18, 
29,42.  ix.  4;  and  in  many  other  places; 
and  this  He  says,  because  by  being 
sent  into  the  world,  is  meant  to  de- 
scend and  come  amongst  men ;  and 
this  was  done  by  the  Human,  which 
He  assumed  by  means  of  the  virgin 
Mary ;  and  also  the  Human  is  actually 
the  Son  of  God,  because  it  was  con- 
ceived of  Jehovah  God,  as  a  Father, 
according  to  Luke,  i.  32,  35.  He  is 
called  the  Son  of  God,  the  Son  of  Man, 
and  the  Son  of  Mary  ;  and  by  the  Son 
of  God  is  meant  Jeliovah  God  in  his 
Human  ;  by  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Lord 
as  to  the  Word ;  and  by  the  Son  of 
Mary,  properly  the  Human,  which  He 
assumed.  That  by  the  Son  of  God, 
and  by  the  Son  of  Man,  those  two 
things  are  meant,  will  be  demonstrated 
in  what  follows ;  that  by  the  Son  of 
Mary  is  meant  the  merely  Human,  is 
manifest  from  the  generation  of  men, 
that  the  soul  is  from  the  father,  and  the 
body  from  the  mother ;  for  the  soul  is 
in  the  seed  of  the  father,  and  it  is 
clothed  with  a  body  in  tlie  mother ;  or, 
what  is  the  same,  all  the  spiritual  that 


man  lias,  is  from  the  father,  and  all 
the- material  is  from  the  mother  ;  as  to 
the  Lord,  the  Divine  which  lie  had 
was  from  Jehovah,  the  Father,  and  the 
human  was  from  the  mother ;  these 
two  united  are  tlic  Son  of  God.  That 
it  is  so,  appears  clearly  from  the  nativ- 
ity of  the  Lord,  concerning  which  tiiis 
is  written  in  Luke  :  The  angel  Gabriel 
said  to  Mary,  The  Holy  Spirit  shall 
come  upon  thee,  and  the  virtue  of  the 
Most  High  shall  overshadow  thee; 
whence  the  Holy  Thing  that  is  born  of 
thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God, 
i.  35.  The  Lord  called  Himself  Sent 
by  the  Father,  also  for  this  reason,  be- 
cause by  sent  is  signified  the  like  as 
by  angel;  for  angel,  in  the  original 
language,  is  sent :  for  it  is  said  in  Isaiah, 
The  angel  of  the  faces  of  Jeho- 
vah delivered  them;  in  his  love  and 
his  pity  he  redeemed  them,  Ixiii.  9 ;  and 
in  Malachi ;  The  Lord,  tchom  ye  seek, 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  and 
the  angel  of  the  covenant,  whom 
ye  desire,  iii.  1 ;  besides  other  places. 
That  the  Divine  Trinity,  God  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
in  the  Lord,  and  that  the  Father  in  Him 
is  the  Divine  from  which  [are  all  things], 
the  Son,  the  Divine  Human,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  proceeding  Divine, 
will  be  seen  in  the  third  chapter  of 
this  work,  where  we  shall  treat  of  the 
Divine  Trinity. 

93.  Since  it  was  said  to  Mary,  by 
the  angel  Gabriel,  the  Holy  I'hing 
which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  God,  passages  shall 
be  adduced  from  the  Word  to  show 
that  the  Lord,  as  to  the  Human,  is 
called  the  Holy  One  of  Israel, 
which  are  I  was  seeing  in  visions;  lo, 
a  watcher  and  a  Holy  One  descending 
from  heaven,  Dan.  iv.  10,  20.  God 
will  come  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy 
One  from  mount  Paran,  Hab.  iii.  3. 
I  Jehovah,  the  Holy  One,  the  Crea- 
tor of  Israel,  your  Holy  One,  Isaiah 
xliv.  11,  15.  Thus  said  Jehovcdi,  the 
Redeemer  of  Israel,  ins  Holy  One,  xlii. 
7.  Uehovah  thy  God,  the  Holy  One 
OF  Israel,  thy  Savior,  xliii.  3.  As  for 
our  Redeemer,  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  his 
name,  the  Holy-  One  of  Israel,  xlvii. 


78 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


4.  Said  Jehovah  your  Redeemer,  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  xliii.  13.  xlviii. 

17.  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  his  name,  and 
thy  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,  liv.  5.  They  tempted  God  and 
THE  Holy  One  of  Israel,  Psalm 
Ixxviii.  41.  They  forsook  Jehovah, 
and  provoked  the  Holy  One  of  Isra- 
el, Isaiah  1.  4.  They  said,  Make  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel  cease  from  our 
faces;  therefore,  thus  said  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  xxx.  11, 12.  Who  say, 
Let  him  hasten  his  work,  that  we  may 
see,  and  let  the  counsel  of  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel  approach  and  come, 
V.  19.  In  that  day  they  shall  lean  upon 
Jehovah,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel, 
in  truth,  x.  20.  Cry  out  and  sing  aloud, 
O  daughter  of  Zion,  because  great  in 
the  midst  of  thee  is  the  Holy  One 
OF  Israel,  xii.  6.  The  saying  of  the 
God  of  Israel;  In  that  day  his  eyes 
shall  look  to  the  Holy  One  of  Israel, 
xvii.  7.  The  poor  of  men  shall  exult 
in  the  Holy'  One  of  Israel,  xxix. 
19.  xli.  16.  The  earth  is  full  of  guilt- 
iness against  the  Holy  One  of  Isra- 
el, Jerem.  1.  29 ;  and,  moreover,  Isaiah 
Iv.  5.  Ix.  9,  and  in  other  places.  By 
THE  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  meant 
the  Lord  as  to  the  Divine  Human  ;  for 
the  angel  said  to  Mary,  The  Holy' 
Thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God,  Luke 

1.  35.  That  Jehovah  and  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel  arc  one,  although  they 
are  distinctly  named,  may  be  evident 
from  the  passages  also  here  adduced 
to  show  that  Jehovah  is  that  Holy  One 
of  Israel.  That  the  Lord  is  called  the 
God  of  Israel,  is  evident  also  from 
very  many  passages,  as  Isaiah  xvii.  6. 
xxi.  10,  17.  xxiv.  15.  xxix.  23.  Jerem. 
vii.  3.  ix.  14.  xi.  3.  xiii.  12.  xvi.  9. 
xix.  3,  15.  xxiii.  2.  xxiv.  5.  xxv.  15, 
27.  xxix.  4,  8,  21,  25.  xxx.  2.  xxxi. 
29.  xxxii.  14,  15,  36.  xxxiii.  4.  xxxiv. 

2,  13.  XXXV.  13,  17,  IS,  19.  xxxvii.  7. 
xxxviii.  17.  xxxix.  16.  xlii.  9,  15,  IS. 
xliii.  10.  xliv.  2,  7,  11,25.  xlviii.  1.  1. 

18.  li.  33.  Rzek.  viii.  4.  ix.  3.  x.  19,20. 
xi.  2.  xliii.  2.  xliv.  2.  Zeph.  ii.  9.  Pfealm 
xli.  13.  !ix.  6.  Ixviii.  9. 

94.  In  t!ie  Christian  churches  at  the 
present  time,  it  is  common  to  call  the 


Lord,  our  Savior,  the  Son  of  Mary, 
and  rarely  the  Son  of  God,  unless  they 
then  mean  a  Son  of  God,  born  from 
eternity  :  the  reason  of  this  is,  because 
the  Roman  Catholics  have  sanctified 
Mary,  the  mother,  above  the  rest,  and 
have  exalted  her  as  a  goddess,  or  queen, 
over  all  their  saints  ;  when  yet  the 
Lord,  when  He  glorified  his  Human, 
put  off  all  of  his  mother,  and  put  on 
all  of  the  Father,  which  will  be  fully 
demonstrated  in  the  following  parts  of 
this  work.  From  this  common  saying 
in  the  mouth  of  all,  that  He  is  called 
the  Son  of  Mary,  many  enormities 
have  flowed  into  the  church,  especially 
with  those  who  have  not  admitted  into 
their  judgment  those  tilings  which  are 
said  in  the  Word  concerning  the  Lord, 
as  that  the  Father  and  He  are  one ; 
that  He  is  in  the  Father,  and  the  Fa- 
ther in  Him ;  that  all  things  of  the  Fa- 
ther are  his  ;  that  He  called  Jehovah  his 
Father,  and  Jehovah  the  Father  called 
Him  his  Son.  The  enormities  which 
hare  flowed  into  the  church  from  this, 
that  they  name  Him  the  Son  of  Mary, 
and  not  the  Son  of  God,  are, that  con- 
cerning the  Lord,  the  idea  of  divinity  is 
lost,  and  with  this,  all  that  which  is  said 
in  the  Word  concerning  Him  as  the  Son 
of  God ;  then  that  through  that  enters 
Judaism,  Arianism,  Socinianism,  Cal- 
vinism, such  as  it  was  in  the  beginning, 
and  at  length  Naturalism,  and  with 
this  the  fancy  that  He  was  the  Son  of 
Mary  by  Joseph,  and  also  that  he  had 
his  soul  from  the  mother,  and  thence 
that  He  is  called  the  Son  of  God,  and 
is  not  so.  Let  every  one,  clergyman 
as  well  as  layman,  consult  himself, 
whether  he  has  conceived  and  cherishes 
any  other  idea  concerning  the  Lord, 
as  the  Son  of  Mary,  than  as  of  a  mere 
man.  Since  such  an  idea  began  to 
prevail  amongst  Christians  in  the  third 
century,  when  the  Arians  arose,  there- 
fore the  Nicene  council,  to  vindicate 
the  divinity  of  the  Lord,  feigned  a  Son 
of  God  born  from  eternity ;  but,  by 
this  fiction,  the  Human  of  the  Lord 
was  indeed  elev.ited  then,  and  with 
many  also  at  this  day  it  is  elevated,  to 
the  Divine  ;  but  not  with  those  who, 
by  the  hypostatic  union,  understand 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


79 


a  union  as  between  two,  of  whom  one 
is  above,  and  the  other  is  below.  But 
what  else  results  thence  than  that  tiie 
whole  Christian  church  should  perish, 
which  was  founded  solely  upon  the 
worship  of  Jehovah  in  the  Human, 
consequently  upon  God-Man.  That  no 
one  can  see  the  Father,  nor  know  Him, 
nor  come  to  Him,  nor  believe  in  Him, 
unless  through  his  Human,  the  Lord 
declares  in  many  passages.  If  this  is 
not  done,  all  the  noble  seed  of  the 
church  is  turned  into  ignoble  seed ; 
the  seed  of  the  olive  into  the  seed  of 
the  pine  ;  tlie  seed  of  the  orange,  the 
citron,  the  apple  and  the  pear,  into  the 
seed  of  the  willow,  the  elm,  the  linden 
and  the  holm-oak ;  the  vine  into  the 
bulrush  of  the  bog ;  the  wheat  and  bar- 
ley into  chaff;  nay,  all  spiritual  food 
becomes  as  the  dust  which  serpents 
eat ;  for  in  man  the  spiritual  light  be- 
comes natural,  and  at  length  sensual 
corporeal,  which,  viewed  in  itself,  is 
the  light  of  infatuation  ;  yea,  man  then 
becomes  as  a  bird,  which,  while  it  flies 
on  high,  when  its  wings  are  clipped 
will  fall  to  the  earth,  where  walking,  it 
sees  no  more  around  it  than  what  lies 
before  its  feet ;  and  then  concerning 
the  spiritual  things  of  the  church, 
which  will  be  for  eternal  life,  he  thinks 
no  otherwise  than  a  soothsayer.  These 
things  take  place,  while  man  regards 
the  Lord  God,  the  Redeemer  and 
Savior;  "as  the  mere  Son  of  Mary,  thus 
as  a  mere  man. 

95.  V.  That  the  Lord,  by  Acts  of 
Redemption,  made  Himself  Right- 
eousness. 

That  the  Lord  alone  had  merit  and 
righteousness  by  the  obedience  which 
He  yielded  to  the  Father,  and  especial- 
ly by  the  passion  of  the  cross,  is  said 
and  believed  at  this  day  in  Christian 
clmrches ;  but  it  is  supposed,  that  the 
passion  of  the  cross  was  the  very  act 
of  redemption,  when  yet  that  was  not 
the  act  of  redemption,  but  the  act  of 
the  glorification  of  his  Human,  of 
which  we  shall  treat  in  the  following 
Lemma  concerning  Redemption. — 
The  acts  of  redemption,  by  which  the 
Lord  made  Himself  righteousness,  were 
that  He  executed  a  last  judgment, 


which  was  done  in  the  spiritual  world, 
and  then  separated  the  evil  from  the 
good,  and  the  goats  from  the  slieep, 
and  expelled  from  heaven  those  who 
made  one  with  tlie  beasts  of  the  dragon; 
and  of  the  wortliy  He  founded  a  new 
heaven,  and  of  the  unworthy  a  hell, 
and  successively  reduced  all  tilings  in 
both  to  order  ;  and,  moreover,  instituted 
a  new  church.  These  acts  were  the 
acts  of  redemption,  by  whicli  tlie  Lord 
made  Himself  righteousness ;  for  right- 
eousness is  to  do  all  things  according 
to  divine  order ;  and  to  reduce  to  or- 
der those  things  which  have  fallen  out 
of  order;  for  righteousness  is  divine 
order  itself  Those  things  are  meant 
by  these  words  of  the  Lord  :  It  is  meet 
for  Me  to  fulfill  all  the  righteousness 
OF  God,  Matt.  iii.  15 ;  and  by  these  in 
the  Old  Testament ;  Behold  the  days 
will  come,  ichen  I  shall  raise  unto  Da- 
vid a  righteous  branch,  loho  shall 
reign  King,  and  do  righteousness  in 
the  earth,  and  this  is  his  name,  Jeho- 
vah OUR  righteousness,  Jerem.  xxiii. 
5,  6.  xxxiii.  15,  16.  /  speak  in  right- 
eousness, ^/•e«<  to  sore,  Isaiah  Ixiii.  1. 
Me  shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of  David, 
to  establish  it  in  judgment  and  right- 
eousness, ix.  7.  Zion  shall  be  redeem- 
ed in  righteousness,  i.  27. 

96.  Our  countrymen  who  bear  rule 
in  the  church,  describe  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  Lord  quite  differently  ;  and 
also,  by  the  inscription  of  it  upon  man, 
they  make  their  faith  saving ;  when 
yet  the  truth  is,  that  the  righteousness 
of  the  Lord,  because  it  is  such  and 
thence,  and  in  itself  purely  divine, 
cannot  be  conjoined  to  any  man,  and 
thus  cannot  produce  any  salvation, 
any  more  than  the  divine  life,  which  is 
the  divine  love  and  the  divine  wisdom. 
The  Lord  with  these  enters  into  every 
man ;  but,  unless  man  lives  according  to 
order,  that  life  is  in  him,  indeed,  but 
it  contributes  nothing  at  all  to  his  sal- 
vation ;  it  only  gives  the  faculty  of  un- 
derstanding truth,  and  of  doing  good. 
To  live  according  to  divine  order,  is  to 
live  according  to  the  commandments  of 
God ;  and  when  man  so  lives  and  does, 
then  he  procures  for  himself  righteous- 
ness ;  not  the  righteousness  of  the  re- 


80 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer, 


demption  of  the  Lord,  but  the  Lord  liim- 
self  as  righteousness.  These  are  they, 
who  are  meant  by  these  words :  Unless 

yOUR     RIGHTEOUSNESS     shull  obouild 

above  tliat  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  oj'  the 
heavens,  Matt.  v.  20.  In  the  consum- 
mation of  the  age,  the  angels  toill  go 
forth,  and  separate  the  wicked  from 
the  midst  of  the  righteous,  xiii.  49 ; 
besides  other  places.  By  the  right- 
eous, in  the  Word,  are  meant  those 
who  have  lived  according  to  divine  or- 
der, since  the  divine  order  is  righteous- 
ness. The  righteousness  itself,  which, 
by  acts  of  redemption, the  Lord  became, 
cannot  be  ascribed  to  man,  inscribed 
upon  him,  adapted  and  conjoined  to 
him,  otherwise  than  light  can  be  to  the 
eye,  sound  to  the  ear,  will  to  the  mus- 
cles of  one  acting,  thought  to  the  lips 
of  one  speaking,  air  to  the  lungs  of 
one  breathing,  heat  to  the  blood,  &,c., 
which,  that  they  flow  in  and  adjoin 
themselves,  besides  that  they  conjoin 
themselves,  every  one  of  himself  per- 
ceives. But  righteousness  is  acquired 
so  far  as  man  exercises  righteousness; 
and  he  exercises  righteousness  as  far 
as  he  acts  with  his  neighbor  from  the 
love  of  what  is  just  and  true :  in  the 
good  itself,  or  in  the  use  itself,  whicii 
he  does,  righteousness  dwells ;  for  the 
Lord  says,  that  every  tree  may  be 
known  by  its  fruit.  Who  does  not 
know  another  by  his  works,  if  he  at- 
tends to  them,  from  what  end  and  pur- 
pose of  the  will,  and  from  what  cause 
and  intention  they  are  done  ?  All  the 
angels  attend  to  these  things,  and  also 
all  the  .wise  men  in  our  world.  In 
general,  every  shrub  and  plant  is  known 
by  its  flower  and  seed,  and  by  its  use ; 
every  metal,  by  its  goodness;  every 
stone  by  its  quality ;  every  field,  every 
kind  of  food,  every  animal  of  the  earth, 
and  every  bird  of  the  air,  by  their  qual- 
ity :  why  not  man  1  But  concerning 
the  quality  of  the  works  of  man, 
w'hence  it  is,  will  be  opened  in  the 
chapter  concerning  faith. 

97.  VL  Th.vt  the  Lord,  by  the 
SAME   Acts,    united    Himself  to 

THE     F.\THER,     AND     THE  FaTHER 

Himself  to  Him. 


That  the  union  was  effected  by  acts 
of  redemption,  is  because  the  Lord  per- 
formed them  by  means  of  his  Human ; 
and  as  He  operated,  so  the  Divine, 
which  is  meant  by  the  Father,  came 
nearer,  assisted  and  co-operated,  and  at 
length  They  so  conjoined  Themselves, 
that  They  were  not  two,  but  one  ;  and 
this  union  is  the  glorification,  of  which 
in  the  following  pages. 

98.  That  the  Father  and  the  Son,^ 
that  is,  the  Divine  and  the  Human  in 
the  Lord,  are  united  like  the  soul  and 
body,  is,  indeed,  according  to  the 
faith  of  the  church  at  this  day,  and, 
also  according  to  the  Word ;  but  still 
scarcely  five  in  a  hundred,  or  fifty  in 
a  thousand  know  this :  the  reason  is, 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
alone,  which  most  of  the  clergy,  who 
seek  the  reputation  of  learning,  on  ac- 
count of  honors  and  riches,  have  em- 
braced with  all  zeal,  until  that  doc- 
trine has  got  complete  possession  of 
the  minds  of  those  at  this  day ;  and 
because  this  has  intoxicated  their 
thoughts,  like  the  vinous  spirit  called 
alcohol,  therefore,  like  men  intoxicat- 
ed, they  have  not  seen  this  most  essen- 
tial thing  of  the  church,  that  Jehovah 
God  descended  and  assumed  the  Hu- 
man ;  when  yet,  solely  by  this  union,  is 
given  to  man  conjunction  with  God ; 
and  by  conjunction,  salvation.  That 
salvation  depends  on  the  knowledge 
and  acknowledgment  of  God,  may  ap- 
pear evident  to  every  one  who  consid- 
ers that  God  is  all  in  all  of  heaven,  and 
thence  all  in  all  of  the  church;  con- 
sequently, all  in  all  of  theology.  But 
first  it  shall  here  be  demonstrated,  that 
the  union  of  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
or  of  the  Divine  and  the  Human  in  the 
Lord,  is  as  the  union  of  the  soul  and 
the  body  ;  and .  afterwards,  that  that 
union  is  reciprocal.  A  union  like  that 
of  the  soul  and  the  body  has  been 
established  in  the  Athanasian  creed, 
which  is  received,  in  all  the  Christian 
world,  for  the  doctrine  concerning  God. 
Tiiere  these  words  are  read :  Our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  God  and  Man ; 
still  there  arc  not  tiro,  hut  there  is  one 
Christ :  He  is  one,  because  the  Divine 
took  the  Human  to  HsrJf;  yea,  He  ii 


Concerning  the.  Lord  the.  Redeemer. 


61 


altogether  one,  and  Tin  is  one  person  ; 
for  as  the  soul  and  body  is  one  man,  so 
God  and  Man  is  one  Christ.  But  here 
it  is  meant  that  there  is  such  a  union 
of  a  Son  of  God  from  eternity  with  tlie 
Son  born  in  time  ;  but,  because  God  is 
one,  and  not  three,  wliile  that  union  is 
meant  with  the  one  God  from  eternity, 
that  doctrine  agrees  with  the  Word. 
In  the  Word  these  things  are  read, 
that  He  was  conceived  of  Jehovah,  the 
Father,  Luke  i.  34,  35;  thence  his 
soul  and  life ;  wherefore  He  says,  that 
He  and  the  Father  arc  one,  John  x.  30 ; 
that  He  who  seeth  and  knoweth  Him, 
seeth  and  knoweth  the  Father,  xiv.  9 ; 
If  ye  had  known  me,  ye  would  also 
have  known  my  Father,  viii.  19;  He 
who  receiveth  tne,  receiveth  Him  who 
sent  me,  xiii.  20.  that  He  is  in  the  bo- 
som of  the  Father,  i.  18;  that  All 
things  whatsoever  the  Father  hath  are 
his,  xvi.  15;  that  He  is  called  the  Fa- 
ther of  eternity,  Isaiah  ix.  6;  that 
Thence  He  hath  jiotver  over  all  flesh, 
John  xvii.  2 ;  and  all  power  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  Matt,  xxviii.  18.  From 
these  and  several  other  passages  in  the 
Word,  it  may  be  clearly  seen,  that  the 
union  of  the  Father  and  Him  is  like 
that  of  the  soul  and  body ;  wherefore 
also,  in  the  Old  Testament,  He  is  often 
named  Jehovah,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  and 
Jehovah  the  Redeemer:  see  above,  n.  83. 

99.  That  that  union  is  reciprocal, 
is  very  evident  from  these  passages  in 
the  Word :  Philip,  believest  thou  not 
that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  Me  7  Believe  Me,  that  I  am 
in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me. 
John  xiv.  6,  11 ;  That  ye  may  know 
and  believe  that  the  Father  is  in  Me, 
and  I  in  the  Father,  x.  36,  38 ;  That 
they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father, 
art  in  Me,  and  Tin  Thee,  xvii.  21 ;  Fa- 
ther, all  mine  are  thine,  and  thine  are 
mine,  xvii.  10.  That  the  union  is  re- 
ciprocal, is  because  no  union  or  con- 
junction between  two  is  given,  unless 
one  mutually  accedes  to  the  other :  eve- 
ry conjunction  in  the  universal  heaven, 
in  the  universal  world,  and  in  the 
whole  of  man,  is  from  no  other  source 
than  from  the  reciprocal  accession  of 
one  to  another,  and  then  that  both 
11 


will  one  thing ;  thence  is  effected 
sometiiing  homogeneous,  sympathetic, 
unanimous  and  concordant  in  every 
part  of  each.  Such  is  the  reciprocal 
conjunction  of  the  soul  and  body  with 
every  man  ;  such  is  the  conjunction  of 
the  spirit  of  man  with  the  organs  of 
sensation  and  motion  of  his  body  ;  such 
is  the  conjunction  of  tiie  heart  and 
lungs;  such  is  the  conjunction  of  the 
will  and  understanding ;  such  is  the 
conjunction  of  all  the  members  and 
viscera  in  and  amongst  each  other  in 
man  ;  such  is  the  conjunction  of  minds, 
amongst  all  those  who  inwardly  love 
each  other,  for  it  is  inscribed  on  all 
love  and  friendship,  for  love  wishes  to 
love,  and  wishes  to  be  loved.  There  is 
a  reciprocal  conjunction  of  all  things 
in  the  world,  that  are  fully  conjoined 
with  each  other ;  similar  is  the  con- 
junction of  the  heat  of  the  sun  with 
the  heat  of  wood  and  of  stone  ;  of  the 
vital  heat  with  the  heat  of  all  the  ani- 
mal fibres  in  animals ;  similar  is  that 
of  a  tree  with  its  root,  by  the  root  with 
the  tree,  and  by  the  tree  with  the  fruit ; 
such  is  that  of  the  magnet  with  iron, 
&c.  Unless  conjunction  be  effected 
reciprocally  and  mutually  by  the  ac- 
cession of  one  to  another,  only  an  ex- 
ternal conjunction  is  effected,  and  not 
an  internal  one ;  and  this  in  time  is 
spontaneously  and  mutually  dissolved, 
and  sometimes  so  that  they  no  longer 
know  each  other. 

100.  Now,  because  a  conjunction 
which  is  a  conjunction,  cannot  be  ef- 
fected, unless  it  be  done  mutually  and 
reciprocally,  therefore  the  conjunction 
of  the  Lord  and  man  is  no  other,  as  is 
very  manifest  from  these  passages : 
He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drinkcth 
my  blood,  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him, 
John  vi.  56.    Abide  in  me,  and  I  in 

YOU  :   HE   THAT  ABIDETH  IN    ME,  AND 

I  IN  HIM,  beareth  much  fruit,  xv.  4,  5. 
Whosoever  opencth  the  door,  I  will  come 
in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him, 
AND  HE  WITH  ME,  Rev.  iii.  20;  be- 
sides Other  places.  This  conjunction 
is  effected  by  man's  acceding  to 
the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  to  him ;  for  it 
is  a  fixed  and  immutable  law,  that  as  far 
as  man  accedes  to  the  Lord,  so  far 


82 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


the  Lord  accedes  to  man :  but  more 
will  be  seen  concerning  this  in  the  chap- 
ters concerning  Charity  and  Faith. 

101.  VII.  That  thus  God  became 
Man,  and  Man  God,  in  one  Person. 

That  Jehovah  God  became  Man,  and 
Man  God,  in  one  person,  follows  as  a 
conclusion  from  all  the  preceding  arti- 
cles of  this  chapter,  particularly  from 
these  two ;  that  Jehovah,  the  Creator 
of  the  universe,  descended  and  asstimed 
the  Human,  that  He  might  redeem  and 
save  men ;  of  which  above,  n.  82,  88, 
84;  and  that  The  Lord,  hy  acts  of  re- 
demption, nnited  Himself  to  the  Fa- 
ther, and  the  Father  Himself  to  Him, 
thus  reciprocally  and  mutually;  of 
which  above,  n.  97  to  100.  From  that 
reciprocal  union,  it  is  very  manifest, 
that  God  became  Man,  and  Man  God, 
in  one  person.  The  same  also  follows 
as  a  consequence  of  the  union  of  both, 
that  it  is  like  that  of  the  soul  and 
body :  that  this  is  according  to  the 
faith  of  the  church  at  this  day,  accord- 
ing to  the  creed  of  Athanasius,  may 
be  seen  above,  n.  89 ;  also  according 
to  the  faith  of  the  evangelical  Protes- 
tants, in  their  chief  book  of  orthodoxy, 
which  is  called  the  Formula  Concor- 
mm,  where  it  is  strongly  confirmed, 
both  from  the  Sacred  Scripture,  and 
from  the  fathers,  and  also  by  rational 
arguments,  that  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  is  exalted  to  divine  majesty, 
omnipotence  and  omnipresence ;  and 
also  that,  in  Christ,  Man  is  God,  and 
God  Man  ;  concerning  this,  see  there, 
p.  607, 765.  Besides,  in  this  chapter  it 
has  been  proved,  that  Jehovaii  God,  as 
to  his  Human,  in  the  Word,  is  called 
Jehovah,  Jrhovali  God,  Jehovah  of 
hosts,  and  also  the  God  of  Israel; 
wherefore  Paul  says,  that  In  Jesus 
Christ  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead 
dwelleth  bodily.  Col.  ii.  9 ;  and  John, 
that  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is 
the  true  God  and  eternal  life,  1  John 
V.  20,  21.  That  by  the  Son  of  God  is 
properly  meant  his  Human,  may  be 
seen  above,  n.  92,  and  the  following. 
And,  moreover,  Jehovah  God  calls 
both  Himself  and  Him  Lord;  for  it  is 
read,  TJte  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  on  my  right  hand,  Psalm  ex.  1; 


and  in  Isaiah,  A  Child  is  born  to  us, 
a  Son  is  given  to  us,  whose  name  is  God, 
the  Father  of  eternity,  ix.  5,  6.  By 
Son,  also,  is  meant  the  Lord,  as  to  the 
Human,  in  David ;  I  will  announce  con- 
cerning the  statute,  Jehovah  said. 
Thou  art  my  Son;  to-day  I  have  begot- 
ten thee.  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  He  be  an- 
gry, and  ye  perish  in  the  icay,  Psalm 
ii.  7,  12.  Here  is  not  meant  a  Son 
from  eternity,  but  the  Son  born  in  the 
world  ;  for  it  is  prophetical  of  the  Lord, 
who  was  about  to  come ;  wherefore  it 
is  called  tlic  statute  concerning  which 
Jehovah  announced  to  David ;  and  in 
that  Psalm  it  is  written  before,  I  have 
anointed  my  King  upon  Zion,  verse  6 ; 
and  it  follows,  /  will  give  to  Him  the 
nations  fur  an  iiihcritance,  verse  8; 
wherefore  to-day,  there,  is  not  from 
eternity,  but  in  time,  for  with  Jehovah 
the  future  is  present. 

102.  It  is  believed  that  the  Lord,  as^ 
to  the  Human,  not  only  was,  but  also  is 
the  Son  of  Mary ;  but  in  this  the 
Christian  world  is  under  a  delusion. 
That  he  was  the  Son  of  Mary,  is  true  ; 
but  that  He  is  so  still,  is  not  true  ;  for 
by  acts  of  redemption.  He  put  off  the 
Human  from  the  mother,  and  put  on  a 
Human  from  the  Father;  thence  it  is, 
that  the  Human  of  the  Lord  is  Divine, 
and  that,  in  Him,  God  is  Man,  and 
Man  God.  That  He  put  off  the  Hu- 
man from  the  mother,  and  put  on  a 
Human  from  the  Father,  which  is  the 
Divine  Human,  may  be  seen  from  this, 
that  He  never  called  Mary  his  mother, 
as  may  be  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages :  The  mother  of  Jems  said  to  Him, 
They  have  no  tcine.  Jesus  said  to  her. 
Woman,  what  is  it  to  Me  and  thee? 
My  hour  is  not  yet  come,  John  ii.  4. 
And  in  another  place ;  Jesus  from  the 
cross,  seeing  his  mother,  and  the  disciple 
standing  by,  whom.  He  loved,  saith  to 
his  mother.  Woman,  behold  thy  Son ! 
2'hen  He  saith  to  the  disciple.  Behold 
thy  mother!  xix.  26,  27:  and  once 
that  He  did  not  acknowledge  her :  It 
was  told  Jesus  hy  some,  saying.  Thy 
mother  and  thy  brethren  are  standing 
without,  and  wish  to  s(e  Thee.  Jesus, 
answering,  said.  My  mother  and  my 
brethren  are  those  who  hear  the  Word 


Concerning  the  Jjord  the  Redeemer. 


83 


vf  God,  and  do  it,  Luko  viii.  20,  21 ; 
Matt.  xii.  4(i  to  49  ;  Mark  iii.  31  to  3"). 
Tlius  the  Lord  did  not  call  her  mother, 
but  woman,  and  gave  her  to  John  as  a 
mother  ;  in  other  places,  she  is  called 
his  mother,  but  not  by  his  own  mouth. 
This  also  is  confirmed  by  this,  that  lie 
did  not  acknowledge  Himself  to  be 
the  Son  of  David,  for  it  is  read  in  the 
Evangelists,  Jesus  asked  the  Phari- 
sees, sai/ing,  What  think  ye  of 
Christ?  Whose  son  is  He?  They 
say  to  Him,  David's.  He  saith  to 
them,  Horo,  then,  doth  David,  in  the 
spirit,  call  Him  his  Lord,  saying,  The 
Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit  on  my  right 
hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy 
footstool.  If,  then,  David  calleth 
Him  Lord,  hojo  is  He  his  Son  ?  And 
no  one  was  able  to  answer  Him  a  word. 
Matt.  xxii.  39  to  44 ;  Mark  xii.  35,  36, 
37;  Luke  xx.  41  to  44;  Psalm  ex.  1. 
To  the  above  I  shall  add  this  news. 
It  was  once  given  me  to  speak  with 
Mary  the  mother.  She  passed  by 
some  time  since,  and  appeared  in 
heaven  over  my  head,  in  white  rai- 
ment, as  of  silk  ;  and  then,  stopping  a 
little  while,  she  said  that  she  was  the 
mother  of  the  Lord,  because  He  was 
born  of  her,  but  that,  when  He  became 
God,  He  put  off  all  the  Human  which 
he  had  from  her,  and  that  therefore  she 
worships  Him  as  her  God,  and  that  slie 
is  not  willing  that  any  one  should  ac- 
knowledge Him  for  her  son,  because 
in  Him  all  is  divine.  From  these 
things,  this  truth  shines  forth,  that  thus 
Jehovah  is  Man,  as  in  the  firsts,  also 
in  the  lasts,  according  to  these  words ; 
/a/«  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  Be- 
ginning and  the  End,  He  %cho  is,  and 
who  loas,  and  who  is  to  come,  the  Al- 
mighty, Rev.  i.  8,  IL  John,  when  he 
saw  the  Soji  of  Man  in  the  midst  of 
the  seven  candlesticks,  fell  at  his  feet 
as  dead;  hut  He  put  his  right  hand 
upon  him,  saying,  I  am  the  First  and 
the  Last,  Rev.  i.  13,  17 ;  xxi.  6.  Be- 
hold, I  come  quickly,  that  I  may  give  to 
every  one  according  to  his  work.  I 
am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  Be- 
ginning and  the  End,  the  First  and.  the 
Last,  xxii.  12,  13.  And  in  Isaiah, 
Thus  said  Jehovah,  the  King  of  Israel, 


and  his  Redeemer,  Jehovah  of  hosts, 
I  am  the  First  and  the  Last,  xliv.  0 ; 
xlviii.  12. 

103.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  this 
arcanum,  that  the  soul,  which  is  from 
the  father,  is  the  very  man,  and  that 
the  body,  which  is  from  the  mother,  is 
not  man  in  itself,  but  from  the  soul ; 
the  body  is  only  a  covering  of  the  soul, 
composed  of  such  things  as  arc  of  the 
natural  world.  Every  man,  after  death, 
puts  off  the  natural,  which  he  had  from 
the  mother,  and  retains  the  spiritual, 
which  he  had  from  the  father,  togeth- 
er with  a  kind  of  border  [or  circum- 
ambient accretion]  from  the  purest 
things  of  nature,  around  it;  but  this 
border,  with  those  who  come  into 
heaven,  is  below,  and  the  spiritual 
above ;  but  that  border  with  those 
who  come  into  hell  is  above,  and  the 
spiritual  below ;  thence  it  is,  that  a 
man-angel  speaks  from  heaven,  thus 
what  is  good  and  true ;  but  that  a 
man-devil  speaks  from  hell,  while  from 
his  heart,  and,  as  it  were,  fi-om  heaven, 
while  from  his  mouth ;  he  does  this 
abroad,  but  that  at  home.  Since  the 
soul  of  man  is  the  very  man,  and  is 
spiritual  from  its  origin,  it  is  manifest 
whence  it  is  that  the  mind,  soul,  dis- 
position, inclination  and  affection  of 
the  love  of  the  father  dwells  in  his 
offspring,  and  returns  and  renders  itself 
conspicuous  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation. Thence  it  is,  that  many  fami- 
lies, yea,  nations,  are  known  from  their 
first  father ;  there  is  a  general  image 
in  the  face  of  each  descendant,  which 
manifests  itself;  and  this  image  is  not 
changed,  except  by  the  spiritual  things 
of  the  church.  The  reason  that  a 
general  image  of  Jacob  and  Judah  still 
remains  in  their  posterity,  by  which 
they  may  be  distinguished  fi-om  others, 
is,  because  they  have  hitherto  adhered 
firmly  to  their  religious  principles ;  for 
there  is  in  the  seed  of  every  one,  from 
which  he  is  conceived,  a  graft  or  offset 
of  the  father's  soul,  in  its  fullness,  with- 
in a  certain  covering  from  the  ele- 
ments of  nature,  by  which  the  body  is 
formed  in  the  womb  of  the  mother ; 
which  may  be  made  according  to  the 
likeness  of  the  father,  or  according  to 


84 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


the  likeness  of  the  mother,  the  image 
of  the  father  still  remaining  within  it, 
which  continually  endeavors  to  bring 
itself  forth,  and  if  it  cannot  do  it  in  the 
first  generation,  it  effects  it  the  follow- 
ing. The  reason  that  the  image  of 
the  father  is  in  its  fullness  in  the  seed, 
is,  because,  as  was  said,  the  soul  is 
spiritual  from  its  origin,  and  what  is 
spiritual  has  nothing  in  common 
with  space ;  wherefore  it  is  simi- 
lar to  itself  in  a  small,  as  well  as  in  a 
large  compass.  With  respect  to  the 
Lord,  He,  while  He  was  in  the  world,  by 
acts  of  redemption,  put  off  the  human 
from  the  mother,  and  put  on  a  Human 
from  the  Father,  which  is  the  Divine 
Human  ;  thence  it  is,  that  in  Him,  Man 
is  God,  and  God  Man. 

104.  VIII.  That  the  Progkess 
TO  Union  was  the  State  of  his 

EXINANITION  [or  HUMILIATION],  AND 
THAT     THE     UnION     ITSELF     IS  THE 

State  of  his  Glorification. 

That  the  Lord,  while  He  \\  as  in  the 
world,  had  two  states,  which  are  called 
states  of  exinanition  and  glorifica- 
tion, is  known  in  the  church ;  the 
former  state,  which  was  that  of  exina- 
nition, is  described  in  many  passages  in 
the  Word,  especially  in  the  Psalms  of 
David,  and  also  in  the  prophets,  and 
particularly  in  Isaiah  liii.,  where  it  is 
said,  that  He  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
death,  verse  12.  This  same  state  was 
the  state  of  his  humiliation  before  the 
Father,  for  in  it  he  prayed  to  the  Fa- 
ther, and  He  says  that  He  does  his 
will,  and  ascribes  all  that  He  did  or 
said  to  the  Father.  That  He  prayed 
to  the  Father,  is  evident  from  these 
passages.  Matt.  xvii.  43 ;  Mark  i.  35 ; 
vi.  46 ;  xiv.  32  to  39 ;  Luke  v.  15 ;  vi. 
12;  xxii.  41  to  44;  John  xvii.  9,  15, 
20.  That  He  did  the  will  of  the  Fa- 
ther, John  iv.  34;  v.  30.  Tliat  He 
ascribed  all  that  He  did  and  said  to  the 
Father,  John  viii.  2G,  27,  28;  xii.  49, 
50 ;  xiv.  10.  Yea,  upon  the  cross  He 
cried  out,  3Iij  God,  Mij  God,  why  hast 
Thou  forsaken  Me  ?  Matt,  xxvii.  47; 
Mark  xv.  34 ;  and,  moreover,  without 
this  state.  He  could  not  have  been 
crucified.  The  state  of  glorification  is 
also  a  state  of  union.    He  was  in  this 


state  when  He  was  transfigured  before 
his  three  disciples,  and  when  He  did 
miracles,  and  whenever  He  said  that 
the  Father  and  He  were  one ;  that  the 
Father  is  in  Him,  and  He  in  the  Fa- 
ther ;  that  all  things  of  the  Father  are 
his ;  and  when  the  union  was  fully 
completed,  that  He  had  power  over  all 
flesh,  John  xvii.  2 ;  and  nil  power  in 
heaven  and  in  earth.  Matt,  xxviii.  18 ; 
besides  many  other  things. 

105.  The  reason  that  the  Lord  had 
those  two  states  of  exinanition  and  glo- 
rification, was,  because  there  is  no  oth- 
er possible  way  of  attaining  to  union, 
since  it  is  according  to  the  divine  order, 
which  is  unchangeable.  The  divine 
order  is,  that  man  should  dispose  him- 
self for  the  reception  of  God,  and  pre- 
pare himself  for  a  receptacle  and  hab- 
itation, into  which  God  may  enter  and 
dwell,  as  in  his  temple.  Alan  should 
do  this  from  himself,  but  still  he  should 
acknowledge  that  it  is  from  God ;  he 
should  acknowledge  this,  because  he 
does  not  perceive  the  presence  and 
operation  of  God,  althougli  God,  being 
most  perfectly  present,  operates  in  man 
all  the  good  of  love,  and  all  the  true  of 
faith.  According  to  this  order  every 
man  proceeds  and  mu.^t  proceed.'tliat 
he  may,  from  natural,  become  spiritual. 
In  like  manner  the  Lord,  that  He  niigiii 
make  his  Natural  Divine;  tlietice  it 
is,  that  He  prayed  to  the  Father;  that 
He  did  his  will ;  and  that  all  that  He 
did  and  said.  He  attributed  to  Him  ; 
and  that  upon  the  cross  He  said,  My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsalrn 
Me?  for  in  this  state,  God  appears  ab- 
sent. But  after  this  state,  conies  an- 
other, which  is  a  state  of  conjunction 
witli  God ;  in  this  man  acts  in  like 
manner,  but  then  from  God ;  nor  has 
he  then  need,  in  like  manner  as  be- 
fore, to  ascribe  to  God  all  the  good 
which  he  wills  and  does,  and  all  the 
truth  which  he  thinks  and  speaks,  be- 
cause this  is  inscribed  upon  his  heart, 
and  thence  it  is  inwardly  in  all  his 
actions  and  speech.  In  like  manner, 
the  Lord  united  Himself  to  his  Father, 
and  the  Father  Himself  to  Him ;  in  a 
word,  the  Lord  glorified  his  Human, 
that  is,  made  it  divine,  in  the  same 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


85 


manner  that  the  Lord  regenerates 
man,  that  is,  makes  him  spiritual. 

That  every  man,  who  from  natural 
becomes  spiritual,  undergoes  two  states, 
and  that  through  the  first  he  enters 
into  the  other,  and  thus  fi'om  the 
world  to  heaven,  will  be  fully  demon- 
strated in  the  chapters  concerning 
Free-will,  concerning  Charity  and 
Faith,  and  concerning  Reformation 
and  Regeneration  ;  here  only,  that  in 
the  first  state,  which  is  called  the  state 
of  reformation,  man  is  in  full  liberty  of 
acting  according  to  the  rational  of  his 
understanding  ;  and  that  in  the  second, 
which  is  the  state  of  regeneration,  he 
is  also  in  similar  liberty,  but  that  then 
he  wills  and  acts,  and  thinks  and 
speaks,  from  a  new  love  and  a  new  in- 
telligence, which  are  from  the  Lord ; 
for,  in  the  first  state,  the  understanding 
acts  the  first  part,  and  the  will  the  sec- 
ond ;  in  the  other,  the  will  acts  the 
first,  and  the  understanding  the  sec- 
ond ;  but  the  understanding  from  the 
will,  and  not  the  will  by  the  under- 
standing. The  conjunction  of  the 
good  and  the  true,  of  charity  and 
faith,  and  of  the  internal  and  the  exter- 
nal man,  is  not  otherwise  elTected. 

106.  Those  two  states  are  repre- 
sented by  various  things  in  the  universe  ; 
the  reason  is,  because  they  are  accord- 
ing to  divine  order,  and  divine  order 
fills  all  and  every  thing,  even  to  the 
minutest  things  in  the  universe.  The 
first  state  is  represented  with  every 
man  by  the  state  of  his  infancy  and 
childhood,  even  to  his  youth,  adoles- 
cence and  manhood,  which  is  the  state 
of  his  humiliation  before  his  parents, 
and  then  of  obedience,  and  also  of  in- 
struction from  masters  and  ministers ; 
but  the  other  state  is  represented  by 
the  state  of  the  same  person  when  he 
becomes  his  own  master,  and  freely 
exercises  his  own  will  and  understand- 
ing, in  which  he  has  absolute  power  in 
his  own  house.  The  first  state  is  also 
represented  by  the  state  of  a  prince,  or 
the  son  of  a  king,  or  of  a  duke,  before 
he  becomes  a  king  or  a  duke  ;  in  like 
manner,  by  the  state  of  every  citizen 
before  he  becomes  the  person  of  a 
magistrate ;  of  every  subject  before  he 


obtains  any  office ;  of  every  student 
who  is  preparing  for  the  ministry,  be- 
fore he  becomes  a  priest ;  and  of  every 
priest  before  he  becomes  a  pastor  ;  and 
then  of  every  pastor  before  he  becomes 
a  primate  ;  also  of  every  virgin  before 
she  becomes  a  wife ;  and  of  every 
maid  before  she  becomes  a  mistress ; 
in  general,  of  every  clerk  before  he 
becomes  a  merchant ;  of  every  soldier 
before  he  becomes  an  officer  ;  of  every 
servant  before  he  becomes  a  master. 
The  first  of  these  is  a  state  of  servi- 
tude, the  other  of  one's  own  will,  and 
thence  understanding.  Those  two 
states  are  represented  also  by  various 
things  in  the  animal  kingdom ;  the 
first,  by  beasts  and  birds  as  long  as 
they  are  with  their  mothers  and  fathers, 
which  they  then  follow  constantly,  and 
are  nourished  and  led  by  them  ;  and  the 
other  state,  when  they  leave  them,  and 
look  out  for  themselves  :  in  like  man- 
ner by  worms;  the  first,  while  they 
crawl  and  are  nourished  by  leaves,  the 
second,  when  they  cast  off  their  skins, 
and  become  butterflies.  Those  two 
states  are  represented  also  in  the  sub- 
jects of  the  vegetable  kingdom ;  the 
first,  when  the  vegetable  springs  up 
from  the  seed,  and  is  adorned  with 
branches,  buds  and  leaves ;  the  other, 
when  it  bears  fruit,  and  produces  new 
seeds ;  this  may  be  compared  to  the 
conjunction  of  the  good  and  the  true, 
since  all  things  which  belong  to  a  tree 
correspond  to  truths,  and  the  fruit  to 
good.  But  the  man,  who  stops  in  the 
first  state,  and  does  not  enter  the  sec- 
ond, is  like  a  tree  which  bears  only 
leaves,  and  not  fruit,  concerning  which 
it  is  said  in  the  Word,  that  it  is  to 
be  pulled  up,  and  cast  into  the  fire. 
Matt.  xxi.  19;  Luke  xiii.  6  to  10; 
John  XV.  5,  6.  And  he  is  like  a  ser- 
vant, that  is  not  willing  to  be  free, 
concerning  whom  it  was  commanded, 
that  He  should  be  brouffht  to  the  door, 
or  to  the  door-post,  and  his  ear  should 
be  bored  through  with  an  awl,  Exod. 
xxi.  6.  Servants  are  those  who  are 
not  conjoined  to  the  Lord,  but  the  free 
are  those  who  are  conjoined  to  Him ; 
for  the  Lord  says.  If  the  Son  makes 
you  free,  ye  are  truly  free,  John  viii.  36. 


86 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


107.  IX.  That,  hereafter,  no 
one  can  come  from  christians  into 
Heaven,  unless  he  believes  in  the 
Lord  God  the  Savior,  and  goes 
TO  Him  alone. 

It  is  read  in  Isaiah,  Behold,  I  create 
a  new  heaven,  and  a  new  earth,  and 
the  former  shall  not  be  mentioned,  nor 
come  upon  the  heart ;  and  behold,  I  am 
about  to  create  Jerusalem  an  exultation, 
and  her  people  a  joy,  Ixv.  17.  And  in 
the  Revelation :  /  saw  a  new  heaven 
and  a  nciD  earth,  and  I  saio  the  holy 
Jerusalem  descending  foom  God  out  of 
heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  for  her 
husband;  and  one  sitting  upon  the 
throne  said,  Behold,  I  make  all  things 
neio,  xxi.  1,  2,  5.  And  it  is  often  said, 
that  No  others  will  enter  into  heav- 
en, than  those  who  arc  written  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  life,  Rev.  xiii.  8 ;  xvii. 
8;  XX.  12,  15;  xxi.  26.  By  heaven 
there,  is  not  meant  the  heaven  which 
is  visible  to  our  eyes,  but  the  angelic 
heaven ;  by  Jerusalem,  not  any  city 
from  heaven,  but  the  church,  which 
will  descend  out  of  that  heaven  from 
the  Lord ;  and  by  the  Lamb's  book  of 
life,  is  not  meant  any  book  written  in 
heaven,  which  will  be  opened,  but  the 
Word,  which  is  from  the  Lord  and 
concerning  Him.  That  Jehovah  God, 
who  is  called  the  Creator  and  Father, 
descended  and  assumed  the  Human, 
also  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  man 
to  approach  Him,  and  to  be  conjoined 
to  Him,  has  been  proved,  confirmed, 
and  established,  in  the  preceding  arti- 
cles of  this  chapter.  For  who,  that 
comes  to  a  man,  goes  to  his  soul  ?  and 
who  can  do  this  ?  But  he  goes  to  the 
man  himself,  whom  he  sees  face  to 
face,  and  with  whom  he  speaks  mouth 
to  mouth.  The  case  is  similar  with 
God  the  Father  and  the  Sou,  for  God 
the  Father  is  in  the  Son,  as  the  soul  in 
its  body.  That  it  is  necessary  to  be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  is 
evident  from  these  passages  in  the 
Word :  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
He  gave  his  only  bigottrn  Snn,  that 
every  one  who  bclievr.th  in  Him  may 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life,  John 
iii.  15,  ]().  He  who  bei.ieveth  in 
the  Son  is  not  judged,  but  he  who 


believeth  not,  is  already  judged,  be- 
cause he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God, 
iii.  18.  He  who  believeth  in  the 
Son  hath  eternal  life,  but  he  who  be- 
lieveth not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life, 
but  the  anger  of  God  shall  abide  upon 
him,  iii.  36.  The  bread  of  God  is  He 
that  descended  from  heaven,  and  giv- 
eth  life  to  the  world;  he  who  cometh  to 
Me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  who  be- 
lieveth in  Me  shall  never  thirst,  vi.  33, 
35.  TTiis  is  the  will  of  Him  icho  sent 
Me,  that  every  one  icho  seeth  the  Son, 
and  believeth  in  Him,  may  have  eter- 
nal life,  and  I  tcill  resuscitate  him  at 
the  last  day,  vi.  40.  They  said  to  Je- 
sus, JVliat  shalhve  do  that  we  may  work 
the  works  of  God?  Jesus  answered. 
This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  be- 
lieve IN  Him  lohom  the  Father  hath 
sent,  vi.  28,  29.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you.  He  who  believeth  in  me  hath 
eternal  life,  vi.  47.  Jesus  cried,  saying, 
If  any  one  thirst,  let  him  come  to  Me 
anddrink;  ichosoevcr  believeth  in  me, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  liv- 
ing water,  vii.  37,  38.  Unless  ye  be- 
lieve that  I  am,  ye  shall  die  in  your 
sins,  viii.  24.  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  res- 
urrection and  the  life ;  he  icho  believ- 
eth in  Me,  although  he  die,  shall  live : 
but  every  one  who  liveth  and  believeth 
in  Mr,  shall  never  die,  xi.  25,  26.  Je- 
sus said,  I  am  come  a  light  into  the 
world,  that  every  one  who  believeth  in 
Me  may  not  abide  in  darkness,  xii.  46, 
viii.  12.  As  long  as  ye  have  light, 
believe  in  the  light,  that  ye  may  be  sons 
of  the  light,  xii.  36.  That  they  should 
abide  in  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  in 
them,  xiv.  20,  xv.  1  to  5,  xvii.  23 ; 
which  is  done  by  faith.  Paul  testi- 
fed,  both  to  the  Jews  and  to  the  Greeks, 
repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  in 
OUR  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Acts  xx.  21. 
lam  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life; 
no  one  rometh  to  the  Father,  but  by  Me, 
John  xiv.  6.  That  he  who  believes  in 
the  Son,  believes  in  the  Father  (since, 
as  above  said,  the  Father  is  in  Him, 
as  the  soul  in  the  body),  is  evident  from 
these  passages  :  If  ye  had  known  Me, 
ye  would  also  have  known  my  Father, 
John  viii.  19;  xiv.  7.    He  who  seeth 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


87 


Me,  secth  Him  who  sent  Me,  xii.  45. 
He  toko  rcceivcth  Me,  receiveth  Him  who 
sent  Me,  xiii.  20.  The  reason  is,  be- 
cause No  one  can  see  the  Father  and 
live,  E.\od.  xxxiii.  20.  Wherefore  the 
Lord  says,  iVo  one  hath  ever  seen  God; 
the  only  begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  mani- 
fested Him,  John  i.  18.  No  one  hath 
seen  the  Father,  but  He  who  is  with  the 
Fathci-,  He  hath  seen  the  Father,  vi. 
46.  Ye  have  never  heard  the  voice  of 
the  Father,  nor  seen  his  shape,  v.  37. 
•  But  those  who  do  not  know  any  thing 
concerning  the  Lord,  as  most  of  those 
in  tlie  two  parts  of  the  world,  Asia 
and  Africa,  and  also  in  the  Indies, 
these,  if  they  believe  in  one  God,  and 
live  according  to  the  precepts  of  their 
religion,  are  saved  by  means  of  their 
faith  and  life ;  for  imputation  is  to  those 
who  know,  and  not  to  those  who  know 
not,  as  it  is  not  to  the  blind,  when  they 
stumble ;  for  the  Lord  says.  If  ye 
were  blind,  ye  would  not  have  sin;  bttt 
noio  ye  say  that  ye  see,  therefore  your 
si7i  rtmaineth,  John  ix.  4L 

108.  To  confirm  this  further,  I  will 
relate  what  I  know,  because  I  have 
seen,  and  therefore  I  can  testify  what 
follows ;  that  the  Lord,  at  this  day,  is 
forming  a  new  angelic  heaven,  and 
that  it  is  formed  of  those  who  believe 
in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  and  go 
immediately  to  Him ;  and  that  the 
rest  are  rejected.  Wherefore,  if  any 
hereafter  comes  from  Christendom  into 
the  spiritual  world,  into  which  every 
man  does  come  after  death,  and  does 
not  believe  in  the  Lord,  and  go  to 
Him  alone,  and  then  is  not  able  to  re- 
ceive this,  because  he  has  lived  wick- 
edly, or  has  confirmed  himself  in  falses, 
he  is  repelled  at  his  first  approach 
towards  heaven,  and  his  face  is  thence 
averted,  and  turned  towards  the  lower 
earth,  whither  he  also  goes,  and  con- 
joins himself  with  those  there,  who 
are  meant  in  the  Revelation  by  the 
dragon  and  the  false  prophet.  Every 
man  also  in  Christian  countries,  who 
does  not  believe  in  the  Lord,  is  not 
hereafter  heard  with  acceptance ;  his 
prayers,  in  heaven,  are  like  ill-scented 
odors,  and  like  eructations  from  ulcer- 
ated  lungs;    and  if  he  thinks  that 


his  prayer  is  like  the  perfume  of  in- 
cense, still  it  does  not  ascend  to  the 
angelic  heaven,  otherwise  than  as  the 
smoke  of  a  fire,  which  is  driven  back, 
by  a  violent  tempest,  into  his  eyes,  or 
as  the  perfume  from  a  censer  under  a 
monk's  cloak. :  thus,  after  this  time,  it 
is  with  all  piety  which  is  determined  to  a 
divided  trinity,  and  not  to  one  conjoin- 
ed. That  the  divine  trinity  is  con- 
joined in  the  Lord,  is  the  principal  ob- 
ject of  this  work.  Here  I  will  add  this 
news;  that  some  months  since,  the 
twelve  apostles  were  called  togetlier  by 
the  Lord,  and  sent  forth  into  all  the 
spiritual  world,  as  before  they  were 
into  the  natural  world,  with  the  com- 
mand, that  they  should  preach  this 
gospel ;  and  then  every  apostle  had  his 
province  assigned  to  him  ;  which  com- 
mand, also,  they  are  executing  with  all 
zeal  and  industry.  But  concerning 
this  subject,  we  shall  treat  particularly 
in  the  last  chapter  of  this  work,  where 
we  shall  speak  concerning  The  Co.v- 
su.MMATioN  OF  THE  Age,  coHceming 
The  Coming  of  the  Loud,  and  con- 
cerning the  New  Church. 

109.  A  Corollary.  All  the  church- 
es which  had  been  before  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  were  representative 
churches,  which  could  not  see  divine 
truths,  but  as  in  the  shade ;  but,  after 
the  coming  of  the  Lord  into  the  world, 
a  church  was  instituted  by  Him,  which 
saw,  or  rather  was  able  to  see,  divine 
truths  in  the  light.  The  difference  is 
like  that  between  evening  and  morn- 
ing ;  the  state  of  the  church  before  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  is  also  in  the 
Word  called  evening,  and  the  state  of 
the  church  after  his  coming,  is  called 
morning.  The  Lord,  before  his  com- 
ing into  the  world,  was  indeed  present 
with  the  men  of  the  church,  but  me- 
diately through  angels,  who  represent- 
ed Him ;  but  since  his  coming.  He  is 
present  with  the  men  of  the  church 
immediately  ;  for,  in  the  world.  He  put 
on  also  the  Natural  Divine,  in  which 
He  is  present  with  men.  The  glorifi- 
cation of  the  Lord  is  the  glorification 
of  his  Human,  which  He  assumed  in 
the  world,  and  the  glorified  Human  of 
the  Lord  is  the  Natural  Divine. 
That  it  is  so,  is  evident  from  this,  that 


88 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


the  Lord  rose  from  the  sepulchre  with 
his  whole  body,  which  He  had  in  the 
world  ;  nor  did  He  leave  any  thing  in 
the  sepulchre ;  consequently,  that  He 
took  thence  with  Him,  the  natural  hu- 
man itself,  from  the  firsts  to  the  lasts 
of  it ;  wherefore  He  said  to  the  disci- 
ples, after  the  resurrection,  when  they 
supposed  that  they  saw  a  spirit.  See  my 
hands  and  my  feet,  that  it  is  I  myself ; 
feel  of  Me,  and  see ;  for  a  spirit  hath 
not  flesh  and  bones,  as  ye  see  Me  have, 
Luke  xxiv.  37,  39.  Whence  it  is 
manifest,  that  his  natural  body,  by  glo- 
rification, was  made  divine.  Where- 
fore Paul  says,  that  In  Christ  dwelleth 
all  the  fullness  of  the  God-head  bodily, 
Coloss.  ii.  9 ;  and  John,  that  The  Son 
of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  true  God, 
1  Epist.  V.  20,  2L  Hence  the  an- 
gels know,  that  the  Lord  alone,  in  the 
whole  spiritual  world,  is  fully  man.  It 
is  known  in  the  church,  that  all  the 
worship  amongst  the  Israelitish  and 
Jewish  nation  was  merely  external, 
and  tliat  it  shadowed  forth  the  internal 
worship  which  the  Lord  opened,  and 
that  thus  worship,  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  Lord,  consisted  in  types  and 
figures,  which  represented  true  wor- 
ship in  its  just  effigy.  The  Lord  him- 
self, indeed,  appeared  amongst  the  an- 
cients ;  for  He  said  to  the  Jews,  Abra- 
ham, your  father ,  exulted  that  he  might 
see  tny  day,  and  he  saw  and  rejoiced ; 
J  say  unto  you,  before  Abraham  was, 
lam,  John  viii.  56,  58.  But  bccau.';e 
the  Lord  then  was  only  represented, 
which  was  done  by  means  of  .ingcl:=, 
therefore  all  the  things  of  the  church  witii 
them  were  made  representative ;  but 
after  He  came  into  the  world,  those 
representations  vanished  ;  the  interior 
reason  of  which  was,  because  the  Lord, 
in  the  world,  put  on  also  the  Natural 
DiviNK,  and  from  this  He  illustrates 
not  only  the  internal  spiritual  man,  but 
also  the  external  natural ;  which  two, 
unless  they  are  at  the  same  time  illus- 
trated, man  is,  as  it  were,  in  the  shade  ; 
but  while  both  are  at  the  same  time 
illustrated,  he  is,  as  it  were,  in  the 
day  ;  for  while  the  internal  man  alone 
is  illustrated,  and  not  the  external  at 
the  same  time ;  or  while  only  tli(^  ex- 
ternal, and  not,  at  the  same  time,  the 


internal,  he  is  like  one  that  sleeps  and 
dreams,  and  presently,  when  he  awakes, 
he  recollects  the  dream,  and  from  it 
he  concludes  various  things,  which, 
nevertheless,  are  imaginary.  And  he 
is  also  like  one  walking  in  sleep,  who 
thinks  the  objects  whicli  he  sees  are 
seen  in  day-light.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  state  of  the  church  before 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  after  his 
coming,  is  like  the  difference  between 
reading  a  writing  in  the  night  by  the 
light  of  the  moon  and  stars,  and  read- 
ing it  by  the  light  of  the  sun  ;  that  the 
eye,  in  the  former  light,  which  is  only 
pale,  is  liable  to  mistake,  and  in  tlie 
latter,  which  is  also  flammeous,  is  not  lia- 
ble to  mistake,  is  well  known.  Where- 
fore it  is  read  concerning  the  Lord, 
The  God  of  Israel  said,  the  Rock  of  Is- 
rael spoke  to  me.  He  is  as  the  light  of 
the  morning  while  the  sun  arises,  of  a 
morning  without  clouds,  2  Sam.  xxiii. 
3, 4.  The  God  of  Israel  and  the  Rock 
of  Israel  is  the  Lord.  And  in  anoth- 
er place.  The  light  of  the  moon  shall  be 
as  the  light  of  tlie  sun,  and  the  light  of 
the  Stat  shall  be  seven-fold,  as  the  light  of 
seven  days,  in  the  day  when  Jehovah 
shall  bind  up  the  breach  of  his  people, 
Isaiah  xxx.  25,  2G.  These  things  are 
said  concerning  the  state  of  the  church, 
after  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  In  a 
word,  the  state  of  the  church  before 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,  may  be  com- 
pared to  an  old  woman,  whose  face  has 
been  painted,  and  who,  from  the  bright 
color  of  the  paint,  has  appeared  to  her- 
self beautiful ;  but  the  state  of  tlie 
church  after  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
may  l)e  compared  to  a  virgin,  beauti- 
ful from  the  native  brightness  of  her 
complexion.  And  also  the  state  of  tlio 
church,  before  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
may  be  compared  to  the  rind  of  any 
sort  of  fruit,  as  of  .m  orange,  an  apple, 
a  pear,  or  a  grape,  and  to  its  flavor; 
but  the  state  of  the  church  after  his 
coming,  may  be  compared  to  the  inner 
j)arts  of  those  fruits,  and  to  their  flavor ; 
besides  with  other  similar  things.  The 
reason  of  this  dilVerencc  is,  because 
tiic  Lord,  since  He  put  on  also  the 
Natural  Divine,  illustr  itcs  the  internal 
spiritual  man,  and  the  external  natural, 
at  the  same  time ;  for  while  only  the 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


89 


internal  man  is  illustrated,  and  not  at 
the  same  time  tlio  external,  there  is 
made  a  shade ;  in  like  manner,  while 
only  the  external,  and  not  at  the  same 
time  the  internal. 


110.  Here  the  following  Relations 
will  be  adduced.  First.  Once,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  I  saw  an  ignis  fatmts 
in  the  air,  falling  to  the  earth,  and  a 
lucid  circumference  around  it ;  it  was 
a  meteor,  which  the  vulgar  call  a  dra- 
gon. I  observed  the  place  where  it 
fell ;  but  this  disappeared  in  the  morn- 
ing twilight,  before  sunrise,  as  is  the 
case  with  every  ignis  fatuus.  In  the 
morning,  I  went  to  the  place  where  I 
saw  it  fall  in  the  night,  and  behold ! 
the  ground  there  was  a  mixture  of  sul- 
phur, iron-filings  and  clay ;  and  sud- 
denly there  appeared  two  tents,  one  di- 
rectly over  the  place,  and  the  other  at 
the  side  towards  the  south :  and  I 
looked  up,  and  saw  a  spirit  falling  down 
from  heaven,  like  lightning,  and  cast 
into  the  tent  which  stood  directly  over 
the  place  where  the  meteor  fell ;  and  I 
in  the  other,  which  was  near  it  to- 
wards the  south  :  in  the  door  of  this  I 
stood,  and  saw  the  spirit  in  the  other 
also  standing  in  the  door  of  his  tent ; 
a'nd  then  I  asked  him  why  he  thus 
fell  down  from  heaven ;  to  which  he 
replied,  that  he  was  cast  down,  as  an 
angel  of  the  dragon,  by  the  angels  of 
Michael,  "  because  I  spoke  some  things 
concerning  my  faith,  in  which  I  con- 
firmed myself  in  the  world ;  amongst 
which  was  this,  that  God  the  Father 
and  God  the  Son  are  two,  and  not  one ; 
for  all  in  the  heavens  at  this  day  be- 
lieve that  they  are  one,  like  the  soul 
and  body ;  and  every  word  spoken 
against  that,  is  like  a  sting  in  their  nos- 
trils, and  like  an  awl  boring  through 
their  ears,  whence  they  have  emotion 
and  pain  ;  and,  therefore,  whoever  con- 
tradicts their  belief,  is  commanded  to 
go  out,  and,  if  he  is  backward,  he  is 
cast  down  headlong."  On  hearing 
this,  I  said  to  him,  "  Why  did  you 
not  believe  as  they  did  ?"  He  answer- 
ed, that,  "  After  departure  out  of  the 
world,  no  one  can  believe  any  thing 
1-2 


else,  than  what  he  had  by  confirmation 
impressed  upon  himself;  this  remains 
fixed  in  him,  and  cainiot  be  torn  away ; 
especially  that  which  any  one  has 
confirmed  in  himself  concerning  God, 
since  every  one  in  the  heavens  has  a 
place  according  to  his  idea  of  God." 
Then  I  asked,  "  By  what  he  had  con- 
firmed the  idea,  that  the  Father  and 
the  Son  were  two."  He  said,  "  By 
these  things  in  the  Word ;  that  the 
Son  prayed  to  the  Father,  not  only  be- 
fore the  passion  of  the  cross,  but  also 
upon  the  cross ;  as  also  that  He  hum- 
bled Himself  before  his  Father ;  how, 
then,  can  they  be  one,  as  the  soul  and 
body  are  one  in  man  ?  Who  prays,  as 
to  another,  and  humbles  himself  as 
before  another,  while  he  himself  is  that 
other  ?  No  one  does  so,  much  less 
the  Son  of  God ;  and,  besides,  the 
whole  Christian  church,  in  my  time,  di- 
vided the  God-head  into  persons,  and 
each  person  is  one  by  himself,  and  is 
defined  to  be  ichat  subsists  in  itself." 
When  I  had  heard  these  things  from 
him,  I  replied,  "  I  have  perceived 
from  your  discourse,  that  you  know 
nothing  at  all  how  God  the  Father  and 
the  Son  are  one;  and  because  you 
know  not  how,  you  had  confirmed 
yourself  in  the  falses,  in  which  the 
church  as  yet  is  concerning  God.  Do 
you  not  know  that  the  Lord,  when  He 
was  in  the  world,  had  a  soul,  as 
every  other  man  has?  Whence  had 
He  this  soul,  but  from  God  the  Father? 
That  it  is  so,  appears  abundantly  from 
the  Word  of  the  Evangelists.  What, 
then,  is  that  which  is  called  the  Son, 
but  the  Human,  which  was  conceived 
from  the  Divine  of  the  Father,  and 
born  of  the  virgin  Mary  !  A  mother 
cannot  conceive  a  soul ;  this  is  totally 
repugnant  to  the  order,  according  to 
which  every  man  is  born ;  nor  can 
God  the  Father  impart  a  soul  from 
Himself,  and  then  recede  from  it,  as 
every  father  in  the  world  can,  since 
God  is  his  own  divine  essence,  and 
this  is  one  and  individual ;  and  be- 
cause it  is  individual,  it  is  Himself 
Thence  it  is,  that  the  Lord  says,  that 
The  Father  and  Hi  are  one  ;  and  that 
the  Father  in  in  Him  and  He  in  the 


90 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


Father;  besides  many  similar  things. 
The  composers  of  the  Athanasian 
creed  also  saw  this  at  a  distance  ; 
wherefore,  after  they  divided  God  into 
three  persons,  still  they  say,  that  In 
Christ,  God  and  Man,  that  is,  the  Di- 
vine and  the  Human,  are  not  two,  but 
one,  like  the  soul  and  body  in  man. 
That  the  Lord,  in  the  world,  prayed  to 
the  Father  as  to  another,  and  that  he 
humbled  Himself  before  the  Father,  as 
before  another,  was  according  to  the 
order  established  from  creation,  wliich 
is  immutable,  according  to  wliich  every 
one  must  proceed  to  conjunction  with 
God.  That  order  is,  that  as  man,  by 
a  life  according  to  the  laws  of  order, 
which  are  the  commandments  of  God, 
conjoins  himself  to  God,  so  God  con- 
joins Himself  to  man,  and  from  natural 
makes  him  spiritual.  In  like  manner, 
the  Lord  united  Himself  to  his  Father, 
and  God  the  Father  Himself  to  Him. 
Was  not  the  Lord,  while  an  infant,  like 
an  infant,  and  while  a  boy,  like  a  boy  ? 
Is  it  not  read,  that  He  increased  in 
wisdom  and  favor;  and  afterwards,  tiiat 
He  asked  the  Father  that  He  would 
glorify  his  name,  that  is,  his  Human  ? 
To  glorify  is  to  make  divine  by  union 
with  Himself.  Thence  it  is  manifest, 
tliat  the  Lord,  in  the  state  of  his  ex- 
inanition,  which  was  the  state  of  his 
progress  to  union,  prayed  to  the  Fa- 
ther. That  same  order,  from  creation, 
is  inscribed  on  every  man ;  that  is,  as 
man,  by  means  of  truths  from  the  Word, 
prepares  his  understanding,  so  he 
adapts  it  to  the  reception  of  faith  from 
God ;  and  as,  by  works  of  charity,  he 
prepares  his  will,  so  he  accommodates 
it  to  the  reception  of  love  from  God ; 
for  as  an  artist  cuts  a  diamond,  so  he 
applies  it  to  receive  and  emit  the  splen- 
dor of  light,  &c.  To  prepare  one's 
self  for  tlie  reception  of  God  and  con- 
junction, is  to  live  according  to  divine 
order  ;  and  the  laws  of  order  are  all  the 
commandments  of  God  ;  these  the  Lord 
fulfilled  to  every  tittle,  and  tlms  made 
him.sclf  a  receptacle  of  the  God-head  in 
all  fullness.  Wherefore  Paul  says,  that 
In  Jesus  Christ  all  the  fullness  of  the 
God-hcnd  dwrlleth  bodih/ ;  and  the  Lord 
himself,  that  Al!  thin'/<:  of  the  Father 


arc  His.  It  is  further  to  be  held,  that 
the  Lord  alone  is  active  with  every  man, 
and  that  man  of  himself  is  merely  pas- 
sive ;  but  that,  hy  an  influx  of  life  from 
the  Lord,  he  is  also  active ;  from  this  per- 
petual influx  from  the  Lord,  it  appears 
to  man  as  if  he  were  active  from  him- 
self; and  because  it  is  so,  he  also  has 
free  will,  and  this  is  given  him,  that  he 
may  prepare  himself  for  receiving  the 
Lord,  and  thus  for  conjunction,  which 
is  not  practicable,  unless  it  be  recipro- 
cal, and  it  becomes  reciprocal,  while 
man  acts  from  his  liberty,  and  yet  from 
faith  attributes  all  activity  to  the 
Lord." 

After  this,  I  asked  whether  he,  like 
others  his  companions,  confessed  that 
God  is  one.  He  replied  that  he  did  ; 
and  then  I  said,  "But  I  am  afrJiid  that 
the  confession  of  your  heart  is,  that 
there  is  no  God.  Does  not  all  the 
speech  of  the  mouth  proceed  from  the 
thought  of  the  mind  ?  Wherefore  it 
cannot  be  otherwise,  than  that  the  con- 
fession of  the  mouth  that  God  is  one, 
should  expel  from  the  mind  the  thought 
that  there  arc  three ;  and  reciprocally, 
that  the  thought  of  the  mind  should 
expel  from  the  mouth  the  confession 
that  He  is  one.  What  else  thence  re- 
sults, than  that  there  is  no  God  ?  Is 
not  all  the  intermediate  region,  which 
is  from  the  thought  to  the  mouth,  and 
from  the  mouth  back  to  the  thought, 
thus  rendered  an  empty  void  ?  And 
what  else  is  then  concluded  by  the 
mind  concerning  God,  i)ut  tiiat  nature 
is  God,  and  concerning  the  Lord, but  that 
his  soul  was  either  from  the  mother,  or 
from  Joseph ;  from  which  two  things, 
as  horrid  and  abominable,  all  the  an- 
gels of  heaven  turn  themselves  away." 
When  these  things  were  said,  that 
spirit  was  sent  away  into  the  abyss, 
mentioned  in  the  Revelation,  ix.  2,  and 
the  following,  where  the  angels  of  the 
dragon  discuss  the  mysteries  of  their 
faith.  The  next  day,  when  I  looked 
towards  the  same  place,  I  saw,  instead 
of  the  tents,  two  statues  in  tiic  likeness 
of  human  beings,  made  of  tlic  dust  of 
the  earth,  which  was  a  mixture  of  sul- 
phur, iron  and  clay;  and  one  statue 
seemed  to  have  a  sceptre  in  the  left 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


91 


hand,  a  crown  on  the  head,  and  a  book 
in  the  riglit  liand,  and  also  a  stomacher 
obhquely  tied  across,  and  set  with  \nc- 
cious  stones,  and  behind,  a  robe  flow- 
ing to  the  other  statue  ;  but  these  things 
were  induced  upon  that  statue  by 
fantasy ;  and  then  a  voice  was  lieard 
thence,  from  a  certain  dragonist  : — 
"  This  statue  represents  our  faith  as  a 
queen ;  and  the  other  behind  it,  charity 
as  her  maid-servant."  This  was  com- 
posed of  a  similar  mixture  of  dust,  and 
placed  at  the  extremity  of  the  robe 
flowing  down  from  the  back  of  the 
queen;  and  siie  held  in  her  hand  a 
paper,  upon  which  it  was  written,  "  Be- 
ware lest  you  approach  nearer  and 
touch  the  robe."  But  then,  on  a  sud- 
den, a  shower  fell  from  heaven,  and 
penetrated  both  the  statues,  which, 
because  they  were  composed  of  a  mi.x- 
ture  of  sulphur,  iron  and  clay,  began 
to  bubble,  as  is  the  case  with  a  mixture 
of  those  ingredients  while  water  is 
poured  upon  it;  and  being  thus  in- 
flamed by  an  intestine  fire,  they 
were  reduced  to  ashes,  and  became 
heaps,  which  afterwards  lay  upon 
the  ground  there  like  sepulchral 
mounds. 

111.  Second  Relation.  In  the 
natural  world,  the  speech  of  man  is 
two-fold,  because  his  thought  is  two- 
fold, external  and  internal ;  for  man 
can  speak  from  internal  thought,  and 
at  the  same  time  from  external  thought, 
and  he  can  speak  from  external  thought 
and  not  from  the  internal,  yea,  contra- 
ry to  the  internal ;  thence  originate 
dissimulation,  flattery  and  hypocrisy. 
But,  in  the  spiritual  world,  the  speech 
of  man  is  not  two-fold,  but  single :  he 
speaks  there  as  he  thinks ;  or  else  the 
sound  grates,  and  hurts  the  ear ;  but 
still  he  can  be  silent,  and  so  not  divulge 
the  thoughts  of  his  mind.  Wherefore 
a  hypocrite,  when  he  comes  among  the 
wise,  either  goes  away,  or  gets  him- 
self into  a  corner  of  the  room,  and 
makes  himself  unobserved,  and  sits  in 
silence.  Once  there  were  many  as- 
sembled in  the  world  of  spirits,  and 
were  conversing  together  upon  this 
subject,  saying,  that  "  Not  to  be  able 
to  speak,  except  as  one  thinks,  is  hard 
for  those  in  company  with  the  good. 


who  have  not  thought  justly  concerning 
God  and  concerning  the  Lord."  In 
the  middle  of  the  assembly  were  the 
reformed,  and  many  of  the  clergy ; 
and  next  to  them,  the  papists,  with  tlie 
monks ;  and  the  former  and  the  latter 
at  first  said,  that  "  This  is  not  hard ; 
what  necessity  is  there  for  one  to  speak 
otherwise  than  he  thinks?  and,  if  by 
chance  he  does  not  think  justly,  can 
he  not  close  his  lips,  and  keep  silence  V 
And  one  of  the  clergy  said,  "  Who 
does  not  think  justly  concerning  God 
and  concerning  the  Lord  V  But  some 
of  tlie  congregation  said,  "  Let  us  try 
them."  And  they  said  to  those  who  had 
confirmed  themselves  in  a  trinity  of 
persons  concerning  God,  that  they  from 
thought  should  say.  One  God;  but  they 
could  not.  They  twisted  and  folded 
their  lips  into  many  folds,  and  could 
not  articulate  sound  into  other  words 
than  such  as  were  consonant  to  the 
ideas  of  their  thought,  which  were 
those  of  three  persons,  and  thence  of 
three  Gods.  Then  it  was  said  to  those 
who  confirmed  faith  separate  from  char- 
ity, that  they  should  name  Jesus  ;  but 
they  could  not,  although  they  all  could 
say  Christ,  and  also  God  the  Father. 
They  wondered  at  this,  and  inquired  the 
reason,  and  found  it  to  be  this ;  that 
they  had  prayed  to  God  the  Father,  for 
the  sake  of  the  Son,  and  had  not  pray- 
ed to  the  Savior  himself ;  and  Jesus  sig- 
nifies Savior.  Moreover,  it  was  said 
to  them,  that  they  should,  from  their 
thought  concerning  the  Human  of  the 
Lord,  say  Divine  Human  ;  but  no  one 
of  the  clergy  who  was  present  there 
could  do  it,  although  some  of  the  laity 
could ;  wherefore  this  was  submitted 
to  a  serious  discussion ;  and  then,  I. 
These  passages  in  the  evangelists  were 
read  to  them  :  The  Father  hath  given 
all  things  into  the  hand  of  the  Son, 
John  iii.  35.  The  Father  hath  given  to 
the  Son  power  over  all  flesh,  xvii.'2. 
All  things  are  delivered  to  Me  by  the 
Father,  Matt.  xi.  7.  All  power  is  given 
to  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  xxviii. 
18.  And  it  was  said  to  them,  "  Keep 
thence  in  your  thought,  that  Christ,  as 
to  his  Human,  as  well  as  to  his  Divine, 
is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  and 
thus  pronounce  Divine  Human  ,"  but 


92 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


still  they  could  not ;  and  they  said,  that, 
indeed,  they  held  thence  something 
of  thought  from  the  understanding 
concerning  it,  but  still  not  any  thing  of 
acknowledgment,  and  that  therefore 
they  could  not.  II.  Afterwards  it  was 
read  to  them  from  Luke  i.  32,  34,  35, 
that  the  Lord,  as  to  the  Human,  was 
the  Son  of  Jehovah  God,  and  that  he 
is  there  called  the  Son  of  the  3Iost 
High,  and,  in  various  other  places,  the 
Son  of  God,  and  also  the  Only-begot- 
ten; and  they  requested  that  they 
would  keep  this  in  their  thought,  and 
also  that  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  God 
born  in  the  world,  could  not  but  be 
God,  as  the  Father  is  God,  and  speak 
out  Divine  Human.  But  they  said, 
"  We  cannot,  because  our  spiritual 
thought,  which  is  interior,  does  not 
admit  into  the  thought  next  to  the 
speech  other  than  similar  ideas,  and 
that  thence  they  perceived,  that  now 
it  was  not  allowable  for  them  to  divide 
their  thoughts,  as  in  the  natural  world." 
m.  Then  were  read  to  them  these 
words  of  the  Lord  to  Philip — Philip 
said,  Lord,  show  us  the  Father  ;  and 
the  Lord  said.  He  who  seeth  Me  seeth 
the  Father;  believest  thou  not  that  I 
am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in 
Me,  John  xiv.  8  to  II ;  and  also  other 
passages.  That  the  Father  and  He  are 
one,  as  John  x.  30.  And  it  was  said 
to  them,  that  they  should  keep  that  in 
their  thought,  and  thus  say,  Divine 
Human  ;  but,  because  that  thought  was 
not  rooted  in  the  acknowledgment, 
that  the  Lord  was  God  even  as  to  the 
Human,  they  twisted  their  lips  into 
folds,  even  to  indignation,  and  wished 
to  force  their  mouth  to  speak  out,  but 
they  could  not  do  it :  the  reason  was, 
because  the  ideas  of  thought,  which 
flow  from  acknowledgment,  make  one 
with  the  words  of  the  tongue,  with 
those  who  are  in  the  spiritual  world ; 
and  where  those  ideas  are  not,  words 
are  not  given,  for  ideas  become  words 
in  speech.  IV.  Moreover,  there  were 
read  to  them,  from  the  doctrine  receiv- 
ed in  all  the  Christian  world,  these 
words ;  that  The  Divine  and  the  Hu- 
man in  the  Lord  are  not  two,  but  one ; 
yea,  one  Person,  united  as  the  soul  and 
body  in  man.    These  words  are  from 


the  Confession  of  Faith,  named  from 
Athanasius,and  acknowledged  by  coun- 
cils. And  it  was  said  to  them,  "  You 
can  from  this,  certainly,  have  an  idea 
from  acknowledgment,  that  the  Human 
of  the  Lord  is  divine,  because  His 
soul  is  divine ;  for  it  is  from  the  doc- 
trine of  your  church,  which  you  ac- 
knowledged in  the  world ;  besides,  the 
soul  is  the  very  essence  of  man,  and 
the  body  is  its  form,  and  essence  and 
form  make  one,  as  esse  and  existere, 
and  as  the  cause  producing  an  effect, 
and  the  effect  itself"  They  retained 
that  idea,  and  wished,  from  it,  to  pro- 
nounce Divine  Human  ;  but  they  could 
not ;  for  their  interior  idea  concerning 
the  Human  of  the  Lord  exterminated 
and  expunged  this  new  adscititious 
idea,  as  they  called  it.  V.  Then  lliis 
passage  from  John  was  read  to  them ; 
The  Word  was  icith  God,  and  the 
Word  icas  God,  and  the  Word  be- 
came flesh,  i.  1,  14  :  and  also  this ;  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal 
Life,  V.  21 ;  and  from  Paul :  In  Je- 
sus Christ  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily,  Col.  ii.  9 :  and  it 
was  said  to  them,  that  they  should  think 
in  like  manner ;  that  is,  that  God,  v.  ho 
was  the  Word,  became  Man,  that  He 
was  the  true  God,  and  that  all  the  full- 
ness of  the  Godhead  dwelt  in  Him 
bodily.  And  they  did  so,  but  only 
in  external  thought ;  wherefore  they 
could  not,  on  account  of  the  resistance 
of  the  internal,  speak  out  Divine  Hu- 
man, saying  openly  that  they  could  not 
have  an  idea  of  Divine  Hu.m.vn,  he- 
cause  God  is  God,  and  man  is  man ; 
and  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  concerning 
spirit  we  have  thought  no  otherwise 
than  as  concerning  wind  or  ether.  VI. 
At  length  it  was  said  to  them,  "  You 
know  that  the  Lord  said.  Abide  in  Me, 
and  I  in  you ;  he  tcho  abideth  in  Me, 
and  Tin  him,  bear  cth  much  fruit;  be- 
cause without  Me,  ye  cannot  do  any 
thing,"  John  xv.  4, 5 :  and  because  some 
of  the  clergy  of  England  were  present, 
it  was  read  to  them,  from  one  of  their 
exhortations  at  the  Holy  Communion, 
"  For,7chcn  we  spiritually  cat  the  flesh 
of  Christ,  and  drink  the  blood,  then  we 
dwell  in  Christ  and  Christ  in  us." 
"  If  now  you  think  that  this  cannot  be 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


99 


given,  unless  the  Human  of  the  Lord  be 
Divine,  say  tlieiefbre  Divine  Human 
from  acknowledgment  in  tliouglit ;" 
but  still  they  could  not ;  for  the  idea 
was  so  deeply  impressed  on  them,  that 
the  Divine  could  not  be  Human,  and 
the  Human  could  not  be  Divine,  and 
that  his  Divine  was  from  the  Divine  of 
a  Son  from  eternity,  and  his  Human 
similar  to  the  human  of  another  man. 
But  it  was  said  to  them,  "  How  can  you 
think  so?  Can  a  rational  mind  ever 
think  that  any  Son  was  born  of  God 
from  eternity  V  Yll.  Afterwards  they 
turned  themselves  to  the  evangelical, 
saying,  that  the  Augsburg  Confes- 
sion and  Luther  taught,  that  the  Son 
of  God  and  the  Son  of  Man,  in  Christ, 
is  one  Person,  and  that  He,  even  as  to 
the  human  nature,  is  omnipotent  and 
omnipresent;  and  that  as  to  this, 
He  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father,  and  governs  .ill  things  in  the 
heavens  and  in  the  earths,  fills  all  things, 
is  with  us,  dwells  and  operates  in  us ; 
and  that  there  is  no  difference  of  ado- 
ration ;  because,  through  the  nature 
which  is  discerned,  the  Divinity  which 
is  not  discerned  is  adored ;  and  that, 
in  Christ,  God  is  Man  and  Man  God. 
On  hearing  these  things,  they  replied, 
"  Is  it  so?"  And  they  looked  around, 
and  presently  said,  "  We  did  not  know 
this  before  ;  wherefore  we  cannot  say, 
Divine  Human."  But  one  and  another 
said,  "  We  have  read  it,  and  we  have 
written  it,  but  still,  when  we  thought 
about  it  in  ourselves,  they  were  only 
words,  of  which  we  had  no  interior 
idea."  VHL  At  last,  turning  about  to 
the  papists,  they  said,  "  Perhaps  you 
can  say  Divine  Human,  because  you 
believe  that,  in  your  eucharist,  Christ  is 
entire  in  the  bread  and  wine,  and  in 
every  part  of  them  ;  and  also  you  adore 
Him,  when  you  show  and  carry  about 
the  host,  as  the  most  holy  God ;  also 
because  you  call  Mary  Deipara,  or  the 
Mother  of  God;  consequently  you  ac- 
knowledge that  she  brought  forth  God, 
that  is,  the  Divine  Human."  And 
they  then  wished  to  speak  it,  but  be- 
cause there  arose  then  a  material  idea 
concerning  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  and  also  the  faith,  that  his  Hu- 


man is  separable  from  the  Divine,  and 
tiiat  it  is  actually  separated  with  the 
j)ope,  to  whom  only  his  human,  and 
not  liis  divine  power  was  transferred, 
they  could  not  speak  it.  And  then  a 
monk  arose  and  said,  that  he  could 
think  of  a  Divine  Human  in  respect 
to  the  most  holy  virgin  Mary,  and  also 
in  respect  to  a  saint  of  his  monastery. 
And  another  monk  came  up,  saying, 
"  I  can,  from  the  idea  of  my  thought 
which  I  now  entertain,  say  Divine  Hu- 
man, in  respect  to  the  most  holy  pope, 
rather  than  in  respect  to  Christ."  But 
then  some  of  the  papists  pulled  him 
back,  and  said,  "  For  shame  on  you !" 
After  this,  heaven  appeared  open,  and 
there  appeared  tongues  like  little  flames, 
descending  and  flowing  in  with  some ; 
and  then  they  celebrated  the  Divine 
Human  of  the  Lord,  saying,  "  Re- 
move the  idea  of  three  Gods,  and  be- 
lieve that  in  the  Lord  dwells  all  the 
fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and 
that  the  Father  and  He  are  one,  as  the 
soul  and  body  are  one,  and  that  God  is 
not  wind  and  ether,  but  that  He  is  Man, 
and  then  you  will  be  conjoined  to 
heaven,  and,  from  the  Lord,  will  be  able 
to  speak  the  name  Jesus,  and  to  say 
Divine  Human." 

112.  Third  Relation.  Once,  hav- 
ing awaked  just  after  the  dawn,  I  went 
out  into  the  garden  before  the  house, 
and  saw  the  sun  arising  in  his  splendor, 
and  round  about  him  a  girdle,  at  first 
faint,  and  afterwards  more  conspicu- 
ous, shining  as  if  from  gold,  and  un- 
der its  edge  a  cloud  ascending,  which 
glittered  like  a  carbuncle,  from  the 
flame  of  the  sun  ;  and  then  .1  fell  into 
a  meditation  respecting  the  fables  of 
the  ancients,  that  they  feigned  Aurora 
with  wings  of  -silver  feathers,  and  in 
her  face  displaying  the  lustre  of  gold. 
When  my  mind  was  delighted  in  these 
things,  I  became  in  the  spirit,  and 
heard  some  talking  among  themselves, 
and  saying,  "  O !  that  we  might  be  al- 
lowed to  speak  with  the  innovator,  who 
has  thrown  the  apple  of  contention 
amongst  the  rulers  of  the  church, 
which  many  of  the  laity  have  run  after ; 
and,  having  picked  it  up,  they  have 
presented  it  to  our  eyes."    By  that  ap- 


94 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


pie,  they  meant  a  little  pamphlet,  enti- 
tled, A  BRIEF  Exposition  of  the 
Doctrine  of  the  New  Church. 
And  they  said,  "It  is  indeed  a  schis- 
matical  thing,  which  no  one  ever  be- 
fore conceived."  And  I  heard  then  one 
of  them  exclaiming,  "  What !  schismati- 
cal  1  it  is  heretical."  But  some  at  his 
side  replied,  "  Hush,  hold  your  tongue  ; 
it  is  not  heretical ;  he  quotes  a  great 
many  passages  of  the  Word,  to  which 
our  strangers,  by  whom  we  mean  the 
laity,  attend  and  assent."  When  I 
heard  these  things,  because  I  was  in 
the  spirit,  I  went  to  them,  and  said, 
"Here  I  am;  what  is  the  subject?" 
And  presently  one  of  them,  who,  as  I 
afterwards  heard,  was  a  German,  a 
native  of  Saxony,  speaking  in  a  tone 
of  authority,  said,  "  Whence  had  you 
the  audacity  to  change  the  worship  in 
the  Christian  world,  established  for  so 
many  ages,  which  was,  that  God  the 
Father  should  be  invoked  as  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  universe,  and  his  Son  as  the 
Mediator,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the 
Operator  ?  And  you  separate  the  first 
and  last  God  from  our  personality,  when 
yet  the  Lord  himself  says,  IV/icn  ye 
pray,  pray  thus ;  Our  Father,  who  art 
in  the  heavens,  hallowed  be  thy  name, 
thy  kingdom  eome.  Thus  is  it  not 
commanded,  that  we  should  invoke 
God  the  Father  ?"  These  things  being 
said,  silence  was  made,  and  all  who  fa- 
vored him, stood  like  brave soldiersupon 
ships  of  war  when  they  see  a  hostile 
fleet,  ready  to  cry.  Let  us  fight  now ;  the 
victory  is  certain.  And  then  I  began 
to  speak,  and  said,  "  Which  of  you  does 
not  know,  that  God  descended  from 
heaven,  and  became  man '?  for  it  is 
read.  The  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God;  and  the  Word 
became  Jlesh :  also,  which  of  you  does 
not  know  (and  I  looked  at  the  evan- 
gelical, amongst  wliom  was  that  dicta- 
tor who  had  just  addressed  me)  that  in 
Christ,  who  was  born  of  the  virgin 
Mary,  God  is  Man,  and  Man  God  ?" 
But  at  these  words,  the  assembly  made 
a  great  noise  ;  wherefore  I  said,  "Do 
you  not  know  this  ?  It  is  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  your  confession,  which 
is  called  tlic  Formula  Concordi.e, 


where  this  is  said  and  corroborated 
by  many  things."  Then  that  dictator 
turned  himself  towards  the  assembly, 
and  asked  whether  they  knew  this. 
And  they  replied,  "  We  have  studied 
very  little  in  that  book  concerning  the 
Person  of  Christ,  but  we  have  sweat 
upon  the  article  there  concerning  Jus- 
tification by  faith  alone.  But  still, 
if  that  is  read  there,  we  acquiesce." 
And  then  one  of  them,  recollecting, 
said,  "  It  is  read ;  and  what  is  still 
more,  that  the  human  nature  of  Christ 
is  exalted  to  divine  majesty,  and  to  all 
its  attributes,  and  also  that  in  it  Christ 
sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father." 
Having  heard  these  words,  they  were 
silent ;  and  afi;er  this  consent,  I  spoke 
again,  saying,  "  Since  it  is  so,  what 
then  is  the  Father,  but  the  Son,  and 
what  the  Son,  but  the  Father  also?" 
But  because  this  again  made  an  un- 
pleasant noise  in  their  ears,  I  contin- 
ued, saying,  "  Hear  the  very  words 
of  the  Lord,  to  which,  if  you  have 
not  attended  before,  attend  now ;  for 
He  said.  The  father  and  I  arc  one; 
the  father  is  iji  Me,  and  I  in  the  Fa- 
ther ;  Father,  all  mine  are  thine,  and 
all  thine  mine ;  he  who  seeth  Me,  sceth 
the  Father.  What  else  do  those  words 
mean,  than  that  the  Father  is  in  the 
Son,  and  the  Son  in  the  Father,  and 
that  they  are  one,  as  the  soul  and  body 
in  man,  and  thus  that  they  are  one 
person  ?  This  also  will  be  of  your  faith, 
if  you  believe  the  Athanasian  creed, 
where  similar  things  are  said.  But 
take  from  the  words  adduced  only  this 
declaration  of  the  Lord ;  Father,  all 
mine  are  thine,  and  all  thine  arc  mine; 
what  else  is  this  than  tiiat  the  Divine 
of  the  Fatlier  belongs  to  the  Human 
of  the  Son,  and  the  Human  of  the  Son 
to  the  Divine  of  the  Father?  conse- 
quently that,  in  Christ,  God  is  man, 
and  man  God?  and  thus  that  they  are 
one,  as  the  soul  and  body  are  one. 
FiVery  man  also  may  say  the  like  con- 
cerning his  soul  and  his  body,  viz. '  All 
thine  are  mine,  and  all  mine  thine ; 
tliou  in  me,  and  I  in  thee ;  he  who 
sees  me,  sees  thee ;  we  are  one  as  to 
person  and  <ts  to  life ;'  the  reason  is, 
because  the  soul  is  in  the  whole  and 


Concerning  the  Lord  t/ie  Redeemer. 


95 


in  every  part  of  man ;  for  the  life  of 
the  soul  is  the  life  of  the  body,  and 
there  is  a  niutiuJity  between  them. 
Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  the  Divine 
of  the  Father  is  the  soul  of  the  Son, 
and  that  the  Human  of  the  Son  is  the 
body  of  the  Father.  Whence  is  the 
soul  of  a  son  but  from  the  father '?  and 
whence  is  his  body,  but  from  the  moth- 
er? It  is  said,  t/ic  Divine  of  the  Fa- 
ther, an4  the  Father  himself  is  meant, 
since  He  and  his  Divine  are  the  same  ; 
this  also  is  one  and  individual.  That 
it  is  so,  is  evident  also  from  these  words 
of  the  angel  Gabriel  to  Mary  ;  The  vir- 
tue of  the  Most  High  shall  overshadow 
theel  and  the  Hohj  Spirit  come  upon 
thee,  andthc  holy  Thing  that  shallbe  born 
of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God; 
and  just  above  He  is  called  the  Son  of  the 
Most  High,  and  elsewhere,  the  onhj-bc- 
gottcnSon.  But  you,  who  only  call  Him 
the  Son  of  Mary,  lose  the  idea  of  his 
divinity ;  but  no  others  lose  it,  except 
the  learned  of  the  clergy,  and  scholars 
among  the  laity,  who,  while  they  elevate 
their  thoughts  above  the  sensual  things 
of  the  body,  look  at  the  glory  of  their 
own  fame,  which  not  only  overshadows, 
but  also  extinguishes  the  light,  by 
which  the  glory  of  God  enters.  But 
let  us  return  to  the  Lord's  prayer, 
where  it  is  said.  Our  Father  toho  art 
in  tlie  heavens,  hallowed  be  thy  name, 
thy  kingdom  come.  You  who  are  here 
understand,  by  those  words,  the  Father 
in  his  Divine  alone  ;  but  I,  Him  in  his 
Human,  and  this  also  is  the  name  of 
the  Father  ;  for  the  Lord  said.  Father, 
glorify  thy  Name ;  that  is,  thy  Human ; 
and  when  this  is  done,  the  kingdom  of 
God  comes ;  and  this  prayer  was  com- 
manded for  this  time,  in  order  that 
God  the  Father  may  be  approached 
through  his  Human.  The  Lord  also 
said,  N^o  one  cometh  to  the  Father  but 
by  me ;  and  in  the  prophet,  A  Child 
is  born  to  us,  a  Son  is  given  to  us, 
whose  name  is  God,  Hero,  the  Father 
of  eternity;  and  in  another  place, 
Thou  Jehovah,  our  Father,  our  Re- 
deemer from  an  age  is  thy  name;  and 
in  a  thousand  other  places,  where  the 
Lord  our  Savior  is  called  Jehovah. 
This  is  the  true  explanation  of  the 


words  of  that  prayer."  Afler  these 
things  were  said,  I  looked  at  them, 
and  observed  the  changes  of  their 
countenances,  according  to  the  changes 
of  the  state  of  their  minds ;  some  fa- 
voring and  looking  at  me,  and  some 
not  favoring,  and  turning  themselves 
away  from  me  ;  and  then,  on  the  right, 
I  saw  a  cloud  of  an  opal  color,  and  on 
the  left,  a  dusky  cloud,  and  under 
each,  as  it  were,  a  shower,  and  under 
the  latter,  as  it  were,  a  shower  of  rain 
in  the  end  of  autumn,  and  under  the 
former,  as  it  were,  a  shower  of  dew  at 
the  beginning  of  spring ;  and  suddenly 
then  I  came  from  the  spirit  into  the 
body,  and  thus  returned  from  the  spir- 
itual world  into  the  natural  world. 

113.  Fourth  Relation.  I  looked 
into  the  spiritual  world,  and  saw  an 
army  upon  red  and  black  horses. 
Those  who  sat  upon  them  appeared 
like  apes,  turned,  as  to  the  face  and 
breast,  towards  the  loins  and  tails  of 
the  horses,  and  as  to  the  back  of  the 
head  and  the  back  towards  their  necks 
and  heads,  and  the  bridles  were  hang- 
ing about  the  necks  of  the  riders,  and 
they  were  crying  against  those  who 
rode  upon  white  horses,  and  shaking 
the  bridles  with  both  their  hands,  and 
thus  were  pulling  the  horses  back  from 
the  battle,  and  this  continually.  Then 
two  angels  descended  from  heaven, 
and  came  to  me,  and  said,  "What  do 
you  see  V  And  I  replied,  that  I  saw 
so  ludicrous  a  company  of  horsemen  ; 
and  I  asked,  "  What  is  this,  and  who 
are  they  ?"  And  the  angels  answered, 
"They  are  from  the  place  which  is 
called  Armageddon  {Rev.  xii.  16),  in 
which  are  gathered  several  thousands 
to  fight  against  those  who  are  of  the 
Lord's  New  Church,  which  is  called 
the  New  Jerusalem.  They  were  talk- 
ing in  that  place  about  the  church  and 
religion ;  and  yet  with  them  there  was 
not  any  thing  of  the  church,  because 
not  any  spiritual  truth ;  nor  any  thing 
of  religion,  because  not  any  spiritual 
good.  They  were  talking  there  with 
the  mouth  and  lips  about  the  former 
and  the  latter,  but  to  the  end  that  they 
might,  by  means  of  them,  have  domin- 
ion.   They  learnt,  in  their  youth,  to 


96 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


confirm  faith  alone,  and  something 
concerning  God  ;  but  when  they  were 
promoted  to  higher  offices  in  the 
church,  for  a  while  they  retained  those 
things ;  but  because  then  they  began 
to  think  no  more  concerning  God  and 
concerning  heaven,  but  about  them- 
selves and  about  the  world,  thus  not 
concerning  eternal  blessedness  and  fe- 
licity, but  about  temporal  eminence 
and  opulence,  they  rejected  the  doc- 
trinals,  which  they  learnt  in  their 
youth,  from  the  interiors  of  the  rational 
mind,  which  communicate  with  heav- 
en, and  thence  are  in  the  light  of  heav- 
en, to  the  exteriors  of  the  rational 
mind,  which  communicate  with  the 
world,  and  thence  are  in  the  light  of 
the  world ;  and  at  length  they  thrust 
them  down  into  the  sensual  natural  re- 
gion ;  whence  the  doctrinals  of  the 
church,  with  them,  became  things  of 
the  mouth  only,  and  no  longer  of 
thought  from  reason,  and  still  less  of 
affection  from  love ;  and  because  they 
have  made  themselves  such,  they  do 
not  admit  any  divine  truth,  which  is 
of  the  church,  nor  any  genuine  good, 
which  is  of  religion ;  the  interiors  of 
their  mind  are  become  comparatively 
like  bottles  filled  with  iron  filings,  mix- 
ed with  the  flour  of  sulphur,  into  M  hich 
if  water  is  poured,  there  is  at  first  a 
heat  and  afterwards  a  flame,  by  which 
those  bottles  are  burst;  in  like  man- 
ner they,  when  they  hear  any  thing 
concerning  living  water,  which  is  the 
genuine  truth  of  the  Word,  and  this 
enters  through  their  ears,  are  violently 
heated  and  inflamed,  and  reject  it,  as 
something  that  would  burst  their  heads. 
These  are  they  who  appeared  to  you  like 
apes,  riding  backwards  upon  red  and 
black  horses,  with  the  bridles  about 
their  necks ;  since  those  who  do  not 
love  the  truth  and  good  of  the  church 
from  the  Word,  do  not  wish  to  look  at 
the  fore-parts  of  a  horse,  but  at  his 
back-parts  ;  for  horse  signifies  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  Word  ;  a  red  horse, 
the  understanding  of  the  Word,  lost  as 
to  good ;  and  a  black  horse,  the  under- 
standing of  the  Word,  lost  as  to  truth. 
That  they  cried  to  battle  against  those 
who  were  riding  upon  white  horses, 


is  because  a  tcMte  horse  signifies  the 
understanding  of  the  Word  as  to  truth 
and  good ;  that  they  seemed,  by  their 
neck,  to  pull  back  their  horses,  was, 
because  they  feared  the  battle,  lest  the 
truth  of  the  Word  should  come  to 
many,  and  thus  into  the  light.  This 
is  the  interpretation." 

The  angels  further  said,  "  We  are 
from  the  society  of  heaven,  which  is 
called  Michael,  and  we  ware  com- 
manded by  the  Lord  to  descend  into 
the  place  called  Armageddon,  whence 
issued  that  company  of  horsemen, 
which  you  saw.  By  Armageddon, 
amongst  us  in  heaven,  is  signified  the 
state  and  disposition  of  fighting  from 
falsified  truths,  arising  from  the  love  of 
dominion  and  eminence  over  all ;  and 
because  we  perceive  in  you  a  desire  of 
knowing  about  that  battle,  we  will  re- 
late something.  After  our  descent 
from  heaven,  we  came  to  the  place 
called  Armageddon,  and  saw  there 
several  tiiousands  assembled ;  we  did 
not,  indeed,  enter  into  their  assembly, 
but  there  were  some  houses  on  the 
southern  side  of  that  place,  where  were 
boys,  with  their  masters ;  we  entered 
into  them,  and  were  courteously  re- 
ceived. We  were  delighted  with  their 
company ;  they  were  all,  as  to  the  face, 
beautiful  from  the  life  in  their  eyes, 
and  from  the  zeal  in  their  discourse ; 
the  life  in  their  eyes  was  from  the  per- 
ception of  truth,  and  the  zeal  in  their 
discourse  from  the  affection  of  good ; 
wherefore,  also,  we  gave  them  caps,  the 
borders  of  which  were  adorjied  with 
bands  of  golden  threads  interwoven 
with  pearls ;  and  also  we  gave  them 
garments  variegated  with  white  and 
blue."  We  asked  them  whether  they 
ever  looked  into  the  neighboring  place, 
which  is  called  Armageddon :  they 
said  that  they  had  looked  through  a 
window,  which  is  under  the  roof  of  the 
house,  and  that  they  saw  there  an 
assembly,  but  under  various  figures; 
.-ometimes  as  tall  men,  and  sometimes 
not  as  men,  but  as  statues  and  carved 
idols,  and  around  them  a  nudtitude  of 
people  bending  their  knees :  these 
also  appeared  to  us  under  various 
forms ;  some  like  men,  some  like  leop- 


Concerni)ig  (he  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


97 


ards,  and  some  like  goats,  and  these 
with  horns  jwintiiig  downwards,  with 
which  they  dug  up  the  ground.  We  in- 
terpreted those  metamorplioses,  wlioin 
they  represented,  and  what  tliey  signi- 
fied. But  to  the  point : — Tliose  who 
were  assembled,  when  they  heard  that 
we  had  entered  into  those  houses,  said 
amongst  tliemselves,  "  What  business 
have  they  amongst  those  boys  ?  Let  us 
send  some  of  our  company  to  turn 
them  out."  So  they  sent ;  and  when 
they  came,  they  said  to  us,  "Why 
have  you  entered  into  these  houses? 
Whence  are  you?  We,  by  authority, 
command  you  to  depart."  But  we  re- 
plied, "  You  cannot  command  that  by 
authority.  You  are,  indeed,  in  your 
own  eyes,  like  the  Anakim,  and  those 
who  are  here  are  like  dwarfs ;  but  still 
you  have  no  power  and  authority  here, 
except  by  means  of  cunning,  which 
yet  will  not  avail ;  wherefore  go  and 
tell  your  companions,  that  we  were 
sent  hither  from  heaven,  to  see  whether 
there  is  any  religion  with  you  or  not ; 
if  there  is  not,  you  will  be  cast  out 
from  this  place.  Wherefore,  propose 
to  them  this,  in  which  is  the  very  es- 
sential of  the  church  and  of  religion — 
how  they  understand  these  words  in 
the  Lord's  prayer,  Our  Father,  who 

ART  IN  THE  HEAVENS,  HALLOWED  BE 
THY     NAME,     THY      KINGDOM  COME." 

When  they  had  heard  these  words, 
they  said  at  first,  "  What  is  this  ?"  and 
afl;erwards,  that  they  would  propose 
it.  And  they  went  away,  and  told 
those  things  to  their  companions,  who 
replied,  "  What  and  of  what  quality 
is  that  proposition  ?"  But  they  under- 
stood the  secret  which  they  wished  to 
know,  whether  those  words  confirm  the 
way  of  our  faith  to  God  the  Father  ; 
wherefore  they  said,  "  The  words  are 
clear,  that  we  ought  to  pray  to  God  the 
Father  ;  and  because  Christ  is  our  Me- 
diator, that  we  ought  to  pray  to  God 
the  Father  for  the  sake  of  the  Son." 
And  then,  in  indignation,  they  determin- 
ed that  they  would  go  to  us,  and  dic- 
tate that,  face  to  face,  saying  also  that 
they  would  pull  our  ears.  So  they 
went  out  of  that  place,  and  entered  into 
a  grove  near  those  houses  in  which  the 
13 


boys  were  with  their  masters,  in  the 
middle  of  which  grove  there  was  a 
plain,  clev,ated  like  a  place  of  exer- 
cise ;  and  tliey  held  each  other  by  their 
hands,  and  entered  into  that  place  of 
exercise  where  we  were,  and  wo  wait- 
ed for  tiiem.  There  were  tliere  green 
sods  raised  from  the  ground  like  little 
hillocks :  upon  them  they  seated  them- 
selves, for  they  said  one  to  another, 
"  We  will  not  stand  in  their  presence, 
but  we  will  sit  down."  And  then  one 
of  them,  who  could  speak  so  that  he 
would  appear  as  an  angel  of  light,  and 
who  was  appointed,  by  the  rest,  to 
speak  with  us,  said,  "  You  have  pro- 
posed to  us  that  we  should  open  our 
minds  concerning  the  first  words  of  the 
Lord's  prayer,  as  we  understand  them. 
I  say,  therefore,  to  you,  that  we  under- 
stand them  thus ;  that  we  should  pray  to 
God  the  Father ;  and  because  Christ 
is  our  Mediator,  and  we  are  saved  by 
his  merit,  that  we  should  pray  to  God 
the  Father  from  faith  in  his  merit." 
But  then  we  said  to  them,  "  We  are 
from  a  society  of  heaven  which  is 
called  Michael,  and  we  were  sent  to 
visit  and  to  inquire  whether  you,  who 
are  assembled  in  this  place,  have  any 
religion  or  not;  for  the  idea  of  God 
enters  into  every  thing  of  religion,  and 
by  it  conjunction  is  effected,  and  by  con- 
junction salvation.  We  in  heaven  read 
that  prayer  daily,  as  men  do  on  earth  ; 
and  then  we  do  not  think  concerning 
God  the  Father,  because  He  is  invisi- 
ble, but  concerning  Him  in  his  Divine 
Human,  because  in  this  He  is  visible ; 
and  He  in  this  is  culled  by  you  Chrht, 
but  by  us  the  Lord;  and  thus  to  us  the 
Lord  is  the  Fatlier  in  the  heavens. 
The  Lord  also  taught,  that  He  and  the 
Father  are  one  ;  that  the  Father  is  in 
Him,  and  He  in  the  Fatlier ;  and  that 
he  who  sees  Him,  sees  the  Father; 
also,  that  no  one  comes  to  the  Father, 
except  through  Him  ;  and,  also,  that  it 
is  the  will  of  the  Father,  that  men 
should  believe  in  the  Son ;  and  that  he 
who  does  not  believe  in  the  Son,  does  not 
see  life ;  yea,  that  the  anger  of  God 
abideth  on  him  ;  from  which  it  is  man- 
ifest, that  the  Father  should  be  ap- 
proached tlirough  Him  and  in  Him; 


98 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


and  because  it  is  so,  He  also  taught 
that  all  power  is  given  to  Him  in  heav- 
en and  in  earth.  It  is  said  in  that 
prayer,  hallowed  be  thy  name,  thy 
KINGDOM  COME.  We  have  demonstrat- 
ed from  the  Word,  that  his  Divine  Hu- 
man is  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
that  the  kingdom  of  the  Father  then  is, 
when  the  Lord  is  approached  immedi- 
ately, and  not  when  God  the  Father  is 
approached  immediately.  Wherefore, 
also,  the  Lord  commanded  the  dis- 
ciples, that  they  sliould  preach  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  and  tiiis  is  the  king- 
dom of  God."  Having  heard  these 
words,  the  antagonists  said,  "  You  re- 
cite many  things  from  the  Word,  and 
we,  perhaps,  have  read  such  tilings 
there,  but  we  do  not  remember ; 
wherefore  open  the  Word  before  us, 
and  read  them  from  it,  especially  this, 
That  the  kingdom  of  the  Father  then 
comes  when  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord 
does."  And  then  they  said  to  the 
boys,  "Bring  hither  the  Word."  And 
they  brought  it ;  and  we  read  from  it 
the  following  passages  :  John,  jmach- 
inff  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  said, 
The  time  is  fulfilled;  the  kingdom  of 
God  has  come  near,  Mark  i.  14,  15. 
Matt.  iii.  2.  Jesus  himself  preached 
the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  approaching ,  Matt. 
V.  17,  23 ;  ix.  35.  Jesus  commanded 
the  disciples,  that  they  shoidd  preach 
and  tell  the  good  neios  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  Mark  xvi.  15;  Luke  viii.  1,  ix. 
6;  in  like  manner  the  seventy  whom 
He  sent  forth,  x.  9,  11 ;  besides  other 
places,  as  Matt.  xi.  5 ;  xvi.  27,  28. 
Mark  viii.  35 ;  ix.  1,  27 ;  x.  29,  30 ;  xi. 
10.  Luke  i.  19 ;  ii.  10,  11 ;  iv.  43 ;  vii. 
22 ;  xxi.  30,  31 ;  xxii.  18.  The  king- 
dom of  God,  which  was  proclaimed, 
was  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord,  and  thus 
the  kingdom  of  the  Father :  that  it  is 
so,  is  manifest  from  these  j)assages : 
The  Father  hath  given,  all  things  into 
the  hand  of  the  Son,  John  iii.  35.  The 
Father  hath  given  to  the  Son  power 
over  all  flesh,  John  xvii.  2.  All  things 
are  delivered  to  Me  by  the  Father,  Matt, 
xi.  27.  All  poioer  is  given  to  Me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth,  xxviii.  IS.  And 
moreover  from  these :  Jehovah  of  hosts 


is  his  name ;  and  the  Redeemer,  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  shall  be  called  the  God  of 
the  whole  earth,  Isaiah  liv.  5.  /  sate, 
and,  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  man,  to 
whom  was  given  dominion,  glory,  and 
a  hingdmn,  and  all  people  and  nations 
shall  worship  Him ;  his  dominion  is  the 
dominion  of  an  age  which  shall  not 
pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which 
shall  not  be  destroyed,  Dan.  vii.  13,  14. 
When  the  seventh  angel  sounded,  great 
voices  were  uttered  in  the  heavens,  say- 
ing. The  kingdoms  of  the  world  have 
become  the  kingdom  o  f  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ,  and  He  shall  reign  to  ages 
of  ages.  Rev.  .xi.  15 ;  xii.  10.  And,  be- 
sides, we  instructed  them  from  the 
Word,  that  the  Lord  came  into  the 
world  not  only  that  He  might  redeem 
angels  and  men,  but  also  that  they 
might  be  united  to  God  the  Father  by 
Him  and  in  Him ;  for  He  taught  that 
He  is  in  those  who  believe  in  Him, 
and  that  they  are  in  Him,  John  vi. 
50 ;  xiv.  20 ;  xv.  4,  5.  Having  heard 
these  things,  they  asked,  "  How,  then, 
can  your  Lord  be  called  Father  V  We 
said,  "  From  those  passages  which 
liave  been  read,  and  also  from  these : 
A  Child  is  born  to  us,  a  Son  is  given  to 
us,  whose  name  is  God,  Hero,  the  Fa- 
ther of  eternity,  Isaiah  ix.  6.  Thou 
art  our  Father;  Abraham  doth  not 
know  us,  and  Israel  doth  not  acknowl- 
edge vs ;  Thou,  Jehovah ,  art  our  Father, 
our  Redeemer  from  cm  age  is  thy  name, 
Isaiah  Ixiii.  16.  Did  He  not  say  to 
Philip,  who  wished  to  see  the  Father, 
Philip,  hast  thou  not  known  Me  ?  He 
who  seeth  Me,  seeth  the  Father,  John 
xiv.  9,  xii.  45.  Who  else,  then,  is  the 
Father,  but  He  whom  Philip  saw  with 
his  eyes?"  To  which  we  .added  this: 
"  It  is  said  in  the  whole  Christian 
world,  that  those  who  arc  of  the  church, 
make  the  body  of  Christ,  and  are  in 
his  body  :  how,  then,  can  the  man  of 
the  church  go  to  God  the  Father,  ex- 
cept throtigh  Him  in  whose  body  He 
is?  If  otherwise,  he  must  go  entirely 
out  of  the  body,  and  go  to  Him."  At 
last  we  informed  them,  that  the  Lord 
is  at  this  day  instittuing  a  New 
Chi  kch,  which  is  meant  by  llio  New 
Jevu.salein  in  the  Revelation,  in  which 


Concerning  liedemption. 


99 


will  be  the  worship  of  the  Lord  alone, 
as  in  heaven,  and  tliat  thus  every  tiling 
will  be  fliltilled,  which  is  contained  in 
the  Lord's  prayer  from  tlie  beginning 
to  tiie  end.  We  confirmed  all  from 
the  Word,  in  the  evangelists,  and  in  the 
prophets,  and  from  the  Revelation,  in 
which  that  church  is  treated  of  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end,  in  so  great 
abundance  that  they  were  tired  of 
hearing. 

While  hearing  these  things  with  in- 
dignation, the  Armageddons  desired,  at 
every  turn,  to  interrupt  our  discourse ; 
and  at  length  they  broke  it,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  You  have  spoken  contrary 
to  the  doctrine  of  our  church,  which 
is,  that  we  should  go  to  God  the  Father 
immediately,  and  believe  in  Him  :  thus 
you  have  made  yourselves  guilty  of  a 


violation  of  our  faith ;  wiierefore,  go 
out  from  this  jilace;  and  if  not,  you 
shall  be  cast  out."  And,  their  minds 
being  iuilamed,  they  came  from  threat- 
ening to  attempting  violence  :  but  then, 
by  a  power  given  to  us,  we  struck 
them  with  blindness,  in  consequence 
of  which,  not  seeing  us,  they  rushed 
forth,  and,  in  their  wandering,  they  ran 
in  different  directions,  and  some  fell 
into  the  abyss,  which  is  mentioned  in 
the  Rev.  ix.  2,  which  is  now  in  the 
southern  region  towards  the  east,  where 
those  are  who  confirm  justification 
by  faith  alone ;  and  those  there  who 
confirm  it  from  the  Word,  are  sent 
forth  into  a  desert,  in  which  they  are 
brought  even  to  the  extremity  of  the 
Christian  world,  and  mixed  with 
pagans. 


CONCERNING 

114.  That  there  are  in  the  Lord 
two  offices,  the  office  of  priest  and  the 
office  of  king,  is  known  in  the  church; 
but  few  know  in  what  the  one  and  in 
what  the  other  consists ;  wherefore  it 
shall  be  told.  The  Lord,  from  the  of- 
fice of  priest,  is  called  Jesus ;  and  from 
the  office  of  king,  Christ:  and  also, 
from  the  office  of  priest.  He  is  called 
in  the  Word,  Jehovah  and  Lord;  and 
from  the  office  of  king,  God,  and  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  as  also  King.  These 
two  offices  are  distinguished  from  each 
other,  as  love  and  wisdom,  or,  what  is 
the  same,  as  good  and  truth,  arc  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other ;  where- 
fore, whatever  the  Lord  did  and  oper- 
ated from  divine  love  or  divine  good, 
He  did  and  operated  from  his  priestly 
office ;  but  whatever  from  divine  wis- 
dom or  divine  truth,  from  his  kingly 
office.  In  the  Word,  also,  priest  and 
priesthood  signify  divine  good;  and 
king  and  royalty  signify  divine  truth : 
those  two  things  the  priests  and  kings 
in  the  Israelitish  church  represented. 
As  to  what  concerns  redemption,  that 
pertains  to  both  offices ;  but  what  part 
of  it  to  the  one,  and  what  part  of  it  to 


REDEMPTION. 

the  other,  will  be  shown  in  what  fol- 
lows. But,  that  every  thing  may  be 
distinctly  perceived,  the  exposition  of 
it  will  be  divided  into  canons  or  arti- 
cles, which  will  be,  L  That  redemption 
itself  zvas  a  subjugation  of  the  hells, 
and  an  establishment  of  order  in  the 
heavens,  and  thereby  a  preparation  for 
a  New  Spiritual  Church.  IL  That 
without  that  redemption  no  man  could 
have  been  saved,  nor  could  the  angels 
have  subsisted  in  a  state  of  integrity. 
IIL  2^hat  the  Lord  thus  redeemed  not 
only  men,  but  also  angels.  IV.  That 
redemption  teas  a  work  purely  divine. 
V.  That  this  redemption  itself  could 
7iot  have  been  effected  but  by  God  in- 
carnate. VI.  That  the  passion  of  the 
cross  was  the  last  temptation  which  He, 
as  the  greatest  Prophet, sustained ;  and 
that  it  was  the  means  of  the  glorifica- 
tion of  his  Human,  that  is,  of  union 
with  the  Divine  of  his  Father,  and  not 
redemption.  VII.  That  the  passion  of 
the  cross  is  believed  to  have  been  re- 
demption itself,  is  a  fundamental  error 
of  the  church;  and  that  that  error,  to- 
gether with  the  error  concerning  three 
divine  persons  from  eternity,  has  per- 


100 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


verted  the  whole  church,  so  that  not  any 
thing  spiritual  is  left  remaining  in  it. 
These  things  will  now  be  unfolded  one 
by  one. 

115.  I.  That  Redemption  itself 
WAS  A  Subjugation  of  the  Hells, 
AND  AN  Establishment  of  Order 
IN  the  Heavens,  and  thereby  a 
Preparation  for  a  New  Spiritual 
Church. 

That  these  three  things  are  redemp- 
tion, I  can  say  in  all  certainty,  since 
the  Lord  also  at  this  day  is  performing 
a  redemption,  which  He  commenced  in 
the  year  1757,  together  with  the  Last 
Judgment,  which  was  then  performed. 
This  redemption  has  continued  from 
that  time  even  to  this :  the  reason  is, 
because  at  this  time  is  the  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord;  and  a  New 
Church  is  to  be  instituted  which  can- 
not be  instituted  unless  there  be  first 
a  subjugation  of  the  hells,  and  an 
establishment  of  order  in  the  heavens ; 
and  because  it  was  given  to  me  to  see 
all,  I  can  describe  how  the  hells  were 
subjugated,  and  how  the  new  heaven 
was  ordered  and  established  ;  but  this 
would  be  the  subject  of  a  whole  work. 
But  how  the  last  judgment  was  per- 
formed I  have  made  known  in  a  small 
volume,  published  at  London  in  the 
year  175S.  That  the  subjugation  of 
the  hells,  the  establishment  of  order 
in  the  heavens,  and  the  institution  of 
a  New  Church,  were  redemption,  is 
because  without  these  no  man  could 
have  been  saved :  they  follow,  also,  in 
order;  for  first  the  hells  are  to  be  subju- 
gated before  a  new  angelic  heaven  can 
be  formed ;  and  this  is  to  be  formed  be- 
fore a  New  Church  upon  earth  can  be 
instituted  ;  for  men  in  the  world  are  .so 
conjoined  with  the  angels  of  heaven 
and  the  spirits  of  hell,  tiiat,  in  the  inte- 
riors of  the  mind  on  both  sides,  they 
make  one :  but  concerning  this  wo 
shall  speak  in  the  last  chapter  of  this 
work,  where  we  shall  treat,  specifically, 
of  the  Consummation  of  the  Age, 
OF  the  Co.ming  of  the  Lord,  and 
OF  the  New  Church. 

116.  That  the  Lord,  while  he  was  in 
the  world,  fought  against  the  hells,  and 
conquered  and  subjugated  them,  and 


thus  reduced  them  under  obedience  to 
Him,  is  evident  from  many  passages  in 
the  Word,  of  which  I  shall  select  these 
few  in  Isaiah :  Who  is  this  that  cometh 
from  Edam,  sprinkled  as  to  his  gar- 
ments from  Hozrah,  who  is  honorable 
in  his  apparel,  marching  in  the  multi- 
tude of  his  strength  ?  I  who  speak  in 
righteousness,  great  to  save.  Where- 
fore art  Thou  red  as  to  thy  garment, 
and  thy  garment  as  of  one  treading  in 
the  wine-press  ?  I  have  trodden  the  loinc- 
press  alone,  and  of  the  people  not  a 
man  tvith  Me;  therefore  I  trod  them  in 
my  anger,  and  trampled  them  in  my 
wrath ;  thence  their  victory  was  sprin- 
kled upon  my  garments ;  for  the  day 
of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart,  and  the 
year  of  my  redeemed  is  come ;  my  arm 
brought  salvation  to  me ;  J  made  their 
victory  descend  to  the  earth.  He  said, 
Behold  my  people,  they  are  children  ; 
therefore  He  became  to  them  for  a  Sa- 
vior ;  for  his  love  and  for  his  pity  He 
redeemed  them;  Ixiii.  1  to  9.  These 
things  are  concerning  the  battle  of  the 
Lord  against  the  liells  ;  by  the  garment 
in  which  He  teas  honorable,  and  which 
was  red,  is  meant  the  Word,  to  which 
violence  was  offered  by  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple. The  battle  itself  against  the  hells, 
and  the  victory  over  them,  is  described 
by  this,  that  He  trod  them  in  his  anger, 
and  trampled  them  in  his  wrath.  Tliat 
He  fought  alone,  and  from  his  own 
power,  is  described  by  these  words : 
Of  the  people  not  a  man  ivithme;  my 
arm  brought  salvation  to  me ;  I  made 
their  victory  descend  to  the  earth.  That 
thereby  He  saved  and  redeemed,  by 
these :  Therefore  He  became  to  them 
for  a  Savior  ;  for  his  love  and  for  his 
pity  He  redeemed  them.  That  this  was 
the  cause  of  his  coming,  is  meant  by 
these  :  'The  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my 
heart,  and  the  year  of  my  redeemed  is 
come.  Again  in  Isaiah  :  He  saw  that 
there  teas  not  any  one,  and  teas  aston- 
ished that  there  icas  none  interceding  ; 
therefore  his  arm  brought  salvation  to 
Him,  and  7-ighteousness  roused  Him  up ; 
thence  He  put  on  righteousness  as  a 
breastplate,  and  the  helmet  o  f  salvation 
upon  his  head,  and  He  put  on  garments 
of  vengeance,  and  covered  himself  with 


Concerning  Redemption. 


101 


zeal  as  tcith  a  cloak ;  then  He  came  to 
Zion  a  Redeemer,  lix.  1(3,  17,  20.  In 
Jeremiah :  Tliey  loerc  difmaijcd,  their 
strong  ones  were  knocked  down;  they 
jlcd  apace,  neither  did  they  look  back; 
that  day  is  to  the  Lord  Jehovah  of  hosts 
a  day  of  revenge,  that  he  may  take 
vengeance  on  his  enemies,  that  the  sword 
may  devour  and  be  satiated,  xlvi.  5, 10. 
The  latter  and  the  former  are  concern- 
ing the  battle  of  the  Lord  against  the 
hells,  and  concerning  the  victory  over 
them.  In  David  :  Gird  thy  sword  upon 
thy  thigh,  O  Mighty ;  thy  arrows  arc 
sharp,  the  people  shall  fall  under  Thee, 
from  the  heart  enemies  of  the  King. 
Thy  throne  is  for  an  age  and  forever. 
Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  there- 
fore God  hath  anointed  Thee,  Psalm 
xlv.  4  to  7 ;  besides  in  many  other 
places.  Since  the  Lord  alone  con- 
quered the  hells,  without  help  from  any 
angel,  therefore  He  is  called  a  Hero, 
AND  A  Man  of  wars,  Isaiah  xliv.  15 ; 
ix.  6  ;  THE  King  of  glory,  Jehovah 
THE  Mighty,  the  Hero  of  war. 
Psalm  xiv.  8,  10 ;  The  Mighty  One 
OF  Jacob,  cxxxii.  2 ;  and  in  many 
places,  Jehovah  Sabaoth,  that  is,  Je- 
hovah OF  hosts.  And  also  his  .ad- 
vent is  called  the  day  of  Jehovah, 
terrible,  cruel,  of  indignation,  of  wrath, 
of  anger,  of  vengeance,  of  ruin,  of 
war,  of  a  trumpet,  of  a  loud  noise,  of 
tumult,  &c.  In  the  evangelists  these 
things  are  read  :  Now  is  the  judgment 
of  this  world;  the  prince  of  this  icorld 
shall  be  cast  out,  John  xii.  31.  The 
prince  of  this  world  is  judged,  xvi.  11. 
Have  confidence;  I  have  overcome  the 
world,  xvii.  33.  /  saw  Satan  as  light- 
ning falling  from  heaven,  Luke  x.  18. 
By  the  world,  the  prince  of  the  world, 
Satan  and  the  devil,  is  meant  hell. 
Besides  these  things,  it  is  described  in 
the  Revelation,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end,  what  the  Christian  church  is 
at  this  day,  and  also  that  the  Lord  is 
about  to  come  again,  and  subjugate  the 
hells,  and  make  a  new  angelic  heaven, 
and  then  to  establish  a  New  Church 
upon  earth.  All  these  things  are  there 
predicted,  but  they  have  not  been  dis- 
covered till  the  present  time  :  the  reason 
is,  because  the  Revelation,  as  also  all 


the  prophetical  parts  of  the  Word,  was 
written  by  mere  correspondences  ;  and 
unless  tlie.se  had  been  made  known  by 
the  Lord,  scarcely  any  one  would  have 
been  able  rigiuly  to  understand  a  single 
verse  there  :  but  now,  for  the  sake  of  the 
New  Church,  all  the  things  which  are 
there,  arc  made  known  in  the  Ai>oca- 
lypse  Revealed,  published  at  Amster- 
dam, in  the  year  170(3;  and  those  will 
see  them  who  believe  the  Word  of  the 
Lord  in  Matt.  xxiv.  concerning  the  state 
of  the  church  at  the  present  time,  and 
concerning  his  coming.  But  this  belief 
is,  as  yet,  only  wavering  with  those  who 
have  so  deeply  impressed  on  their  hearts 
the  faith  of  the  present  church,  con- 
cerning a  trinity  of  divine  persons  from 
eternity,  and  concerning  the  passion 
of  Christ,  that  it  was  redemption  itself, 
that  it  cannot  be  eradicated.  But  these 
(as  was  said  in  tlie  Relation  above, 
n.  113)  are  like  bottles  filled  with  iron- 
filings  and  flour  of  sulphur,  into  which 
if  water  be  poured,  there  is  first  pro- 
duced a  heat,  and  afterwards  a  flame, 
by  which  those  bottles  are  burst :  they 
also,  in  like  manner,  when  they  hear  any 
thing  concerning  living  water,  which  is 
the  genuine  truth  of  the  Word,  and  this 
enters  through  their  eyes  or  ears,  are  vi- 
olently heated  and  inflamed,  and  reject 
it,  as  that  which  would  burst  their  heads. 

117.  Tlie  subjugation  of  the  hells, 
the  establishment  of  order  in  the  heav- 
ens, and  afterwards  the  institution  of  a 
church,  may  be  illustrated  by  various 
similitudes.  The  hells  may  be  illus- 
trated by  a  comparison  with  an  army 
of  robbers  or  rebels,  who  invade  a 
kingdom  or  a  city,  and  then  set  fire  to 
the  houses,  plunder  the  goods  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  divide  the  spoil  amongst 
themselves,  and  then  exult  and  triumph ; 
but  redemption  itself  may  be  illustrat- 
ed by  a  comparison  with  a  just  king, 
who  marches  against  them  with  his  ar- 
my, puts  a  part  of  them  to  the  sword, 
shuts  a  part  up  in  prisons,  takes  away 
their  spoil,  and  restores  it  to  his  sub- 
jects, and  establishes  order  in  the  king- 
dom, and  renders  it  safe  from  similar 
invasions.  It  may  also  be  illustrated 
by  a  comparison  with  a  herd  of  wild 
beasts,  issuing  out  together  from  a  for- 


102 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


est,  which  attacks  flocks  and  herds, 
and  also  men ;  on  account  of  which, 
no  man  dares  go  out  from  the  walls  of 
his  city  to  till  the  ground ;  whence  the 
fields  will  be  deserted,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city  will  perish  by  famine : 
and  redemption  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  destruction  and  dispersion  of  those 
wild  beasts,  and  the  protection  of  the 
fields  and  plains  from  further  invasion 
of  such  animals.  It  may  also  be  illus- 
trated by  locusts  consuming  every  green 
thing  on  the  surface  of  the  ground ;  and 
by  the  means  of  preventing  their  fur- 
ther progress  :  also,  by  the  little  worms 
in  the  first  part  of  summer,  which  de- 
prive the  trees  of  leaves,  and  thus,  also, 
of  fruits,  so  that  they  stand  naked  as  in 
the  midst  of  winter ;  and  by  shaking 
them  off,  and  thus  restoring  the  garden 
to  the  state  of  its  bloom  and  fruitfulness. 
The  case  would  be  similar  with  the 
church,  unless  the  Lord,  by  redemption, 
had  separated  the  good  from  the  evil, 
and  cast  the  latter  into  hell,  and  raised 
the  former  into  heaven.  What  would 
become  of  an  empire  or  a  kingdom,  if 
there  were  no  justice  nor  judgment,  by 
which  the  evil  might  be  taken  away 
from  the  midst  of  the  good,  and  the 
good  protected  from  violence,  so  that 
every  one  might  live  securely 'in  his 
own  house,  and,  as  it  is  said  in  the 
Word,  might  sit  under  his  own  fig-tree 
and  vine  in  tranquillity? 

118.  II.  That  without  that  Re- 
demption, NO  Man  could  have  been 

SAVED,  nor  could  THE  AnGELS  HAVE 
SUBSISTED  IN  A  StATE  OF  INTEGRITY. 

In  the  first  place,  it  shall  be  told 
what  redemption  is.  To  redeem  sig- 
nifies to  liberate  from  damnation,  to  de- 
liver from  eternal  death,  to  rescue  from 
hell,  and  take  away  captives  and  pris- 
oners out  of  the  hand  of  the  devil. 
This  was  done  by  the  Lord,  in  that  He 
subjugated  the  hells,  and  formed  a  new 
heaven.  Tliat  man  could  not  other- 
wise have  been  saved,  is  because  the 
spiritual  world  has  such  a  connection 
with  the  natural  world  that  they  can- 
not be  separated.  This  connection  is 
principally  with  the  interiors  of  men, 
which  are  called  their  souls  and  minds : 
those  of  the  jrood  arc  connected  with 


the  souls  and  minds  of  angels,  and 
those  of  the  evil,  with  the  souls  and 
minds  of  infernal  spirits.  They  have 
such  union,  that,  if  they  were  removed 
from  man,  he  would  fall  down  dead  as  a 
stock  ;  in  like  manner,  angels  and  spir- 
its could  not  subsist,  if  men  were  with- 
drawn from  them.  Thence  it  is  mani- 
fest why  redemption  was  performed 
in  the  spiritual  world,  and  why  heaven 
and  hell  were  first  to  be  restored  to  or- 
der before  the  church  on  earth  could  be 
established.  That  it  is  so,  is  very  mani- 
fest from  what  is  said  in  the  Revela- 
tion, that,  after  the  new  heaven  was 
made,  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  is 
the  New  Church,  came  down  out  of 
that  heaven;  xxi.  1,  2. 

119.  The  reason  that  angels  could 
not  have  subsisted  in  a  state  of  integ- 
rity unless  redemption  had  been  per- 
formed by  the  Lord,  is  because  the 
whole  angelic  heaven,  together  with 
the  church  on  earth,  is  before  the 
Lord  as  one  man,  whose  internal  is 
the  angelic  heaven,  and  whose  exter- 
nal is  the  church ;  or,  more  particular- 
ly, the  highest  heaven  constitutes  the 
head ;  the  second  and  the  last  consti- 
tute the  breast  and  middle  region  of 
the  body;  and  the  church  on  earth,  the 
loins  and  feet ;  and  the  Lord  Himself 
is  the  soul  and  life  of  the  whole  of  this 
man :  wherefore,  unless  the  Lord  had 
performed  redemption,  this  man  would 
have  been  destroyed,  as  to  the  feet  and 
loins,  by  the  seceding  of  the  church  on 
earth;  as  to  the  gastric  region,  by  the 
seceding  of  the  lowest  heaven ;  as  to 
the  breast,  by  the  seceding  of  the  sec- 
ond heaven;  and  then  the  head,  hav- 
ing no  correspondence  with  the  body, 
would  fall  into  a  swoon.  But  this  shall 
be  illustrated  by  similitudes.  It  is  as 
when  a  mortification  attacks  the  feet, 
and,  in  its  ravages,  gradually  ascends, 
and  infects  first  the  loins,  then  the  vis- 
cera of  the  abdomen,  and  at  length  it 
invades  the  vicinity  of  the  heart ;  and 
it  is  known,  that  man  then  falls  a  vic- 
tim to  death.  It  may  also  be  illustrat- 
ed by  a  comparison  with  diseases  of 
the  viscera,  which  are  below  the  dia- 
phragm, that  when  they  have  any 
breach  or  rupture,  the  heart  begins  to 


Concerning  RedemjHion. 


103 


palpitate,  and  the  lungs  to  pant  heavily, 
and  at  length  they  both  cease.  It  may 
also  be  illustrated  by  a  comparison 
with  the  internal  and  external  man,  in 
that  the  internal  man  is  well,  as  long 
as.  the  external  man  obediently  per- 
forms its  lunctions ;  but  if  tiie  external 
does  not  obey,  but  resists  the  internal, 
and  still  more  if  it  assaults  it,  at  length 
the  internal  is  weakened  and  finally 
carried  away  by  the  delights  of  the  ex- 
ternal, until  it  even  favors  and  assents 
to  it. 

It  may  also  be  illustrated  by  a  com- 
parison with  a  man  standing  upon  a 
mountain,  who  sees  below  him  the 
country  inundated,  and  that  the  waters 
are  rising  higher  and  higher ;  and  when 
they  reach  the  summit  on  which  he 
stands,  he  also  is  inundated,  unless  he 
can  secure  his  safety  by  a  boat  which 
comes  to  him  through  the  flood :  in 
like  manner,  if  any  one  from  a  moun- 
tain sees  a  thick  cloud  rising  higher 
and  higher  from  the  earth,  and  hiding 
the  fields,  villages,  and  cities ;  and  af- 
terwards, when  that  cloud  reaches  even 
to  him,  he  does  not  see  any  thing,  not 
even  himself  ^vhere  he  is.  The  case 
is  similar  with  the  angels  when  the 
churcli  on  earth  perishes  ;  that  then 
the  inferior  heavens  also  pass  away. 
The  reason  is,  because  the  heavens 
consist  of  men  from  the  earth ;  and 
when  there  no  longer  remains  any  good 
of  the  heart  and  truth  of  the  Word,  the 
heavens  are  inundated  with  the  evils 
which  rise  up,  and  are  suffocated  by 
them  as  by  Stygian  waters ;  but  still 
they  are  concealed  by  the.  Lord  some- 
where, and  are  reserved  to  the  day  of 
the  last  judgment,  and  are  then  raised 
up  into  a  new  heaven.  These  are 
they  who  are  meant  in  the  Revelation 
by  these :  /  saw  under  the  altar  the 
soith  of  those  who  loere  slain  for  the 
Word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony 
which  they  had  ;  and  they  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying.  How  long,  O  Lord, 
who  art  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not 
judge  and  axunge  our  blood  upon  those 
who  dwell  upon  the  earth  ?  And  white 
robes  were  given  to  every  one  of  them ; 
and  it  was  said  to  them,  that  they  should 
rest  yet  for  a  little  time,  until  their  fel- 


low servants  also,  and  their  brethren, 
who  were  to  be  killed  as  they  had  been, 
should  be  fulfilled,  vi.  9,  10,  11. 

120.  That  without  redemption  by 
the  Lord,  iniquity  and  wickedness 
would  spread  through  the  whole  Chris- 
tian orb,  in  both  worlds,  the  natural 
and  the  spiritual,  is,  amongst  several 
other  reasons,  because  every  man,  after 
death,  comes  into  the  world  of  .spirits, 
and  then  is  altogether  similar  to  him- 
self, such  as  he  was  before  ;  and  at  his 
entrance,  he  cannot  be  restrained  from 
conversing  with  deceased  parents, 
brothers,  relations  and  friends;  every 
husband,  then,  first  seeks  his  wife,  and 
every  wife  her  husband ;  and  by  the 
former  and  the  latter  they  are  introducr 
ed  into  various  companies  of  such  as 
outwardly  appear  like  sheep,  and  in- 
wardly are  like  wolves ;  and  by  these 
even  those  are  perverted,  who  have 
been  devoted  to  piety :  from  this  cause, 
and  from  abominable  arts,  unknown 
in  the  natural  world,  the  spiritual 
world  is  so  full  of  the  wicked  and  cun- 
ning, that  it  is  like  a  pond  green  with 
the  spawn  of  frogs.  Tliat  intercourse 
with  the  wicked  there  also  effects  tliis, 
may  be  rendered  manifest  from  these 
considerations,  that  whoever  associates 
with  robbers  or  pirates,  at  length  be- 
comes like  them;  and  ^vhoever  lives 
with  adulterers  and  harlots,  at  length 
regards  adulteries  as  nothing ;  and,  also, 
whoever  connects  himself  with  rebel- 
lious persons,  at  length  does  not  scru- 
ple to  do  violence  to  any  one.  For  all 
evils  are  contagious,  and  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  plague,  which  an  infected 
person  communicates  by  breath  or  per- 
spiration ;  and  also  to  a  cancer  or  gan- 
grene, which  spreads,  and  putrefies  the 
parts  near  it,  and  successively  those 
more  distant,  until  the  whole  body  per- 
ishes. The  delights  of  evil,  into  which 
every  one  is  born,  cause  wickedness 
to  be  contagious.  From  these  things 
it  may  appear  evident,  that  without  re- 
demption by  the  Lord,  no  one  could  be 
saved,  nor  could  the  angels  subsist  in 
a  state  of  integrity.  The  only  refuge 
from  destruction,  for  any  one,  is  in  the 
Lord ;  for  He  says,  Abide  in  Me,  and  I 
in  you ;  as  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit 


104 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


of  itself,  unless  it  abide  in  the  vine,  so 
ye,  unless  ye.  abide  in  Mc.  I  am  the 
vine,  ye  are  the  branches:  lie  who  abid- 
eth  in  3Ie,  and  I  in  him,  bearcth  much 
fruit;  because  without  Me  ye  cannot  do 
any  thing.  If  any  one  abide  not  in 
Me,  he  is  cast  away,  and,  being  dried, 
is  thrown  into  the  f  re  and  burned,  John 
XV.  4,  5,  6. 

121.  III.  That  the  Lord  thus 

REDEEMED     NOT      ONLY     MeN,  BUT 

ALSO  Angels. 

This  follows  from  what  was  said  in 
the  preceding  article,  Thatwithout  re- 
demption by  the  Lord,  the  angels  could 
not  have  subsisted.  To  the  reasons 
above  mentioned,  these  may  be  added  : 
I.  That,  at  the  time  of  the  lirst  coming 
of  the  Lord,  the  hells  had  grown  up  to 
such  a  height,  that  they  tilled  all  the 
world  of  spirits,  which  is  in  the  middle, 
between  heaven  and  hell,  and  thus  not 
only  confused  the  heaven  M'hich  is 
called  the  last  or  lowest,  but  also  as- 
saulted the  middle  heaven,  which  they 
infested  in  a  thousand  ways,  and  whicli 
would  have  gone  to  destruction,  unless 
the  Lord  had  protected  it.  Such  in- 
surrection of  the  hells  is  meant  by  the 
tower  built  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  the 
liead  of  which  should  reach  even  to 
heaven;  but  the  design  of  the  builders 
was  frustrated  by  the  confusion  of  lan- 
guages, and  they  were  dispersed,  and 
the  city  was  called  Babel,  Gen.  .\i,  1  to 
9.  What  is  there  meant  by  the  tower 
and  by  the  confusion  of  languages,  is 
explained  in  the  Arcana  Cq-.lestia, 
published  at  London.  The  reason  that 
the  hells  had  grown  up  to  such  a  heigh), 
was,  that  at  the  time  when  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world,  the  whole  world 
had  entirely  alienated  itself  from  God, 
by  idolatries  and  magic  ;  and  the  church 
vvhicli  had  been  amongst  the  sons  of 
Israel,  and  at  length  amongst  tlie  Jews, 
by  falsification  and  adulteration  of  the 
Word,  was  utterly  destroyed  ;  and  both 
the  former  and  the  latter  after  death 
flocked  into  the  world  of  spirits,  where 
at  length  they  so  increased  and  nmlti- 
plied,  that  they  could  not  bo  ex])eliod 
thence,  but  by  the  descent  of  God  Him- 
self, and  then  by  the  strength  of  his 
divine  arm.    How  this  was  done  is 


described  in  a  little  treatise  concerning 
the  Last  Judgment,  published  at  Lon- 
don in  the  year  175S.  This  was  accom- 
plished by  the  Lord  when  He  was  in 
the  world.  The  like,  also,  at  this  day, 
has  been  done  by  the  Lord,  since,  as 
was  said  above,  at  this  day  is  his  sec- 
ond coming,  which  was  predicted  in 
the  Revelation  in  various  places  ;  and 
in  Matt.  xxiv.  3,  30 ;  in  Mark  xiii.  26  ; 
in  Luke  xxi.  27 ;  and  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  i.  11 ;  and  in  other  places. 
The  diiference  is,  that,  at  his  first  com- 
ing, the  hells  had  grown  to  such  a 
degree  from  the  multitude  of  idolaters, 
magicians,  and  falsifiers  of  the  Word  ; 
but  at  this  second  coming,  from  Chris- 
tians so  called,  both  such  as  are  imbued 
with  naturalism,  and  also  such  as  have 
falsified  the  Word,  by  confirmations  of 
their  fabulous  faith  concerning  three 
Divine  Per.sons  from  eternity,  and  con- 
cerning the  passion  of  the  Lord,  that  it 
was  redemption  itself ;  for  these  are 
they  who  are  meant  by  the  dragon  and 
his  two  beasts  in  the  Revelation,  xii. 
and  xiii.  II.  The  second  reason  why 
the  Lord  also  redeemed  angels,  is, 
that  not  only  every  man,  but  also  every 
angel,  is  witiiheld  by  the  Lord  from 
evil,  and  held  in  good ;  for  no  one, 
whether  angel  or  man,  is  in  good  from 
himself,  but  all  good  is  from  the  Lord : 
when,  therefore,  the  footstool  of  the 
angels,  which  is  in  the  world  of  spirits, 
was  taken  away  from  them,  it  was  then 
with  them,  as  wish  one  sitting  upon  a 
tiirone,  when  its  ])cdcstals  are  removed. 
Tiint  the  angels  are  not  pure  in  the 
siglitofGod,  is  evident  irom  the  pro- 
phetical parts  of  the  Word,  and  also 
from  Job;  and  likewise  from  this,  that 
tluire  is  not  any  angel  who  had  not 
previously  been  a  man.  Hereby  are 
confirmed  those  things  v.hich  arc  said 
in  the  F.\iiir  oi-  thi;  New  Hk.avi-..\ 
AND  THE  New  Church  in  a  univer- 
sal and  a  PARTICULAR  FoRM,  proflXcd 

to  this  work,  viz. :  "  That  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world  that  He  might  re- 
move hell  from  man,  and  that  He  did 
remove  it  by  combats  against  it  and 
by  victories  over  it ;  thus  Ho  subjugat- 
ed it,  and  reduced  it  under  obedience 
to  Himself"    And  also  by  these  things 


Concerning  Redemption. 


105- 


there,  "  That  Jehovah  God  descended 
and  assumed  the  Human,  to  the  end 
that  He  might  reduce  into  order  ail 
things  which  were  in  licaven,  and  all 
things  which  were  in  the  clmrch ; 
since,  at  that  time,  tlie  power  of  tiie 
devil,  that  is,  of  hell,  prevailed  over  the 
power  of  heaven,  and  upon  earth  the 
power  of  evil  over  the  power  of  good, 
and  thence  a  total  damnation  stood  be- 
fore the  door  and  threatened.  This 
impending  damnation  Jehovah  God 
removed  by  means  of  his  Human,  and 
thus  redeemed  men  and  angels  :  from 
which  it  is  manifest,  that  without  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  no  one  could  have 
been  saved.  It  is  similar  at  this  day  ; 
wherefore,  unless  the  Lord  again  come 
into  the  world,  no  one  can  be  saved." 
See  above,  n.  2,  3. 

122.  That  the  Lord  has  delivered 
the  spiritual  world,  and,  by  this,  is 
about  to  deliver  the  church,  from  uni- 
versal damnation,  may  be  illustrated 
by  comparison  with  a  king,  who,  by 
victories  over  tlie  enemy,  liberates  the 
princes,  his  sons,  who  had  been  taken 
by  the  enemy,  confined  in  prisons,  and 
bound  with  chains,  and  brings  them 
back  to  his  palace ;  also  by  compari- 
son with  a  shepherd,  who,  like  Sam- 
son and  David,  rescues  his  sheep  from 
the  jaws  of  a  lion  or  a  bear,  or  drives 
away  those  wild  beasts  when  they  come 
out  of  the  forest  into  the  pastures,  and 
pursues  them  even  to  the  utmost  limits, 
and  at  last  forces  them  into  ponds  or 
deserts,  and  afterwards  returns  to  the 
sheep,  and  feeds  them  in  safety,  and 
gives  them  drink  from  fountains  of 
pure  water.  It  may  also  be  illustrated 
by  comparison  with  one  who  sees  a 
serpent  coiled  up,  lying  in  the  way 
and  intending  to  inflict  a  wound  upon 
the  heel  of  a  traveller,  and  seizes  its 
head,  and,  although  it  twists  itself 
about  his  hand,  he  carries  it  home, 
and  there  cuts  off  its  head,  and  throws 
the  rest  into  the  fire.  It  may  also  be 
illustrated  by  comparison  with  a  bride- 
groom or  a  husband,  who,  when  he 
sees  an  adulterer  attempting  to  do  vio- 
lence to  his  bride,  or  wife,  attacks  him, 
and  either  wounds  his  hand  with  a 
8Word,  or  covers  his  legs  and  loins  with 
14 


blows,  or  casts  him  into  the  streets  by 
means  of  his  servants,  who  with  clubs 
pursue  him  even  to  his  house ;  and 
having  thus  liberated  his  beloved,  he 
leads  her  away  into  his  chamber.  By 
a  bride  and  wife,  also,  in  the  Word,  is 
meant  the  church  of  the  Lord  ;  and  by 
adulterers  are  meant  the  violators  of  it, 
who  are  those  who  adulterate  his 
Word  ;  and  because  the  Jews  did  this, 
they  were  called  by  the  Lord  an  adul- 
terous generation. 

123.  IV.  That  Redemption  was 
A  Work  purely  Divine. 

He  who  knows  what  hell  is,  and 
what  was  its  height  and  inundation 
over  all  the  world  of  spirits,  at  the  time 
of  the  Lord's  coming,  and  also  with  what 
power  the  Lord  cast  down  and  dis- 
persed hell,  and  afterwards  reduced  it, 
together  with  heaven,  into  order,  can- 
not but  be  astonished,  and  exclaim,  that 
all  those  things  were  a  work  purely 
divine.  First,  as  to  ichat  hell  is:  it 
consists  of  myriads  of  myriads,  since  it 
consists  of  all  those  who,  from  the  cre- 
ation of  the  world,  by  evils  of  life  and 
falses  of  faith,  have  alienated  them- 
selves from  God.  Secondly,  as  to  the 
height  and  inundation  of  hell  over  all 
the  icorld  of  spirits,  at  the  time  of  the 
Lord's  coming,  something  has  been 
stated  in  the  preceding  articles.  What 
it  was  at  the  time  of  the  first  coming, 
was  not  made  known  to  any  one,  be- 
cause it  is  not  revealed  in  the  sense  of 
the  letter  of  the  Word.  But  what  it 
was  at  the  time  of  his  second  coming, 
it  was  given  to  see  with  my  eyes ;  from 
which  it  may  be  concluded  concerning 
the  former ;  and  this  is  described  in  a 
little  treatise  concerning  the  Last  Judg- 
ment, published  at  London  in  the  year 
1758.  There  also  it  is  described, 
what  power  the  Lord  cast  down  and 
dispersed  hell;  but  to  transfer  hither 
those  things  which  are  described  from 
personal  observation  in  that  little  trea- 
tise, is  a  needless  work,  because  that  is 
extant,  and  there  are  yet  copies  in 
abundance  at  the  booksellers'  in  Lon- 
don. Every  one  who  reads  that  trea- 
tise may  clearly  see,  that  this  was  the 
work  of  God  Almighty.  Fourthly,  how 
the  Lord  afterwards  reduced  all  things, 


106 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


both  in  heaven  and  in  hell,  into  order, 
has  not  yet  been  described  by  me, 
since  the  establishment  of  order  in  the 
heavens  and  the  hells,  has  continued 
in  progress  from  the  day  of  the  last 
judgment  to  the  present  time,  and  still 
continues ;  but  ai'ter  this  book  is  pub- 
lished, if  it  be  desired,  it  shall  be  given 
to  the  public.  As  to  myself,  I  have 
seen,  and  do  see  every  day,  the  divine 
omnipotence  of  the  Lord  in  this  thing, 
as  in  the  face.  This  lust  properly  be- 
longs to  redemption,  but  the  former 
properly  belongs  to  the  last  judgment ; 
those  who  view  these  two  things  dis- 
tinctly, may  see  many  things  which,  in 
the  prophetical  parts  of  the  Word,  are 
concealed  under  figures ;  and  yet  they 
are  described,  when,  by  an  explana- 
tion of  the  correspondences,  they  are 
brought  forth  into  the  light  of  the  un- 
derstanding. The  former  and  the  lat- 
ter divine  work  cannot  be  illustrated 
otherwise  than  by  comparisons,  and  so 
but  imperfectly.  They  may  be  illus- 
trated by  comparison  with  a  battle 
against  the  armies  of  all  the  nations  in 
the  whole  world,  armed  with  spears, 
shields,  swords,  muskets  and  cannon, 
having  skilful  and  cunning  generals 
and  other  officers  :  this  is  said,  because 
many  in  hell  are  skilled  in  arts  un- 
known in  our  world,  in  which  they  ex- 
ercise themselves  with  each  other,  how 
they  may  attack,  ensnare,  beset,  and 
assault  those  who  are  from  heaven. 
The  battle  of  the  Lord  with  hell  may 
also  be  compared,  but  yet  imperfectly, 
with  a  battle  with  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  whole  world,  and  with  the  slaugh- 
ter and  subjugation  of  them,  until  not 
one  of  them  dares  to  come  forth  and 
make  an  assault  upon  any  man  who  is 
in  the  Lord  ;  whence,  if  any  one  shows 
a  threatening  aspect,  he  suddenly 
shrinks  back,  as  if  he  felt  a  vulture  in 
his  bosom,  endeavoring  to  cat  through 
even  to  the  heart.  By  wild  beasts, 
also,  in  the  Word,  are  described  infer- 
nal spirits :  these  al.so  are  meant  in 
Mark  i.  13,  by  the  wild  beasts  with 
which  the  Lord  was  forty  days.  It 
may  also  be  compared  with  resistance 
to  the  whole  ocean,  rushing  with  its 
billows  into  countries  and  cities,  when 

♦ 


the  dikes  are  demolished.  The  sub- 
jugation of  hell  by  the  Lord  is  also 
meant  by  his  calming  the  sea,  by  say- 
ing. Peace,  be  still,  Mark  iv.  38,  39 ; 
Matt.  viii.  26 ;  Luke  viii.  23,  24.  For 
by  the  sea  there,  as  in  many  other 
places,  is  signified  hell.  The  Lord, 
with  similar  divine  power,  at  this  day 
fights  against  hell  in  every  man  who  is 
being  regenerated  ;  for  hell  assaults  all 
those  with  diabolical  fiiry  ;  and  unless 
the  Lord  resisted  and  subdued  it,  man 
could  not  but  yield.  For  hell  is  like 
one  monstrous  man,  and  like  a  huge 
lion,  with  which  also  it  is  compared 
in  the  Word.  Wherefore,  unless  the 
Lord  should  keep  that  lion,  or  that 
monster,  bound  with  manacles  and  fet- 
ters, it  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
tliat  man,  when  rescued  irom  one  evil, 
would  of  himself  fall  into  another,  and 
then  into  many  more. 

124.  V.  That  this  Redemption 

ITSELF  COULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  PER- 
FORMED, BUT  BY  God  incarnate. 

In  the  preceding  article  it  was  shown, 
that  redemption  was  a  work  purely  di- 
vine ;  consequently,  that  it  could  not 
have  been  performed  but  by  an  omnip- 
otent God.  The  reason  that  it  could 
not  have  been  performed  but  by  God 
incarnate,  that  is,  made  Man,  is  be- 
cause Jehovah  God,  such  as  He  is,  in 
his  infinite  essence,  cannot  approach 
to  hell,  much  less  enter  into  it;  for  He 
is  in  the  purest  and  first  things. 
Wherefore,  Jehovah  God,  being  in 
himself  such,  if  He  should  only  blow 
u])on  those  who  are  in  hell.  He  would 
kill  them  in  a  moment;  for  He  said  to 
Moses,  when  He  wished  to  see  Him, 
Thou  irilt  not  he  able  to  sec  my  face, 
because  no  man  will  sec  Me  and  live, 
Exod.  xxxiii.  20.  Since,  therefore, 
Moses  could  not,  still  less  could  those 
who  are  in  hell,  where  all  are  in  the 
last  and  grossest  things,  and  thus  in 
those  most  remote;  for  they  are  in  the 
lowest  degree  natural.  Wherefore, 
unless  Jehovah  God  had  assumed  the 
Human,  and  thus  clothed  himself  with 
a  body  which  is  in  the  lowest  things. 
He  might  have  undertaken  any  re- 
demption in  vain.  For  who  can  at- 
tack any  enemy,  unless  he  approach 


Concerning  Redemption. 


107 


and  be  furnished  witli  arms  for  tlie  bat- 
tle? Or  wlio  can  drive  away  and  de- 
stroy dragons,  liydras  and  basilisks  in 
any  desert,  unless  he  surround  his 
body  with  a  coat  of  mail  and  his  head 
with  a  helmet,  and  have  a  spear  in  his 
hand  ?  Or  who  can  catch  whales  in 
the  sea,  without  a  sliip  and  the  proper 
implements  for  catching  them  ?  By 
these  and  similar  things  may  be  illus- 
trated, tliough  not  justly  compared,  the 
battle  of  the  omnipotent  God  with  the 
hells,  which  battle  He  could  not  have 
entered,  unless  He  had  before  put  on 
the  Human.  But  it  should  be  known, 
that  the  battle  of  the  Lord  with  the 
hells,  was  not  an  oral  battle,  as  between 
reasoners  and  wranglers;  such  a  bat- 
tle would  have  effected  nothing  at  all 
there :  but  it  was  a  spiritual  battle, 
which  is  of  divine  truth  from  divine 
good,  which  was  the  very  vital  princi- 
ple of  the  Lord :  the  influx  of  this,  by 
means  of  sight,  no  one  in  hell  can  re- 
sist. There  is  in  it  such  power,  that 
the  infernal  genii,  only  at  the  percep- 
tion of  it,  fly  away  and  cast  themselves 
down  into  the  deep  and  creep  into 
caverns,  that  they  may  hide  themselves. 
This  is  the  same  that  is  described  in 
Isaiah ;  They  shall  enter  into  caverns 
of  the  rocks,  and  into  clefts  of  the  dust, 
for  fear  of  Jehovah,  when  He  shall 
arise  to  terrify  the  earth,  ii.  19 ;  and 
in  the  Revelation  ;  All  shall  hide  them- 
selves in  the  caves  of  the  rocks,  and  in 
the  rocks  of  the  mountains,  and  shall 
say  to  the  mountains  and  to  the  rocks, 
Fall  upon  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face 
of  Him  who  siffeth  upon  the  throne, 
and  from  the  anger  of  the  Lamb,  vi. 
15,  16,  17.  What  the  power  of  the 
Lord,  which  He  has  from  the  divine 
good  was,  when  He  performed  the 
last  judgment  in  the  year  1757,  may 
be  evident  from  those  things  which  are 
described  in  a  little  treatise  concerning 
that  judgment ;  as  that  He  tore  up  from 
their  places  the  hills  and  mountains, 
which  the  infernals  in  the  spiritual 
world  occupied,  and  removed  them 
to  distant  places,  and  made  some  sink 
down ;  and  that  He  deluged  their  cit- 
ies, villages  and  fields  with  a  flood, 
and  tore  up  their  lands,  and  cast  them. 


together  with  the  inhabitants,  into 
wiiirlpools,  bogs  and  fens ;  besides 
many  other  tilings ;  and  all  these  were 
done  by  the  Lord  alone,  through  the 
power  of  divine  truth  from  divine 
good. 

125.  That  Jehovah  God  could  not 
have  operated  and  effected  these  things, 
except  by  his  Human,  may  be  illus- 
trated by  various  comparisons  ;  as  that 
those  who  are  invisible  to  each  other, 
cannot  shake  hands,  or  converse  to- 
gether ;  an  angel  or  a  spirit  cannot 
with  a  man,  although  he  should  stand 
close  to  his  body  and  before  his  face. 
Neither  can  the  soul  of  any.  one  speak 
and  act  with  any  one,  except  through 
his  body.  The  sun  cannot  with  its 
light  and  heat  enter  into  any  man, 
beast  or  tree,  unless  it  first  enter 
the  air,  and  act  through  this ;  nor  can 
it  enter  into  fishes,  except  through  the 
water ;  for  it  must  act  by  means  of  the 
element  in  which  the  subject  is.  No 
one  can  scale  a  fish  without  a  knife, 
nor  pick  the  feathers  from  a  crow  with- 
out fingers,  nor  descend  to  the  bottom 
of  a  lake  without  a  diving-bell.  In  a 
word,  one  thing  must  be  accommodated 
to  another,  before  there  can  be  effect- 
ed any  communication  and  operation 
against  it  or  with  it. 

126.  VI.  That  the  Passion  of 
THE  Cross  was  the  last  Tempta- 
tion WHICH  THE  Lord,  as  the  great- 
est Prophet,  sustained  ;  and  th.4.t 
it  was  the  Means  of  the  Glorifi- 
cation OF  his  Human,  that  is,  op 
uniting  it  with  the  Divine  of  his 
Father,  and  not  Redemption. 

There  are  two  things  for  which  the 
Lord  came  into  the  world,  and  by 
which  He  saved  men  and  angels,  viz. 
redemption  and  the  glorification  of  his 
Human.  These  two  are  distinct  from 
each  other,  but  yet  they  make  one 
with  respect  to  salvation.  What  Re- 
demption is,  has  been  shown  in  the 
preceding  articles,  as  that  it  was  a 
battle  with  the  hells,  a  subjugation  of 
them,  and  afterwards  an  establishment 
of  order  in  the  heavens.  But  glorifi- 
cation is  the  unition  of  the  Human  of 
the  Lord  with  the  Divine  of  his  Fa- 
ther. This  was  done  successively,  and 


» 


108 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


was  fully  completed  by  the  passion  of 
the  cross ;  for  every  man  ought,  on  his 
part,  to  approach  to  God,  and  as  far  as 
man  approaches,  so  far  God,  on  his  part, 
enters.  This  is  the  same  as  with  a 
temple ;  it  is  first  to  be  built,  and  this 
is  done  by  the  hands  of  men ;  and  after- 
wards it  is  to  be  consecrated,  and 
finally  prayer  offered  that  God  may  be 
present,  and  unite  himself  with  the 
church  there.  The  reason  why  the 
union  itself  was  fully  effected  by  the 
passion  of  the  cross,  is,  because  that 
was  the  last  temptation,  which  the 
Lord  underwent  in  the  world,  and  con- 
junction is  effected  by  temptations ;  for 
in  them  man,  to  appearance,  is  left  to 
himself  alone,  although  he  is  not  left, 
for  God  is  then  most  really  present  in 
the  inmost  of  him,  and  supports  him ; 
wherefore,  when  any  one  conquers  in 
temptation,  he  is  most  intimately  con- 
joined to  God ;  and  the  Lord  then  was 
most  intimately  united  to  God  his  Fa- 
ther. That  the  Lord  in  the  passion 
of  the  cross  was  left  to  himself,  is  evi- 
dent from  this  his  exclamation  upon 
the  cross;  O  God,  why  Jtast  thou  for- 
saken Me  ?  and  also  from  these  words 
of  the  Lord ;  No  one  takcth  life  from 
Me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself;  I 
have  the  power  of  laying  it  down,  and 
I  have  the  power  of  taking  it  again; 
this  commandment  I  have  received  from 
my  leather,  John  x.  18.  From  these 
passages,  now,  it  may  be  evident,  that 
the  Lord  did  not  suffer  as  to  the 
Divine,  but  as  to  the  Human ;  and 
that  then  an  inmost  and  thus  a  com- 
plete union  was  effected.  Tliis  may 
be  illustrated  by  this,  that  while  a  man 
suffers  as  to  the  body,  his  soul  does  not 
suffer,  but  only  grieves ;  and  God  takes 
away  this  grief  after  the  victory,  and 
wipes  it  away  as  one  wipes  away  tears 
from  the  eyes. 

127.  These  two  things,  redemption 
and  the  passion  of  the  cross,  should  be 
distinctly  perceived,  otherwise  the  hu- 
man mind,  like  a  ship,  falls  into  quick- 
sands, or  upon  rocks,  and  is  lost,  to- 
gether with  the  pilot,  captain  and  sail- 
ors ;  that  is,  it  errs  in  all  those  things 
which  are  of  salvation  by  the  Lord ; 
for  a  man  without  a  distinct  idea  con- 


cerning those  two  things,  is  as  one 
who  dreams,  and  sees  imaginary  things, 
and  draws  conclusions  from  those 
things  which  he  thinks  to  be  real, 
when,  nevertheless,  they  are  ludicrous ; 
or  he  is  as  one  who  walks  in  the  night, 
and,  while  he  takes  hold  of  the  leaves 
of  some  tree,  he  thinks  them  to  be  the 
hair  of  a  man,  and  comes  nearer,  and 
entangles  his  own  hair  in  the  branches. 
But  although  redemption  and  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross  are  two  distinct  things, 
yet  they  make  one  with  respect  to  sal- 
vation ;  since  the  Lord,  by  union  with 
his  Father,  which  was  completed  by 
the  passion  of  the  cross,  became  Re- 
deemer to  eternity. 

128.  Concerning  the  Glorification, 
by  which  is  meant  the  unition  of  the 
Divine  Human  of  the  Lord  with  the 
Divine  of  the  Father,  that  it  was  fully 
completed  by  the  passion  of  the  cross, 
the  Lord  thus  speaks;  After  Judas 
went  out,  Jesus  said.  Now  the  Son  of 
Man  is  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified 
in  Him ;  if  God  be  glorified  in  Him, 
God  will  also  glorify  Him  in  himself, 
and  loill  presently  glorify  Him,  John 
xiii.  31,  32;  Here  glorification  is  said 
both  of  God  the  Father  and  of  the  Son, 
for  it  is  said,  God  is  glorified  in  Him, 
and  God  will  glorify  Him  in  Himself: 
that  this  is  to  be  united  is  manifest.  Fa- 
ther, glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  Thee,  xvii.  1,  5.  It  is  thus 
said,  because  the  unition  was  recipro- 
cal, and  as  it  is  said,  The  Father  in 
Him  and  He  in  the  Father.  Now  my 
soul  is  troubled:  and  He  said.  Father, 
glorify  thy  name;  and  a  voice  came 
out  from  heaven,  I  have  both  glorified, 
and  icill  glorify  again,  xii.  27,  28. 
This  was  said  because  the  unition 
was  effected  successively.  Ought  not 
Christ  to  suffer  this,  and  enter  into  his 
glory?  Luke  xxiv.  26.  Glory,  in  the 
Word,  when  it  is  used  concerning  the 
Lord,  signifies  divine  truth  united  to 
divine  good.  From  these  it  is  very 
manifest,  that  the  Human  of  the  Lord 
is  Divine. 

129.  The  reason  why  the  Lord  was 
willing  to  be  tempted  even  to  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross,  was,  because  He  was 
The  Puopiiet  ;  and  prophets  formerly 


Concerning  Redemption. 


109 


signified  the  doctrine  of  the  church 
from  the  Word,  and  thence  they  rep- 
resented the  church,  such  as  it  was,  by 
various  things,  and  also  by  things  un- 
just, grievous,  and  even  wicked,  which 
were  enjoined  on  tliem  by  God.  But 
the  Lord,  because  He  was  the  Word 
itself,  by  the  passion  of  the  cross,  as 
The  Prophet,  represented  the  Jewish 
church,  how  it  had  profaned  the  Word 
itself.  To  this  reason  this  other  may 
be  added,  that  thus  He  might  be  ac- 
knowledged in  the  heavens  as  the  Sa- 
vior of  both  worlds ;  for  all  the  things 
of  his  passion  signified  such  things  as 
are  of  the  profanation  of  the  Word, 
and  the  angels  understand  them  spirit- 
ually, while  the  men  of  the  church  un- 
derstand them  naturally.  That  the 
Lord  was  The  Prophet,  is  evident 
from  these  passages :  The  Lord  said, 
A  PROPHET  is  not  less  honored  than  in 
his  own  country  and  in  his  own  house, 
Matt.  xiii.  57 ;  Mark  vi.  4 ;  Luke  iv. 
24.  Jesus  said,  It  is  not  fitting  that  a 
PROPHET  should  perish  out  of  Jerusa- 
lem, Luke  xiii.  33.  Fear  seized  them 
all,  praising  God,  and  saying,  that  a 
Great  Prophet  was  raised  up  amongst 
them,  Luke  vii.  16.  They  said  con- 
cerning Jesus,  This  is  that  Prophet 
of  Nazareth,  Matt.  xxi.  11;  John  vii. 
40,  41.  That  a  Prophet  should  he 
raided  up  from  the  midst  of  the  breth- 
ren, whose  words  they  should  ohey, 
Deut.  xviii.  15  to  19. 

130.  That  prophets  represented  the 
state  of  their  church  as  to  doctrine 
from  the  Word,  and  as  to  a  life  ac- 
cording to  it,  is  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages : — It  was  commanded  the  proph- 
et Isaiah,  that  he  should  loose  the 
sackcloth  from  off  his  loins,  and  the  shoe 
from  off  his  foot,  and  should  go  naked 
and  barefoot  three  years,  for  a  sign  and 
a  prodigy,  Isaiah  xx.  2,  3.  It  was 
commanded  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  that 
he  should  represent  the  state  of  the 
church  by  making  vessels  for  removing, 
and  that  he  should  remove  to  another 
place,  in  the  eyes  of  the  sons  of  Israel, 
and  should  bring  forth  the  vessels  by 
day,  and  should  go  out  in  the  evening 
through  a  hole  dug  in  the  icall,  and 
should  cover  his  face  that  he  might  not 


see  the  earth,  and  that  thus  he  should 
be  a  prodigy  to  the  house  of  Israel,  and 
should  say.  Behold,  I  am  your  prodi- 
gy ;  as  I  have  done,  so  sludl  it  be  done 
to  you,  Ezek.  xii.  3  to  7,  11.  It  was 
commanded  the  prophet  Hosea,  that 
he  should  represent  the  state  of  the 
church,  by  taking  to  himself  a  harlot 
to  wife ;  and  also  he  took  her,  and  she 
brought  forth  to  him  three  sons,  one  of 
whom  he  called  Jezreel,  another  Not-to- 
be-pitied,  and  the  third  Not-a-people. 
And  again  it  was  commanded  him  that 
he  should  go  and  love  a  woman  be- 
loved by  her  companion,  and  an  adul- 
teress, whom  also  he  bought  for  himself, 
Hosea  i.  2  to  9 ;  iii.  2,  3.  It  was  also 
enjoined  upon  a  certain  prophet,  that 
he  should  put  ashes  upon  his  eyes,  and 
suffer  himself  to  be  smitten  and  beaten, 
1  Kings  XX.  35,  37.  It  was  enjoined 
upon  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  that  he 
should  represent  the  state  of  the  church 
by  taking  a  tile,  and  that  he  should 
engrave  upon  it  Jerusalem,  lay  siege, 
and  cast  a  trench  and  mound  against 
it,  should  put  a  frying  pan  of  iron  be- 
tioeen  himself  and  the  city,  and  should 
lie  upon  the  left  side  and  upon  the  right 
side.  Also,  that  he  should  take  wheat, 
barley,  lentiles,  millet  and  fitches,  and 
make  bread  of  them,  and  also  a  cake 
with  man's  dung;  and.  because  he 
prayed  that  this  inight  not  be,  it  was 
permitted  that  he  should  make  it  with 
cow's  dung.  It  was  said  to  him,  Lie 
thou  upon  the  left  side,  and  lay  the  ini- 
quity OF  the  house  of  Isr.\el  ujyon 
it :  the  number  of  days  that  thou  shalt 
lie  upon  it,  thou  shalt  bear  their 
INIQUITY  ;  for  I  will  give  thee  the  years 
of  their  iniquity  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  days,  three  hundred  and 
ninety  days,  that  thou  mayest  bear 
the  iniquity  of  the  house  of  Isra- 
el ;  and  tohen  thou  shalt  have  accom- 
plished them,  thou  shalt  lie  upon  thy 
right  side,  that  thou  mayest  bear  the  ini- 
quity of  the  house  of  Judah,  Ezek.  iv. 
1  to  15.  That  the  prophet  by  these 
things  bore  the  iniquities  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  and  of  the  house  of  Judah, 
and  did  not  take  them  away,  and  thus 
expiate  them,  but  only  represented  and 
pointed  them  out,  is  manifest  fi-om 


110 


Concerning  the  Lord  the. Redeemer. 


what  follows  there,  l^ius  saith  Jeho- 
vah, The  sons  of  Israel  shall  eat  their 
vnclean  bread;  behold,  I  will  break  the 
staff  of  bread,  that  they  may  want 
bread  and  water,  and  be  desolated,  a 
man  and  his  brother,  and  consume  away 
for  their  iniquity,  iv.  13, 16, 17.  The 
like,  therefore,  is  meant  concerning 
the  Lord,  where  it  is  said,  He  hath 
CARRIED  our  sicknesses  and  borne  our 
sorrows;  Jehovah  hath  made  the  ini- 
quities of  us  all  to  fall  upon  Him.  By 
his  knowledge  He  hath  justified  many, 
because  He  hath  borne  their  iniqui- 
ties, Isaiah  hii.  1,  where,  in  the  whole 
chapter,  the  passion  of  the  Lord  is  treat- 
ed of  That  the  Lord,  as  The  Pro- 
phet, represented  the  state  of  the  Jew- 
ish church,  as  to  the  Word,  is  mani- 
fest from  the  particulars  of  his  passion ; 
as  that  He  tvas  betrayed  by  Judas; 
that  He  was  taken  and  condemned  by 
the  chief  p}-icsts  and  by  the  elders ; 
that  they  buffeted  Him;  that  they 
smote  his  head  with  a  reed;  that  they 
put  on  him  a  crown  of  thorns ;  that  they 
divided  his  garments,  and  cast  the  lot 
for  his  vesture;  that  they  crucified 
Him ;  that  they  gave  Him  vinegar  to 
drink;  that  they  pierced  his  side ;  that 
He  was  buried;  and  that  on  the  third 
day  He  rose  again.  His  being  be- 
tr.iyed  by  Judas,  signified  that  He  was 
betrayed  by  the  Jewish  nation,  with 
whom  tJie  Word  then  was,  for  Judas 
represented  that  nation :  his  being 
taken  and  condemned  by  the  chief 
priests  and  elders,  signified  that  he 
was  so  by  all  that  church  :  their  buffet- 
ing Him,  spitting  in  his  face,  scourging 
Him,  and  smiting  his  head  with  a  reed, 
signified  that  they  did  in  like  manner 
to  the  Word,  as  to  its  divine  truths : 
their  putting  on  Him  a  crown  of  thorns, 
signifieul  that  they  had  falsified  and 
adulterated  those  truths  :  their  dividing 
his  garments,  and  casting  the  lot  upon 
his  vesture,  signified  that  they  had  dis- 
persed all  the  truths  of  the  Word,  but 
not  its  spiritual  sense ;  this  the  vesture 
of  the  Lord  signified  :  their  crucifying 
Him,  signified  that  tliey  had  destroyed 
and  ])rofaucd  the  whole  Word  :  their 
ofTering  Him  vinegar  to  drmk,  signified 
that  the  truths  of  tlie  Word  were  all 


falsified;  wherefore  He  did  not  drink 
it:  their  piercing  his  side,  signified 
that  they  had  totally  extinguished  all 
the  truth  of  the  Word  and  all  the  good 
of  it :  his  being  buried,  signified  the 
rejection  of  what  remained  from  the 
mother :  his  rising  again  on  the  third 
day,  signified  the  glorification  or  the 
union  of  his  Human  with  the  Divine  of 
the  Father.  Hence,  now,  it  is  manifest, 
that  to  bear  iniquities,does  not  mean  to 
take  them  away,  but  to  represent  the 
profanation  of  the  truths  of  the  Word. 

131.  These  things,  also,  may  be  il- 
lustrated by  comparisons,  which  is 
done  for  the  sake  of  the  simple,  who 
see  better  by  means  of  comparisons 
than  by  deductions  formed  analytically 
from  the  Word,  and  at  the  same  time 
from  reason.  Every  citizen  or  sub- 
ject is  united  to  the  king  by  doing  his 
commands  and  precepts,  and  more 
so  if  he  suffers  hardships  for  him, 
and  still  more  if  he  undergoes  death 
for  him,  which  is  done  in  skirmishes 
and  battles.  In  like  manner,  a  friend 
is  united  to  a  friend,  a  son  to  his  fa- 
ther, and  a  servant  to  his  master,  by 
doing  those  things  which  are  agreeable 
to  their  will,  and  more  so  if  they  de- 
fend them  against  their  enemies,  and 
still  more  if  they  fight  for  their  honor. 
Who  is  not  united  to  the  virgin  whom 
he  is  courting  for  a  bride,  when  he 
fights  with  those  who  defame  her,  and 
contends  with  his  rival  even  to  wounds? 
That  they  should  be  united  by  such 
means,  is  according  to  the  law  inscribed 
upon  nature.  The  Lord  says,  /  am 
the  good  Shepherd ;  the  good  Shepherd 
layeth  down  his  life  for  the  sheep,  for 
inhich  reason  the  Father  lovcth  Blc, 
John  X.  1 1,  17. 

132.  VII.  That  the  Passion  op  the 
Cross  is  believed  to  have  been  Re- 
demption ITSELF,  is  a  fundamental 

Error  ok  the  Church;  and  that 
that  Error,  together  with  the 
Error  concerning  three  Divine 
Persons  from  Eternity,  has  per- 
verted THE  WHOLE  ClIURCH,  SO  THAT 
NOT  ANY  Thing  spiritual  is  left  re- 
maining IN  IT. 

What  at  this  day  more  fills  and 
crams  the  books  of  the  orthodox,  or 


Concerning  Redemption. 


lit 


what  is  more  zealously  taught  and  in- 
culcated in  the  schools,  and  more  fre- 
quently preached  and  proclaimed  from 
the  pulpits,  than  that  God  the  Father, 
being  enraged  against  the  human  race, 
not  only  removed  it  from  himself,  but 
also  concluded  it  under  a  universal 
damnation,  and  thus  excommunicated 
it ;  but,  because  He  is  gracious,  that 
He  persuaded  or  excited  his  Son  to  de- 
scend, and  take  upon  himself  the  deter- 
mined damnation,  and  thus  appease 
the  anger  of  his  Father ;  and  that  thus, 
and  not  otherwise,  He  could  look  upon 
man  with  some  favor  ?  Then  that  this, 
also,  was  done  by  the  Son,  who,  in 
taking  upon  himself  the  damnation  of 
the  human  race,  suffered  himself  to  be 
scourged  by  the  Jews,  to  be  spit  upon 
in  the  face,  and  then  to  be  crucified  as 
the  accursed  of  God,  Deut.  xxi.  23 ; 
and  that  the  Father,  after  this  was  done, 
became  propitious,  and  from  love  to- 
wards liis  Son,  cancelled  the  sentence 
of  damnation,  but  only  in  respect  to 
those  for  whom  He  should  intercede ; 
and  that  He  thus  became  a  Mediator 
in  the  presence  of  his  Father  forever. 
These  and  similar  things,  at  this  day, 
sound  in  temples,  and  are  reverberated 
from  the  walls,  like  an  echo  fi-om  the 
woods,  and  fill  the  ears  of  all  there. 
But  cannot  any  one,  whose  reason  is 
enlightened  and  made  sound  by  the 
Word,  see  that  God  is  mercy  and  pity 
itself,  because  He  is  love  itself  and  good 
itself,  and  that  those  are  his  essence ; 
and  that  hence  it  is  a  contradiction  to 
say,  that  mercy  itself,  or  goodness  it- 
self, can  look  upon  man  with  anger, 
and  decree  his  damnation,  and  still 
continue  to  be  his  own  divine  essence  ? 
Such  things  are  scarcely  ever  ascribed 
to  a  good  man  or  an  angel  of  heaven, 
but  only  to  a  wicked  man  or  to  a  spir- 
it of  hell ;  wherefore  it  is  abominable 
to  ascribe  them  to  God.  But,  if  the 
cause  be  investigated,  it  is  this,  that 
they  have  taken  the  passion  of  the 
cross  for  redemption  itself:  thence 
have  flowed  those  opinions,  as,  from 
one  falsity,  falses  flow  in  a  continued  se- 
ries, or  as  from  a  cask  of  vinegar,  noth- 
ing comes  but  vinegar,  or  from  an  in- 
sane mind,  nothing  but  what  is  insane ; 


for  from  one  established  principle,  the- 
orems of  the  same  sort  are  deduced : 
they  are  included  in  it,  and  proceed 
from  it  one  after  another ;  and  from 
this,  concerning  the  passion  of  the 
cross,  that  it  is  redemption,  still  many 
more  things,  scandalous  and  dishonora- 
ble to  God,  may  be  derived,  until  it 
comes  to  pass,  as  Isaiah  says :  The 
priest  and  the  prophet  err  through 
strong  drink;  they  stumble  in  judgment; 
all  the  tables  are  full  of  things  vomited, 
xxviii.  7,  8. 

133.  From  this  idea  concerning 
God  and  concerning  redemption,  all 
theology  has,  from  spiritual,  become  to 
the  lowest  degree  natural ;  which  is  the 
case,  because  merely  natural  proper- 
ties are  attributed  to  God  ;  and  yet  on 
the  idea  of  God,  and  on  the  idea  of  re- 
demption, which  makes  one  with  sal- 
vation, every  thing  of  the  church  de- 
pends. For  that  idea  is  like  the  head, 
from  which  all  parts  of  the  body  are 
derived ;  wherefore,  when  that  is  spir- 
itual, all  things  of  the  church  become 
spiritual,  and  when  that  is  natural,  ail 
things  of  the  church  become  natural ; 
hence,  because  the  idea  concerning 
God  and  concerning  redemption  has 
become  merely  natural,  that  is,  sensual 
and  corporeal,  therefore  all  things, 
which  the  heads  and  members  of  the 
church  have  delivered  and  still  deliver, 
in  their  dogmatical  theology,  are  mere- 
ly natural.  The  reason  why  nothing 
but  falses  can  be  derived  thence,  is, 
because  the  natural  man  continually 
acts  against  the  spiritual,  and  thence 
he  regards  spiritual  things  as  ghosts 
and  phantoms  in  the  air.  Wherefore 
it  may  be  said,  that  on  account  of  that 
sensual  idea  concerning  redemption, 
and  thence  concerning  God,  the  ways 
to  heaven,  which  are  ways  to  the  Lord 
God  the  Savior,  are  beset  with  thieves 
and  robbers,  John  x.  1,  8,  9  ;  and  that, 
in  the  temples,  the  doors  are  thrown 
down,  so  that  dragons  and  owls,  the 
tzjim  and  the  jiim,  have  entered,  and 
sing  together  in  horrible  discord.  That 
this  idea  concerning  redemption,  and 
concerning  God,  pervades  the  faith  of 
the  present  age,  is  known ;  for  that 
faith  is,  that  men  should  pray  to  God 


112 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


the  Father,  that  He  would  remit  their 
sins  for  the  sake  of  the  cross  and  blood 
of  his  Son ;  and  to  God  the  Son,  that 
He  would  pray  and  intercede  for  them  ; 
and  to  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  He 
would  justify  and  sanctify  them.  And 
what  else  is  this,  than  to  make  supplica- 
tion to  three  Gods  in  their  order  ?  And 
how,  then,  is  the  thought  concerning 
the  divine  government  different  from 
that  concerning  an  aristocratical  or 
hierarchical  government,  or  from  that 
concerning  a  triumvirate  such  as  there 
was  once  at  Rome  ?  But  instead  of  a 
'triumvirate,  it  may  be  called  a  tripcr- 
sonafe.  And  what,  then,  is  easier  for 
the  devil  than  to  do,  as  is  said,  di- 
vide and  rule ;  that  is,  to  distract  the 
minds  of  men,  and  excite  rebellious 
motions,  now  against  one  God,  now 
against  another,  as  has  been  done  from 
the  time  of  Arius  to  the  present  day ; 
and  thus  to  cast  down  from  the  throne 
the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  who  has  all 
power  in  heaven  and  earth.  Matt,  xxviii. 
18,  and  to  set  upon  it  some. one  of  his 
minions,  and  to  ascribe  worship  to 
him  ;  or,  because  it  is  taken  away  from 
him,  to  take  it  away  also  from  the  Lord 
himself? 


134.  To  the  above  will  be  added  these 
Relations — First.  I  once  entered 
into  a  temple  in  the  world  of  spirits, 
where  many  were  assembled  ;  and,  be- 
fore the  sermon,  they  reasoned  among 
themselves  concerning  Redemption. 
The  temple  was  square,  and  there 
were  not  windows  in  the  walls,  but  a 
large  opening  above  in  the  middle  of 
the  roof,  through  which  liglit  from 
heaven  entered, and  illuminated  it  better 
than  if  there  had  been  windows  at  the 
sides.  And  behold,  suddenly,  while 
they  were  talking  about  redemption,  a 
black  cloud,  coming  from  the  north, 
covered  the  opening ;  whence  it  became 
so  dark,  that  one  could  not  see  another, 
and  scarcely  any  one  could  see  tiio 
palm  of  his  hand.  While  they  stood 
amazed  on  account  of  this,  lo,  that 
black  cloud  was  divided  in  the  middle, 
and  through  the  aperture  were  .seen 
angels  descending  from  heaven ;  and 


they  dispersed  the  cloud  on  each  side, 
whence  it  became  again  light  in  the 
temple  ;  and  then  the  angels  sent  down 
one  of  their  number,  who,  in  the  name 
of  the  rest,  asked  the  congregation 
what  they  were  contending  about,  since 
so  thick  a  cloud  came  over  them,  and 
took  away  the  light,  and  brought  on 
darkness.  They  replied,  that  it  was 
about  redemption,  and  that  this  was 
made  by  the  Son  of  God,  by  the  passion 
of  the  cross,  and  that  by  this  He  made 
expiation,  and  delivered  the  human 
race  from  damnation  and  eternal  death. 
But  to  this  the  deputed  angel  said, 
"  How  by  the  passion  of  the  cross  ? 
Explain  why  it  was  effected  by  that." 
And  then  a  priest  came  and  said,  "  I 
will  explain,  in  order,  what  we  know  and 
believe,  which  is,  that  God  the  Fa- 
ther, being  enraged  against  the  human 
race,  condemned  it,  and  excluded  it 
from  his  clemency,  and  declared  them 
accursed  and  reprobate,  and  doomed 
thein  to  hell ;  and  that  He  wished  that 
his  Son  would  take  upon  himself  that 
condemnation,  and  that  the  Sou  con- 
sented, and,  for  that  purpose,  descended, 
and  assumed  the  Human,  and  suffered 
himself  to  be  crucified,  and  thus  the 
condemnation  of  the  human  race  to  be 
transferred  to  himself ;  for  it  is  written, 
Cursed  is  every  one  who  Itangeth  on  the 
wood  of  a  cross  ;  and  that  the  Son  thus 
appeased  the  Father  by  interceding 
and  mediating ;  and  that  then  the  Fa- 
ther, from  love  towards  the  Son,  and 
moved  with  the  misery  seen  in  Him 
upon  the  cross,  determined  that  He 
would  forgive  ;  '  but  only  those  to  whom 
I  impute  tliy  righteousness ;  these  I  will 
make,  from  sons  of  wrath  and  curse, 
sons  of  grace  and  blessing,  and  will  jus- 
tify and  save  ;  but  the  rest  may  remain, 
as  was  before  determined,  sonsofwrath :' 
this  is  our  faitli,  and  these  things  are 
the  righteousness  which  God  the  Fa- 
ther inserts  into  our  faith,  which  alone 
justihes  and  saves."  The  angel,  hav- 
ing heard  these  words,  was  silent  for  a 
long  time,  for  he  was  fixed  in  astonish- 
ment :  and  afterwards  he  broke  silence, 
and  spoke  these  words :  "  Cau  tlie 
Christian  world  be  so  infatuated,  and 
wander  from  sound  reason  into  such 


Concerning  Redemption. 


deliriums,  and  conclude  the  fuudainen- 
tal  article  of  salvation  from  such  para- 
doxes? Who  cannot  sec  that  those 
things  are  diametrically  contrary  to 
the  very  divine  essence,  that  is,  contra- 
ry to  its  divine  love  and  its  divine  wis- 
dom, and,  at  the  same  time,  contrary 
to  its  omnipotence  and  omnipresence  ? 
No  good  master  can  deal  thus  with  his 
servants  and  maids ;  nay,  a  wild  beast 
is  not  so  cruel  to  its  cubs,  or  a  bird  of 
prey  to  its  young.  Is  it  not  contrary 
to  the  divine  essence  to  annul  the  call 
which  has  been  made  to  all  and  every 
one  of  the  human  race  ?  Is  it  not  con- 
trary to  the  divine  essence  to  change 
the  order  established  from  eternity, 
which  is,  that  every  one  should  be 
judged  according  to  his  life  ?  Is  it  not 
contrary  to  the  divine  essence  to  with- 
draw love  and  mercy  from  any  man, 
and  much  more  from  the  whole  human 
race  ?  Is  it  not  contrary  to  the  divine 
essence  to  be  brought  back  to  mercy 
from  the  misery  seen  in  the  Son ;  and 
because  mercy  is  the  very  essence  of 
God,  to  be  brought  back  to  his  own  es- 
sence ?  And  is  it  not  abominable  to 
think  that  He  ever  went  out  of  it  ?  for 
it  is  Himself  from  eternity  to  eternity. 
Is  it  not  also  impossible  to  insert,  in 
any  thing  such  as  your  faith  is,  the 
righteousness  of  redemption,  which,  in 
itself,  is  of  the  divine  omnipotence,  and 
to  impute  and  ascribe  it  to  man,  and 
to  declare  him  righteous,  pure  and  ho- 
ly without  any  other  means  ?  Is  it  not 
impossible  to  remit  sins  to  any  one,  and 
to  renew,  regenerate  and  save  any 
one  by  imputation  alone,  and  thus  to 
turn  unrighteousness  into  righteous- 
ness, and  the  curse  into  a  blessing  ?  Is 
it  not,  in  such  a  case,  possible  to  turn 
hell  into  heaven  and  heaven  into  hell, 
and  the  dragon  into  Michael  and  Mi- 
chael into  the  dragon,  and  thus  to  end 
the  battle  between  them  ?  What  is  ne- 
cessary but  to  take  away  the  imputa- 
tion of  your  faith  from  one,  and  put  it 
into  the  other  ?  thus  we  who  are  in 
heaven  shall  be  in  trepidation  forever. 
It  is  not  according  to  justice  and  judg- 
ment that  one  should  take  upon  him- 
self the  wickedness  of  another,  and 
the  wicked  should  become  innocent, 
15 


and  that  wickedness  should  thus  be 
washed  away.  •  Is  not  this  contrary  to 
justice,  botii  divine  and  human?  The 
Christian  world  is  yet  ignorant  that 
there  is  order,  and  still  more  what  the 
order  is  which  God  introduced  into  the 
world,  when  lie  created  it,  and  that 
God  cannot  act  contrary  to  it,  since,  in 
that  case,  He  would  act  contrary  to 
Himself;  for  God  is  Order  itself."  The 
priest  understood  the  things  said  by  the 
angel,  because  the  angels  who  were 
above,  infused  light  from  heaven  ;  and 
then  he  groaned,  and  said,  "  What  is 
to  be  done?  All,  at  this  day,  thus 
preach,  and  pray,  and  believe.  This  is 
in  the  mouth  of  all ;  '  Good  Father,  have 
mercy  on  us,  and  remit  to  us  our  sins 
for  the  sake  of  thy  Son's  blood,  which 
He  shed  for  us  on  the  cross ;'  and  to 
Christ,  '  Lord,  intercede  for  us ;'  to 
which  we  priests  add,  '  Send  to  us  the 
Holy  Spirit.' "  And  then  the  angel 
said,  "  I  have  observed  that  the  priests 
prepare  eye-salve  from  the  Word  not 
interiorly  understood,  which  they  put 
upon  the  eyes  which  are  blinded  by 
their  faith,  or  they  make  of  it  a  sort  of 
plaster  for  themselves,  which  they  put 
upon  the  wounds  inflicted  by  their  dog- 
mas, but  still  they  do  not  heal  them, 
because  they  are  inveterate ;  wherefore 
go  to  him  who  stands  there  (and  he 
pointed  with  the  finger  to  me),  he  will 
teach  you  from  the  Lord,  that  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross  was  not  redemption, 
but  that  it  was  the  unjtion  of  the  Hu- 
man of  the  Lord  with  the.  Divine  of 
the  Father ;  but  tliat  redemption  was 
the  subjugation  of  the  hells,  and  the 
establishment  of  order  in  tlie  heavens ; 
and  that,  unless  those  things  had  been 
performed  by  the  Lord,  when  He  was 
in  the  world,  there  would  have  been 
no  salvation  for  any  on  earth,  nor  for 
any  in  the  heavens ;  and  he  will  teach 
you  also  the  order  introduced  at  the 
creation,  according  to  which  men 
should  live,  that  tliey  may  be  saved, 
and  that  those  who  do  live  according 
to  it  are  numbered  among  the  redeemed, 
and  are  called  the  elect."  These  things 
being  said,  windows  were  made  in  the 
temple  at  the  sides,  through  which  light 
flowed  in  fi-om  the  four  quarters  of  the 


114 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


world,  and  cherubs  appeared  flying  in 
the  splendor  of  the  light-;  and  the  ;in- 
gel  was  taken  up  to  his  companions 
above  the  aperture,  and  we  retired  full 
of  joy. 

135.  Second  Relation.  One  morn- 
ing, as  I  awaked  from  sleep,  the  sun 
of  the  spiritual  world  appeared  to  me 
in  its  splendor,  and  under  it  I  saw  the 
heavens,  distant  as  the  earth  is  from  its 
sun ;  and  then  were  heard  from  the 
heavens  unspeakable  words,  which,  be- 
ing collected  together,  were  articulated 
into  this  expression,  that  "  There  is 
one  God,  who  is  Man,  whose  habitation 
is  in  that  sun."  This  articulate  sen- 
tence descended  through  the  middle 
heavens  to  the  lowest,  and  from  this 
into  the  world  of  spirits,  where  I  was ; 
and  I  perceived  that  the  idea  of  one 
God,  which  the  angels  had,  was  chang- 
ed, according  to  the  degrees  of  descent, 
into  an  idea  of  three  Gods.  When  I 
observed  this,  I  began  to  speak  with 
those  who  thought  of  three  Gods,  say- 
ing, "Oh,  what  an  enormity!  Whence 
did  you  get  tiiat?"  And  they  replied, 
"  We  think  of  three,  from  the  idea 
which  we  entertain  concerning  the  tri- 
une God ;  but  still  tliis  does  not  fall  in- 
to our  mouth ;  wlien  we  speak,  we  al- 
ways say  roundly,  tliat  '  God  is  one  ;' 
if  in  our  minds  there  is  another  idea,  let 
it  be  so,  provided  -it  do  not  flow  down 
and  divide  the  unity  of  God  in  the 
mouth;  but  still,  from  time  to  time,  it 
does  flow  down,  because  it  is  within ; 
and  then,  if  we  should  speak  out,  we 
should  say  '  tiiree  Gods ;'  but  we  cau- 
tiously avoid  this,  lest  we  should  be 
exposed  to  the  ridicule  of  those  who 
hear  us."  And  then  they  spoke  openly 
from  their  thought,  saying,  "  Are 
there  not  tliree  Gods,  because  there 
are  three  divine  persons,  each  one  of 
whom  is  God  ?  We  cannot  think  other- 
wise, since  the  leader  of  our  church, 
from  the  de.sk  of  his  holy  dogmas, 
ascribes  creation  to  one,  redemption  1o 
another,  and  sanctification  to  tlie  third  ; 
and,  especially,  since  he  attributes  to 
each  of  thcni  his  peculiar  properties, 
which,  he  asserts,  are  incommunicable, 
and  which  are  not  only  creation,  re- 
demption and  sanctification,  but  also  im- 


putation, mediation  and  operation.  Ig 
tlicre  not,  then,  one  who  created  us, 
and  he  also  imputes  ?  another  who  re- 
deemed us,  and  he  also  mediates  ?  and 
a  tiiird  who  operates  the  mediated  im- 
putation, and  he  also  sanctifies  !  W'ho 
does  not  know  that  the  Son  of  God  was 
sent  by  the  Father  into  the  world,  that 
he  might  redeem  the  human  race,  and 
thus  become  an  Expiator,  Mediator, 
Propitiator  and  Intercessor '.'  And,  be- 
cause he  is  one  with  the  Son  of  God 
from  eternity,  are  there  not  two  per- 
sons distinct  from  each  other  ?  and  be- 
cause these  two  are  in  heaven,  one  sit- 
ting at  the  right  hand  of  the  other, 
should  there  not  be  a  third  person,  who 
may  execute  in  the  world  what  is  de- 
creed in  heaven  ?"  Having  heard  this, 
I  was  silent,  but  thought  with  myself, 
Oh,  what  infatuation  !  They  do  not 
know  any  thing  at  all  what  is  meant  in 
the  Word  by  mediation.  And  then, 
by  the  command  of  the  Lord,  three  an- 
gels descended  from  heaven  and  were 
associated  with  me,  in  order  that  from 
an  interior  perception,  I  might  speak 
with  those  who  were  in  the  idea  of 
three  Gods  ;  and  particularly  concern- 
ing mediation,  intercession,  propitiation 
and  expiation,  which  are  attributed  by 
them  to  the  second  person,  or  the  Son, 
but  not  until  after  He  became  man, 
many  ages  since  the  creation,  when 
those  four  means  of  sdvation  were  not 
before  in  existence  :  and  thus  God  the 
Father  was  not  propitiated,  the  human 
race  not  expiated,  nor  was  any  one 
sent  from  heaven,  who  interceded  and 
mediated.  Then,  from  the  inspira- 
tion afforded  me,  I  spoke  with  them, 
saying,  "Come  here  as  many  of  you 
as  can,  and  hear  what  is  meant  in  the 
Word  by  mediation,  intercession,  e.\- 
piation  and  propitiation.  Those  are 
four  ])redications  of  the  grace  of  the 
one  God  in  his  Human.  God  the  Fa- 
ther can  never  be  approached,  nor  can 
He  come  to  any  man,  because  He  is 
inlinite,  and  in  his  esse,  which  is  Je- 
hovah ;  from  w'hich  es.'je,  if  He  should 
come  to  man.  He  would  consume  him, 
as  fire  consumes  wood,  and  reduces  it  to 
ashes.  This  is  manifest  from  these 
considerations:  that  He  said  to  Moses, 


Concerning  Redcmjition. 


115 


who  wished  to  see  Him,  that  No  one 
can  see  Ilim  and  live,  Exod.  xxxiii.  20. 
And  the  Lord  said,  No  one  hath  ever 
seen  God,  except  the  Son,  loho  is  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father,  John  i.  18; 
Matt.  xi.  27 ;  also  that  No  one  hath 
heard  the  voice  of  the  Father,  nor  seen 
shape,  John  v.  37.  It  is  read,  in- 
deed, that  Moses  saw  Jehovah  face  to 
face,  and  spoke  with  Him  moutli  to 
mouth ;  but  this  was  done  through  an 
angel;  in  like  manner, with  Abraham 
and  Gideon.  Now,  because  God  the 
Father,  in  himself,  is  such.  He  was 
pleased  to  assume  the  Human,  and,  in 
this,  to  admit  men  to  Himself,  and  thus 
to  hear  them,  and  to  speak  with  them ; 
and  this  Human  is  what  is  called  thr. 
Son  of  God;  and  this  is  what  medi- 
ates, intercedes,  propitiates,  and  expi- 
ates. I  will  tell,  therefore,  what  those 
four  things,  predicated  of  the  Human 
of  God  the  Father,  signify.  Media- 
tion signifies  that  the  Human  is  the 
medium  through  which  man  may  come 
to  God  the  Father,  and  God  the  Father 
to  man,  and  thus  teach  and  lead  him, 
that  he  may  be  saved ;  wherefore  the 
Son  of  God,  by  whom  is  meant  the 
Human  of  God  the  Father,  is  called 
Savior;  and  in  the  world,  Jesus,  that 
is,  salvation.  Intercession  signifies 
perpetual  mediation ;  for  love  itself, 
the  properties  of  which  are  mercy, 
clemency  and  grace,  perpetually  inter- 
cedes, that  is,  mediates  for  those  who 
do  his  commandments,  whom  He  loves. 
Expiation  signifies  the  removal  of 
sins,  into  which  man  would  rush  if  he 
should  approach  the  naked  Jehovah. 
Propitiation  signifies  the  operation 
of  clemency  and  grace,  lest  man,  by 
means  of  sins,  should  bring  himself  in- 
to condemnation;  likewise  protection, 
lest  he  should  profane  holiness;  this 
was  signified  by  the  propitiatory  over 
the  ark  in  the  tabernacle.  It  is  known 
that  God  spoke  in  the  Word  according 
to  appearances,  as  that  He  is  angry, 
avenges,  tempts,  punishes,  casts  into 
hell,  condemns,  yea,  that  He  does  evil ; 
when  yet  He  is  angry  with  no  one. 
He  does  not  avenge,  tempt,  punish, 
cast  into  hell,  or  condemn :  these 
things  are  as  far  fi-om  God  as  heaven 


is  from  hell,  and  infinitely  farther; 
wherefore  they  are  forms  of  speech,  ac- 
cording to  appearance ;  such,  also,  in 
another  sense,  are  expiation,  propitia- 
tion, intercession  and  mediation,  by 
which  are  meant  the  ways  and  means 
of  access  to  God,  and  of  receiving 
grace  from  God  through  his  Human ; 
which  not  being  understood,  men  have 
divided  God  into  three,  and  upon  these 
three  have  founded  every  doctrine  of 
the  church,  and  thus  have  falsified  the 
Word :  hence  the  abomination  op 
desolation,  foretold  by  the  Lord  in 
Daniel,  and  again  in  Matt,  xxiv." 
When  I  had  said  this,  the  company  of 
spirits  retired  from  around  me,  and  I 
observed  that  those  who  actually  enter- 
tained an  idea  of  three  Gods,  looked 
towards  hell,  and  those  who  entertained 
an  idea  of  one  God,  in  whom  is  a  di- 
vine Trinity,  and  that  this  is  in  the 
Lord  God  the  Savior,  looked  towards 
heaven ;  and  to  these  appeared  the 
sun  of  heaven,  in  which  Jehovah  is  in 
his  Human. 

136.  Third  Relation.  I  saw,  at  a 
distance,  five  gymnasiums,  each  of 
whicli  was  surrounded  with  light  from 
heaven.  The  first  gymnasium  was 
surrounded  with  purple  light,  such  as 
is  in  the  clouds  in  the  morning,  before 
sunrise,  on  earth ;  the  second  gymna- 
sium was  surrounded  with  a  yellow 
light,  like  that  of  the  morning  after 
sunrise ;  the  third  gymnasium  was 
surrounded  with  a  bright  light  like  that 
of  noonday  in  the  world ;  the  fourth 
gymnasium  was  surrounded  with  a 
middle  kind  of  light,  such  as  there  is 
when  it  begins  to  be  mixed  with  the 
shade  of  the  evening;  and  the  fifth 
gymnasium  stood  in  the  very  shade  of 
the  evening.  The  gymnasiums  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  spacious  halls, 
where  the  learned  assemble,  and  dis- 
cuss various  arcana,  which  serve  for 
their  science,  intelligence  and  wisdom. 
On  seeing  them,  I  felt  a  strong  desire 
of  going  to  one  of  them,  and  I  went  in 
the  spirit  to  that  which  was  surround- 
ed with  a  middle  kind  of  light ;  and  I 
entered,  and  there  was  seen  a  company 
of  learned  men  assembled,  who  were 
together   investigating  what  that  in- 


116 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


volves,  which"  is  said  concerning  the 
Lord,  that,  being  taken  up  into  heaven, 
He  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
Mark  xvi.  19.  Most  of  the  company 
assembled,  said  that  those  tilings  should 
be  understood  exactly  according  to  the 
words,  that  the  Son  thus  sits  beside  the 
Father.  But  it  was  asked,  "  Why  so  ?" 
Some  said,  that  the  Son  was  placed 
by  the  Father  at  the  right  hand,  on  ac- 
count of  the  redemption  which  He 
accomplished;  some,  that  He  sits  thus 
put  of  love ;  some,  that  it  was  in  order 
that  He  might  be  his  counsellor,  and 
because  He  is  so,  that  He  may  receive 
honor  from  the  angels ;  and  some  that 
it  was  for  this  reason,  that  it  was  given 
to  Him  by  the  Father  to  reign  in  his 
stead,  for  it  is  read,  that  All  power  is 
given  to  Him  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ; 
but  a  great  part,  that  He  may  hear 
those  on  the  right  hand,  for  whom  He 
intercedes ;  for  all  in  the  church,  at 
this  day,  go  to  God  the  Father,  and 
pray  that  He  would  have  mercy  for  the 
sake  of  the  Son ;  and  this  causes  the 
Father  to  turn  himself  to  Him,  that 
He  may  receive  his  mediation.  But 
some  said,  that  only  the  Son  of  God 
from  eternity  sits  at  the  riglit  hand  Af 
the  Father,  that  He  may  communicate 
his  divinity  to  the  Son  of  man,  born  in 
the  world.  On  hearing  these  words, 
I  wondered  exceedingly,  that  learned 
men,  although  they  had  been  some  time 
in  the  spiritual  world,  should  still  be  so 
ignorant  of  heavenly  things;  but  I 
perceived  the  cause,  that,  by  reason 
of  confidence  in  their  own  intelligence, 
tliey  did  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  in- 
structed by  the  wise.  But  that  they 
might  not  continue  any  longer  in  igno- 
rance concerning  the  sitting  of  the  Son 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  I  raised 
my  hand,  requesting  that  they  would 
listen  to  a  few  words,  which  I  w  ished 
to  speak  on  that  subject.  And  be- 
cause they  assented,  I  said,  "  Do  you 
not  know  from  the  Word,  tliat  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son  are  one,  and  that 
the  Father  is  in  tlie  Son  and  the  Son 
in  the  Father  ?  This  the  Lord  openly 
says  in  John  x.  SO,  and  xiv.  10,  11.  If 
you  do  not  believe  these  words,  you 
divide  God  into  two,  which  being  done, 


you  cannot  think  otherwise  than  nat- 
urally, sensually,  yea,  materially,  con- 
cerning God,  which  has  also  been  done 
in  the  world,  ever  since  the  Nicene 
council,  which  introduced  three  divine 
persons  from  eternity,  and  thereby 
turned  the  church  into  a  theatre,  orna- 
mented with  painted  scenery,  withijj 
which  the  actors  represented  new 
scenes.  Who  does  not  know  and  ac- 
knowledge that  God  is  one  1  If  you  ac- 
knowledge this  in  heart  and  spirit,  all 
that  you  have  said  is  dissipated  of  it- 
self, and  rebounds  into  the  air,  like 
idle  words  from  the  ear  of  a  wise  man." 
At  these  words,  many  were  enraged, 
and  longed  to  pull  my  ears,  and  to 
command  silence ;  but  the  president 
of  the  assembly,  in  a  fit  of  indignation, 
said,  "  The  discussion  here  is  not  con- 
cerning the  unity  and  the  plurality  of 
God,  because  we  believe  both ;  but 
concerning  this — What  does  it  involve 
that  the  Son  sits  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father]  If  you  know  any  thing 
concerning  this,  speak."  And  I  re- 
plied, I  will  speak ;  but,  I  beseech 
you,  stop  the  noise."  And  I  said, 
''By  sitting  on  the  right  hand,  is  not 
meant  sitting  on  the  riffht  hand ;  but 
by  that  expression  is  meant  the  omnip- 
otence of  God  by  means  of  the  Hu- 
man, wliich  He  assumed  in  the  world  ; 
by  this  He  is  in  the  lasts,  as  well  as  in 
the  firsts ;  by  this  He  entered,  destroyed 
and  subjugated  the  hells ;  by  this  He 
established  order  in  the  heavens ;  thus 
by  this  He  redeemed  both  angels  and 
men,  and  continties  to  redeem  forever. 

"If  you  consult  the  Word,  and  are 
such  that  you  can  be  illuminated,  you 
will  perceive,  that,  by  the  right  hand 
there,  is  meant  omnipotence,  as  in 
Isaiah;  My  ii.4nd  founded  the  earth, 
and  MY  KUiHT  HAND  Spanned  the  heav- 
ens, xlviii.  13;  and  in  David,  God  hath 
sworn  hy  his  right  hand,  and  by  the 
strength  of  his  arm,  Psalm  Ixii.  8. 
Thy  right  hand  holdeth  me  up,  xviii. 
35.  Look  to  the  Son,  ichom  Thou  hast 
strengthened  for  Thee;  let  mx  handAc 
for  the  man  of  the  right  hand, /or  the 
Son  of  Man  whom  Thou  haj:t  strcngth- 
cned  for  thee,  Ixxx.  17.  Thence  it  is 
evident,  how  this  is  to  be  understood ; 


Concerning  Redemption. 


in 


The  saying  of  Jehovah  to  my  Lord ; 
Sit  Thou  at  MY  uicJHT  hand,  until  I 
shall  have  made  thine  enemies  thy  foot- 
stool. Jehovah  will  send  the  sceptre  of 
thy  strength  out  of  Zion ;  rule.  Thou  in 
the  midst  of  thine  enemies,  Psalin  ex. 
1,  2.  That  whole  psahii  treats  con- 
cerning the  battle  of  the  Lord  with  the 
hells,  and  concerning  their  snbjuga- 
tion.  Since  the  right  hand  of  God 
signifies  omnipotence,  therefore  the 
Lord  says,  that  He  is  about  to  sit  at 

THE  RIGHT  HAND  OF  POWER,  Matt.  XXvi. 

63, 64,  and  at  the  rtght  hand  or  the 
POWER  OF  God,  Luke  xxii.  69."  But 
at  these  words  the  company  became 
tumultuous;  and  I  said,  "  Take  heed 
to  yourselves ;  perhaps  a  hand  may  ap- 
pear from  heaven,  which,  when  it  ap- 
pears, as  it  once  did  to  me,  strikes  an 
incredible  terror  of  power  ;  which  was 
to  me  a  confirmation,  that  tlie  right 
hand  of  God  signifies  omnipotence." 
Scarcely  was  this  said,  when  a  hand 
was  stretched  out  under  heaven,  at  the 
sight  of  wliich,  so  great  a  terror  seized 
them,  that  they  rushed  in  crowds  to  the 
gates,  and  some  to  the  windows,  that 
they  might  cast  themselves  out,  and 
some,  losing  their  breath,  fainted  away. 
But  I  remained  not  terrified,  and,  after 
them,  slowly  went  away  ;  and,  at  some 
distance  thence,  I  turned  about,  and 
saw  that  gymnasium  covered  over  with 
a  dark  cloud ;  and  it  was  told  nie  from 
heaven,  that  it  was  so  covered,  because 
they  spoke  from  the  belief  of  three 
Gods,  and  that  the  former  light  would 
return  when  those  of  a  sounder  mind 
should  assemble  there. 

137.  Fourth  Relation.  I  heard 
that  a  council  was  convened  of  those 
who  were  celebrated  for  their  writings 
and  learning,  concerning  the  faith  of 
the  present  time,  and  concerning  the 
justification  of  the  elect  by  it.  This 
was  in  the  world  of  spirits ;  and  it  was 
given  me  to  be  present  in  the  spirit  ; 
and  I  saw  convened  some  of  the  clergy 
who  were  of  the  established  churches, 
and  some  dissenters ;  on  the  right 
side  stood  those,  who,  in  the  world, 
were  called  Apostolic  Fathers,a.nd  lived 
in  the  ages  before  the  Nicene  council ; 
and  on  the  left  side  stood  men,  who. 


since  those  ages,  have  been  renowned 
for  their  books,  printed  or  written. 
Many  of  these  had  their  faces  shaved, 
and  their  heads  covered  with  wigs 
made  of  women's  hair,  and  some  of 
them  had  collars  of  twisted  intestines, 
and  some  had  coliiirs  of  other  stuff; 
but  the  former  had  long  beards,  and 
wore  their  natural  hair.  Before  both 
parties  there  stood  a  man,  a  judge  and 
critic  of  the  writings  of  this  age,  with  a 
staff  in  his  hand,  wlio  struck  the 
ground,  and  commanded  silence ;  he 
ascended  to  the  highest  step  of  the 
pulpit,  and  breathed  out  a  groan ;  and 
from  that  he  wished  to  raise  his  voice 
aloud,  but  the  groaning  breath  drew 
his  voice  back  into  his  throat ;  but  at 
length,  speaking,  he  said,  "Oh!  my 
brethren,  what  an  age  !  There  has  risen 
up  one  from  tiie  herd  of  the  laity,  hav- 
ing neither  gown,  caj),  nor  laurel,  who 
has  pulled  down  our  faith  from  he.aven, 
and  cast  it  into  the  Styx.  Oh,  horrible! 
and  yet  that  alone  is  our  star,  which 
shines  like  Orion  in  the  night,  and  like 
Lucifer  in  the  morning.  That  man, 
although  advanced  in  years,  is  entire- 
ly blind  in  respect  to  the  mysteries  of 
our  faith,  because  he  has  not  opened 
it,  and  seen  in  it  the  righteousness  of 
the  Lord  the  Savior,  and  his  media- 
tion and  atonement ;  and  since  he  has 
not  seen  those,  he  has  neither  seen  the 
wonders  of  his  justification,  which  are 
the  remission  of  sins,  regeneration, 
sanctification  and  salvation.  This  man, 
instead  of  our  faith,  which  is  in  the 
highest  degree  saving,  because  it  is  in 
three  divine  persons,  thus  in  the  whole 
Deity,  has  transferred  faith  to  the  sec- 
ond person  ;  and  not  to  him,  but  to  his 
Human,  which,  indeed,  we  call  Di- 
vine from  the  incarnation  of  the  Son 
from  eternity ;  but  who  thinks  of  it  as 
any  thing  more  than  merely  human  ? 
And  what  else  can  thence  result,  but  a 
faith  from  which,  as  from  a  fountain, 
naturalism  flows?  And  such  a  faith, 
because  it  is  not  spiritual,  differs  but 
little  from  faith  in  a  pope  or  a  saint. 
You  know  what  Calvin  said  in  his  time, 
concerning  worship  from  this  faith ; 
and  I  beseech  you,  tell  me,  one  of  you, 
whence  is  faith  ?  Is  it  not  immediately 


118 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


from  God,  and  thus  does  it  not  contain 
all  things  belonging  to  salvation  '.'"  At 
these  words,  his  companions  on  the 
left  side,  whose  faces  were  shaven,  and 
who  wore  wigs  and  collars,  clapped 
their  hands,  and  exclaimed,  "  You  have 
spoken  most  wisely !  We  know  that 
we  cannot  take  any  thing  which  is  not 
given  us  from  heaven.  Let  that  proph- 
et tell  us  whence  faith  is,  and  wliat 
it  is,  if  that  be  not  faith.  It  is  impos- 
sible that  there  should  be  any  other, 
or  from  any  other  source  ;  and  to  pro- 
duce any  other  faith,  which  is  faith, 
than  this,  is  as  impossible  as  it  is  for  a 
man  to  ride  on  horseback  to  a  constel- 
lation in  heaven,  and  take  thence  a 
star,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket,  and  bring 
it  down."  This  he  said,  that  his  com- 
panions might  laugh  at  every  new  faith. 
On  hearing  these  words,  the  men  on 
the  right  side,  who  had  long  beards, 
and  wore  their  natural  hair,  were  filled 
with  indignation  ;  and  one  of  them  rose 
up  (an  old  man,  but  still  he  seemed  like 
a  young  man  afterwards,  for  he  was 
an  angel  from  heaven,  where  every  age 
becomes  youthful),  and  spoke,  saying, 
"I  have  heard  what  your  faith  is, 
which  the  man  in  the  pulpit  has  so 
magnified.  But  what  is  that  faith  but 
the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord,  after  the 
resurrection,  again  closed  by  the  sol- 
diers of  Pilate  ?  I  have  opened  it,  and 
have  seen  nothing  there  but  the  rods  of 
jugglers,  with  which  the  magicians  in 
Egypt  did  miracles.  Truly  your  faith, 
externally,  in  your  eyes,  is  like  a  chest 
made  of  gold,  and  set  with  precious 
stones,  which,  when  it  is  opened,  is 
empty,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  corners 
of  it  there  may  be  dust  from'  the  relics 
of  Roman  Catholics ;  for  these,  also, 
have  the  same  faitii,  only  at  this  day  it  is 
covered  over  by  them  with  external  sanc- 
tities. It  is  also  (that  I  may  use  compari- 
sons) like  the  vestal  virgin  amongst  tlic 
ancients,  buried  under  the  ground,  be- 
cause she  let  the  sacred  fire  go  out ;  and 
I  can  solemnly  declare,  that  to  my  eyes  it 
is  like  the  golden  calf,  around  which  the 
children  of  Israel  danced,  after  Moses 
departed  and  ascended  into  mount  Si- 
nai to  Jehovah.  Do  not  wonder  that 
I  should  speak  of  your  faith  by  such 


comparisons,  because  we  speak  so  of 
it  in  heaven.  But  our  faith  is,  was,  and 
will  be  forever,  in  the  Lord  God  the 
Savior,  whose  Human  is  Divine,  and 
whose  Divine  is  Human,  thus  accom- 
modated to  reception,  and  by  means 
of  which  the  spiritual  Divine  is  united 
to  the  natural  of  man,  and  faith  be- 
comes spiritual  in  the  natural,  whence 
the  natural  becomes,  as  it  were,  trans- 
parent, from  the  spiritual  light  in 
which  our  faith  is.  The  truths  of 
which  it  consists  are  as  many  as  the 
verses  in  the  sacred  volume ;  those 
truths  are  all  like  stars  which  manifest 
and  form  that  faith.  Man  takes  it 
from  the  Word  by  means  of  his  natural 
light,  in  which  it  is  science,  thought 
and  persuasion ;  but  the  Lord  causes 
it  to  become,  in  such  as  believe  in  Him, 
conviction,  trust  and  confidence;  thus 
natural  faith  becomes  spiritual,  and  by 
means  ofcharity,  it  becomes  living.  This 
faith,  with  us,  is  like  a  queen,  adorned 
with  as  many  precious  stones  as  the 
wall  of  the  holy  Jerusalem,  Rev.  xxi. 
17  to  20.  But  lest  you  should  suppose 
that  these  things  which  I  have  said,  are 
only  words  of  exaltation,  whicli  may 
tlierefore  be  despised,  I  will  read  to 
you  some  things  from  the  holy  Word, 
from  which  it  will  be  manifest,  that  our 
faith  is  not  in  a  man,  as  you  suppose, 
but  in  the  true  God,  in  whom  is  all  the 
Divine.  Jolni  says,  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  true  God  and  ftcrnal  life,  I  John 
v.  20;  Paul,  In  Christ  dwrlkth  all 
the  fullness  of  t/ic  Godhead  bodili/.  Col. 
ii.  9;  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
tiiat  he  preached,  both  to  the  Jews  and 
to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards  God, 
and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
XX.  21 ;  and  the  Lord  himself,  that  All 
jwwcr  is  given  to  Him  in  heaven  and  in 
earth.  Matt,  xxviii.  18;  but  these  are  a 
few."  After  this,  the  angel  looked  at 
me,  and  said,  "  You  know  what  the 
Fivan^elical  believe, or  are  about  to  be- 
lieve, concerning  the  Lord  the  Savior  : 
recite,  therefore,  some  things,  that  we 
may  know  whether  they  are  in  such 
inftituation  as  to  believe  that  his  Hu- 
man is  merely  human,  or  whether 
tlicy  ascribe  to  it  something  of  the  Di- 
vine, or  how  they  do  believe."  Then, 


Concerning  Redemption. 


119 


in  the  presence  of  all  the  assembly,  I 
read  the  following  passages  from  those 
which  1  had  collected  from  their  book 
of  orthodoxy,  called  Formula  Concor- 
dia, and  printed  at  Leipzic  in  the 
year  1750:  That  in  Christ  the  divine 
and  human  natures  are  so  united,  that 
they  make  one  person,  p.  606,  762. 
That  Christ  is  truly  God  and  Man,  in 
an  tindivided  person,  and  continues  to 
be  so  forever,  p.  609,  673,  762.  That 
in  Christ  God  is  Man,  and  Man  God, 
pp.  (507,  705.  That  the  human  nature 
of  Christ  is  exalted  to  all  divine  rnajes- 
ty ;  this  cdso  from  many  of  the  fathers, 
p.  8-1-1  to  852,  860  to  865,  869  to  878. 
That  Christ,  as  to  the  human  nature, 
is  omnipresent,  and  fills  all  things,  p. 
768,  783,  784,  785.  That  Christ,  as 
to  the  human  nature,  has  all  poioer 
in  heaven  and  in  earth,  p.  775,  776, 
780.  That  Christ,  as  to  the  himan 
nature,  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  p.  608,  764.  That  Christ,  as 
to  the  human  nature,  is  to  be  invoked, 
confirmed  by  quotations  from  the  Scrip- 
ture there,  p.  226.  That  the  Augs- 
burg confession  very  highly  approves 
of  that  worship,  p.  19."  After  these 
passages  were  read,  I  turned  myself  to 
the  president,  and  said,  "  I  know  that 
all  here  arc  consociated  with  their  like 
in  the  natural  world ;  tell  me,  I  pray, 
whether  you  know  with  whom  you  are 
consociated."  He  replied  in  a  grave 
tone,  "  I  do  know ;  I  am  consociated 
with  a  famous  man,  a  leader  of  illustri- 
ous bands  from  the  army  of  the  church." 
And  because  he  answered  in  so  grave 
a  tone,  I  said,  "  Allow  me  to  ask 
whether  you  know  where  that  famous 
leader  lives."  And  he  said,  "  Yes,  I 
do;  he  lives  not  far  from  Luther's 
tomb."  At  this  I  smiled,  and  said, 
"  Why  do  you  speak  of  his  tomb  ?  Do 
you  not  know  that  Luther  has  risen 
again,  and  that  lie  has  now  renounced 
his  erroneous  opinions  concerning  jus- 
tification by  faith  in  three  divine  per- 
sons from  eternity,  and  is  therefore 
transferred  to  a  place  amongst  the  hap- 
py of  the  new  heaven,  and  that  he  sees 
and  laughs  at  those  who  are  running 
mad  after  him."  And  he  rejoined,  "  I 
do  know  it ;  but  what  is  that  to  me?" 


And  then  I  addressed  him  in  a  tone 
similar  to  his  own,  saying,  "  Please  to 
inform  your  famous  companion  with 
whom  you  are  consociated,  that  1  am 
afraid,  that,  contrary  to  the  orthodoxy 
of  his  church,  he  robbed  the  Lord  of 
his  divinity,  or  suffered  his  pen  to 
make  a  furrow,  in  which  he  thought- 
lessly sowed  naturalism,  at  the  very 
time  when  he  wrote  against  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Lord  our  Savior."  To 
this  he  replied,  "  I  cannot  do  this,  be- 
cause I  and  he,  as  to  this  tiling,  make 
almost  one  mind.  But  he  does  not  un- 
derstand the  things  tliat  I  say  ;  but  I 
understand  clearly  all  that  he  says  ; 
for  the  spiritual  world  enters  into  the 
natural  world,  and  perceives  the 
thoughts  of  men  there ;  but  not  vice 
versa :  this  is  the  state  of  the  consoci- 
ation of  spirits  and  men."  Now,  be- 
cause I  had  begun  to  speak  with  tiic 
president,  I  said,  "  1  will  ask,  if  you 
please,  another  question.  Do  you 
know  that  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Evan- 
gelical, in  the  manual  of  their  church, 
called  the  Formula  Concordia,  teach- 
es, that  in  Christ  God  is  Man,  and 
Man  God,  and  that  his  Divine  and 
Human  are,  and  continue  to  be  forever, 
in  an  undivided  person  ?  How,  then, 
could  he,  and  how  can  you,  defile  the 
worship  of  the  Lord  with  naturalism?" 
To  which  he  replied,  "  I  know  that,  and 
yet  I  do  not  know  it."  Wherefore  I 
continued,  by  saying,  "  I  ask  him, 
although  he  is  absent,  or  you  in  his 
stead.  Whence  was  the  soul  of  our 
Lord?  If  you  answer,  that  it  was 
from  the  mother,  you  talk  insanely; 
if  from  Joseph,  you  profane  the  Word ; 
but  if  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  you  say 
rightly,  if  only  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  you 
mean  the  Divine,  proceeding  and 
operating,  so  that  He  is  the  Son  of 
Jehovah  God.  Again,  I  ask.  What  is 
the  hypostatic  union  ?  If  you  answer 
that  it  is  a  union  as  between  two,  one 
above  and  the  other  below,  you  talk 
insanely ;  for,  in  that  case,  you  might 
have  made  God  the  Savior  two,  as  you 
have  made  God  three :  but  if  you  say 
that  it  is  a  personal  union,  like  that  of 
the  soul  and  body,  you  say  rightly ; 
this  also  is  according  to  your  doctrine 


120 


Concerning  the  Lord  the  Redeemer. 


and  also  to  that  of  the  fathers.  Con- 
sult the  Formula  Concordia,  p.  765 
to  7C8;  also  the  creed  of  Athanasius, 
where  are  these  words ;  The  right 
faith  is,  that  we  believe  and  confess 
that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  God  and 
Man;  who,  although  He  is  God  and 
Man,  yet  is  not  two,  but  one  Christ; 
one  altogether,  not  by  eonfusion  of  sub- 
stance, but  unity  of  person  ;  for,  as 
the  rational  soul  and  fesh  is  one  man, 
so  God  and  Man  is  one  Christ.  I  ask, 
moreover,  What  else  was  the  damnable 
heresy  of  Arius  (on  account  of  whom 
the  Nicene  council  was  convened  by 
the  emperor  Constantine  the  Great) 
than  that  he  denied  the  divinity  of  the 
Lord's  Human.  Again,  tell  me  whom 
you  understand  by  these  words  in  Jer- 
emiah, Behold  the  days  loill  come,  when 
I  toill  raise  up  unto  David  a  righteous 
branch,  icho  shall  reign  a  king;  and 
this  shall  be  his  name,  Jehovah  our 
Righteousness,  xxiii.  5,  6 ;  xxxiii. 
15,  16.  If  you  say,  the  Son  from  eter- 
nity, you  talk  insanely ;  that  was  not 
the  Redeemer  ;  but  if  you  say,  the  Son 
born  in  time,  who  was  the  only-begot- 
ten Son  of  God,  John  i.  18,  iii.  16, 
you  say  rightly ;  this  by  redemption 
became  righteousness,  of  which  you 
make  your  faith.  Read  also  Isaiah 
ix.  6  ;  besides  other  passages,  in  which 
it  is  foretold,  that  Jehovah  himself  was 
about  to  come  into  the  world."  At 
these  words,  the  president  was  silent, 
and  turned  himself  away. 

After  these  things  were  done,  the 
president  wished  to  close  the  council 
with  prayer ;  but  suddenly  a  man  then 
started  up  from  the  company  on  the 
left,  who  had  a  tiara  on  his  head,  and 
a  cap  over  that ;  and  he  touched  the 
cap  with  his  finger,  and  spoke,  saying, 
"  I  am  also  consociated  with  a  man  in 
your  world,  who  is  there  placed  in 
high  honor  :  this  I  know,  because  I 
speak  from  him,  as  he  does  from  me." 
And  I  asked,  "  Where  does  that  emi- 
nent person  stay?"  He  replied,  "At 
Gottenburg  ;  and  I  once  thought  from 
him,  that  your  new  doctrine  savored 
of  Mahometanism."  On  hearing  whicii, 


I  saw  all  on  the  right  hand,  where  the 
apostolic  fathers  stood,  were  astonished, 
and  changed  their  color  ;  and  I  heard 
exclamations  from  their  minds  througli 
their  mouths,  "  Oh,  horrible !  Oh, 
what  an  age  !"  But  to  appease  their 
just  resentment,  I  put  forth  my  hands, 
and  requested  a  hearing  ;  which  being 
granted,  I  said,  "  I  know  that  a  man 
of  that  eminence  wrote  some  such 
thing  in  a  letter,  which  he  afterwards 
printed ;  but  if  he  had  at  that  time 
known  what  a  blasphemy  that  is,  he 
would  have  torn  it  in  pieces  whh  his 
fingers,  or  committed  it  to  the  flames. 
It  is  such  contumely  as  that  which  is 
meant  by  these  words  of  the  Lord  to 
the  Jews,  who  said  that  Christ  did 
miracles  by  other  power  than  the  di- 
vine, Matt.  xii.  22  to  32  :  besides  this. 
He  also  says  in  the  same  place,  Who- 
soever is  not  loitli  Me,  is  against  Me ; 
and  whosoever  gathereth  not  with  Me, 
scattercth  abroad,  verse  30."  At  these 
words,  the  consociated  spirit  hung 
down  his  head  ;  but  presently  he  raised 
it  up,  and  said,  "  I  have  heard  se- 
verer things  from  you  than  ever."  But 
I  rejoined,  "  The  cause  of  it  is  the 
two  charges,  naturalism  and  Mahome- 
tanism, which  are  wicked  lies,  invent- 
ed by  craft,  and  two  deadly  stigmas, 
designed  to  avert  and  deter  the  minds 
of  men  from  the  holy  worship  of  the 
Lord."  And  I  turned  myself  to  the 
latter  consociated  spirit,  and  said, 
"  Tell  him  at  Gottenburg,  if  you  can, 
to  read  what  was  said  by  the  Lord  in 
tlie  Revelation,  iii.  18;  and  also  ii. 
1(5."  At  these  words,  a  noise  was 
made,  but  it  was  stilled  by  light  de- 
scending from  heaven ;  in  consequence 
of  which  many  of  those  on  the  left 
side  went  over  to  those  on  the  rigiit, 
those  only  remaining  who  think  only 
vain  things,  and  therefore  depend  on 
the  authority  of  some  master,  and  also 
those  who  believe  that  the  [..ord  was 
only  a  mere  man ;  from  these  and 
those  the  light  whicli  descended  from 
heaven  seemed  to  be  reflected,  and  to 
flow  into  those  who  had  passed  from 
the  left  to  the  right  side. 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


121 


CHAPTER  III. 


CONCERNING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT,  AND  CONCERNING  THE  DIVINE 

OPERATION. 


138.  All  of  tlie  sacred  order,  who 
have  entertained  any  just  idea  con- 
cerning the  Lord  our  Savior,  on  their 
entrance  into  the  spiritual  world,  which 
is  generally  on  the  third  day  after  their 
decease,  are  first  instructed  concern- 
ing the  Divine  Trinity  ;  and  particular- 
ly concerning  the  lloly  Spirit,  that  it 
is  not  a  God  by  itself,  but  that  by  it, 
in  the  Word,  is  meant  the  Divine  Op- 
eration, proceeding  from  one  omni- 
present God.  Tlie  reason  why  they 
are  particularly  instructed  concerning 
the  Holy  Spirit,  is,  because  most  en- 
thusiasts, after  death,  fall  into  the  wild 
fancy,  that  they  themselves  are  the 
Holy  Spirit;  and  also  because  many 
of  the  church,  who,  in  the  world,  be- 
lieved that  the  Holy  Spirit  spoke 
through  them,  terrify  others,  by  the 
words  of  the  Lord  in  Matthew,  tliat 
to  speak  against  those  things  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  inspired  into  them,  is 
the  unpardonable  sin,  xii.  31,  32. 
Those  who,  after  instruction,  recede 
from  the  faith  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
a  God  by  itself,  are  informed  after- 
wards, concerning  the  unity  of  God, 
that  it  is  not  divided  into  three  persons, 
each  one  of  whom,  singly,  is  God  and 
Lord,  according  to  the  Athanasian 
creed  ;  but  that  the  Divine  Trinity  is  in 
the  Lord  the  Savior,  as  the  soul,  the 
body  and  the  proceeding  virtue,  with 
every  man.  These  are  then  prepared 
for  receiving  the  faith  of  the  new 
heavens;  and,  after  they  are  prepared, 
a  way  is  opened  for  them  to  a  society 
in  heaven,  where  there  is  the  like 
faith ;  and  a  mansion  is  given  them 
amongst  their  brethren,  v/ith  whom 
they  live  in  blessedness  forever.  Now, 
because  we  have  treated  concerning 
God  the  Creator,  and  concerning  the 
Lord  the  Redeemer,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  should  also  treat  concerning 
16 


the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  this  subject,  like 
the  rest,  is  to  be  divided  into  its  arti- 
cles, which  are  the  following  :  I.  That 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Divine  Truth, 
and  also  the  Divine  Virtue  and  Oper- 
ation, proceeding  from  the  One  God, 
in  whom  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  thus 
from  the  Lord  God  the  Savior.  II. 
That  the  Divine  Virtue  and  Opera- 
tion, which  are  meant  hy  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, are,  in  general.  Reformation  and. 
Regeneration,  and,  according  to  these, 
Renovation,  Vivif cation,  Sanctifca- 
tion  and  Justification ;  and  according 
to  these.  Purification  from  evils,  and 
Remission  of  sins,  and  finally  Salva- 
tion. III.  That  that  Divine  Virtue 
and  Operation,  which  are  meant  by  the 
sending  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  arc,  loith 
the  clergy  in  particular ,  Illustration 
and  Instruction.  IV.  That  the  Lord 
operates  those  virtues  in  those  who  be- 
lieve in  Him.  V.  That  the  Lord  oper- 
ates of  Himself  from  the  leather,  and 
not  vice  versa.  VI.  That  the  spirit 
of  a  man  is  his  mind,  and  whatsoever 
proceeds  from  it. 

139.  I.  That  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
THE  Divine  Truth,  and  also  the 
Divine  Virtue  and  Operation,  pro- 
ceeding FROM  the  One  God,  in 
AVHOM  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  thus 
FROM  THE  Lord  God  the  Savior. 

By  the  Holy  Spirit  is  properly  sig- 
nified the  Divine  Truth,  thus  also  the 
Word ;  and  in  this  sense  the  Lord 
himself  is  also  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but 
because  in  the  church,  at  this  day,  the 
divine  operation,  which  is  actual  justi- 
fication, is  described  by  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, therefore  this  is  here  taken  for  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  and  of  this  chiefly  we 
speak,  because  the  divine  operation  is 
effected  by  the  divine  truth,  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Lord;  and  that  which 
proceeds  is  of  one  and  the  same  es- 


122 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


sence  with  Him  from  whom  it  pro- 
ceeds, like  these  three,  the  soul,  the 
body,  and  the  proceeding  virtue,  which 
together  make  one  essence;  with  man, 
merely  human,  but  with  the  Lord,  di- 
vine and  human  also;  these  being,  af- 
ter the  glorification,  united  together, 
like  the  prior  with  its  posterior,  and 
like  essence  with  its  form.  Thus  the 
three  essentials,  which  are  called  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holi/  Sjjirit, 
in  t]\e  Lord  are  one.  That  the  Lord 
is  the  Divine  True  itself,  or  the  Divine 
Truth,  was  shown  above ;  and  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  also  the  same,  is  man- 
ifest from  these  passages  : — A  Rod 
shall  go  forth  out  of  the  trunk  of  Jesse, 
the  Sj)irit  of  Jehovah  shall  rest  upon 
Him,  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  intelli- 
gence, the  Spirit  of  counsel  and  virtue ; 
Me  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod 
of  his  mouth,  and  He  shall  slay  the 
wicked  with  the  breath  of  his  lips; 
righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle  of  his 
loins,  and  truth  the  girdle  of  his  reins, 
Isaiah  xi.  1,  4,  5.  Affliction  shall 
come  like  a  food,  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah 
shall  bear  the  standard  against  it;  then 
the  Redeemer  shall  come  to  Zion,  lix. 
19,  20.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jeho- 
vah is  upon  Me,  Jehovah  hath  anointed 
Me,  He  hath  sent  Me  to  announce  good 
news  to  the  poor,  Ixi.  1;  Luke  iv.  18. 
2'/<iA'  is  my  covenant;  my  Spirit  which 
is  upon  thee,  and  my  words  shall  not 
depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  from  this  time 
and  forever,  Isaiah  lix.  21.  Since  the 
Lord  is  the  Truth  itself,  therefore  all 
that  which  proceeds  from  Him  is  truth ; 
and  this  is  meant  by  tiie  Paraclete, 
which  is  also  called  the  Spirit  of  Truth, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit;  this  is  manifest 
from  these  passages : — /  tell  you  the 
TRUTH  ;  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  I 
go  away  ;  for,  if  I  go  not  away,  the 
Paraclete  will  not  come  to  you ;  but  if 
Igo,  I  will  send  Him  toyou, John  xvi.  7. 
When  the  Spirit  of  Truth  shall  have 
come,  it  shall  lead  you  into  all  the 
TRUTH  ;  it  shall  not  speak  from  itself 
but  whatsoever  it  shall  hear  it  shall  speak, 
xvi.  13.  It  shall  glorify  Me,  because 
it  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  an- 
nounce  to  you :  all  things,  whatsoever  the 
Father  hath,  are  mine ;  on  this  account 


I  scad,  it  shallreceive  of  mine,  and  shall 
announce  to  you,  xvi.  14,  15.  /  icill 
ask  the  Father  to  give  you  another 
Paraclete,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  which 
the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth 
it  not,  neither  knowcth  it ;  but  ye  know 
it,  because  it  abideth  with  you,  and 
shcdl  be  in  you.  I  icill  not  leave  you 
orphans ;  I  am  coming  to  you,  and  ye 
shall  see  Me,  John  xiv.  16,  17.  TF7^e« 
the  Paraclete  shall  have  come,  ivhich  1 
shall  send  to  you  from  the  Father,  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  it  shcdl  testify  of  3Ie, 
XV.  26.  It  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit, 
xiv.  26.  That  the  Lord  meant  him- 
self by  the  Paraclete  or  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, is  manifest  from  those  words  of  the 
Lord,  that  the  world  did  not  yet  know 
Him,  but  ye  know  Him;  I  will  not 
leave  you  orphans ;  I  come  to  you ;  ye 
shall  sec  Mc.  And  in  another  place, 
Lo,  I  am  with  you  cdl  the  days,  even  to 
the  consummation  of  the  age.  Matt, 
xxviii.  20 ;  also  from  these  words.  It 
shall  not  speak  from  itself,  but  that  it 
shall  receive  of  mine. 

140.  Now,  because  the  Divine  Truth 
is  meant  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  this 
was  in  the  Lord,  and  was  the  Lord 
himself,  John  xiv.  6,  and  thus  be- 
cause it  could  not  proceed  from  any 
other  source,  therefore  he  said.  The 
Holy  Spirit  was  not  yet,  because  Je- 
sus was  not  yet  glorijird,  vii.  39 ;  and 
after  the  glorification.  He  breathed  into 
the  disciples,  and  said.  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Sjjirit,  xx.  22.  The  reason  why 
the  Lord  breathed  upon  the  disciples, 
and  said  that,  was,  because  aspiration 
[or  breathing  upon]  was  an  external 
representative  sign  of  divine  inspira- 
tion ;  but  inspiration  is  an  insertion  in- 
to angelic  societies.  From  these  things, 
the  understanding  may  comprehend 
this,  which  was  said  by  the  angel  Ga- 
briel, concerning  the  conception  of  the 
Lord  ;  The  Holy  Spirit  shall  come  up- 
on thee,  and  the  virtue  of  the  Most 
High  shall  overshadow  thee ;  wherefore 
the  Holy  Thing  which  is  born  of  thee 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God,  Luke  i. 
35.  Also,  The  angel  of  the  Lord  in 
a  dream  said  to  Joseph,  Do  not  f  ar  to 
take  Mary  for  thy  wife,  for  that  which 
is  born  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


123 


Arid  Joseph  did  not  touch  her  until 
she  had  brought  forth  her  frst-born 
son,  Matt.  i.  20,  25.  The  Holy  Spirit 
there  is  the  Divine  Truth  proceeding 
from  Jehovah  tlic  Father ;  and  tliis 
proceeding  is  the  virtue  of  the  Most 
High,  which  then  overshadowed  tlie 
mother.  This,  therefore,  coincides 
with  this  in  John ;  The  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God; 
and  the  Word  became  jlesh,  i.  1,  14. 
That  by  the  Word  there  is  meant  the 
Divine  Truth,  see  in  The  Faith  of 
THE  New  Church,  above,  n.  3. 

141.  That  the  Divine  Trinity  is  in 
the  Lord  was  demonstrated  above,  and 
will  be  demonstrated  more  fully  in  the 
sequel,  when  we  come  to  treat  profess- 
edly concerning  it.  Here,  only  some 
absurdities,  following  from  that  trinity 
divided  into  persons,  will  be  adduced. 
This  would  be  as  if  some  minister 
of  the  church  should  teach  from  the 
pulpit  what  should  be  believed,  and 
what  should  be  done,  and  beside  him 
another  minister  should  stand  and 
whisper  in  his  ear,  "  You  say  this  right- 
ly ;  add  also  something  more ;"  and 
they  should  say  to  a  third,  wlio  stands 
upon  the  stairs,  "  Descend  into  tlie 
temple,  and  open  their  ears,  and  pour 
those  things  into  their  hearts,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  cause  them  to  be  puri- 
ties, sanctities,  and  pledges  of  right- 
eousness." A  Divine  Trinity  divided 
into  persons,  each  of  whom,  singly,  is 
God  and  Lord,  is  also  similar  to  three 
suns  in  one  world ;  one  on  high,  near 
another,  and  the  third  beneath,  which 
pours  its  rays  around  angels  and  men, 
and  introduces  the  heat  and  light  of  the 
two  into  their  minds,  hearts  and  bodies, 
and  subtilizes,  clarifies  and  sublimates 
them,  as  fire  does  the  matter  in  retorts. 
Who  does  not  see,  that,  if  it  should  be 
done  so,  man  would  be  burnt  even  in- 
to ashes  ?  The  government  of  three 
divine  persons  in  heaven,  also,  would 
be  similar  to  the  government  of  three 
kings  in  one  kingdom,  or  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  three  generals,  of  the  same 
power,  over  one  army ;  or  rather  to  the 
Roman  government  before  the  times 
of  the  Cesars,  when  there  were  a  con- 
sul, senate,  and  tribune  of  the  people  ; 


among  whom,  indeed,  the  power  was 
divided,  but  still  the  sovereignty  was 
in  them  all  together.  Who  does  not 
see,  that  it  is  absurd,  ludicrous  and 
foolish,  to  introduce  such  a  government 
into  heaven;  and  it  is  introduced, when 
a  power  like  that  of  a  chief  consul  is 
ascribed  to  God  the  Father,  a  power 
like  that  of  the  senate  to  the  Son,  and 
a  power  like  that  of  the  tribune  of  the 
people  to  the  Holy  Spirit ;  which  is 
the  case,  when  a  peculiar  office  is  at- 
tributed to  each  one,  and  especially  if 
it  is  added  that  those  properties  are  not 
communicable. 

142.  II.  That  the  Divine  Vir- 
tue  AND   Operation,   which  are 

MEANT  BY  THE  HoLY  SpiRIT,  ARE,  IN 

general,  reformation  and  regen- 
eration ;  and,  according  to  these, 
Renovation,  Vivification,  Sancti- 
fication,  and  justification  ;  and, 

according   TO   THESE,  PURIFICATION 

FROM  Evils,  and  Remission  of  Sins, 
AfJD  finally  Salvation. 

These  are,  in  their  order,  the  virtues 
which  the  Lord  operates  in  those  who 
believe  in  Him,  and  accommodate  and 
dispose  themselves  for  his  reception 
and  habitation ;  and  this  is  done  by 
means  of  divine  truth,  and  with  Chris- 
tians by  means  of  the  Word ;  for  this 
is  the  only  medium  through  which 
man  approaches  to  the  Lord,  and  into 
which  the  Lord  enters;  for,  as  was 
said  above,  the  Lord  is  the  Divine 
Truth  itself,  and  whatsoever  proceeds 
from  Him  is  divine  truth.  But  the 
divine  truth  from  good  is  to  be  under- 
stood, which  is  the  same  with  faith 
from  charity ;  for  faith  is  no  other  than 
truth,  and  charity  is  no  other  than 
goodness.  By  means  of  divine  truth 
from  good,  that  is,  by  means  of  faith 
from  charity,  man  is  reformed  and  re- 
generated ;  also  renovated,  vivified, 
sanctified,  justified  ;  and,  according  to 
the  progress  and  increase  of  these,  is 
purified  from  evils ;  and  purification 
from  these  is  remission  of  sins.  But 
all  these  operations  of  the  Lord  cannot 
be  explained  here,  one  by  one,  because 
each  requires  its  analysis,  confirmed 
from  the  Word,  and  illustrated  by  rea- 
son ;  and  this  does  not  belong  to  this 


124 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


place ;  wherefore  the  reader  is  refer- 
red to  those  things  which  follow  in  or- 
der in  this  work,  which  are  concerning 
Charity,  Faith,  Free  Agency  Repent- 
ance, and  also  Reformation  and  Re- 
generation. It  should  be  known,  that 
the  Lord  is  continually  operating  those 
saving  graces  with  every  man,  for  they 
are  steps  to  heaven,  for  the  Lord  wills 
the  salvation  of  all ;  wherefore  the  sal- 
vation of  all  is  his  end,  and  he  who 
wills  an  end  wills  the  means.  His  com- 
ing, redemption,  and  the  passion  of  the 
cross,  were  for  the  sake  of  the  salvation 
of  men.  Matt,  xviii.  11  ;  Luke  xix.  iO; 
and  because  the  salvation  of  men  was, 
and  forever  is  his  end,  it  follows  that  the 
above-mentioned  operations  are  medi- 
ate ends,  and  salvation  the  ultimate  end. 

143.  The  operation  of  these  virtues 
is  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  the  Lord 
sends  to  those  who  believe  in  Him,  and 
dispose  themselves  to  receive  Him ; 
and  it  is  meant  by  the  spirit  in  these 
passages  :  /  tcill  give  a  new  heart  and 

A  NEW  SPIRIT  ;   MY  SpiRIT  /  Will  give 

in  the  midst  of  you,  and  I  will  cause  you 
to  walk  in  the  way  of  salvation,  Isaiah 
xxxvi.  26,  27  ;  Ezek.  xi.  19.  Create 
in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew 
A  FIRM  SPIRIT  iti  the  midst  of  me:  re- 
store to  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation, 
and  let  a  free  spirit  sustain  me, 
Psalm  li.  12.  Jehovah  formeth  the 
SPIRIT  OF  MAN  hi  the  midst  of  him, 
Zech.  xii.  11.  In  my  soul  I  have 
waited  for  TItce  in  the  night,  and  in 
MY  SPIRIT  in  the  midst  of  me  I  have 
waited  for  Thee  in  the  morning,  Isaiah 
xxxvi.  9.  Make  for  you  a  new  heart, 
and  A  NEW  SPIRIT  :  ivhy  will  ye  die  1 
Ezek.  xviii.  31  :  besides  other  passages. 
In  those  passages,  by  a  new  heart  is 
meant  the  will  of  good,  and  by  a  new 
spirit,  the  understandingof truth.  That 
the  Lord  operates  these,  in  those  who 
do  what  is  good,  and  believe  what  is 
true,  consequently  in  those  who  are  in 
the  faith  of  charity,  is  very  manifest  from 
these  things  there,  God  gives  a  soul  to 
those  who  walk  in  it;  and  from  this,  that 
it  is  called  a  free  spirit :  and  that  man  is 
to  operate  on  his  part,  from  these ;  Make 
for  you  a  neio  heart,  and  a  new  spirit ; 
why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ? 


144.  It  is  read  that,  when  Jesus  teas 
baptized,  the  heavens  xoere  opened,  and 
John  saw  the  Holy  Spirit  descending 
like  a  dove,  Matt.  iii.  16;  Mark  i.  10; 
Luke  iii.  1 1 ;  John  i.  32,  33.  This 
was  done  because  baptism  signifies  re- 
generation and  purification,  as  also 
does  a  dove.  Who  cannot  perceive, 
that  the  dove  was  not  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  in  the 
dove  ?  Doves  often  appear  in  heaven, 
and  as  often  as  they  appear,  the  angels 
know  that  they  are  correspondences 
of  the  aiiections,  and  thence  the 
thoughts,  concerning  regeneration  and 
purification,  with  some  who  stand  in 
the  vicinity  ;  wherefore,  as  soon  as 
they  come  up  to  them,  and  speak  with 
them  concerning  any  other  thing  than 
what  was  in  their  thoughts,  when  that 
appearance  was  presented,  the  doves 
instantly  vanish.  This  is  similar  to 
many  things  which  appeared  to  the 
prophets ;  as  that  a  lamb  appeared  to 
John  on  Mount  Zion,  Rev.  xiv.  1 ; 
and  in  other  places.  Who  does  not 
know,  that  the  Lord  was  not  that 
lamb,  nor  in  the  lamb,  but  that  the 
lamb  was  a  representation  of  his 
innocence?  Thence  appears  man- 
ifest the  error  of  those  who,  from  the 
dove  seen  upon  the  Lord,  when  he  was 
baptized,  and  from  the  voice  then 
heard  from  heaven,  Titis  is  my  beloved 
Son,  deduce  the  three  persons  of  the 
trinity.  That  the  Lord  regeucratcs 
man  by  faith  and  charity,  is  meant  by 
this,  which  John  the  Baptist  said :  / 
baptize  you  with  water  vnto  repentance, 
but  He  who  is  to  coine  after  me  will 
baptize  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  with 
fire.  Matt.  iii.  15;  Mark  i.  8;  Luke 
iii.  16.  To  baptize  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  with  fire,  is  to  regenerate  by 
the  divine  truth,  which  is  of  faith,  and 
by  the  divine  good,  which  is  of  chari- 
ty. The  like  is  signified  by  these 
words  of  the  Lord :  Except  a  man  be 
born  of  icatcr  and  of  the  spirit,  he  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdo/n  of  God, 
John  iii.  5.  By  water  here,  as  else- 
where in  the  Word,  is  signified  truth, 
in  the  natural  or  external  man,  and  by 
the  spirit,  truth  from  good,  in  the  spir- 
itual or  internal  man. 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


125 


145.  Now,  because  the  Lord  is  Di- 
vine Triitli  itself  from  the  Divine  Good, 
and  this  is  his  very  essence,  and  every 
one  acts  what  he  acts  from  his  essence, 
it  is  evident  that  the  Lord  continually 
wills,  nor  can  He  will  otherwise  than 
to  implant  truth  and  good,  or  faith  and 
charity,  in  every  man.  This  may  be 
illustrated  by  many  things  in  the  world, 
as  by  these :  that  every  man  wills  and 
thinks,  and,  as  far  as  it  is  allowable, 
speaks  and  acts,  from  his  essence ;  as, 
for  example,  a  faithful  man  thinks  and 
intends  faithful  things ;  an  honest,  up- 
right, pious  and  religious  man,  honest, 
upright,  pious  and  religious  things ; 
and,  on  the  contrary,  a  haughty,  cun- 
ning, treacherous  and  covetous  man, 
such  things  as  make  one  with  his  es- 
sence. A  fortune-teller  wishes  only 
to  tell  fortunes,  and  a  fool  only  to  prate 
against  the  things  which  are  of  wis- 
dom ;  in  a  word,  an  angel  meditates 
and  practises  only  heavenly  things,  and 
a  devil  only  infernal  things.  The  case 
is  similar  with  every  subject  of  inferior 
rank  in  the  animal  kingdom,  as  with  a 
bird,  a  beast,  a  fish,  an  insect,  winged 
and  not  winged  ;  every  one  is  known 
by  its  essence  or  nature,  from  which 
and  according  to  which  is  the  instinct 
of  each.  In  like  manner,  in  the  veg- 
etable kingdom,  every  tree,  every  shrub 
and  every  herb,  is  known  by  its  fruit 
and  seed,  in  which  its  essence  is  in- 
nate ;  nor  can  any  thing  else  be  pro- 
duced from  thence,  but  what  is  similar 
to  itself  and  its  own  ;  yea,  every  kind 
of  ground,  clay  and  stone,  noble  and 
ignoble,  and  every  mineral  and  metal, 
is  estimated  according  to  its  essence. 

146.  in.  That  th.\t  Divine  Vir- 
tue AND  Operation,  which  is 
meant  by  the  sending  of  the  holy 
Spirit,  with  the  Clergy  in  partic- 
ular, IS  Illustration  and  Instruc- 
tion. 

The  operations  of  the  Lord,  enu- 
merated in  the  preceding  article,  which 
are  reformation,  regeneration,  renova- 
tion, vivification,  sanctification,  justifi- 
cation, purification,  remission  of  sins, 
and  finally  salvation,  flow  in  from  the 
Lord,  as  well  with  the  clergy  as  with 
the  laity,  and  are  received  by  those 


who  are  in  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  in 
them,  John  vi.  50 ;  xiv.  20 ;  xv.  4,  5. 
But  the  reasons  why  illustration  and 
instruction  are  for  the  clergy,  in  par- 
ticular, arc,  because  those  belong  to 
their  office,  and  inauguration  into  the 
ministry  brings  them  along  with  it;  and 
also  they  believe  that,  while  they  are 
preaching  from  zeal,  they  are  inspired, 
like  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  into  whom 
the  Lord  breathed,  saying.  Receive  ye 
the  Holy  Spirit,  John  xx.  22 ;  and  al- 
so Mark  xiii.  11.  Some  also  affirm 
that  they  have  felt  the  influx.  But 
they  should  be  very  cautious  how  they 
persuade  themselves,  that  the  zeal,  by 
which  many  are  actuated  while  they 
are  preaching,  is  the  divine  operation 
in  their  hearts ;  for  a  similar  and  even 
a  warmer  zeal,  is  excited  in  the  breasts 
of  enthusiasts,  and  also  in  those  who  are 
in  extreme  falses  of  doctrine ;  yea,  in 
those  who  despise  the  Word,  and  wor- 
ship nature  instead  of  God,  and  cast 
faith  and  charity,  as  it  were,  into  a  bag 
behind  their  back ;  and  whilst  they  are 
preaching  and  teaching,  they  hang  it 
before  them,  as  a  kind  of  ruminatory 
stomach,  from  which  they  select  and 
disgorge  such  things  as  they  know  will 
serve  for  food  to  the  hearers.  For 
zeal,  viewed  in  itself,  is  a  violent  heat- 
ing of  the  natural  man ;  if  there  is 
within  it  the  love  of  truth,  then  it  is 
like  the  sacred  fire  which  flowed  into 
the  apostles,  concerning  which  it  is 
thus  written  in  the  Acts :  There,  ap- 
peared to  them  cloven  tongues,  as  of 
fire,  and  sat  upon  every  one  of  them, 
whence  they  all  locrc  filled  with  the  Ho- 
ly  Spirit,  ii.  3,  4.  But  if  the  love  of 
the  false  lies  inwardly  concealed  in 
that  zeal  or  heat,  it  is  then  like  fire 
imprisoned  in  wood,  which  bursts  forth 
and  burns  the  house.  You,  who  deny 
the  sanctity  of  the  Word  and  the  di- 
vinity of  the  Lord,  take  off",  I  beseech 
you,  your  bag  from  your  back,  and  open 
it,  which  you  do  freely  at  home,  and  you 
will  see.  I  know  that  those  who  are 
meant  by  Lucifer  in  Isaiah,  and  who 
are  of  Babel,  when  they  enter  the  tem- 
ple, and  especially  when  they  ascend 
the  pulpit,  particularly  those  who  call 
themselves  of  the  society  of  Jesus,  are 


126 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


hurried  away  by  a  zeal  which,  in  many 
cases,  is  from  infernal  love ;  and  thence 
they  scream  more  vehemently,  and 
fetch  deeper  sighs  from  their  breasts, 
than  those  who  are  in  zeal  from  heav- 
enly love.  That  there  are  two  other 
spiritual  operations  with  the  clergy 
may  be  seen  below,  n.  155. 

147.  The  church  is  yet  almost  igno- 
rant, that  in  all  the  will  and  thought, 
and  thence  in  all  the  action  and  speech 
of  man,  there  is  an  internal  and  an  ex- 
ternal, and  that  man,  from  infancy,  is 
taught  to  speak  from  the  external, 
however  the  internal  dissents ;  thence 
proceed  dissimulation,  flattery,  and  hy- 
pocrisy ;  consequently  that  he  has  du- 
plicity; and  he  only  has  simplicity 
whose  external  thinks,  and  speaks,  and 
wills,  and  acts,  from  the  internal :  these 
also  are  meant  by  tlie  simple  in  the 
Word,  as  Luke  viii.  15;  xi.  34;  and 
in  other  places ;  although  they  are 
wiser  than  persons  of  duplicity.  That 
there  is  duplicity  and  triplicity  in  eve- 
ry created  thing  is  evident  from  these 
things  in  the  human  body  :  every  nerve 
there  consists  of  fibres,  and  every  fibre 
of  fibrils ;  every  muscle  of  little  bun- 
dles of  fibres,  and  these  of  moving 
fibres ;  every  artery  of  coats  in  a  triple 
series.  It  is  similar  in  the  human 
mind,  whose  spiritual  organism  is  such  ; 
this  is  according  to  what  was  said 
above,  that  the  human  mind  is  distin- 
guislied  into  three  regions,  the  highest 
of  which,  which  is  also  the  inmost,  is 
called  celestial,  the  middle  spiritual, 
and  the  lowest  natural.  The  minds 
of  all  men,  who  deny  the  sanctity  of 
the  AVord  and  the  divinity  of  the  Lord, 
think  in  tlie  lowest  region ;  but,  be- 
cause from  infancy  they  have  learned 
also  the  spiritual  things  which  are  of 
the  churcb,  and  receive  them,  but  put 
them  below  natural  things,  which  are 
various  scientific,  political,  civil  and 
moral  things ;  because  they  sit  lowest 
in  the  mind,  and  nearest  to  the  speech, 
they  speak  from  them  in  temples  and 
in  companies  ;  and,  what  is  wonderful, 
they  then  know  no  otherwise  than  that 
they  speak  and  teach  from  the  belief 
of  them;  when,  neverthele.ss,  as  soon 
as  they  are  at  liberty,  which  is  the  case 


at  home,  the  door  is  opened,  which 
shuts  up  the  internal  of  their  mind,  and 
then  sometimes  they  laugh  at  those 
things  which  they  have  preached  in 
public,  saying  in  heart,  that  theological 
things  are  specious  snares  for  catching 
doves. 

148.  The  internal  and  external  of 
such  persons  may  be  likened  to  poisons 
covered  over  with  crusts  of  sugar ;  and 
also  to  the  wild  gourds  which  the  boys 
of  the  prophets  gathered  and  cast  into 
the  pottage,  which  while  they  were 
eating,  they  cried  out,  TJicrc  is  death 
in  the  pot,  2  Kings  iv.  38  to  43. 
They  may  also  be  compared  to  the 
beast  arising  out  of  the  sea,  which  had 
two  horns  as  of  a  lamb,  and  spoke  as 
a  dragon.  Rev.  xiii.  11.  In  what  fol- 
lows, that  beast  is  called  the  false 
prophet.  And  they  are  like  robbers 
in  a  city  where  the  citizens  are  moral, 
who  in  the  city  act  morally  and  speak 
rationally,  but  when  they  return  into 
the  woods  they  are  wild  beasts ;  or 
they  are  also  like  pirates,  who  upon 
the  land  are  men,  but  at  sea  croco- 
diles. The  latter  and  the  former  walk 
about,  while  upon  the  land  or  in  a  city, 
like  panthers  clothed  in  sheep-skins, 
or  like  apes  dressed  in  men's  clothes, 
before  whose  face  a  mask  is  placed. 
They  may  also  be  likened  to  a  harlot, 
who  anoints  herself  with  balsam,  and 
paints  her  face  with  carmine,  and 
clothes  herself  with  white  silk,  orna- 
mented with  flowers ;  who,  when  she 
returns  to  her  house,  undresses  herself 
in  the  presence  of  her  paramours,  and 
infects  them  with  her  loathsome  disease. 
That  those,  who  detract  from  the  sancti- 
ty of  the  Word  and  the  divinity  of  the 
Lord,  are  such,  has  been  given  me  to 
know,  by  the  experience  of  years  in  the 
spiritual  world  ;  for  there  all,  at  first,  are 
kept  in  their  externals,  but  afterwards, 
when  these  are  removed,  they  are  let 
into  internals,  and  then  their  comedy 
becomes  a  tragedy. 

149.  IV.  That  the  Lord  oper- 
ates THOSE  Virtues  in  those  who 
BELIEVE  IN  Him. 

That  the  Lord  operates  those  virtues, 
which  are  meant  by  the  sending  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  in  those  who  believe  in 


Concerning  the  Holy  S^nrit. 


127 


Him,  that  is,  tliat  he  reforms,  regener- 
ates, renovates,  vivifies,  sanctifies,  jus- 
tifies, purifies  from  evils,  and  finally 
saves  tliem,  is  evident  from  all  those 
passages  in  the  Word,  which  may  be 
seea  adduced  above,  n.  108,  to  prove 
that  those  have  salvation  and  eternal 
lilc,  who  believe  in  the  Lord;  and, 
moreover,  from  this ;  Jesus  said,  Who- 
soever isKLiEVETH  IN  Me,  tts  the  Scrip- 
ture saith,  out  of  his  belli/  shall  flow 
rivers  of  living  water ;  this  He  said 
concerning  the  Spirit  tvhich  those  %oho 
BELIEVE  IN  Him  were  about  to  receive, 
John  vii.  38,  39;  and  also  from  this; 
The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the 
Spirit  of  prophecy,  Rev.  xix.  10. 
By  the  spirit  of  prophecy  is  meant  the 
truth  of  doctrine  from  the  Word ;  proph- 
ecy signifies  no  other  than  doctrine, 
and  to  prophesy,  to  teach  it ;  and  by 
the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  meant  con- 
fession from  faith  in  Him.  The  like 
is  meant  by  his  testimony  in  this  pas- 
sage :  The  angels  of  Michael  overcame 
the  dragon,  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
and  by  the  Word  of  his  testimony  ; 
and  the  dragon  locnt  atvay  to  make 
war  with  the  rest  of  her  seed,  loho  kept 
the  commandments  of  God,  and  have 
the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,  Rev.  xii. 
11,  17. 

150.  The  reason  why  those  who 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are 
about  to  receive  those  spiritual  virtues, 
is,  because  He  is  salvation  and  eternal 
life ;  salvation,  because  he  is  the  Sa- 
vior ;  this  also  is  his  name,  Jesus :  eter- 
nal life,  because  those  in  whom  He  is, 
and  who  are  in  Him,  have  eternal  life  ; 
wherefore  also  He  is  called  eternal 
Life,  in  1  John  v.  20.  Now,  because  He 
is  salvation  and  eternal  life,  it  follows 
that  He  is  all  that  by  which  salvation 
and  eternal  life  are  obtained ;  conse- 
quently, that  he  is  the  all  of  reforma- 
tion, regeneration,  renovation,  vivifica- 
tion,  sanctification,  justification,  purifi- 
cation from  evils,  and  at  length  salva- 
tion. The  Lord  operates  those  virtues 
in  every  man ;  that  is.  He  strives  to  in- 
troduce them ;  and  when  man  accom- 
modates and  disposes  himself  for  the 
reception,  He  does  introduce  them. 
The  active  power  of  accommodation 


and  disposition  is  also  from  the  Lord  ; 
but  if  man  does  not  receive  them  with 
a  free  spirit,  then,  notwithstanding  the 
effort  of  the  Lord,  which  constantly 
continues,  He  cannot  introduce  them. 

151.  To  believe  in  tiic  Lord  is  not 
only  to  acknowledge  him,  but  also  to 
do  his  commandments ;  for  only  to 
acknowledge  him  is  only  of  th(;  thought, 
from  some  understanding ;  but  to  do 
his  commandments  is  also  of  acknowl- 
edgment from  the  will.  The  mind 
of  man  consists  of  understanding  and 
will,  and  it  is  the  part  of  the  under- 
standing to  think,  and  of  the  will  to 
do;  wherefore,  while  man  only  ac- 
knowledges from  the  thought  of  the 
understanding,  he  goes  to  the  Lord  on- 
ly with  half  of  the  mind  ;  but  when  he 
does  his  commandments,  then  with  the 
whole  ;  and  this  is  to  believe.  Other- 
wise, a  man  may  divide  his  heart,  and 
compel  its  surface  to  raise  itself  up- 
wards, while  its  flesh  turns  itself  down- 
wards ;  and  thus  he  flies,  like  an  ea- 
gle, between  heaven  and  hell ;  and  yet 
man  does  not  follow  his  sight,  but  the 
delights  of  his  flesh  ;  and  because  this- 
is  in  hell,  therefore  he  flies  down  thith- 
er ;  and,  after  he  has  there  sacrificed 
to  his  sensual  pleasures,  and  poured 
out  libations  of  wine  to  demons,  he  puts 
on  a  countenance  of  gayety,  and  causes 
his  eyes  to  sparkle  with  fire,  and  thus 
counterfeits  an  angel  of  light.  Such 
satans  those  become,  after  death,  who 
acknowledge  the  Lord  and  do  not  obey 
his  commandments. 

152.  It  was  shown,  in  the  foregoing 
article,  that  the  salvation  and  eternal 
life  of  men  are  the  first  and  the  last 
ends  of  the  Lord  ;  and,  because  the 
first  and  the  last  ends  contain  in  them 
the  mediate  ends,  it  follows  that  the 
above-mentioned  spiritual  virtues  are 
together  in  the  Lord,  and  also  from  the 
Lord  in  man,  but  still  they  come  forth 
successively ;  for  the  mind  of  man 
grows  like  his  body  ;  the  body  in  stat- 
ure, but  the  mind  in  wisdom.  Thus, 
also,  the  latter  is  exalted  from  region 
to  region  ;  that  is,  from  the  natural  to 
the  spiritual,  and  from  this  to  the  ce- 
lestial ;  and  in  this  region  man  is  call- 
ed tnise,  in  that  intelligent,  and  in  the 


128 


Concerniifig  the  Holy  Spirit. 


lowest  scientific;  but  this  exaltation 
of  the  mind  is  not  effected  except  from 
time  to  time  ;  and  it  is  effected  as  man 
procures  for  himself  truths,  and  con- 
joins them  to  good.  This  is  similar 
to  the  case  of  one  who  is  building  a 
house;  he  first  procures  for  himself 
the  materials  for  it,  as  bricks,  tiles, 
beams  and  rafters;  and  thus  he  lays 
the  foundation,  raises  the  walls,  divides 
it  into  rooms,  makes  doors  for  them, 
and  windows  in  the  walls,  and  stairs 
from  one  story  to  another ;  all  these 
things  are  together  in  the  end,  which 
is  a  commodious  and  elegant  habita- 
tion, which  he  foresees  and  provides. 
It  is  similar  with  a  temple ;  all  things 
requisite  for  the  building  of  this  exist 
together  in  the  end,  which  is  the  wor- 
ship of  God.  It  is  similar  with  all  oth- 
er things,  as  with  gardens  and  fields, 
and  also  with  offices  and  employments, 
for  which  the  end  procures  for  itself 
the  requisite  means. 

153.  V.  Th.vt  the  Lord  opi:r.\te.s 
OF  Himself  from  the  Father,  and 
NOT  vice  versa. 

By  operating  is  here  meant  the  same 
thing  as  by  sending  the  Holy  Spirit, 
since  the  above-mentioned  operations, 
which  are,  in  general,  reformation,  re- 
generation, renovation,  vivification, 
sanctification,  justification,  purification 
from  evils,  and  remission  of  sins,  which 
are  at  this  day  attributed  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  to  a  God  by  Himself,  are  the 
operations  of  the  Lord.  That  these 
are  of  the  Lord  from  the  Father,  and 
not  vice  versa,  shall  be  first  confirmed 
from  the  Word,  and  afterwards  illus- 
trated by  many  things  whicii  are  of 
reason.  From  the  Word  by  these : 
When  the  Paraclete  shad  have  come, 

WHOM  I  AM  ABOUT  TO  SEND  FROM  THE 

Father,  the  Spirit  of  truth  lohirh  pro- 
ceedeth  from  the  Father,  He  shall 
testify  of  Me,  John  xv.  26.  If  I 
go  not  away,  the  Paraclete  will  not 
come  to  you;  hut  if  I  go,  I  win,  sf.nd 
Him  to  you,  xvi.  7.  The  Pararlrtr, 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  tvill  not  speak  from 
Himself,  hut  He  ivill  receive  of  mine, 
and  announce  to  you  ;  all  things,  what- 
soever the  Father  hath,  are  mine:  on 
account  of  this  I  said,  that  He  shall  re- 


ceive OF  MINE,  and  announce  to  you, 
xvi.  13,  14,  1.5.  TTie  Holy  Spirit  was 
not  yet,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glo- 
rified,  vii.  39.  Jesus  hreathed  into  the 
disciples,  and  said,  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Spirit,  xx.  22.  Wliatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  in  my  name,  this  I  will  do, 
that  the  Father  may  he  glorified  in  the 
Son.  If  ye  shall  ask  any  thing  in  rny 
name,  I  will  do  it,  xiv.  13,  14.  From 
these  passages,  it  is  very  manifest  that 
the  Lord  sends  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  is, 
operates  those  things,  which  at  this 
day  are  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
to  a  God  by  himself ;  for  He  said  that 
He  was  about  to  send  him  from  the 
Father ;  that  He  was  about  to  send 
him  to  you ;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
not  yet,  because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glo- 
rified ;  that  after  the  glorification  He 
hreathed  into  the  disciples,  and  said. 
Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  also 
that  He  said,  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask 
the  Father  in  my  name,  I  will  do ;  as 
also  that  the  Paraclete  is  ahout  to  re- 
ceive of  mine,  what  He  will  announce. 
That  the  Paraclete  is  the  same  with 
the  Holy  Spirit,  may  be  seen,  John 
xiv.  2(5.  That  God  the  Father  does 
not  operate  those  virtues  of  Himself 
through  the  Son,  but  that  the  Son  of 
Himself  operates  them  from  the  Fa- 
ther, is  evident  from  these  words  :  No 
one  hath  ever  seen  God ;  the  only-he- 
gottcn  Son,  who  is  in  the  hosom  of  the 
Father,  He  hath  manifested  Him,  John 
i.  18 ;  and  in  another  place,  Ye  have 
not  heard  the  voire  o  f  the  Father  at  any 
time,  nor  seen  his  shape,  v.  37.  From 
these,  therefore,  it  follows,  that  God 
the  Father  operates  in  the  Son,  and 
into  the  Son,  but  not  by  the  Son ; 
but  that  the  Lord  operates  of  Himself 
from  the  Father;  for  He  says,  All 
things  of  the  Father  are  mine,  John 
xvi.  14  ;  that  the  Father  hath  given  all 
things  into  the  hand  of  the  Son,  iii.  3.5 ; 
and  also  that.  As  the  Father  hath  life 
in  Himself,  so  He  hath  given  to  the 
Son  to  have  life  in  Himself,  v.  26 ;  as 
also,  The  words  which  I  speak  are. 
spirit  and  life,  vi.  63.  The  reason 
why  the  Lord  says  tliat  the  Spirit  of 
truth  proceeds  from  the  Fatlier,  John 
XV.  26,  is,  because  it  proceeds  from  God 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


129 


the  Father  into  the  Son,  and  out  of  the 
Son  from  the  Father  ;  wlierefore  also 
He  says,  /«  that  day  ye.  shall  know 
that  the  leather  is  in  Me,  and  I  in  the 
Father,  and  ye  in  Mc,  and  I  in  you,  xiv. 
11,  20.  From  these  plain  declarations 
of  the  Lord,  an  error  in  the  Christian 
world  is  very  manifest,  which  is,  that 
God  the  Father  sends  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  man ;  and  the  error  of  the  Greek 
church,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeds 
immediately  from  God  the  Father. 
This,  that  the  Lord  of  Himself  sends 
Him  from  the  Father,  and  not  vice  ver- 
sa, is  from  heaven  ;  and  the  angels  call 
it  an  arcanum,  because  it  was  never 
before  made  known  in  the  world. 

154.  These  things  may  be  illustrat- 
ed by  many  things  which  are  of  reason, 
as  by  these :  It  is  known  that  the 
apostles,  after  they  had  received  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  the  Lord, 
preached  the  Gospel  through  a  great 
part  of  the  world,  and  that  they  pro- 
mulgated it  by  speaking  and  writings ; 
and  they  did  this  of  themselves  from 
the  Lord  ;  for  Peter  taught  and  wrote 
in  one  manner,  James  in  another,  John 
in  another,  and  Paul  in  another;  each 
according  to  his  own  intelligence ; 
the  Lord  filled  them  all  with  his  Spirit, 
but  each  took  of  it  a  portion  according 
to  the  quality  of  his  perception,  and 
they  exercised  it  according  to  the  qual- 
ity of  their  ability.  All  the  angels  in 
the  heavens  are  filled  by  the  Lord,  for 
they  are  in  the  Lord  and  the  Lord  in 
them ;  but  still  each  speaks  and  acts 
according  to  the  state  of  his  mind, 
some  in  simplicity,  some  in  wisdom,  so 
with  an  infinite  variety ;  and  yet  every 
one  speaks  of  himself  from  the  Lord. 
It  is  similar  with  every  minister  of  the 
church,  whether  he  be  in  truths  or  in 
falsities;  each  has  his  own  mouth 
and  his  own  intelligence,  and  each 
speaks  from  his  own  mind,  that  is, 
from  his  spirit  which  he  possesses.  All 
the  Protestants,  whether  they  are  called 
Evangelical  or  Reformed,  after  they 
have  been  instructed  in  the  tenets  de- 
livered by  Luther,  Melancthon,  or  Cal- 
vin , — these  leaders  or  their  tenets  do  not 
of  themselves  speak  through  their  fol- 
lowers, but  their  followers  of  themselves 
17 


from  them  ;  every  single  tenet  also  may 
be  explained  in  a  thousand  ways,  for 
it  is  like  a  cornucopia,  from  wliicli  eve- 
ry one  takes  out  what  is  favorable  and 
adapted  to  his  own  genius,  and  ex- 
plains it  according  to  his  own  talent. 
This  may  be  illustrated  by  the  action 
of  the  heart  in  the  lungs  and  into  them, 
and  by  the  re-action  of  the  lungs  of 
themselves  from  the  heart ;  these  are 
two  distinct  things,  but  still  reciprocal- 
ly united ;  the  lungs  respire  of  them- 
selves from  the  heart,  but  not  the 
heart  by  the  lungs ;  if  this  should  be 
done,  both  would  stop.  It  is  similar 
also  with  the  action  of  the  heart  in  the 
viscera  and  into  the  viscera  of  the 
whole  body  ;  the  heart  sends  forth  the 
blood  in  all  directions,  but  the  viscera 
receive  it  thence,  each  one  its  proper 
share,  according  to  the  kind  of  use 
which  it  performs,  and  also  acts  ac- 
cording to  it ;  thus  each  acts  different- 
ly. The  same  thing  may  be  illustrat- 
ed by  these :  Evil  from  parents,  which 
is  called  hereditary ,  acts  in  man  and 
into  man ;  in  like  manner,  good  from 
the  Lord ;  the  latter  from  above  or  from 
within,  the  former  from  below  or  from 
without ;  if  evil  should  act  by  man, 
he  would  not  be  capable  of  being 
reformed,  nor  would  he  be  a  subject  of 
blame ;  in  like  manner,  if  good  from 
the  Lord  should  act  by  man,  he 
would  not  be  capable  of  being  reform- 
ed;  but  because  each  depends  on  the 
free  choice  of  man,  he  becomes  guilty 
when  he  acts  of  himself  from  evil,  and 
guiltless  when  he  acts  of  himself  from 
good.  Now,  because  evil  is  the  devil, 
and  good  is  the  Lord,  he  becomes  guilty 
if  he  acts  from  the  devil,  and  guiltless  if 
he  acts  from  the  Lord.  It  is  from  that 
free  choice,  which  every  man  has,  that 
man  is  capable  of  being  reformed.  It 
is  similar  with  all  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal of  man ;  these  are  two  distinct 
things,  but  still  reciprocally  united ; 
the  internal  acts  in  the  external  and 
into  it,  but  it  does  not  act  by  the 
external ;  for  the  internal  involves  a 
thousand  things,  of  which  the  external 
takes  only  such  as  are  accommodated 
to  use  ;  for  in  the  internal  of  man,  by 
which  is  meant  his  mind,  voluntary 


130 


Concerning  t/ie  Holy  Spirit. 


and  perceptive,  there  are  great  accu- 
mulations of  ideas  in  a  volume,  which, 
if  they  should  flow  out  through  the 
mouth  of  man,  would  be  like  the  rush- 
ing of  wind  from  a  pair  of  bellows. 
The  internal,  because  it  involves  uni- 
versals,  may  be  compared  to  an  ocean, 
a  flower-bed,  or  a  garden,  from  which 
the  external  takes  out  as  much  as  is 
sufficient  for  use.  The  Word  of  the 
Lord  is  like  an  ocean,  a  flower-bed,  or 
a  garden ;  when  the  Word  is  in  any 
degree  of  fullness  in  the  internal  of 
man,  then  man  speaks  and  acts  of 
himself  from  the  Word,  and  not 
the  Word  through  him.  It  is  similar 
with  the  Lord,  because  He  is  the 
Word,  that  is,  the  Divine  Truth  and 
the  Divine  Good  therein ;  the  Lord  of 
Himself,  or  from  the  Word,  acts  in 
man  and  into  him,  but  not  by 
him,  because  man  acts  and  speaks 
freely  from  the  Lord,  while  he  acts  and 
speaks  from  the  Word.  But  this  may 
be  more  familiarly  illustrated  by  the 
mutual  intercourse  between  the  soul 
and  body,  which  two  are  distinct,  but 
reciprocally  united ;  the  soul  acts  in 
the  body  and  into  the  body,  but  not 
by  the  body,  but  the  body  acts  of 
itself  from  the  soul.  That  the  soul 
does  not  act  by  the  body,  is  be- 
cause they  do  not  consult  and  deliber- 
ate with  each  other ;  nor  does  the  soul 
command  or  request  the  body  to  do 
this  or  that,  or  to  speak  from  its  mouth  ; 
nor  does  the  body  require  or  ask  the 
soul  to  give  or  supply  any  thing,  for 
every  thing  of  the  soul  is  of  the  body, 
mutually  and  reciprocally.  It  is  simi- 
lar with  the  Divine  and  Human  of  the 
Lord ;  for  the  Divine  of  the  Father  is 
the  soul  of  his  Human,  and  the  Hu- 
man is  his  body  ;  and  the  Human  does 
not  ask  of  its  Divine  to  tell  what  it 
shall  speak  or  do ;  wherefore  the  Lord 
says.  In  that  day  ye.  shall  ask  in  my 
name,  and  I  do  not  tell  you  that  I  toill 
ask  the  Father  for  you ;  for  the  Father 
himself  loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved 
Me,  John  xvi.  26, 27;  in  that  day,  is  after 
the  glorification,  that  is,  after  perfect  and 
absolute  union  with  the  Father.  This 
arcanum  is  from  the  Lord  him.self,  for 
those  who  will  be  of  his  New  Church. 


155.  It  was  shown  above,  in  the 
third  article,  that  that  divine  virtue, 
which  is  meant  by  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  with  the  clergy  in  partic- 
ular, is  illustration  and  instruction. 
But,  in  addition  to  these  two,  there  are 
two  intermediate  ones,  which  are  per- 
ception and  disposition ;  wherefore 
there  are  four,  which  with  the  clergy 
follow  in  order — Illustration,  Percep- 
tion, Disposition,  and  Instruction.  Il- 
lustration is  from  the  Lord.  Per- 
ception is  with  man  according  to  the 
state  of  his  mind,  formed  by  doctrinals ; 
if  these  are  true,  the  perception  be- 
comes clear  trom  the  light  which  illus- 
trate.-? ;  but  if  they  are  false,  the  per- 
ception becomes  obscure,  which,  how- 
ever, may  appear  as  if  it  were  clear 
from  confirmations ;  but  this  is  from 
the  light  of  infatuation,  which  to  mere- 
ly natural  sight  is  like  clearness.  But 
Disposition  is  from  the  affection  of 
the  love  of  the  will ;  the  delight  of  this 
love  disposes ;  if  this  be  a  delight  of 
the  love  of  evil  and  the  false  thence,  it 
excites  a  zeal  which  outwardly  is  fierce, 
rough,  burning,  and  flaming,  and  in- 
wardly it  is  anger,  rage,  and  unmerci- 
fulness;  but  if  it  be  of  good,  and 
thence  of  truth,  it  is  outwardly  mild, 
smooth,  thundering  and  glowing,  and 
inwardly  it  is  charity,  grace  and  mer- 
cy. But  iNSTurcTioN  follows  as  an 
effect  from  the  preceding  as  causes. 
Thus  illustration,  which  is  from  the 
Lord,  is  turned  into  various  lights  an<l 
into  various  heats,  with  every  one,  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  his  mind. 

156.  VI.  That  the  Spirit  of  Man 
IS  Ills  Mind,  AND  whatever  proceeds 

FROM  IT. 

By  the  spirit  of  man,  in  the  concrete, 
no  other  is  meant  than  his  mind  ;  for  it 
is  this  which  lives  after  death,  and  then 
is  called  a  spirit ;  if  good,  an  angelic 
spirit,  and  afterwards  an  angel;  if  evil, 
a  Satanic  spirit,  and  afterwards  a  sa- 
tan.  The  mind  of  every  man  is  his 
internal  man,  which  actually  is  the 
man,  and  is  within  the  external  man, 
which  makes  its  body ;  wherefore, 
when  the  body  is  rejected,  which  is 
done  by  death,  it  is  in  a  complete  hu- 
man form.    They  err,  tlierelbre,  who 


Concerning  (Iw  llohj  iSj/irit. 


believe  that  the  inind  of  in.ui  is  only 
in  the  head ;  •  it  is  there  only  in  the 
principles,  from  whicli  lirst  proceeds 
every  thing  that  man  thinks  from  the 
understanding,  and  acts  from  the  will ; 
but  it  is  in  the  body,  in  the  derivatives 
formed  for  "sensation  and  action ;  and 
because  inwardly  it  adheres  to  the 
things  of  the  body,  it  imparts  to  them 
sense  and  motion,  and  inspires  a  sort 
of  perception,  that  the  body  thinks  and 
acts  of  itself;  but  every  wise  man 
knows  that  this  is  a  fallacy.  Now, 
because  the  spirit  of  man  thinks  from 
the  understanding,  and  acts  from  the 
will,  and  the  body  not  from  itself,  but 
from  that,  it  follows,  that  by  the  spirit 
of  man,  is  meant  his  intelligence  and 
the  affection  of  love,  and  whatever  pro- 
ceeds from  them  and  operates.  That 
the  spirit  of  man  signifies  such  things 
as  are  of  the  mind,  is  evident  from 
many  passages  in  the  Word,  which, 
while  they  are  only  adduced,  it  may  be 
seen  by  any  one  that  they  are  no  oth- 
er. Of  the  many  these  are  a  few : — 
Bezaleel  was  jilled  with  the  spirit  of 
wisdom,  intelligence  and  science,  Exod. 
xxxi.  3.  Nebuchadnezzar  concern- 
ing Daniel,  That  an  excellent  spirit  of 
science,  intelligence  and  wisdom  was  in 
him,  Dan.  v.  12.  Joshua  loas  filed 
with  the  spirit  of  wisdom,  Deut.  xxxi  v. 
9.  Make  for  you  a  new  heart  and  a 
new  spirit,  Ezek.  xviii.  31.  Blessed 
are  the  poor  in  spirit,  because  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens.  Matt.  v. 
3.  /  dwell  in  the  contrite  and  humble 
spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble, 
Isaiah  Ivii.  15.  The  sacrifices  of  God 
are  a  broken  spirit,  Psalm  li.  19.  / 
will  give  the  robe  of  praise  instead  of 
a  contracted  spirit,  Isaiah  Ixi.  3  ;  be- 
sides in  other  places.  That  spirit  sig- 
nifies such  things  as  are  of  a  perverted 
and  wicked  mind,  is  evident  from 
these  :  He  said  to  the  foolish  prophets, 
who  go  away  after  their  own  spirit, 
Ezek.  xiii.  3.  Conceive  chaff,  bring 
forth  stubble ;  as  to  your  spirit,  fire 
shall  devour  you,  Isaiah  xxxiii.  11. 
A  man  who  wanders  in  spirit,  and  bab- 
bles falsehood,  Micah  ii.  11.  A  gene- 
ration whose  spirit  was  not  steadfast 
with  God,  Psalm  Ixxviii.  8.     The  spirit 


of  whoredoms,  Hosea  v.  4 ;  Zetfh.  iv. 
12.  'That  every  heart  may  melt,  and 
every  spirit  may  be  contracted,  Ezek. 
xxi.  7.  That  which  ascendeth  upon 
your  spirit  shall  never  be  done,  Ezek. 
XX.  32.  Only  in  his  spirit  there  is  no 
guile,  Psalm  xxxii.  2.  The  spirit  of 
Pharaoh  was  troubled,  Gen.  xli.  8.  In 
like  manner  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Dan. 
ii.  3.  From  these  and  very  many  oth- 
er passages,  it  is  very  manifest  that 
spirit  signifies  the  mind  of  man,  and 
such  things  as  are  of  the  mind. 

157.  Since  by  the  spirit  of  man  is 
meant  his  mind,  therefore,  by  being 
IN  THE  SPIRIT,  which  is  sometimes 
said  in  the  Word,  is  meant  a  state  of 
the  mind  separate  from  the  body ;  and 
because,  in  that  state,  the  prophets  saw 
such  things  as  exist  in  the  spiritual 
world,  therefore  that  is  called  the  vision 
of  God.  Their  state  then  was  such 
as  that  of  spirits  themselves  is,  and  an- 
gels in  that  world.  In  that  state,  the 
spirit  of  man,  like  his  mind  as  to  sight, 
may  be  transported  from  place  to  place, 
the  body  remaining  in  its  own.  This 
is  the  state  in  which  I  have  now  been 
for  twenty-six  years,  with  this  differ- 
ence, that  I  have  been  in  the  spirit 
and  at  the  same  time  in  the  body,  and 
only  several  times  out  of  the  body. 
That  Ezekiel,  Zechariah,  Daniel,  and 
John  when  he  wrote  the  Revelation, 
were  in  that  state,  is  evident  from  the 
following  passages :  Ezekiel  says, 
The  spirit  took  me  vp  and  brought 
me  back  into  Cfialdea,  to  the  captivity, 
in  the  vision  of  God,  in  the  spirit  of 
God  ;  so  the  vision  which  I  saw  ascend- 
ed upon  me,  xi.  1,  24.  77ta<  the  spir- 
it took  him  up,  and  he  heard  behind 
him  an  earthquake,  iii.  12,  14.  That 
the  spirit  lifted  him  up  between  the 
earth  and  the  heaven,  and  carried  him 
away  to  Jerusalem,  and  he  saw  abomi- 
nations, viii.  3,  and  following  verses. 
That  he  saw  four  animals,  which  were 
cherubs,  and  various  things  with  them, 
i.  and  x.  And  also  a  new  earth,  and 
a  new  temple,  and  an  angel  measuring 
them,  xl.  to  xlviii ;  that  he  was  then  in 
vision  and  in  the  spirit,  xl.  2,  xliii.  15. 
The  case  was  similar  with  Zechariah, 
in  whom  there  was  then  an  angel, 


132 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


when  he  saw  a  man  riding  on  horse- 
back among  the  myrtle-trees,  i.  8,  and 
following  verses.  Four  horns,  and  a 
man  in  whose  hand  teas  a  yneasuring 
line,  ii.  1,  5,  and  following  verses. 
Joshua,  the  high  priest,  v.  1,  6.  Four 
chariots,  going  out  between  two  moun- 
tains, and  horses,  vi.  1,  and  following 
verses.  In  a  similar  state  was  Daniel, 
when  he  saw  four  beasts  coming  up 
out  of  the  sea,  and  many  more  things 
concerning  them,  vii.  1,  and  following 
verses ;  when  he  saw  the  battles  of 
the  ram  and  the  he-goat,  viii.  1,  and 
following  verses.  That  he  saw  those 
things  in  vision,  vii.  1,  2,  7,  13;  viii. 
2;  X.  1,  7,  8;  that  the  angel  Gabriel 
appeared  to  him  in  vision,  and  talked 
with  him.  The  case  was  similar  with 
ioHN,  when  he  wrote  the  Revela- 
tion, who  says  that  he  loas  in  the 
spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  Rev.  i.  10. 
That  he  tvas  carried  in  the  spirit  into 
the  wilderness,  xvii.  3 ;  upon  a  high 
mountain  in  the  spirit,  xxi.  10.  That 
he  saw  in  vision,  ix.  17;  and  in  other 
places,  that  he  saw  those  things  which 
he  described  ;  as  that  he  saw  the  Son 
of  man  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  can- 
dlesticks ;  a  tabernacle,  a  temple,  an 
ark,  and  an  altar,  in  heaven;  the  book 
sealed  with  seven  seals,  and  four  horses 
going  out  of  it ;  the  four  animals  around 
the  throne  ;  the  twelve  thousand  chos- 
en out  of  each  tribe ;  the  Lamb  on 
Mount  Zion  ;  locusts  ascending  out  of 
the  abyss  ;  the  dragon  and  his  battle 
with  Michael ;  a  woman  bringing  forth 
a  male  child,  and  fleeing  into  the  wil- 
derness on  account  of  the  dragon ; 
two  beasts,  one  ascending  out  of  the 
sea,  and  the  other  out  of  the  earth  ;  a 
woman  sitting  upon  a  scarlet-colored 
beast ;  tlie  dragon  cast  into  a  lake  of 
fire  and  sulphur ;  a  white  horse,  and  a 
great  supper ;  the  holy  city  Jerusalem 
coming  down,  described  as  to  the 
gates,  the  wall,  and  its  foundations ; 
the  river  of  living  water,  and  the  trees 
of  life  yielding  fruit  every  month;  be- 
sides many  other  things.  In  a  similar 
state  were  Peter,  James,  and  John, 
when  they  saw  Jesus  transfigured  ;  and 
Paul,  when  he  heard  from  heaven  in- 
effable things. 


158.  A  Corollary.  Since  we  have 
treated,  in  this  chapter,  concerning  the 
Holy  Spirit,  it  deserves  particularly 
to  be  observed,  that,  in  the  Word  of 
the  Old  Testament,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
nowhere  named,  but  only  the  Spirit  of 
Holiness,  in  three  places ;  once  in  Da- 
vid, Psalm  li.  13 ;  and  twice  in  Isaiah, 
Ixiii.  10,  II  ;  but  in  the  Word  of  the 
New  Testament,  both  in  the  Evange- 
lists and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  in  their  Epistles,  frequently :  the 
reason  is,  because  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
then  for  the  first  time,  when  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world,  for  it  proceeds 
out  of  Him  from  the  Father ;  for  the 
Lord  only  is  Holy,  Rev.  xv.  4  ; 
wherefore  also  it  is  said,  by  the  angel 
Gabriel,  to  Mary  the  mother.  The  Ho- 
ly Thing  which  shall  be  born  of  ihee, 
Luke  i.  35.  The  reason  why  it  was 
said.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  not  yet, 
because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified, 
John  vii.  39,  and  yet  it  is  said  before, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  filled  Elisabeth, 
Luke  i.  41,  and  Zechariah  i.  67,  as 
also  Simeon,  ii.  25,  was,  because  the 
Spirit  of  Jehovah  the  Father  filled 
them,  which  was  called  the  Holy 
Spirit,  on  account  of  the  Lord,  who 
was  already  in  the  world.  This  is  the 
reason  why,  in  the  Word  of  the  Old 
Testament,  it  is  nowhere  said  thnt  tiie 
prophets  spoke  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  but 
from  Jehovah ;  for  every  where  it  is  said, 
Jehovah  spoke  to  me ;  The  word  of 
Jehovah  came  to  me ;  Jehovah  said  ; 
the  saying  of  Jehovah.  That  no  one 
may  doubt  but  that  it  is  so,  I  will  cite 
only  from  Jeremiah,  where  the.se  things 
are  said:  i.  4,  7,  11,  12,  13,  14,  ID; 
ii.  1,  2,  3,  4,5,  9,  19,  22,  31  ;  iii.  1, 
6,  10,  12,  14,  1();  iv.  1,  3,  9,  17,  27; 
v.  11,  14,  18,  22,  29 ;  vi.  6,  9,  12,  15, 
l(i,  21,  22;  vii.  1,  3,  11,  13,  19,  20, 
21;  viii.  1,  3,  12,  13;  ix.  2,  0,  8,  12, 
14,  16,  21,  23,  24;  x.  1,2,  13;  xi.  1, 

6,  9,  11,  17,  18,  21,  22  ;  xii.  14,  17  ; 

xiii.  1,  6,  9,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,25; 

xiv.  1,  10,  14,  15;  XV.  1,  2,  3,  6,  11, 
19,  20;  xvi.  1,  3,  5,  9,  14,  16;  xvii. 
5,  9,  20,  21,  24;  xviii.  1,5,6,  11,  13; 
xix.  1,  3,  6,  12,  16;  xx.  4  ;  xxi.  1,  4, 

7,  8,  11,  12;  xxii.  2,  5,  6,  11,  18,  24, 
29,  30;  xxiii.  2,  5,  7,  12,  15,  24,  29, 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


13d 


31,  38;  XXIV.  3,  5,  8;  xxv.  1,  3,  7,  8, 
9,  15,  27,  28,  29,  32;  xxvi.  1,  2,  18; 

xxvii.  1,  2,  4,  8,  11,  16,  19,  21,  22; 

xxviii.  2,  12,  14,  16;  xxix.  4,8,9,  16, 
19,  20,  21,  25,  30,  31  ;  xxx.  1,  2,  3, 
4,  5,  8,  10,  11,  12,  17,  18;  xxxi.  1,  2, 
7,  10,  15,  16,  17,  23,  27,  28,  31,  32, 
33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38 ;  xxxii.  1,  6,  14, 
15,  25,  26,  28,  30,  36,  41  ;  xxxiii.  1, 
2,  4,  10,  12,  13,  17,  19,  20,  23,  25 ; 
xxxiv.  1,  2,  4,  8,  12,  13,  17,  22;  xxxv. 

I,  13,  17,  18,  19;  xxxvi.  1,  6,  27,  29, 
30;  xxxvii.  6,  7,  9;  xxxviii.  2,  3,  17; 
xxxix.  15,  16,  17,  18;  xl.  1 ;  xlii.  7,  9, 
15,  18,  19;  xliii.  8,  10;  xliv.  1,  2,  7, 

II,  24,  25,  26,  30;  xlv.  1,  2,  5;  xlvi. 
1,  23,  25,  28;  xlvii.  1  ;  xlviii.  1,  8,  12, 
30,  35,  38,  40,  43,  44,  47;  xlix.  2,  5, 
6,  7,  12,  13,  16,  18,  26,  28,  30,  32, 
35,  37,  38,  39;  1.  1,  4,  10,  18,  20,  21, 
30,  31,  33,  35,  40;  li.  25,  33,  36,  39, 
52,  58 — these  only  in  Jeremiah ;  the 
like  is  said  in  all  the  other  prophets, 
and  not  that  the  Holy  Spirit  spoke,  nor 
that  Jehovah  spoke  to  them  by  the 
Holy  Spirit. 


159.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  the 
following  Relations.  Once,  when  I 
was  in  company  with  the  angels  in 
heaven,  I  saw,  at  a  distance  below, 
a  great  smoke,  and  occasionally  fire 
bursting  out  of  it ;  and  then  I  said  to 
the  angels  who  were  talking  with  me, 
that  few  here  know  that  the  smoke, 
seen  in  the  hells,  arises  from  falses 
confirmed  by  reasonings,  and  that  fire 
is  anger  kindling  against  those  who 
contradict ;  to  which  I  added,  that  this 
is  as  unknown  in  this  world,  as  it  is  in 
the  world  where  I  live  in  the  body, 
that  flame  is  no  other  than  smoke  set 
on  fire :  that  it  is  so,  I  have  often 
proved  by  experiment,  for  I  have  seen 
smoke  ascending  from  the  wood  in  the 
fire-place,  and  when  I  applied  fire  to  it' 
by  a  lighted  torch,  I  saw  that  smoke 
turned  into  flame,  and  this  in  a  similar 
form  with  that ;  for  each  particle  of- 
smoke  becomes  a  spark,  and  they  all 
blaze  together,  as  is  also  the  case  with 
lighted  gunpowder.  It  is  similar  with 
the  smoke  which  we  see  below ;  this 
consists  of  as  many  falses,  and  the  fire 


bursting  forth  as  a  flame  there,  is  tlie 
kindling  of  zeal  in  favor  of  them. 
Then  the  angels  said  to  me,  "  Let  us 
pray  to  the  Ixjrd,  that  we  may  descend 
and  approach,  so  that  we  may  ])erceive 
what  are  the  falses,  which  with  them 
thus  smoke  and  burn."  And  leave  was 
given ;  and  lo,  there  appeared  around 
us  a  pillar  of  light,  extending  to  that 
place ;  and  then  we  saw  four  compa- 
nies of  spirits  who  were  strenuously 
maintaining  that  God  the  Father,  be- 
cause he  is  invisible,  is  to  be  approach- 
ed and  worshipped,  and  not  his  Son 
born  in  the  world,  because  He  is  a 
man  and  visible.  When  I  looked  to 
the  sides,  at  the  left  appeared  the  learn- 
ed of  the  clergy,  and  behind  them  the 
unlearned  ;  and  at  the  right  the  learn- 
ed of  the  laity,  and  behind  them  the 
unlearned ;  but  between  us  and  them 
there  was  a  yawning  gulf,  which  could 
not  be  passed.  But  we  turned  our  eyes 
and  ears  to  the  left,  where  were  the 
learned  of  the  clergy,  and  behind  them 
the  unlearned,  and  we  heard  them  rea- 
soning concerning  God  after  this  man- 
ner :  "  We  know  from  the  doctrine  of 
our  church,  which  is  one  concerning 
God, in  the  whole  European  world,  that 
God  the  Father,  because  He  is  invisi- 
ble, is  to  be  approached,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  God  the  Son  and  God  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  also  are  invisible,  be- 
cause coeternal  with  the  Father  ;  and 
because  God  the  Father  is  the  Creator 
of  the  universe,  and  thence  in  the  uni- 
verse, whithersoever  we  turn  our  eyes, 
He  is  present,  and  when  we  pray  to 
Him,  He  graciously  hears,  and,  after 
having  accepted  of  the  Son's  media- 
tion, he  sends  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
brings  into  our  hearts  the  glory  of  his 
Son's  righteousness,  and  blesses  us  : 
we,  being  appointed  teachers  of  the 
church,  while  we  preached,  sensibly 
perceived  the  holy  operation  of  that 
mission  in  our  breasts,  and  were  ani- 
mated in  devotion  by  his  presence  in 
our  minds.  We  are  affected  thus  be- 
cause we  direct  all  our  senses  towards 
the  invisible  God,  who  operates  not 
singly  in  the  sight  of  our  understand- 
ing, but  universally  in  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  our  mind  and  body, by  his  emis- 


134 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


sary  Spirit :  such  effects  would  not  re- 
sult from  the  worship  of  a  visible  God, 
or  one  who  is  conspicuous  to  our  minds 
as  a  man."  At  these  words,  the  unlearn- 
ed of  the  clergy,  who  stood  behind 
them,  clapped  their  hands,  and  added 
this :  "  Whence  is  any  thing  holy  but 
from  the  Divine,  unseen  and  impercep- 
tible ;  at  this,  as  soon  as  it  touches  the 
drum  of  our  ears,  the  features  of  our 
faces  expand,  and  we  are  exhilarated, 
as  it  were,  by  the  delights  of  an  odo- 
riferous aura,  and  also  we  beat  our 
breasts ;  it  is  otherwise  with  the  Divine 
seen  and  perceptible  ;  this,  when  it  en- 
ters the  ear,  becomes  merely  natural, 
and  not  divine.  For  a  similar  reason  the 
Roman  Catholics  say  their  masses  in 
Latin,  and  the  hosts,  concerning  which 
they  tell  divine  mystical  things,  they 
take  out  from  the  recesses  of  the  altars 
and  show,  at  which,  as  at  the  most  sa- 
cred mysteries,  the  people  fall  upon 
their  knees,  and  breathe  out  something 
holy."  After  this,  we  turned  about  to- 
wards the  right,  where  stood  the  learn- 
ed, and  behind  them  the  unlearned,  of 
the  laity ;  and  from  the  learned  I  heard 
these  things:  "We  know  that  the 
wisest  amongst  the  ancients  worship- 
ped an  invisible  God,  whom  they  called 
JeJiovah;  but  that  after  these,  in  the 
age  which  succeeded,  they  made  for 
themselves  gods  of  deceased  monarchs, 
amongst  whom  were  Saturn,  Jupiter, 
Neptune,  Pluto,  Apollo,  and  also  Mi- 
nerva, Diana,  Venus,  Themis,  and 
built  temples  for  them,  and  performed 
divine  worship ;  from  which  worship, 
when  in  time  it  degenerated,  arose  idol- 
atry, which  at  length  filled  the  whole 
world  with  insanity,  We  therefore 
unanimously  agree  with  our  priests  and 
elders,  that  there  were  and  are  three 
divine  Persons  from  eternity,  each  of 
whom  is  God  ;  and  it  is  enough  for  us 
that  they  are  invisible."  To  this  the  un- 
learned behind  them  added,  "We  agree. 
Is  not  God  God,  and  man  man  1  But 
we  know  that  if  any  one  should  state 
the  proposition,  that  God  is  man,  the 
common  herd  of  mankind,  who  have 
a  sensual  idea  concerning  God,  would 
accede  to  it."  After  these  words,  their 
eyes  were  opened,  and  they  saw  us 


near  them  ;  and  then,  from  indignation 
that  we  had  heard  them,  they  held 
their  peace :  but  then  the  angels,  by  a 
power  given  to  them,  shut  up  the  exte- 
rior or  lower  regions  of  their  thoughts 
from  which  they  spoke,  and  opened  the 
interior  or  higher  regions,  and  from 
these  compelled  them  to  speak  con- 
cerning God  ;  and  then  they  spoke  and 
said,  "  What  is  God  ?  We  have  not 
seen  his  shape  nor  heard  his  voice. 
What  then  is  God,  but  nature  in  its 
firsts  and  its  lasts?  This  we  have 
seen,  for  it  shines  in  our  eyes ;  and  this 
we  have  heard,  for  it  sounds  in  our 
ears."  On  hearing  these  words,  we 
said  to  them,  "  Have  you  ever  seen 
Socinus,  who  acknowledged  only  God 
the  Father,  or  Arius,  who  denied  the 
Divine  of  the  Lord  the  Savior,  or  any 
of  their  followers'!"  To  which  they 
replied,  "We  have  not."  "They  are," 
we  said,  "  in  the  deep  below  you." 
And  presently  some  were  called  up 
thence,  and,  being  questioned  concern- 
ing God,  they  spoke  in  like  manner  as 
those  had  before,  and  said,  moreover, 
"  What  is  God  1  We  can  make  as 
many  gods  as  we  please."  And  then 
we  said,  "  It  is  in  vain  to  talk  with  you 
about  the  Son  of  God,  born  in  the 
world  ;  but  still  we  will  declare  this, 
that,  lest  faith  concerning  God,  in  Him 
and  from  Him,  which,  because  no  one 
ever  saw  Him,  was,  in  the  first  and 
second  age,  like  a  beautifully  colored 
bubble  of  water  in  the  air,  in  the  third 
and  following  age  should  dwindle  into 
nothing,  it  pleased  Jehovah  God  to  de- 
scend and  assume  the  Human,  and 
thus  to  exhibit  Himself  to  view,  and  to 
evince,  that  God  is  not  an  imaginary 
Being,  but  the  Itself,  which  was,  is, 
and  will  be  from  eternity  to  eternity  ; 
and  that  God  is  not  a  word  of  three  let- 
ters, but  that  He  is  all  of  reality  from  Al- 
pha to  Omega ;  consequently,  that  He 
is  the  life  and  salvation  of  all  who  be- 
lieve in  Him  as  visible,  and  not  of 
tliose  who  say  that  they  believe  in  an 
invisible  God ;  for  to  believe,  to  see, 
and  to  know,  make  one  ;  wherefore  the 
Lord  said  to  Philip,  He  who  secth  and 
knowfth  Mc,  secth  and  knowcth  tlu 
Father ;  and,  in  other  places,  tliat  it  is 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


136 


the  will  of  the  Father,  that  tliey  should 
believe  in  the  Son,  and  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  the  Son  hath  eternal  life, 
but  he  who  believetii  not  the  Son,  shall 
not  see  life,  but  the  anger  of  God 
abideth  on  him.  The  latter  and  the 
former  He  says  in  John  iii.  15,  16,  36 ; 
xiv.  6  to  15."  On  hearing  these  things, 
many  of  the  four  companies  were  so 
enraged,  that  smoke  and  fire  came  out 
of  their  nostrils ;  wherefore  we  went 
away,  and  the  angels,  after  they  had 
accompanied  me  home,  ascended  into 
their  heaven. 

160.  Second  Relation.  Once,  in 
company  with  angels,  I  walked  in  the 
world  of  spirits,  which  is  in  the  middle 
between  heaven  and  hell,  into  which 
all  men  after  death  first  come,  and  are 
prepared,  the  good  for  heaven,  and  the 
bad  for  hell ;  and  I  conversed  with 
them  concerning  many  things,  amongst 
which  also  concerning  this,  that  in  the 
world,  where  I  am  in  the  body,  there 
appear,  in  the  time  of  night,  innumera- 
ble stars,  greater  and  smaller,  and  that 
they  are  so  many  suns,  which  only 
transmit  the  light  into  the  world  of  our 
sun  ;  "  and  when  I  saw,  that  in  your 
world,  also,stars  are  to  be  seen,  I  con- 
jectured that  these  may  be  as  many  as 
there  are  in  the  world  where  I  am." 
The  angels,  being  delighted  with  this 
discourse,  said  that "  perhaps  there  may 
be  as  many,  since  every  society  of 
heaven,  to  those  who  are  under  heaven, 
sometimes  shines  like  a  star ;  and  the 
societies  of  heaven  are  innumerable, 
all  arranged  in  order,  according  to  the 
varieties  of  the  affections  of  the  love 
of  good,  which  in  God  are  infinite,  and 
thence  fi-om  Him  innumerable ;  and 
because  these  were  foreseen  before  the 
creation,  I  suppose  that,  according  to 
the  number  of  them,  were  provided, 
that  is,  created,  as  many  stars  in  the 
world  where  men  were  to  live,  who 
will  be  in  a  natural  material  body." 
When  we  were  thus  talking  together, 
I  saw  in  the  north  a  paved  way,  so 
crowded  with  spirits,  that  there  was 
scarcely  room  to  step  between  two,  and 
I  said  to  the  angels,  that  I  had  also 
seen  this  way  before,  and  that  I  had 
heard  that  this  was  the  way  through 


which  all  pass,  who  depart  from  the 
natural  world.  The  reason  why  that 
way  was  covered  with  so  great  a  num- 
ber of  spirits,  is  because  several  myri- 
ads of  men  die  every  week,  and  all 
those  after  death  pass  into  this  world. 
To  this  the  angels  added,  that  that 
way  is  terminated  in  this  world  in  the 
middle  of  it,  where  we  now  are ;  the 
reason  why  it  is  terminated  in  the  mid- 
dle of  it,  is,  because  on  the  side  towards 
the  east  are  the  societies  which  are  in 
love  to  God  and  towards  the  neighbor ; 
and  to  the  left,  towards  the  west,  the 
societies  of  those  who  are  contrary  to 
those  loves  ;  and  forwards,  in  the  south, 
the  societies  of  those  who  are  more  in- 
telligent than  the  rest.  Thence  it  is, 
that  new  comers  from  the  natural  world 
first  come  hither.  When  they  are  here, 
they  then  are  in  the  externals,  in  which 
they  were  last  in  the  former  world,  and 
afterwards  they  are  successively  let  in- 
to their  internals,  and  are  explored  as 
to  their  quality,  and,  after  exploration, 
are  carried,  the  good  to  their  places  in 
heaven, and  the  bad  to  their  places  inhell. 

We  stopped  in  the  middle,  where 
the  crowded  way  terminated,  and  said, 
"  Let  us  stay  here  a  little  while,  and 
speak  with  some  of  the  new  comers." 
And  we  chose  twelve  from  the  multi- 
tude;  and,  because  they  all  had  just 
come  from  the  natural  world,  they 
knew  no  otherwise  than  that  they  were 
still  there ;  and  we  asked  them  what 
they  thought  concerning  heaven  and 
HELL,  and  what  concerning  a  life  af- 
ter DEATH.  To  which  ONE  of  them 
replied,  that  "  Our  sacred  order  im- 
pressed upon  me  the  belief,  that  we 
shall  live  after  death,  and  that  there 
is  a  heaven  and  a  hell ;  and  thence  I 
have  believed  that  all  who  live  morally 
come  into  heaven  ;  and,  because  all  do 
live  morally,  that  none  goes  to  hell, 
and  thus  that  hell  is  a  fable,  invented 
by  the  clergy,  that  people  may  be  de- 
terred from  living  wickedly.  What 
matter  is  it,  if  I  think  concerning  God 
so  or  so  ?  Thought  is  only  like  chaff, 
or  a  bubble  upon  the  water,  which 
bursts  and  goes  off."  Another  near 
him  said,  "It  is  my  belief,  that  there 
is  a  heaven  and  a  hell,  and  that  God 


136 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


governs  heaven,  and  the  devil  hell; 
and  because  they  are  enemies,  and 
thence  opposed  to  each  other,  one  calls 
evil  what  the  other  calls  good ;  and 
that  the  moral  man,  who  can  dissem- 
ble, and  cause  evil  to  appear  as  good, 
and  good  as  evil,  stands  on  the  side  of 
both.  What,  then,  is  the  difference, 
whether  I  am  with  the  one  or  the  other 
Lord,  if  he  only  favors  me?  Evil  and 
good  equally  delight  men."  A  third 
at  the  side  of  him  said,  "  Why  should 
I  believe  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  a 
hell,  for  who  has  come  thence  and 
told?  If  every  man  lived  after  death, 
why  should  not  one  out  of  so  great  a 
multitude  have  returned  and  told."  A 
FOURTH  near  him  said,  "  I  will  inform 
you  why  no  one  has  ever  returned  and 
told :  the  reason  is,  because  man,  as 
soon  as  he  expires  and  dies,  then  either 
becomes  a  spectre,  and  is  dissipated,  or 
is  like  the  breath  of  the  mouth,  which 
is  only  wind.  How  can  such  a  one  re- 
turn and  speak  with  any  one  ?"  A  fifth 
followed  him,  and  said,  "  My  friends, 
wait  till  the  day  of  the  last  judgment, 
because  .all  will  then  return  into  their 
own  bodies,  and  you  will  see  them,  and 
talk  with  them,  and  then  they  will  tell 
each  other  their  destinies."  A  sixth, 
standing  opposite,  and  smiling,  said, 
"  How  can  a  spirit,  which  is  wind,  re- 
turn into  a  body  eaten  up  by  worms, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  into  its  skeleton, 
burnt  up  by  the  sun,  and  reduced  to 
dust?  and  how  can  any  one,  made  .m 
Egyptian  mummy,  and  mixed  by  the 
apothecary  with  various  medicines, 
which  have  been  eaten  or  drunk,  re- 
turn and  relate  any  thing?  Wherefore 
wait,  if  you  have  faith,  till  that  last 
day ;  but  you  may  wait  forever  and 
ever  in  vain."  The  seventh  after 
this  said,  "  If  I  believed  that  there  is  a 
heaven  and  a  hell,  and  thence  a  life 
after  death,  I  should  also  believe  that 
birds  and  beasts  would  likewise  live. 
Are  not  some  of  them  equally  as  moral 
and  rational  as  men  ?  It  is  denied  that 
beasts  live  ;  wherefore  I  deny  that  men 
do :  the  reason  is  equal ;  one  follows 
•from  the  other.  What  is  man  but  nn 
animal  1"  An  eighth,  standing  behind 
him,  came  up,  and  said,  "  Believe  there 


is  a  heaven,  if  you  will ;  but  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  a  hell.  Is  not  God  om- 
nipotent ?  and  is  He  not  able  to  save 
everyone?"  Then  a  ninth,  patting  his 
hand,  said,  "  God  is  not  only  omnipo- 
tent, but  also  gracious,  and  cannot  send 
any  one  into  eternal  fire ;  and  if  any 
one  is  there,  He  cannot  but  take  him 
out  thence,  and  lift  him  up."  A  tenth 
ran  out  of  his  rank  into  the  midst,  and 
said,  "  Neither  do  I  believe  there  is  a 
hell.  Did  not  God  send  his  Son,  and 
did  not  He  make  an  atonement,  and 
take  away  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  ? 
What,  then,  can  the  devil  avail  against 
that?  And  because  he  cannot  avail 
any  thing,  what  then  is  hell?"  An 
eleventh,  who  was  a  priest,  on  hear- 
ing this,  grew  warm  and  said,  "  Do 
you  not  know,  that  those  who  have  ob- 
tained the  faith, on  which  the  merit  of 
Christ  is  inscribed,  are  saved,  and  that 
those  whom  God  elects  obtain  that 
faith?  Is  not  election  according  to  the 
will  of  the  Aluiighty?  and  is  it  not  his 
prerogative  to  judge  who  are  worthy  ? 
Who  can  do  any  thing  against  his  will 
and  judgment  ?"  The  twelfth,  who 
was  a  politician,  was  silent ;  but,  being 
asked  to  crown  all  with  an  answer,  he 
said, "  1  sliail  not  say  any  thing  concern- 
ing heaven,  iiell,  and  a  life  after  death, 
since  no  one  knows  any  thing  about 
them  ;  but  still  allow  the  priests,  with- 
out rebuke,  to  preach  those  things :  for 
thus  the  minds  of  the  vulgar  are  held 
bound  by  an  invisible  bond  to  the  laws 
and  rulers :  does  not  the  public  safety 
depend  on  this  ?" 

We  were  astonished  at  hearing  such 
things,  and  said  amongst  ourselves, 
"  These,  although  they  are  called 
Christians,  are  not  men  nor  beasts, 
but  men-beasts."  But,  in  order  to 
awaken  them  out  of  sleep,  we  said, 
"There  is  a  heaven  and  a  hell,  and 
there  is  a  life  after  death ;  you  will  be 
convinced  that  there  is,  when  we  dis- 
pel the  ignorance  concerning  the  state 
of  life  in  which  you  now  arc :  for  eve- 
ry one,  in  the  first  days  after  death, 
knows  no  otherwi.se  than  that  he  still 
lives  in  the  same  world  in  which  he 
lived  before ;  for  the  time  past  is  like 
a  sleep  from  which,  when  any  one  is 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


137 


awaked,  he  perceives  no  otherwise  than 
that  he  is  where  he  was.  It  is  similar 
with  you  now ;  wherefore  you  iiave 
spoken  just  as  you  thought  in  the  for- 
mer world."  And  the  angels  dis- 
pelled their  ignorance,  and  then  they 
saw  themselves  in  another  world,  and 
.amongst  those  whom  they  did  not 
know ;  and  then  they  exclaimed,  "  Oh, 
where  are  we  V  And  we  said,  "  You 
are  no  longer  in  the  natural  world,  but 
in  the  spiritual  world,  and  we  are  an- 
gels." Then,  after  being  awaked,  they 
said,  "  If  you  are  angels,  show  us  heav- 
en." And  we  replied,  "  Stay  here  a 
little  while,  and  we  will  return."  And 
on  our  return,  after  a  half  an  hour,  we 
saw  them  expecting  us,  and  said,  "  Fol- 
low us  into  heaven."  And  they  follow- 
ed, and  we  ascended  with  them ;  and 
because  we  were  with  them,  the  keep- 
ers opened  the  gate,  and  let  us  in.  And 
we  said  to  those  who  at  the  threshold 
receive  new  comers,  "  Explore  those." 
And  they  turned  them  about,  and  saw 
that  the  back  parts  of  their  heads  were 
very  hollow  ;  and  then  they  said,  "  De- 
part from  hence,  because  the  delight 
of  your  love  is  that  of  doing  evil,  and 
thence  you  are  not  conjoined  to  heav- 
en, for  in  your  hearts  you  have  denied 
God  and  despised  religion."  And  we 
then  said  to  them,  "  Do  not  stay,  be- 
cause, if  you  do,  you  will  be  cast  out." 
And  they  hastened  down  and  departed. 

In  the  way  home,  we  spoke  concern- 
ing the  cause  why  the  back  parts  of 
the  heads  of  those  who  have  the  de- 
light of  doing  evil,  are  in  this  world 
hollow  ;  and  I  said  this  was  the  cause, 
that  man  has  two  brains,  one  in  the 
back  part  of  the  head,  which  is  called 
the  cerebellum,  and  the  other  in  the 
fore  part,  which  is  called  the  cerebrum, 
and  that  in  the  cerebellum  dwells  the  love 
of  the  will,  and  in  the  cerebrum  the 
thought  of  the  understanding ;  and  that, 
when  the  thought  of  the  understanding 
does  not  lead  the  love  of  man's  will, 
the  inmost  parts  of  the  rerebcllum,  which 
in  themselves  are  celestial,  fall  down 
flat,  and  thence  there  is  a  hollowness. 

IGl.  Third  Relation.  Once  I 
heard  in  the  spiritual  world  a  sound 
like  that  of  a  mill ;  it  was  in  the  north- 
IS 


em  region  of  it.  At  first  I  wondered 
what  this  meant ;  l)ut  I  recollected  that 
by  a  mill,  and  grinding  in  a  mill,  is 
meant  to  search  the  Word  for  things 
serviceable  for  doctrine ;  wherefore  I 
went  up  to  the  place  where  the  sound 
was  heard,  and  when  I  was  near,  the 
sound  ceased  ;  and  then  I  saw  a  kind 
of  arched  roof  above  the  ground,  the 
entrance  to  which  was  through  a  cave  ; 
on  seeing  which,  I  descended  and  en- 
tered ;  and  behold  there  was  a  vault, 
in  which  I  saw  an  old  man  sitting 
amongst  books,  holding  before  him  the 
Word,  and  searching  in  it  for  things 
serviceable  for  his  doctrine.  Little 
scraps  of  paper  lay  around,  on  which 
he  wrote  what  was  serviceable  to  his 
purpose.  In  a  contiguous  room  there 
were  scribes,  who  collected  the  little 
scraps,  and  transcribed  those  things 
which  were  written  upon  them  on  a 
whole  sheet  of  paper.  I  inquired  first 
concerning  the  books  around  him. 
He  said  that  they  all  treated  concerning 
JUSTIFYING  FAITH  ;  thosc  from  Sweden 
and  Denmark  profoundly,  those  which 
were  from  Germany  more  profoundly, 
those  which  were  from  Britain  still 
more  profoundly,  and  those  which  were 
from  Holland  most  profoundly.  And 
he  added,  that  in  various  points  they 
differ,  but  in  the  article  concerning 
justification,  and  salvation  by  faith 
alone,  they  all  agree.  Afterwards  he 
said  that  he  was  now  collecting  from 
the  Word  this  first  article  of  justifying 
faith,  that  "  God  the  Father  fell  out 
of  favor  towards  mankind,  on  account 
of  their  iniquities ;  and  that,  therefore, 
in  order  to  save  men,  there  was  a  di- 
vine necessity  that  satisfaction,  recon- 
ciliation, propitiation  and  mediation 
should  be  made  by  some  one,  who 
should  take  upon  himself  the  sentence 
of  justice,  and  that  this  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  been  done  but  by  his  only 
Son ;  and  that,  after  this  was  done,  a 
way  of  access  was  opened  to  God  the 
Father  for  his  sake ;  for  we  say, 
'  Father,  have  mercy  on  us  for  the 
sake  of  the  Son.'  "  And  he  said,  "  I 
see  and  have  seen  that  this  is  according 
to  all  reason  and  Scripture.  How  oth- 
erwise could  God  the  Father  have  been 


138 


Concerning  the  Holij  Spirit. 


approached,  but  through  faith  in  the 
merit  of  the  Son  ?"  I  heard  this,  and 
was  astonished  that  he  should  say  that 
it  was  according  to  reason  and  accord- 
ing to  Scripture,  when  yet  it  is  contra- 
ry to  reason  and  contrary  to  Scripture, 
which  also  I  plainly  told  him.  He 
then,  in  the  heat  of  his  zeal,  rejoined, 
"  How  can  you  talk  so  ?"  Wherefore 
I  opened  my  mind,  saying,  "  Is  it  not 
contrary  to  reason,  to  think  that  God 
the  Father  fell  out  of  favor  [grace] 
towards  mankind,  and  reprobated  and 
excommunicated  them  ?  Is  not  divine 
grace  [favor]  an  attribute  of  the  Di- 
vine Essence  '!  Wherefore,  to  fall  out 
of  favor  [grace]  would  be  to  fall  out 
of  the  Divine  Essence  ;  and  to  fall  out 
of  his  Divine  Essence  would  be  to  be 
no  longer  God.  Can  God  be  alienated 
from  Himself?  Believe  me,  that  grace, 
on  the  part  of  God,  as  it  is  infinite,  is 
also  eternal ;  the  grace  of  God,  on  the 
part  of  man,  may  be  lost,  if  he  does 
not  receive  it ;  if  grace  should  recede 
from  God,  all  heaven  and  all  the  hu- 
man race  would  inevitably  perish ; 
wherefore  grace  remains  on  the  part 
of  God  to  eternity,  not  only  towards 
angels  and  men,  but  also  towards  the 
devils  in  hell.  Since  this  is  according 
to  reason,  why  do  you  say  that  tlie  on- 
ly way  of  access  to  God  the  Father  is 
through  faith  in  the  merit  of  the  Son, 
when  yet  there  is  perpetual  access 
through  grace  ?  But  why  do  you  say 
access  to  God  the  Father  for  the  soke 
of  the  Son,  and  not  through  the  Son  ? 
Is  not  the  Son  the  Mediator  and  Savior? 
Why  do  you  not  goto  the  Mediator  and 
Savior  himself !  Isnot  IleGod  and  Man? 
Does  any  one  on  earth  go  immediately 
to  any  Caesar,  king  or  prince  ?  Should 
there  not  be  some  one  to  procure  ad- 
mission and  introduce  him?  Do  you 
not  know  that  the  Lord  came  into  the 
world  that  He  might  introduce  us  to 
the  Father  ?  and  that  no  access  is  given 
except  through  Him  ?  and  that  this  ac- 
cess is  perpetual,  when  you  go  imme- 
diately to  the  Lord  himself,  since  He 
is  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  Him  ? 
Search  now  in  the  Scripture,  and  you 
will  see  that  this  is  according  to  it,  and 
that  your  way  to  the  Father  is  as  con- 


trary to  it  as  it  is  to  reason.  I  tell  you 
also  that  it  is  great  effrontery  to  climb 
up  to  God  the  Father,  and  not  through 
Him  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
and  alone  with  Him.  Have  you  not 
read  John  xiv.  6?"  On  hearing  these 
words,  the  old  man  was  enraged  to 
such  a  degree,  that  he  sprang  out  of  his 
seat,  and  called  to  his  scribes  that  they 
should  cast  me  out ;  and  when  I  went 
out  immediately,  of  my  own  accord, 
he  threw  after  me,  out  of  the  doors,  the 
book  which  his  hand  happened  to  seize, 
and  that  book  was  the  Word. 

162.  Fourth  Relation.  A  dis- 
pute arose  amongst  spirits,  whether  any 
one  can  see  any  doctrinal  theological 
truth  in  the  Word,  except  from  the 
Lord.  They  all  agreed  in  this,  that 
no  one  can,  except  from  God,  because 
no  one  can  take  any  thing,  unless  it  be 
given  him  from  heaven,  John  iii.  27. 
Wherefore  it  was  disputed  whether 
any  one  can,  unless  he  goes  to  the 
Lord  inmiediately.  They  said,  on  one 
side,  tlint  the  Lord  ought  to  be  ap- 
proached directly,  because  He  is  the 
Word ;  on  the  other  side,  that  doctri- 
nal truth  may  also  be  seen  when  God 
the  Father  is  approached  immediately  : 
wliercfore  the  dispute  came  to  this 
first  principle,  Whether  it  be  lawful 
for  any  Christian  to  go  to  God  the 
Father  immediately,  and  thus  to  climb 
over  the  Lord,  and  whether  this  be  not 
indecent  and  rash  insolence  and  audaci- 
ty, because  the  Lord  says  that  no  one 
comtth  to  the  Father  cxeept  through 
Him,  John  xiv.  6.  But  they  left  this 
and  said,  that  man  can  see  doctrinal 
truth  from  the  Word  by  his  own  natu- 
ral light ;  but  this  was  rejected  :  where- 
fore they  insisted  that  it  may  be  seen 
by  those  who  pray  to  God  the  Father. 
And  something  was  read  to  them  from 
the  Word,  and  then  they  prayed  upon 
their  knees  that  God  the  Father  would 
enlighten  them ;  and  to  the  words 
which  were  read  to  them  from  the 
Word,  they  said  that  this  and  that  was 
true  there  ;  but  it  was  false  :  thus  seve- 
ral times,  even  till  they  were  tired.  At 
l(Migth  they  confessed  that  they  could 
not.  But  those,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  went  to  the  Lord  immediately. 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


139 


saw  truths,  and  informed  the  otliers. 
After  this  dispute  was  thus  ended, 
there  ascended  from  the  abyss  some 
who  appeared  at  first  liite  locusts,  and 
afterwards  Hke  dwarfs ;  they  were 
those  who,  in  the  world,  prayed  to  God 
the  Father,  and  confirmed  justification 
by  faith  alone.  They  were  the  same 
that  are  treated  of  in  the  Revelation, 
ix.  1  to  11.  These  said  that  they  saw 
this.  That  man  is  justified  by  faith 
alone,  without  the  works  of  the  laic,  in 
clear  light,  and  also  from  the  Word. 
Being  asked,  by  what  faith ;  they  re- 
plied, "  In  God  the  Father."  But  af- 
ter they  were  explored,  it  was  told 
them  from  heaven,  that  they  did  not 
know  even  one  doctrinal  truth  from 
the  Word.  But  they  rejoined,  that 
they  still  saw  their  truths  in  the  light ; 
then  it  was  said  to  them,  that  they  saw 
them  in  the  light  of  infatuation.  They 
asked,  "  What  is  the  light  of  infatua- 
tion ?"  and  were  informed  that  the 
light  of  infatuation  is  the  light  of  the 
confirmation  of  the  false,  and  that  that 
light  corresponds  to  the  light  in  which 
owls  and  bats  are,  to  which  darkness 
is  light,  and  light  is  darkness.  This 
was  confirmed  by  the  fact,  that,  when 
they  looked  upwards  to  heaven,  where 
light  itself  is,  they  saw  darkness,  and 
when  they  looked  downwards  to  the 
abyss,  whence  they  were,  they  saw 
light.  Being  indignant  at  this  con- 
firmation, they  said,  that  thus  light  and 
darkness  are  not  any  thing,  but  only 
states  of  the  eye,  from  which  it  is  said, 
that  light  is  light,  and  darkness  is 
darkness.  But  it  was  shown  that  they 
had  the  light  of  infatuation,  which  is 
the  light  of  the  confirmation  of  the 
false,  and  that  their  light  was  only  the 
activity  of  their  mind,  arising  from  the 
fire  of  concupiscences ;  not  unlike  the 
light  of  cats,  whose  eyes  (in  conse- 
quence of  their  burning  appetite  for 
mice)  appear  like  candles  in  cellars  in 
the  night.  On  hearing  this,  they  were 
angry,  and  said  that  they  were  not 
cats,  nor  like  cats,  because  they  could 
see,  if  they  would ;  but,  because  they 
were  afraid  of  being  asked  why  they 
would  not,  they  retired,  and  let  them- 
selves down  into  their  abyss.  Those 


who  are  there,  and  others  like  them, 
are  also  called,  by  the  angels,  owls  and 
bats,  and  also  locusts. 

When  they  came  to  their  companions 
in  the  abyss,  and  told  that  the  angels 
said,  that  we  "  do  not  know  any  doctri- 
nal truth,  not  even  one,  and  that  they 
called  us  owls,  bats,  and  locusts,"  a 
tumult  was  made  there  ;  and  they  said, 
"  Let  us  pray  to  God,  that  we  may  be 
permitted  to  ascend,  and  we  will  clear- 
ly demonstrate  that  we  have  many  doc- 
trinal truths,  which  the  archangels 
themselves  will  acknowledge."  And 
because  they  prayed  to  God,  permission 
was  given,  and  they  ascended,  to  the 
number  of  three  hundred.  And  when 
they  appeared  above  the  earth,  they 
said,  "  We  were  in  the  world  celebrat- 
ed and  renowned,  because  we  knew 
and  taught  the  mysteries  of  justification 
by  faith  alone  :  from  confirmations,  we 
not  only  saw  the  light,  but  we  saw  it 
like  a  glittering  brightness,  and  in  like 
manner  we  do  now  in  our  cells ;  and 
yet  we  have  heard  from  our  compan- 
ions, who  were  with  you,  that  that  light 
was  not  light,  but  darkness,  because 
we  have  not,  as  you  said,  any  doctri- 
nal truth  from  the  Word.  We  know 
that  every  truth  of  the  Word  shines  ; 
and  we  believe  that  our  coruscation, 
while  we  meditated  profoundly  on  our 
mysteries,  was  thence  derived.  Where- 
fore we  will  demonstrate,  that  we 
have  truths  from  the  Word  in  great 
abundance."  And  they  said,  "  Have 
we  not  this  truth,  that  there  is  a  Trin- 
ity, God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  that  we  must  believe 
in  the  Trinity  ?  Have  we  not  this  truth, 
that  Christ  is  our  Redeemer  and  Sa- 
vior? Have  we  not  this  truth,  that 
Christ  alone  is  righteousness,  and  that 
He  alone  has  merit ;  and  that  he  is  un- 
just and  wicked,  who  wishes  to  claim 
to  himself  any  thing  of  his  merit  and 
righteousness  ?  Have  we  not  this 
truth,  that  no  mortal  can  from  him- 
self do  any  spiritual  good,  and  that  all 
good,  which  in  itself  is  good,  is  from 
God?  Have  we  not  this  truth,  that 
there  is  a  meritorious  and  a  hypocriti- 
cal good,  and  that  those  goods  are 
evils?    Have  we  not  this  truth,  that 


140 


Concerning  the  Holy  Spirit. 


still  good  works  should  be  done  ?  Have 
we  not  this  truth,  that  faith  is,  and 
that  we  ought  to  believe  in  God,  and 
that  every  one  has  life  according  as  he 
believes ;  besides  many  others  from 
the  Word?  Can  any  of  you  deny  one 
of  those  ?  And  yet  you  said  that  we 
have  not  any  trutli  in  our  schools,  not 
even  one.  Did  you  not  lay  such  things 
to  our  charge  without  any  reason  V 
But  then  they  were  answered,  that 
"  All  those  things,  which  you  have  ad- 
vanced,are  in  themselves  truths, but  with 
you  they  are  truths  falsified,  which  are 
falses,  because  they  are  derived  from 
a  false  principle.  That  it  is  so,  we 
will  also  demonstrate  to  the  eye. 
There  is  a  place,  not  far  hence,  into 
which  the  light  from  heaven  flows 
directly ;  in  the  middle  of  it,  there  is  a 
table ;  and  when  any  paper,  on  which 
a  truth  from  the  Word  is  written,  is 
laid  upon  it,  that  paper,  from  the  truth 
written  on  it,  shines  like  a  star.  Write, 
therefore,  your  truth  on  a  paper,  and 
let  it  be  laid  upon  the  table,  and  you 
will  see."  They  did  so,  and  gave  it 
to  the  keeper,  who  laid  it  upon  the  ta- 
ble, and  then  said  to  them,  "  Move 
back,  and  look  at  the  table."  And 
they  moved  back,  and  looked  ;  and,  be- 
hold !  that  paper  shone  like  a  star  ;  and 
then  the  keeper  said,  "  You  see  that 
they  are  truths  which  you  wrote  on  the 
paper;  but  come  up  nearer,  and  fix 
your  eyes  on  the  paper."  And  they 
did  so,  and  then  suddenly  the  light  dis- 
appeared, and  the  paper  became  black, 
as  if  it  were  covered  with  the  soot  of  a 
furnace.  And,  moreover,  the  keeper 
said,  "  Touch  the  paper  with  your 
hands,  but  beware  that  you  do  not 
touch  the  writing."  And  when  they 
did  so,  a  flame  burst  fortli  and  con- 
sumed it.  After  these  things  were 
seen,  it  was  told  them,  that  if  they  had 
touched  the  writing,  they  would  have 
heard  a  noise,  and  would  have  burnt 
their  fingers.  And  then  it  was  said 
to  them,  by  those  who  stood  behind, 
"  You  see  now  that  the  truths,  which 
you  have  abused  to  confirm  the  myste- 
ries of  your  justification,  are  truths  in 
themselves,  but  that  they  are  truths 
falsified  in  you."    They  then  looked 


upwards,  and  heaven  appeared  to  them 
like  blood,  and  afterwards  like  thick 
darkness ;  and  they  appeared  to  the 
eyes  of  the  angelic  spirits,  some  like 
bats,  some  like  owls,  and  some  like  oth- 
er birds  of  night ;  and  they  fled  away  in- 
to their  own  darkness,  which  to  their 
eyes  shone  with  the  light  of  infatuation. 

The  angelic  spirits  who  were  pres- 
ent wondered,  because  they  did  not 
know  any  thing  before  concerning  that 
place,  and  the  table  there ;  and  then  a 
voice  came  to  them  from  the  southern 
region,  saying,  "  Come  up  hither,  and 
you  will  see  something  still  more  won- 
derful." And  they  came  up,  and  enter- 
ed into  an  arched  room,  whose  walls 
glittered  as  it  were  from  gold ;  and  they 
saw  there  also  a  table,  upon  which  the 
Word  lay,  decorated  on  all  sides  with 
precious  stones,  in  a  celestial  form. 
Then  the  angel,  who  kept  it,  said, 
"  Whenever  the  Word  is  opened, 
there  darts  from  it  a  light  of  ineffa- 
ble brightness ;  and  then,  at  the 
same  time,  from  the  precious  stones, 
there  appears,  as  it  were,  a  rainbow 
above  and  around  the  Word.  When 
any  angel  from  tlie  third  heaven  comes 
thither,  there  appears,  above  and  around 
the  Word,  a  rainbow  in  a  red  ground ; 
when  an  angel  from  the  second  heav- 
en comes  thither  and  looks,  there  aj)- 
pears  a  rainbow  in  a  blue  ground ; 
when  an  angel  from  the  lowest  heaven 
comes  thither  and  looks,  there  appears 
a  rainbow  in  a  white  ground ;  when 
any  good  spirit  comes  thither  and  looks, 
there  appears  a  variegation  of  light,  as 
of  marble."  That  it  is  so,  was  also 
shown  to  them  to  the  eye.  Moreover, 
the  angel,  who  was  the  keeper,  said, 
"  If  any  one  comes  up,  who  had  falsi- 
fied the  Word,  then  the  splendor  is  im- 
mediately dissipated  ;  and  if  he  comes 
near,  and  fixes  his  eyes  upon  the  Word, 
it  becomes,  as  it  were,  covered  with 
blood ;  and  then  he  is  admonished  to 
depart,  because  there  is  danger."  But 
a  certain  one,  who  in  the  world  had 
been  a  great  champion  for  the  doctrine 
concerning  justification  by  faith  alone, 
came  up  boldly,  and  said,  "  I,  wliile  I 
was  in  the  world,  did  not  falsify  the 
Word ;  I  exalted  charity,  also,  togeth- 


Concerning  tfie  Divine  Trinity, 


141 


er  with  faith,  and  taught  that  man,  in 
a  state  of  faith,  in  wliich  he  does  chari- 
ty and  its  works,  is  renewed,  regener- 
ated and  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spir- 
it; and  also  that  faith  then  does  not 
exist  alone,  that  is,  without  good  works, 
as  a  good  tree  is  not  without  fruit,  the 
sun  without  light,  or  fire  without  heat ; 
and  also  I  blamed  those  who  said  that 
good  works  were  not  necessary,  and 
moreover  that  the  precepts  of  the  dec- 
alogue need  not  be  observed ;  and  al- 
so I  insisted  much  on  repentance  ;  and 
thus,  in  a  wonderful  manner,  I  applied 
all  things  of  the  Word  to  the  article 
concerning  faith,  which  yet  I  discover- 
ed and  demonstrated  to  be  the  only 
saving  virtue."  He,  in  the  confidence 
of  his  assertion,  that  he  had  not  falsified 
the  Word,  came  up  to  the  table,  and, 
contrary  to  the  admonition  of  the  an- 
gel, touched  the  Word ;  and  then  sud- 
denly fire,  with  smoke,  flowed  out  from 
the  Word,  and  an  explosion  was  made 
with  a  loud  noise,  by  which  he  was 
thrown  to  a  corner  of  the  room,  and 
there  lay,  for  half  an  hour,  as  if  he 
were  dead.  The  angelic  spirits  won- 
dered at  this ;  but  it  was  said  to  them, 
that  this  champion  had,  more  than  the 
rest,  exalted  the  goods  of  charity,  as 
proceeding  from  faith ;  but  that  still  he 
meant  no  other  works  than  political, 
which  are  also  called  moral  and  civil. 


which  arc  to  be  done  for  the  sake  of 
the  world,  and  prosperity  there,  and  not 
at  all  for  the  sake  of  salvation ;  and  al- 
so, tliat  he  supposed  hidden  works  per- 
formed by  the  Holy  Spirit,  concerning 
which  man  knows  nothing,  which,  in 
a  state  of  faith,  are  ingenerated  in  faith. 

Then  the  angelic  spirits  conversed 
with  each  other  concerning  the  falsifi- 
cation of  the  Word  ;  and  in  this  they 
agreed,  that  to  falsify  the  Word,  is  to 
take  truths  from  it,  and. apply  them  to 
confirm  falses,  which  is  to  drag  them 
out  of  the  Word,  and  to  murder  them ; 
as,  for  example,  to  apply  all  those 
truths,  which  were  adduced  above  by 
those  from  the  abyss,  to  the  faith  now 
prevalent,  and  to  explain  them  from  it. 
That  this  faith  is  impregnated  with 
falses,  will  be  demonstrated  in  what 
follows.  And  also  to  take  from  the 
Word  this  truth,  that  charity  should  be 
exercised,  and  good  to  the  neighbor 
should  be  done ;  if,  then,  any  one  at- 
tempts to  prove  that  it  should  be  done, 
but  not  for  the  sake  of  salvation,  since 
all  the  good  from  man  is  not  good,  be- 
cause it  is  meritorious,  he  drags  that 
truth  of  the  Word  out  of  the  Word,  and 
murders  it;  since  the  Lord,  in  his 
Word,  enjoins  upon  every  man,  who 
wishes  to  be  saved,  to  love  the  neigh- 
bor, and  from  love  to  do  him  good ; 
and  so  in  other  cases. 


CONCERNING  THE  DIVINE  TRINITY. 


163.  We  have  treated  concerning 
God  the  Creator,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  concerning  Creation  ;  and  after- 
wards concerning  the  Lord  the  Re- 
deemer, and,  at  the  same  time,  concern- 
ing Redemption ;  and  lastly  concerning 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
concerning  the  Divine  Operation  :  and 
because  we  have  thus  treated  concern- 
ing the  triune  God,  it  is  necessary  that 
we  should  also  treat  concerning  the 
Divine  Trinity,  which  is  known  in  the 
Christian  world,  and  yet  is  unknown. 
For  by  this  alone  a  just  idea  concerning 


God  may  be  obtained  ;  and  a  just  idea 
concerning  God  is,  in  the  church, 
like  the  inmost  sanctuary  and  altar  in 
the  temple,  and  like  a  crown  on  the 
head  and  a  sceptre  in  the  hand  of  a 
king,  sitting  upon  the  throne ;  for  on 
this  depends  the  whole  body  of  theolo- 
gy, as  a  chain  depends  on  the  staple 
on  which  it  hangs.  And,  if  you  will 
believe  it,  every  one  obtains  his  place 
in  the  heavens,  according  to  the  idea 
of  God ;  for  that  is,  as  it  were,  the 
touchstone  by  which  the  gold  and  sil- 
ver is  tried  ;  that  is,  the  good  and  the 


142 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


true,  as  to  their  quality  with  man  ;  for 
there  is  not  with  him  any  saving  good 
except  from  God,  nor  any  truth  which 
does  not  derive  its  quality  from  the  bo- 
som of  good.  But  that  it  may  be  seen, 
with  both  eyes,  what  the  Divine  Trini- 
ty is,  the  exposition  of  it  shall  be  divid- 
ed into  articles,  which  will  be  the  fol- 
lowing :  I.  That  there  is  a  Divine 
Trinity,  which  is  the  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Spirit.  II.  That  these  three, 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are 
the  three  essentials  of  one  God,  which 
make  one,  like  soul,  body,  and  opera- 
tion, with  man.  III.  That,  before  the 
world  was  created,  there  was  not  this 
Trinity,  but  that  after  the  world  was 
created,  when  God  became  incarnate, 
it  was  provided  and  made,  and  then 
in  the  JLord  God,  the  Redeemer  and 
Savior,  Jesus  Christ.  IV.  That 
a  Trinity  of  Divine  Persons  from 
eternity,  or  before  the  world  was  creat- 
ed, is,  in  the  ideas  of  thought,  a  Trin- 
ity of  Gods  ;  and  that  this  cannot  be 
abolished  by  the  oral  confession  of  one 
God.  V.  That  a  Trinity  of  Persons 
was  unknown  in  the  Apostolic  Church, 
but  that  it  was  frst  broached  by  the 
Nicene  Council,  and  thence  introduced 
into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
from  this  into  the  Churches  separated 
from  it.  VI.  That  from  the  Nicene 
and  Athanasian  Trinity  together,  a 
faith  arose,  xohich  had  perverted  the 
iohole  Cliristian  Church.  VII.  That 
thence  is  that  abomination  of  desolation 
and  affliction,  such  as  has  not  been,  nor 
will  be,  which  the  Lord  had  predicted 
in  Daniel  and  the  Evangelists,  and  in 
the  Revelation.  VIII.  And  also  this, 
that,  unless  a  New  Heaven  and  a  Neio 
Church  be  established  by  the  Lord,  no 
flesh  could  be  saved.  IX.  That  from 
a  'Trinity  of  Persons,  each  of  whom 
singly  is  God,  according  to  the  Athana- 
sian Creed,  many  absurd  and  heterogene- 
ous ideas  about  God  have  existed,  which 
are  fantasies  and  abortions.  These 
will  now  be  explained  one  by  one. 

164.  I.  That  there  is  a  Divine 
Trinity,  which  is  the  Father,  Son, 
AND  Holy  Spirit. 

That  there  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  the 
Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 


very  evident  from  the  Word,  and  from 
these  things  there : —  The  angel  Gabriel 
said  unto  Mary,  The  Holy  Spirit 
shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  Virtue  of 
the  Most  High  shall  overshadow  thee; 
wherefore  the  Holy  Thing  that  is  born 
of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
God,  Luke  i.  35.  Here  three  are 
named,  the  Most  High,  who  is  God 
the  Father,  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the 
Son  of  God.  When  Jesus  teas  bap- 
tized, behold,  the  heavens  were  opened, 
and  John  sato  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scending like  a  dove,  coming  upon 
Him;  and  a  voice  from  heaven,  say- 
ing, This  is  MY  BELOVED  SoN,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased.  Matt.  iii.  16, 
17 ;  Mark  i.  10,  11 ;  John  i.  32.  And 
still  more  plainly  from  these  words  of 
the  Lord  to  the  disciples  :  Go,  make  all 
nations  disciples,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Matt, 
xxviii.  19 ;  and  moreover  from  these 
words  in  1  John  v.  7 :  There  are  three 
who  bear  witness  in  heaven,  the  Fa- 
ther, the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit.  And  besides  these  things, 
that  the  Lord  prayed  to  his  Father, 
and  spoke  concerning  Him  and  with 
Him ;  and  that  He  said  that  He  would 
send  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  also  that  He 
did  send  Him ;  and  moreover,  that 
the  apostles  in  their  epistles  frequently 
named  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit.  From  these  things  it 
is  manifest,  that  there  is  a  Divine  Trin- 
ity, which  is  the  Father,  Son,  and  Ho- 
ly Spirit. 

1()5.  But  how  those  are  to  be  under- 
stood ;  whether  that  they  are  three 
Gods,  who,  in  essence,  and  thence  in 
name,  are  one  God ;  or  that  they  are 
three  objects  of  one  subject,  so  that 
they  arc  only  qualities  or  attributes  of 
one  God,  which  are  so  named ;  or 
that  they  are  to  be  understood  in 
some  other  manner,  reason,  left  to  it- 
self, can  by  no  means  see.  But  what 
must  be  done  ?  No  other  direction  is 
given,  than  that  man  should  go  to  tlje 
Lord  God  the  Savior,  and  read  the 
Word  under  his  influence  (for  he  is 
the  God  of  the  Word),  and  he  will  be 
enlightened,  and  will  see  truths  which 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


143 


reason  also  will  acknowledge.  But, 
surely,  if  you  do  not  go  to  the  Lord, 
although  you  should  read  tiie  Word  a 
thousand  times,  and  should  see  there 
a  Divine  Trinity  and  Unity  too,  you 
would  never  understand  any  other,  than 
that  there  are  three  Divine  Persons, 
each  one  of  whom,  singly,  is  God,  and 
thus  three  Gods.  But  because  this  is 
repugnant  to  the  common  perception 
of  all  men  in  the  whole  world,  there- 
fore, to  avoid  disgriice,  they  have  in- 
vented this  expedient — that,  although 
there  are  in  reality  three  Gods,  still 
faith  requires  that  not  three  Gods 
should  be  named,  but  one ;  and  more- 
over, lest  they  should  be  overwhelmed 
with  censures,  as  to  this,  especially,  the 
understanding  must  be  imprisoned,  and 
held  bound  under  obedience  to  faith  ; 
and  this  must  be  established  as  a  law 
of  Christian  order  in  the  Christian 
church  hereafter.  Such  a  paralytic 
birth  was  produced  from  this,  that  they 
did  not  read  the  Word  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Lord ;  and  every  one 
who  does  not  read  the  Word  under  his 
influence,  reads  it  under  the  influence 
of  his  own  intelligence  ;  and  this  is  like 
an  owl  in  respect  to  such  things  as  are 
in  spiritual  light,  as  are  all  the  essen- 
tials of  the  church ;  and  he,  while  he 
reads  such  things  in  the  Word  as  con- 
cern a  Trinity,  and  from  them  thinks, 
that,  although  there  are  three,  still  they 
are  one,  this  appears  to  him  similar 
to  the  answer  from  a  tripod,  which,  be- 
cause he  does  not  understand  it,  he  rolls 
between  his  teeth  ;  for  if  he  should  put 
it  before  his  eyes,  it  would  be  an  enig- 
ma, which  the  more  he  endeavors  to 
unfold,  the  more  he  involves  himself 
in  darkness,  until  he  begins  to  think 
concerning  it  without  understanding, 
which  is  like  seeing  without  an  eye. 
In  short,  to  read  the  Word  under  the 
influence  of  one's  own  intelligence, 
which  is  done  by  all  who  do  not  ac- 
knowledge the  Lord  as  the  God  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  thence  approach 
and  worship  Him  alone, may  be  likened 
to  children  playing,  who  tie  a  handker- 
chief before  their  eyes,  and  wish  to 
walk  on  a  straight  line  ;  and  al.so  they 
think  that  they  do  so,  and  yet,  step  by 


step,  they  turn  aside,  and  at  length 
proceed  in  the  opposite  direction,  and 
strike  against  a  stone,  and  fall  down. 
And  also  they  are  like  m<ariners,  who 
sail  without  a  compass,  and  direct  the 
vessel  against  the  rocks,  and  perish. 
And  also  they  are  like  one  who  walks 
over  a  wide  plain,  in  a  thick  fog,  and 
sees  a  scorpion,  and  believes  it  to  be  a 
bird,  and  wishes  to  catch  it  with  his 
hand,  and  takes  it  up,  and  then  is 
pierced  with  a  deadly  wound.  They 
are  also  like  a  cormorant  or  a  kite, 
which  sees  a  little  of  the  back  of  a 
great  fish  above  the  water,  and  flies 
upon  it,  and  fixes  its  beak  into  it,  and 
is  drawn  under  by  the  fish,  and  is 
drowned.  They  are  also  like  one  who 
enters  a  labyrinth  without  a  guide  or  a 
thread  ;  and  the  further  he  goes  in,  the 
more  he  forgets  the  way  out.  The 
man  who  does  not  read  the  Word  un- 
der the  influence  of  the  Lord,  but  un- 
der the  influence  of  his  own  intelli- 
gence, believes  himself  to  be  a  lynx, 
and  to  have  more  eyes  than  Argus, 
when  yet,  interiorly,  he  does  not  see  a 
particle  of  truth,  but  only  the  false ; 
and  when  he  has  persuaded  himself 
that  this  is  true,  it  appears  to  him  like 
the  polar  star,  to  which  he  directs  all 
the  sails  of  his  thought ;  and  then  he 
sees  truths  no  more  than  a  mole ;  and  if 
he  does  see  any,  he  bends  them  in  fa- 
vor of  his  own  fancy,  and  thus  perverts 
and  falsifies  the  holy  things  of  the 
Word. 

166.  II.  That  these  three,  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are 
THE  three  Essentials  of  one  God, 
which  make  one,  like  the  soul, 
Body,  and  Operation,  with  Man. 

There  are  general  and  also  particu- 
lar essentials  of  one  thing,  and  both 
together  make  one  essence.  The  gen- 
eral essentials  of  one  man  are  his  soul, 
body,  and  operation.  That  these  make 
one  essence,  may  be  seen  from  this, 
that  one  is  from  another,  and  for  the 
sake  of  another,  in  a  continual  series ; 
for  man  begins  from  the  soul,  which  is 
the  very  essence  of  the  seed  :  this  not 
only  initiates,  but  also  produces  in  their 
order  those  things  which  are  of  the 
body,  and  afterwards  the  things  which 


144 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


proceed  from  those  two,  the  soul  and 
body  together,  which  are  called  opera- 
tions: wherefore,  from  the  production 
of  one  from  another,  and  thence  the 
insertion  and  conjunction,  it  is  mani- 
fest that  these  three  are  of  one  essence, 
which  are  called  three  essentials. 

167.  That  those  three  essentials, 
viz.  the  soul,  body,  and  operation, 
were  and  are  in  the  Lord  God  the  Sa- 
vior, every  one  acknowledges.  That 
his  soul  was  from  Jehovah  the  Father, 
can  be  denied  only  by  Antichrist,  for 
in  the  Word  of  both  Testaments  He  is 
called  the  Son  of  Jehovah,  the  Son  of 
the  Most  High  God,  the  Only-hcgottcn ; 
therefore  the  Divine  of  the  Father,  like 
the  soul  in  man,  is  his  first  essential. 
That  the  Son,  whom  Mary  brought 
forth,  is  the  body  of  that  divine  soul, 
follows  from  this,  that  no  other  than 
the  body,  conceived  and  derived  from 
the  soul,  is  prepared  in  the  womb 
of  the  mother ;  this,  therefore,  is  an- 
other essential.  That  operations  make 
the  third  essential,  is  because  tl)ey  pro- 
ceed from  the  soul  and  body  together  ; 
and  those  things  which  proceed  are  of 
tlie  same  es.sence  with  those  which  pro- 
duce them.  That  the  three  essentials, 
which  are  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  are  one  in  the  Lord,  like  tlic 
soul,  body,  and  operation,  in  man,  is 
very  evident  from  the  words  of  tlie 
Lord,  that  the  Father  and  He  are  one, 
and  that  the  Father  is  in  Him  and  He 
in  the  Father ;  in  like  manner,  that 
He  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  one,  since 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Divine,  proceed- 
ing out  of  the  Lord  from  the  Father, 
as  was  above,  n.  153,  1.54,  fully  de- 
monstrated from  the  Word  ;  wherefore 
to  demonstrate  this  again  would  be  su- 
perfluous, and  like  loading  a  table  with 
food,  when  the  guests  have  eaten  to 
satiety. 

168.  When  it  is  said,  that  the  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  are  the  three  es- 
sentials of  one  God,  like  the  soul,  body 
and  operation,  in  man,  it  appears  to  the 
human  mind  as  if  tiiose  three  essentials 
were  three  persons,  which  is  not  possi- 
ble ;  but  when  it  is  tinderstood,  that  the 
Divine  of  the  Father,  which  makes  tiic 
soul,  and  the  Divine  of  the  Son,  which 


makes  the  body,  and  the  Divine  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  the  proceeding  Divine, 
which  makes  the  operation,  are  the  three 
essentials  of  one  God,  then  it  falls  into 
the  understanding.  For  the  Father  is 
his  own  Divine,  the  Son  his  from  the 
Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  his  from 
both ;  which,  because  they  are  of  one 
essence,  and  unanimous,  make  one 
God.  But  if  those  three  divine  essen- 
tials are  called  persons,  and  to  each 
one  is  attributed  his  own  property,  as, 
to  the  Father  imputation,  to  the  Son 
mediation,  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit  op- 
eration, then  the  divine  essence  be- 
comes divided,  which  yet  is  one  and  in- 
divisible ;  so  not  any  one  of  the  three 
is  God  in  fullness,  but  each  in  sub- 
triplicate  power,  which  a  sound  under- 
standing cannot  but  reject. 

1 69.  Who,  therefore,  cannot  perceive 
a  trinity  in  the  Lord  from  the  trinity 
in  every  man  ?  In  every  man  there  is 
a  soul,  body,  and  operation;  in  like 
manner  in  the  Lord,  for  in  the  Lord 
dwclleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead 
hodihj,  according  to  Paul,  Col.  ii.  9 ; 
wherefore  the  trinity  in  the  Lord  is 
divine,  but  in  man  it  is  human.  Who 
does  not  see,  that,  in  the  mystical  no- 
tion, that  there  are  three  divine  persons, 
and  yet  one  God,  and  that  this  God, 
although  he  is  one,  still  is  not  one  per- 
son, reason  has  no  part ;  but  that,  be- 
ing lulled  to  sleep,  it  still  compels  the 
mouth  to  speak  like  a  parrot?  When 
rea.son  is  lulled  to  sleep,  what,  then,  is 
tlic  speech  of  the  mouth  but  inanimate  ? 
When  the  mouth  speaks  tliat  from 
which  reason  dissents  and  departs, 
what  then  is  the  speech  but  foolish  ? 
At  this  day,  human  reason  is  bound, 
as  to  the  Divine  Trinity,  like  a  man 
bound  with  manacles  and  fetters  in 
prison ;  and  it  may  be  compared  to  the 
vestal  virgin,  buried  in  the  earth,  be- 
cause she  let  the  sacred  fire  go  out ; 
when  yet  the  Divine  Trinity  ought  to 
shine  like  a  lamp  in  the  minds  of  the 
men  of  the  church,  since  God,  in  his 
Trinity,  and  in  its  Unity,  is  all,  in  all 
the  sanctities  of  heaven  and  the  church. 
For  what  else  would  it  be,  to  make  one 
God  of  the  soul,  another  of  the  body, 
and  a  third  of  the  operation,  than  to 


Concerning  the  Divine  Triniiy. 


145 


make  of  those  three  essentials  of  one 
man,  three  parts  distinct  from  each 
other?  And  what  would  this  be  but 
to  behead  and  kill  him  .' 

170.  III.  Tu.vT  THIS  Trinity  was 

NOT  BEFORE  THE  WoRLD  WAS  CREAT- 
ED, BUT  THAT  AFTER  THE  WoRLD  WAS 
CREATED,  WHEN  GoD  BECAME  INCAR- 
NATE, IT  WAS  PROVIDED  AND  MADE  ; 
AND  THEN  IN  THE  LoRD  GoD,  THE  RE- 
DEEMER AND  Savior,  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  Christian  church,  at  this  day, 
.  there  is  acknowledged  a  Divine  Trini- 
ty, before  the  world  was  created,  which 
is,  that  Jehovah  God  from  eternity  be- 
gat a  Son,  and  that  from  both  the  Ho- 
ly Spirit  then  proceeded,  and  that  each 
one  of  those  three  is  by  himself,  or  sin- 
gly, God,  because  each  one  is  a  person 
subsisting  of  himself  But  this,  be- 
cause it  does  not  fall  into  any  reason, 
is  called  a  mystery,  into  which  en- 
trance can  be  made  only  by  this,  that 
those  three  have  one  divine  essence,  by 
which  is  meant  eternity,  immensity, 
omnipotence,  and  thence  equal  divini- 
ty, glory,  and  majesty.  But  that  this 
is  a  Trinity  of  three  Gods,  and  thus 
not  any  Divine  Trinity,  will  be  demon- 
strated in  what  follows.  But  that  the 
Trinity,  which  also  is  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  which  was  pro- 
vided and  made  after  God  became  in- 
carnate, consequently  after  the  world 
was  created,  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  which 
is  of  one  God,  is  evident  from  all  the 
things  which  precede.  That  this  Di- 
vine Trinity  is  in  the  Lord  God,  the 
Redeemer  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  is, 
because  the  three  essentials  of  one 
God,  which  make  one  essence,  are  in 
Him.  That  all  the  fullness  of  the  God- 
head is  in  Him,  according  to  Paul,  is 
evident  also  from  the  words  of  the  Lord 
himself,  that  all  things  of  the  Father 
are  His,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  does 
not  speak  from  itself,  but  from  Him ; 
and  "besides,  that  He  took  from  the 
sepulchre,  when  He  arose,  his  whole 
human  body,  both  as  to  the  flesh  and 
as  to  the  bones,  Matt,  xxviii.  1  to  8; 
Mark  xvi.  5,  6;  Luke  xxiv.  1,2,3; 
John  XX.  11  to  15,  otherwise  than  any 
other  man ;  which  also  he  testified  to 
his  disciples,  to  the  life,  saying.  See  my 
19 


hands  and  my  fret,  that  it  is  I  myself; 
feel  of  Mc  and  see,  for  a  spirit  hath 
not  flesh  and  bones,  as  ye  see  Me  have, 
Luke  xxiv.  39.  From  this  every  man 
may  be  convinced,  if  he  will,  that  the 
Human  of  the  Lord  is  Divine ;  conse- 
quently, that  in  Him  God  is  Man,  and 
Man  God. 

171.  The  Trinity,  which  the  present 
Christian  church  has  embraced  and  in- 
troduced into  its  faith,  is,  that  God  the 
Father  begat  a  Son  from  eternity,  and 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  then  proceeded 
from  them  both,  and  that  each  one  is 
God  by  himself  This  Trinity  can  be 
conceived  by  human  minds  no  other- 
wise than  as  a  triarchy,  or  a  govern- 
ment of  three  kings  in  one  kingdom, 
or  of  three  generals  over  one  aTmy,  or 
of  three  masters  in  one  house,  each  of 
whom  has  equal  power  :  what  thence 
can  ensue  but  destruction  1  And  if 
any  one  wishes  to  figure  or  shadow 
forth  this  triarchy  to  the  sight  of  his 
mind,  and  at  the  same  time  their  uni- 
ty, he  cannot  present  it  to  his  contem- 
plation otherwise  than  as  a  man  of 
three  heads  upon  one  body,  or  of  three 
bodies  under  one  head.  Such  a  mon- 
strous image  of  the  Trinity  must  ai> 
pear  to  those  ^vho  believe  there  are 
three  divine  persons,  and  each  one 
God  by  himself,  and  conjoin  them  in- 
to one  God,  and  deny  that  God,  be- 
cause He  is  one,  is  one  per.son.  That 
a  Son  of  God,  born  from  eternity,  de- 
scended and  assumed  tiie  Human,  may 
be  compared  to  the  fables  of  the  an- 
cients, that  human  souls  were  created 
at  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and  that 
they  enter  into  bodies  and  become  men ; 
and  also  to  those  absurd  opinions,  that 
the  soul  of  one  passes  into  another,  as 
many  in  the  Jewish  church  believed ; 
as,  that  the  soul  of  Elijah  passed 
into  the  body  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist ;  and  that  David  is  to  return  into 
his  own  or  another's  body,  and  to 
reign  over  Israel  and  Judah  ;  because 
it  is  said  in  Ezekiel,  /  will  raise  up 
over  them  one  shepherd,  who  shall  feed 
them,  my  servant  David;  he  shall  be  to 
them  for  a  shepherd,  and  I  Jehovah 
will  be  to  them  for  a  God,  and  David 
a  prince  in  the  midst  of  them,  xxxiv. 


146 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


23,  24,  25,  besides  other  places ;  not 
knowing  that  by  David  there  is  meant 
the  Lord. 

172.  IV.  That  a  Trinity  of  Di- 
vine Persons  from  Eternity,  or 
before  the  world  avas  created, 
IS,  IN  THE  Ideas  of  Thought,  a 
Trinity  op  Gods  ;  and  that  this 
cannot  be  abolished  by  the  oral 
Confession  of  one  God. 

That  a  Trinity  of  Divine  Persons 
from  eternity  is  a  Trinity  of  Gods,  is 
very  evident  from  these  words  in  the 
Athanasian  Creed  :  "  There  is  one 
person  of  the  Father,  another  of  the 
Son,  and  another  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Father  is  God  and  Lord,  the  Son 
is  God  and  Lord,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  God  and  Lord  ;  but  yet  there  are 
not  three  Gods  and  Lords,  but  one 
God  and  Lord ;  because,  as  we  are 
compelled  by  Christian  verity  to  con- 
fess each  person  singly  God  and  Lord, 
so  we  are  forbidden  by  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion to  say  three  Gods  or  three  Lords." 
This  creed  is  received  as  ecumenical 
or  universal  by  the  whole  Christian 
church ;  and  all  that  is,  at  this  day, 
known  and  acknowledged  concerning 
God,  is  thence.  That  no  other  Trini- 
ty than  a  Trinity  of  Gods,  was  under- 
stood by  those  who  were  in  the  Nicene 
council,  from  which  the  creed  which 
is  called  the  Creed  of  Athanasius  pro- 
ceeded, as  a  posthumous  birth,  every 
one  who  only  reads  it  with  open  eyes, 
may  see.  That  a  Trinity  of  Gods  was 
understood  not  only  by  them,  but  also 
that  no  other  Trinity  is  understood  in 
the  Christian  world,  follows,  because 
thence  is  all  the  knowledge  con- 
cerning God,  and  every  one  remains 
in  the  belief  of  the  words  there. 
That  no  other  Trinity  than  a  Trinity 
of  Gods,  is  at  this  day  understood  in 
the  Christian  world,  I  appeal  to  every 
one,  both  layman  and  clergyman,  both 
laurelled  masters  and  doctors,  and  con- 
secrated bishops  and  archbishops,  and 
also  to  purple  cardinals,  yea,  to  the 
Roman  pontiff  himself;  let  every  one 
consult  himself,  and  then  speak  out 
from  the  ideas  of  his  own  mind.  From 
the  words  of  this  universally  received 
doctrine  concerning  God,  this  is  as 


manifest  and  clear  as  w-ater  through 
a  crystal  cup,  both  that  there  are 
three  persons,  and  that  each  one  of 
them  is  God  and  Lord,  and  also  that 
from  Christian  verity  or  truth  they 
ought  to  confess  or  acknowledge  eve- 
ry person,  singly,  God  and  Lord,  but 
that  the  Catholic  or  Christian  religion  or 
faith  forbids  them  to  say  or  name  three 
Gods  and  Lords;  and  thus  that  truth 
and  religion,  or  truth  and  faith,  are 
not  one  thing,  but  two  things  contrary 
to  each  other.  But  as  to  what  is  add- 
ed, that  there  are  not  three  Gods  and 
Lords,  but  one  God  and  Lord,  it  was 
done  lest  they  should  be  exposed  to 
ridicule  before  the  whole  world ;  for 
who  would  not  laugh  at  three  Gods  ? 
But  who  does  not  see  a  contradiction 
in  what  is  added  ?  But  if  they  had 
said,  that  the  Father  has  the  divine  es- 
sence, the  Son  the  divine  essence,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  the  divine  essence,  but 
that  there  are  not  three  divine  es- 
sences, but  that  the  divine  essence  is 
one  and  indivisible,  then  that  mystery 
would  be  explicable;  as  when,  by  the 
Father,  is  understood  the  Divine  from 
which  [are  all  things], by  the  Son,  the 
Divine  Human  thence,  and  by  the  Ho- 
ly Spirit,  the  proceeding  Divine,  which 
three  are  of  one  God  ;  or  if  by  the  Fa- 
ther the  like  is  understood  as  by  the 
soul  with  man,  by  the  Divine  Human, 
the  like  as  by  the  body  of  that  soul, 
and  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  like  as  by 
the  operation  which  proceeds  from 
both,  then  are  understood  three  es- 
sences, which  are  of  one  and  the  same 
person,  and  thus  they  together  make 
one  and  an  indivisible  essence. 

173.  The  reason  why  the  idea  of 
three  Gods  cannot  be  abolished  by  the 
oral  confession  of  one  God,  is,  becau.se 
that  is  implanted  in  the  memory  from 
childhood,  and  every  man  thinks  from 
those  things  which  are  there.  The 
memory  with  men,  is  like  the  ruminato- 
ry  stomach  with  birds  and  beasts  :  in- 
to that  stomach,  they  put  the  food  by 
which  they  are  to  be  nourished,  and, 
by  turns,  take  it  out  thence,  and  let  it 
down  into  the  stomach,  in  which  it  is 
ditrested,  and  dispensed  to  all  the  uses 
of  the  body.    The  human  understand- 


Concerning  the  Divine  'IHniti/. 


H7 


ing  is  this  stomach,  as  tlie  memory  is 
the  former.  Every  one  may  see,  that 
the  idea  of"  tliree  divine  persons  I'rom 
eternity,  which  is  the  same  with  the 
idea  of  three  Gods,  cannot  be  abolish- 
ed by  the  oral  confession  of  one  God, 
only  from  this,  that  it  has  not  yet  been 
abolished,  and  that  there  are,  amongst 
the  celebrated,  those  wlio  are  not  will- 
ing that  it  should  be  abolished ;  for 
they  insist  that  the  three  divine  per- 
sons are  one  God,  but  obstinately  deny 
that  God,  because  He  is  one,  is  also 
one  person.  But  what  wise  man  does 
not  think  with  himself,  that  by  person 
is  not  meant  person  exactly,  but  the 
predication  of  some  quality  ;  but  what 
quality,  is  not  known  ;  and  because  it 
is  not  known,  that  which  was  implant- 
ed in  the  memory  from  childhood  re- 
mains, like  the  root  of  a  tree  in  the 
earth,  from  which,  if  the  tree  is  cut 
down,  a  shoot  springs  up.  But,  my 
friend,  not  only  cut  down  that  tree,  but 
also  pull  up  its  root,  and  then  plant  in 
your  garden  trees  of  good  fruit.  Be- 
ware, therefore,  lest  there  be  fixed  in 
your  mind  the  idea  of  three  Gods,  and 
lest  the  mouth,  which  has  in  it  no 
idea,  sound  one  God.  What,  then,  is 
the  understanding  above  the  memory, 
which  thinks  of  three  Gods,  and  the 
understanding  below  it,  from  wliich 
the  mouth  at  the  same  time  speaks  out 
one  God,  but  like  an  actor  upon  a  tlie- 
atre,  who  can  act  two  persons,  by  run- 
ning across  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
and  on  one  side  say  something,  and  on 
the  other  contradict  it,  and,  by  such 
altercation,  call  himself  here  a  wise 
man,  and  there  a  fool What  else  re- 
sults thence,  than  that,  whilst  he  stands 
in  the  jniddle,  and  looks  towards  both 
sides,  he  should  think  that  the  one  and 
the  other  is  not  any  thing  ?  and  thus, 
perhaps,  that  there  is  not  one  God,  and 
that  there  are  not  three,  consequently 
none?  The  naturalism,  reigning  at 
this  day,  is  from  no  other  origin.  In 
heaven,  no  one  can  say  a  trinity  of  per- 
sons, each  one  of  whom  singly  is  God; 
for  the  heavenly  aura,  in  which  their 
thoughts,  like  sounds  in  our  air,  fly 
and  undulate,  strives  against  it.  But  a 
hypocrite  alone  can  do  it  there ;  but  the 


sound  of  his  voice,  in  the  heavenly  au- 
ra, grates  like  a  tooth  gnashing  against 
a  tooth,  or  croaks  like  a  raven  wi.^hing 
to  sing  like  a  nightingale.  I  have 
heard,  also,  from  heaven,  that  it  is  as 
impossible  to  abolish  the  faith  estab- 
lished in  the  mind  by  confirmations  in 
favor  of  a  Trinity  of  Gods,  by  the  oral 
confession  of  one  God,  as  it  is  to  draw 
a  tree  through  its  seed,  or  the  chin  of 
a  man  through  a  single  hair  of  his 
beard. 

174.  V.  TuAT  A  Trinity  of  Per- 
sons WAS  UNKNOWN  IN  THE  APOSTOL- 

ic  Church  ;  but  that  it  was  first 

BRO.'VCHED  BY  THE  NiCENE  CoUNCIL, 
AND    W.\S   THENCE    INTRODUCED  INTO 

TirE  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 

FROM  THIS  into  THE  ChURCHES  SEP- 

ar.\ted  from  it. 

By  the  Apostolic  Church,  is  meant 
not  only  the  church  which  was  in  va- 
rious places  in  the  time  of  the  apostles, 
but  also  in  the  two  or  three  centuries 
after  their  times.  But  at  length  they 
began  to  pull  off  the  door  of  the  tem- 
ple from  its  hinges,  and  to  rush  like 
thieves  into  its  sacred  recess.  By  the 
temple  is  meant  the  church,  by  the 
door,  the  Lord  God  the  Redeemer,  and 
by  the  sacred  recess,  his  divinity ;  for 
Jesus  says,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  he 
ivho  entereth  not  through  the  door  into 
the  sheep-fold,  but  climbeth  up  any  oth- 
er way,  is  a  thief  and  a  robber.  I  am 
the  door ;  if  any  one  shall  enter  through 
Me,  he  shall  be  saved.  This  wicked 
deed  was  done  by  Arius  and  his  fol- 
lowers; wherefore  a  council  was  con- 
vened by  Constantine  the  Great,  at 
Nice,  a  city  in  Bithynia ;  and  by  those 
convened  there,  in  order  to  cast  out 
the  damnable  heresy  of  Arius,  it  was 
devised,  concluded,  and  confirmed  by 
sanctions,  that  there  were  three  divine 
persons  from  eternity,  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  each  of 
whom  had  a  personality,  existence,  and 
subsistence,  by  himself,  and  in  him- 
self ;  and  also  that  the  second  person, 
or  the  Son,  descended  and  assumed 
the  Human,  and  performed  redemp- 
tion ;  and  that  thence  his  Human,  by 
a  hypostatic  union,  had  divinity,  and 
that  by  this  union  He  had  a  close  af- 


148 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


finity  with  God  the  Father.  From  that 
time,  heaps  of  abominable  heresies, 
concerning  God  and  concerning  the 
person  of  Christ,  began  to  spring  out 
of  the  earth,  and  to  exalt  the  head  of 
Antichrist,  and  to  divide  God  into 
three,  and  the  Lord  the  Savior  into 
two,  and  thus  to  destroy  the  temple 
erected  by  the  Lord  through  the  apos- 
tles, and  this  so  effectually  that  one 
stone  was  not  left  upon  another,  which 
was  not  thrown  down,  according  to  his 
own  words.  Matt.  xxiv.  2 ;  where,  by 
the  temple,  is  not  meant  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  only,  but  also  the  church, 
the  consummation  or  end  of  which  is 
treated  of  in  the  whole  of  that  chapter. 
But  what  else  could  be  expected  from 
that  council,  and  the  following  ones, 
which  in  like  manner  divided  the  God- 
head into  three  persons,  and  placed 
the  incarnate  God  under  them  upon 
their  footstool  ?  For  they  removed  the 
head  of  the  church  from  its  body  by 
this,  that  they  climbed  up  another  tcay ; 
that  is,  they  passed  by  Him,  and  climbed 
up  to  God  the  Father  as  to  another,  only 
with  the  mention  of  Christ's  merit  in 
the  mouth,  that  He  would  have  mercy 
for  the  sake  of  that,  and  that  thus  might 
immediately  flow  in,  justification  with 
all  its  train,  which  is,  the  remission  of 
sins,  renovation,  sanctific.ation,  regen- 
eration, and  salvation,  and  these  with- 
out the  use  of  any  means  on  the  part 
of  man. 

175.  That  the  apostolic  church  did 
not  know  any  thing  at  all  concerning 
a  trinity  of  persons,  or  concerning  tliree 
divine  persons  from  eternity,  is  very 
evident  from  the  creed  of  that  church, 
which  is  called  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
where  are  these  words :  /  believe  in 
God  the  Father  Almighty,  the  Creator 
of  heaven  and  earth;  and  in  Jesus 
Christ,  his  only  Son,  our  Lord,  who 
was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  born 
of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and  in  the  Holy 
Spirit.  There  no  mention  is  made  of 
any  Son  from  eternity,  but  of  the  Son 
conceived  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  born 
of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  they  knowing 
from  the  apostles  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
the  true  God,  1  John  v.  21  ;  and  that 
in  Him  dwelt  all  the  fullness  of  the 


Godhead  bodily,  Col.  ii.  9 ;  and  that 
the  apostles  preached  faith  in  Him, 
Acts  XX.  21  ;  and  that  he  had  all 
power  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Matt, 
xxviii.  18. 

176.  What  confidence  is  to  be  had  in 
councils,  whilst  they  do  not  go  immedi- 
ately to  the  God  of  the  church  ?  Is  not 
the  church  the  body  of  the  Lord,  and 
He  its  head  ?  What  is  a  body  without  a 
head  ?  What  sort  of  a  body  is  that  on 
which  are  placed  three  heads,  under 
whose  direction  they  hold  consultations 
and  make  decrees  ?  Does  not  illustra- 
tion, which  is  spiritual,  being  from  the 
Lord  alone,  who  is  the  God  of  heaven 
and  the  church,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  God  of  the  Word,  become  then 
more  and  more  natural,  and  at  length 
sensual  ?  And  then  not  any  genuine 
theological  truth  is  perceived  in  its  in- 
ternal form,  but  it  is  immediately  cast 
out  fi-om  the  thought  of  the  rational 
understanding,  and  dispersed  like  chaff 
into  the  air  from  the  winnower's  fan  ; 
in  which  state  fallacies  then  succeed 
instead  of  truths,  and  darkness  in- 
stead of  the  rays  of  light ;  and  then 
they  stand,  as  it  were,  in  a  cavern, 
with  spectacles  upon  their  noses,  and 
a  candle  in  their  hands,  and  close  their 
eye-lids  to  spiritual  truths,  which  are  in 
the  light  of  heaven,  and  open  them  to 
sensual  truths,  which  are  in  the  false 
light  of  the  senses  of  the  body.  The 
case  is  similar  afterwards,  whilst  the 
Word  is  read  ;  then  the  mind  is  asleep 
as  to  truths,  and  awake  as  to  faises, 
and  it  becomes,  as  the  beast  from  the 
sea  is  described,  as  to  the  mouth  like  a 
lion,  as  to  the  body  like  a  leopard,  and 
as  to  the  feet  like  a  bear,  Rev.  xiii.  2. 
It  is  said  in  heaven,  that,  when  the 
Nicene  council  was  closed,  these 
things  were  accomplished,  which  the 
Lord  foretold  to  the  disciples — The 
sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon 
shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars 
shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  virtues 
of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken.  Matt, 
xxiv.  29.  And,  indeed,  the  apostolic 
church  was  like  a  new  star  appearing 
in  the  starry  heaven  ;  but  the  church, 
after  the  two  Nicene  councils,  became 
like  the  same  star  afterwards,  when  it 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


149 


is  darkened  and  disappears,  as  also  has 
sometimes  happened  in  the  natural 
world,  according  to  the  observations 
of  astronomers.  In  the  Word  it  is 
read,  that  Jehovah  dwelleth  in  light  in- 
accessible :  who  then  can  go  to  Him, 
unless  He  should  dwell  in  light  acces- 
sible ;  that  is,  unless  He  should  descend 
and  assume  the  Human,  and  in  this 
should  become  the  light  of  the  world, 
John  i.  9,  xii.  46.  Who  cannot  see, 
that  to  go  to  Jehovah  the  Father,  in 
his  light,  is  as  impossible,  as  it  is  for 
one  to  take  the  wings  of  the  morning, 
and  to  fly  by  means  of  them  to  the  sun  1 
or  as  it  is  to  feed  one's  self  with  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  and  not  with  elementa- 
ry food  ?  or  as  it  is  for  a  bird  to  fly  in 
ether,  or  for  a  stag  to  run  in  air  1 

177.  VI.  That  from  the  Nicene 
AND  Athanasian  Trinity,  together, 
A  Faith  arose  which  had  pervert- 
ed THE  whole  Christian  Church. 

That  the  Nicene,  and  also  the  Atha- 
nasian Trinity,  is  aTrinity  of  Gods,  may 
be  seen  above,  shown  from  their  creeds, 
n.  172.  Thence  arose  the  faith  of  the 
present  church,  which  is  in  God  the 
Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the 
Holy  Spirit : — in  God  the  Father,  that 
He  imputes  the  righteousness  of  the 
Savior,  his  Son,  and  ascribes  it  to  man ; 
in  God  the  Son,  that  He  intercedes  and 
mediates;  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  He 
actually  inscribes  the  imputed  right- 
eousness of  the  Son,  and  seals  it,  when 
established,  by  justifying,  sanctifying 
and  regenerating  man.  This  is  the 
faith  of  the  present  time,  which  alone 
can  testify,  that  it  is  a  Trinity  of  Gods 
which  is  acknowledged  and  worship- 
ped. From  the  faith  of  every  church 
is  derived  not  only  all  its  worship,  but 
also  all  its  doctrine ;  wherefore  it  may 
be  said,  that  such  as  its  faith  is,  such 
is  its  doctrine.  That  that  faith,  which 
is  a  faith  in  three  Gods,  has  perverted 
every  thing  of  the  church,  follows 
thence ;  for  faith  is  the  principle,  and 
doctrinals  are  derivatives ;  and  the  de- 
rivatives derive  their  essence  from  the 
principle.  If  any  one  examines  the 
doctrinals,  one  by  one,  as  that  which 
is  concerning  God,  concerning  the 
person  of  Christ,  concerning  charity, 


concerning  repentance,  concerning  re- 
generation, concerning  free  will,  con- 
cerning election,  concerning  the  use 
of  the  sacraments,  baptism  and  the 
holy  supper,  he  will  clearly  see,  that  a 
Trinity  of  Gods  is  in  every  one  of  them ; 
and  if  it  does  not  actually  appear  to  be 
in  them,  still  they  flow  from  it,  as  from 
their  fountain.  But  because  such  an 
examination  cannot  be  made  here,  and 
yet  it  is  important  that  it  should  be 
made,  in  order  to  open  the  eyes,  there- 
fore an  appendix  will  be  added  to  this 
work,  in  which  this  will  be  demonstrat- 
ed. The  faith  of  the  church  concern- 
ing God,  is  like  the  soul  of  the  body, 
and  doctrinals  are  like  its  members; 
and,  moreover,  faith  in  God  is  like  a 
queen,  and  doctrinal  tenets  are  like 
the  officers  of  her  court ;  and  as  these 
depend  on  the  authority  of  the  queen, 
so  doctrinal  tenets  depend  on  the 
declaration  of  faith.  From  that  faith 
alone,  it  may  be  seen  how  the  Word  is 
understood  in  the  church  that  possesses 
it ;  for  faith  applies  to  itself,  and  draws 
to  itself,  as  it  were  by  ropes,  whatsoev- 
er it  can.  If  the  faith  be  false,  it  com- 
mits whoredom  with  every  truth  there, 
and  perverts  and  falsifies  it,  and  causes 
man  to  be  insane  in  spiritual  things; 
but  if  the  faith  be  true,  then  the  whole 
Word  favors  it,  and  the  God  of  the 
Word,  who  is  the  Lord  God  the  Savior, 
infuses  light,  gives  the  testimony  of  his 
divine  assent,  and  makes  man  wise. 
That  the  faith  of  the  present  time, 
which,  in  the  internal  form,  is  that 
of  three  Gods,  but  in  the  external 
form,  that  of  one  God,  has  extin- 
guished the  light  in  the  Word,  and  re- 
moved the  Lord  from  the  church,  and 
thus  precipitated  its  morning  into 
night, will  be  seen  also  in  the  appendix. 
This  was  done  by  heretics  before  the 
Nicene  council,  and  afterwards  by  the 
heretics  of  that  council,  and  after  it. 
But  what  confidence  is  to  be  placed  in 
councils,  who  do  not  enter  through  the 
door  into  the  sheep-fold,  but  climb  up 
SOME  OTHER  WAY,  according  to  the 
words  of  the  Lord  in  John  x.  1,  9? 
Their  deliberation  is  not  unlike  the 
walking  of  a  blind  man  in  the  day,  or 
of  a  man  who  has  good  eyes  in  the 


150 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


night,  neither  of  whom  sees  the  pit  be- 
fore he  has  fallen  into  it.  For  exam- 
ple, what  confidence  ought  we  to  place 
in  the  councils  which  established  the 
vicarship  of  the  pope,  the  canonization 
of  the  dead,  and  the  invocation  of  them 
as  deities,  the  worship  of  their  images, 
the  authority  of  indulgences,  the  di- 
vision of  the  eucharist,  besides  other 
things  ?  Also,  what  confidence  ought 
we  to  place  in  the  council  which  estab- 
lished an  abominable  predestination, 
and  hung  this  up  before  the  temples  of 
their  church,  as  the  palladium  of  reli- 
gion ?  But,  my  friend,  go  to  the  God 
of  the  Word,  and  thus  to  the  Word, 
and  so  enter  through  the  door  into  the 
sheep-fold,  that  is,  into  the  church, 
and  you  will  be  enlightened ;  and  then 
you  will  see,  as  from  a  mountain,  not 
only  those  of  many  others,  but  your 
own  former  steps  and  wanderings,  in 
the  thick  woods  under  the  mountain. 

178.  The  faith  of  every  church  is,  as 
it  were,  the  seed,  from  which  all  its  dog- 
mas spring ;  and  it  may  be  compared 
to  the  seed  of  a  tree,  from  which  all  the 
parts  of  it,  even  to  the  fruit,  are  deriv- 
ed ;  and  also  to  the  seed  of  man,  from 
which  arc  produced  children  and  fami- 
lies iu  a  successive  series.  Wherefore, 
when  the  primary  faith,  which,  from 
its  predominance,  is  called  .saving',  is 
known,  it  is  perceived  what  is  the  qual- 
ity of  the  church.  This  may  be  illus- 
trated by  this  example  :  Let  the  faith 
be,  that  nature  is  the  creator  of  the 
universe.  Prom  this,  these  things  fol- 
low, that  the  universe  is  what  is  called 
God;  that  nature  is  his  essence  ;  that 
ether  is  tiie  supreme  God,  whom  the 
ancients  called  Jupiter;  that  the  air  is 
a  goddess,  whom  the  ancients  called 
Juno,  and  made  the  wife  of  Jupiter ; 
that  the  ocean  is  a  God  below  them, 
who,  with  the  ancients,  may  be  called 
Neptune;  and  because  the  divinity  of 
nature  reaches  even  to  the  centre  of  the 
earth,  that  there  also  is  a  God,  who,  in 
conformity  with  the  ancients,  may  be 
called  Plutu ;  that  the  sun  is  the  palace 
of  all  the  gods,  in  wliich  they  assemble, 
whenever  Jupiter  summons  a  council  ; 
and,  moreover,  that  fire  is  life  from  God ; 
and  thus  that  birds  fly  in  God,  beasts 


walk  in  God,  and  fishes  swim  in  God 
and,  further,  that  thoughts  are  only 
modifications  of  ether,  as  words  from 
them  are  only  modulations  of  air  ;  and 
that  the  affections  of  love  are  occa- 
sional changes  of  state,  from  the  influx 
of  the  sun's  rays  into  the  ether  and  air  : 
moreover,  that  a  life  after  death,  togeth- 
er with  heaven  and  hell,  is  a  fable,  in- 
vented by  the  clergy,  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  honors  and  gains ;  but 
although  it  is  a  fable,  that  still  it  is 
useful,  and  ought  not  to  be  openly  de- 
spised, because  it  is  serviceable  to  the 
public  for  keeping  the  minds  of  the 
simple  in  the  bond  of  obedience  to 
magistrates;  but  that,  still,  those  who 
are  inveigled  into  religion,  are  abstract 
men,  their  thoughts  phantasms,  and 
their  actions  ludicrous,  and  that  they 
are  the  drudges  of  the  priests,  who  be- 
lieve what  they  do  not  see,  and  see 
what  exceeds  the  sphere  of  their  mind. 
These  consequences,  and  many  others 
like  them,  are  contained  in  that  faith, 
that  nature  is  the  creator  of  the  uni- 
verse ;  and  they  proceed  from  it  as 
soon  as  it  is  opened.  These  things 
are  adduced,  that  it  may  be  known  that, 
in  the  faith  of  the  present  church, 
which,  in  its  internal  form,  is  in  three 
Gods,  and  in  its  external  form,  in  one, 
there  are  falsities  in  abundance ;  and  that 
thence  may  be  brought  forth  as  many  as 
there  are  little  spiders  in  a  heap  of  eggs 
laid  by  one  spider.  Any  one,  whose 
mind  has  been  made  truly  rational  by 
light  from  the  Lord,  may  see  this  ;  but 
how  will  any  other  see  it,  when  the 
door  to  that  faith  and  its  offspring  is  shut 
and  barred  by  the  statute,that  it  is  unlaw- 
ful for  reason  to  look  into  its  mysteries  ? 
1T9.  VIL  Th.\t  tuence  is  th.\t 

ABOMIN.VriON  OF  DliS0L.\T10N  AND  AF- 
FLICTION, SUCH  AS  HAS  NOT  BEEN,  NOR 
WILL  BE,  WHICH  THE  LoRD  HAD  FORE- 
TOLD IN  Daniel,  and  the  Evange- 
lists, AND  in  the  ReVEL.\TION. 

These  words  are  read  in  Daniel  : 
At  length  upon  the  bird  of  abomina- 
tions, desolation,  and  even  to  the  consum- 
mation and  derision,  it  shall  drop  upon 
the  devastation,  ix.  27.  In  the  evan- 
gelist Matthew,  tlie  Lord  says  these 
words :  Then  many  false  prophets  will 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


151 


rise  up,  and  will  seduce  mamj :  lohcn, 
therefore,  ije  shall  see  the  abomination 
of  desolation,  foretold  by  the  prophet 
Daniel,  standing  in  the  holy  place,  let 
him  who  readctk  note  it  well,  xxiv.  15  : 
and  afterwards  in  the  same  chapter, 
There  tcill  then  be  great  affiiction,  such 
as  has  not  been  since  the  beginning  of 
the  world  until  now,  neither  shall  be, 
21.  This  affliction  and  that  abomina- 
tion are  treated  of  in  seven  chapters 
in  the  Revelation,  and  they  are  what 
are  meant  by  the  black  horse  and  by 
the  pale  horse,  coming  out  of  the  book 
whose  seal  the  Lamb  opened,  Rev.  vi. 
5  to  8 ;  also  by  the  beast  coming  up 
out  of  the  abyss,  which  made  war  with 
the  two  witnesses,  and  slew  them,  ix. 
7,  and  following  verses ;  as  also  by  the 
dragon  which  stood  before  the  woman 
who  was  about  to  bring  forth,  that  he 
might  devour  her  child,  and  pursued  her 
into  the  wilderness,  and  there  cast  out 
from  his  mouth  water  like  a  flood,  that 
he  might  drown  her,  xii.  ;  and  also  by 
the  beasts  of  the  dragon,  one  from  the 
sea  and  the  other  from  tlie  earth,  xiii. ; 
also  by  the  three  spirits  like  fiogs,  which 
came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon, 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet,  xvi. 
13 ;  and  moreover  by  this,  that,  after 
the  seven  angels  poured  out  the  vials 
of  the  anger  of  God,  in  which  were 
the  seven  last  plagues,  into  tiie  earth, 
into  the  sea,  into  the  fountains  and  riv- 
ers, into  the  sun,  into  the  throne  of  the 
beast,  into  the  Euphrates,  and  at  length 
into  the  air,  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake, such  as  had  not  been  since  men 
were  made,  xvi.  An  earthquake  sig- 
nifies an  inversion  of  the  church, 
which  is  effected  by  falses  and  falsifi- 
cations of  the  truth,  which  likewise  is 
signified  by  the  great  affliction  such  as 
was  not  since  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  Matt.  xxiv.  21.  Similar  things 
are  meant  by  these  words  :  The  angel 
thmst  in  the  sickle,  and  harvested  the 
vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the 
great  wine-press  of  the  anger  o  f  God ; 
and  the  wine-press  was  trodden,  and 
blood  came  out  even  to  the  horses'  bri- 
dles, for  a  thousand  sir  hundred  fur- 
longs^ xiv.  19, 20 ;  blood  signifies  truth 


falsified  ;  besides  many  other  things  in 
those  seven  chapters. 

180.  In  the  evangelists,  Matt.  xxiv. 
Mark  xiii.  and  Luke  xxi.,  are  describ- 
ed the  successive  declensions  and  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Christian  church ;  and 
there,  by  the  great  affliction  such  as  was 
not  since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
neither  shall  be,  is  meant,  as  every 
where  else  in  the  Word,  the  infestation 
of  trutli  by  falses,  until  there  does  not 
remain  any  truth  which  is  not  falsified 
and  consummated  :  this  also  is  meant 
by  the  abomination  of  desolation  there ; 
and  this  likewise  is  meant  by  the  deso- 
lation upon  the  bird  of  abominations, 
and  by  the  consummation  and  decision 
in  Daniel ;  and  this  same  thing  is  de- 
scribed in  the  Revelation  by  those  pas- 
sages which  have  just  been  adduced 
thence.  This  was  effected  by  this, 
that  the  church  did  not  acknowledge 
the  Unity  of  God  in  Trinity,  and  his 
Trinity  in  Unity,  in  one  person,  but  in 
three  ;  and  thence  founded  the  church 
in  the  mind,  upon  the  idea  of  three 
Gods,  and  in  the  mouth,  upon  the  con- 
fession of  one  God ;  for  thus  they  sep- 
arated themselves  from  the  Lord,  and 
at  length  so  far,  that  they  had  no  idea 
of  the  divinity  in  his  human  nature  re- 
maining, when  yet  He  is  God  the  Fa- 
ther Himself  in  the  Human ;  where- 
fore, also.  He  is  called  the  Father  of 
eternity,  Isaiah  ix.  5 ;  and  he  says  to 
Philip,  He  loho  seeth  Me,  seeth  the  Fa- 
ther, John  xiv.  7,  9. 

181.  But  it  is  asked.  Whence  is  the 
vein  itself  of  the  fountain,  from  which 
such  abomination  of  desolation,  as  is 
described  in  Daniel,  ix.  27,  and  such 
affliction  as  never  was  nor  ever  will  be, 
Matt.  xxiv.  21,  has  flowed  ?  The  an- 
swer is.  From  the  faith  which  universal- 
ly prevails  in  the  Christian  world,  and 
from  its  influx,  operation,  and  imputa- 
tion, according  to  traditions.  It  is 
wonderful  that  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  that  faith  alone,  although  it 
is  not  faith,  but  a  chimera,  should  gain 
every  point  in  Christian  churches,  that 
is,  that  it  should  reign  there  amongst 
the  clergy,  almost  as  the  only  essential 
of  theology.  It  is  that  which  all  young 
students  in  theology  eagerly  learn,  im- 


152 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


bibe  and  suck  in  at  the  universities ; 
and  which,  afterwards,  as  if  inspired 
with  heavenly  wisdom,  they  teach  in 
the  churches,  and  pubUsh  in  books ;  by 
which  also  they  seek  and  obtain  the 
name  of  superior  erudition,  fame  and 
glory  ;  for  which  also  degrees,  diplomas 
and  rewards  are  conferred  :  and  these 
things  are  done,  although  by  that  faith 
alone,  the  sun  is  now  darkened,  the 
moon  is  deprived  of  her  light,  the  stars 
of  the  heavens  are  fallen,  and  the  vir- 
tues of  the  heavens  are  shaken,  accord- 
ing to  the  words  of  the  prediction  by 
the  Lord  in  Matt.  xxiv.  29.  That  the 
doctrine  of  that  faith  has  at  this  day 
blinded  the  minds  of  men  to  such  a 
degree  that  they  will  not,  and  thence, 
as  it  were,  they  cannot,  see  any  divine 
truth  interiorly  in  the  light  of  the 
sun,  nor  in  the  light  of  the  moon, 
but  only  exteriorly,  upon  some  rough 
surface,  in  the  light  of  a  fire  by  night, 
has  been  proved  to  me :  wherefore  I 
can  say  with  confidence,  that  if  divine 
truths  concerning  the  genuine  conjunc- 
tion of  charity  and  faith,  concerning 
heaven  and  hell,  concerning  the  Lord, 
concerning  the  life  after  death,  and 
concerning  eternal  felicity,  written  in 
letters  of  silver,  should  be  sent  down 
from  heaven,  they  would  not  be  esteem- 
ed worth  reading  by  the  justifiers  and 
sanctifiers  by  faith  alone ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  a  treatise  concerning  jus- 
tification by  faith  alone,  should  be  sent 
from  hell,  this  they  would  take  up,  kiss, 
and  carry  home  in  their  bosom. 

182.  VIIL  Also  this,  that  un- 
less A  New  Heaven  and  a  New 
Church  be  established  by  the 
Lord,  no  Flesh  would  be  saved. 

It  is  read  in  Matthew,  Then  there 
loill  he  great  affliction,  such  as  has  not 
been  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
until  now,  nor  ever  will  be :  yea,  unless 
those  days  should  be  shortened,  no  flesh 
would  be  saved,  xxiv.  21,  22.  That 
chapter  treats  concerning  the  consum- 
mation of  the  age,  by  which  is  meant 
the  end  of  the  present  church  :  where- 
fore by  shortening  those  days,  is  meant 
to  put  an  end  to  that  church,  and  to  in- 
stitute a  new  one.  Who  does  not 
know,  that,  unless  the  Lord  had  come 


into  the  world  and  performed  redemp- 
tion, no  flesh  could  have  been  saved  ? 
By  performing  redemption  is  meant,  to 
establish  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
church.  That  the  Lord  is  to  come 
again  into  the  world.  He  foretold  in  the 
evangelists.  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  31 ;  Mark 
xiii.  26 ;  Luke  xii.  40 ;  xxi.  27 ;  and 
in  the  Revelation,  particularly  in  the 
last  chapter.  That  he  is  also  at  this 
day  performing  a  redemption,  by  es- 
tablishing a  new  heaven  and  institut- 
ing a  new  church,  in  order  that  man 
may  be  saved,  was  shown  above,  in  the 
lemma  concerning  redemption.  The 
great  arcanum,  that  unless  a  new  church 
be  instituted  by  the  Lord,  no  flesh  can 
be  saved,  is  this,  that,  as  long  as  the 
dragon  with  his  crew  continues  in  the 
world  of  spirits,  into  which  he  was  cast, 
so  long  there  cannot  any  divine  truth 
united  to  divine  good,  pass  through  to 
the  men  of  the  earth,  without  being 
perverted  and  falsified,  or  destroyed. 
It  is  that  which  is  meant  by  this  pas- 
sage in  the  Revelation :  The  dragon 
icas  cast  out  into  the  earth,  and  his  an- 
gels toere  cast  out  with  him.  Wo  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  and  the  sea, 
because  the  devil  has  come  down  to  thrm, 
having  great  anger,  xii.  9, 12,  13.  But 
after  the  dragon  was  cast  into  hell,  xx. 
10,  then  John  saw  the  new  heaven  and 
the  new  earth,  and  he  saw  the  New 
Jerusalem  coming  down  from  God  out 
of  heaven,  xxi.  1,  2.  By  the  dragon, 
are  meant  those  who  are  in  the  faitii 
of  the  present  church. 

I  have  several  times  conversed,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  with  the  justifiers  of 
men  by  faith  alone,  and  have  said  that 
their  doctrine  is  erroneous,  and  also  ab- 
surd, and  that  it  induces  carelessness, 
blindness,  sleep,  and  night,  in  spiritual 
things,  and  thence  the  death  of  the 
soul,  and  exhorted  them  to  desist  from 
it.  But  I  have  received  for  answer, 
"Why  desi.st?  Does  not  the  excellence 
of  the  erudition  of  the  clergy  above 
that  of  the  laity,  depend  on  that  alone?" 
But  I  replied,  that  thus  they  do  not  re- 
gard the  salvation  of  souls  as  any  end, 
but  the  excellence  of  their  own  fame ; 
and  that,  because  they  have  applied 
the  truths  of  the  Word  to  their  false 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


168 


principles,  and  thus  have  aduherated 
them,  they  arc  angels  of  the  abyss, 
called  Abaddons  and  Apolli/ons,  Rev. 
ix.  11;  by  which  are  signified  the  de- 
stroyers of  the  church,  by  the  total  fal- 
sification of  the  Word.  But  they  re- 
plied, "What  of  that?  By  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  mysteries  of  tiiat  faith,  we 
are  oracles,  and  from  it,  as  from  the 
most  sacred  part  of  a  temple,  we  give 
responses ;  wherefore  we  are  not  Apol- 
lyons,  but  Apollos."  Being  indig- 
nant at  this,  I  said,  "  If  you  are  Apol- 
los, you  are  also  Leviathans  ;  the  first 
of  you  crooked  Leviathans,  and  the 
second  in  rank,  oblong  Leviathans, 
which  God  will  visit  with  his  hard  and 
great  sword,"  Isaiah  xxvii.  L  But  they 
laughed  at  these  words. 

183.  IX.  That  from  a  Trinity 
OF  Persons,  each  of  whom  singly 
IS  God,  according  to  the  Athana- 
siAN  Creed,  many  absurd  and  het- 
erogeneous Ideas  concerning  God 

HAVE  existed,  WHICH  ARE  FANTA- 
SIES AND  Abortions. 

From  the  doctrine  of  three  divine 
persons  from  eternity,  which,  in  itself, 
is  the  head  of  all  the  doctrinals  in 
Christian  churches,  have  arisen  many 
unbecoming  ideas  concerning  God,  un- 
worthy of  the  Christian  world,  which 
yet  ought  to  be,  and  might  be,  a  lumi- 
nary to  all  the  people  and  nations  in 
the  four  parts  of  the  earth,  concerning 
God  and  his  Unity.  All  who  live  out 
of  the  Christian  church,  as  well  Ma- 
hometans as  Jews,  and,  besides  these, 
the  Gentiles  of  every  worship,  are  averse 
to  Christianity,  solely  on  account  of  the 
faith  of  three  Gods  there.  The  propa- 
gators of  it  know  this,  and  therefore 
they  are  very  cautious  not  to  teach 
openly  a  Trinity  of  persons  such  as  it 
is  in  the  Nicene  and  Athanasian  creeds, 
since,  in  that  case,  they  would  forsake 
and  ridicule  them.  The  absurd,  ludi- 
crous and  frivolous  ideas,  which  have 
arisen  from  the  doctrine  of  three  divine 
persons  from  eternity,  and  which  arise 
with  every  one,  who  remains  in  the  be- 
lief of  the  words  of  that  doctrine,  and, 
from  the  eyes  and  ears,  rise  up  into 
the  sight  of  the  thought,  are  these  ;  That 
God  the  Father  sits  above  the  head  on 
20 


high,  and  the  Son  at  his  right  hand, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  before  them,  listen- 
ing, and  forthwith  running  over  all  the 
world  ;  and,  according  to  their  decision. 
He  dispenses  the  gifts  of  justification 
and  inscribes  them,  and  makes  them, 
from  sons  of  wrath,  sons  of  grace,  and 
from  condemned,  elect.  I  appeal  to 
the  learned  of  the  clergy,  and  to  the 
learned  of  the  laity,  whether  they  en- 
tertain any  other  than  this  ideal  view 
in  their  minds ;  for  that  flows  in  of  its 
own  accord  from  the  doctrine  itself ; 
see  the  Relation  above,  n.  16.  There 
also  flows  in  a  curiosity  of  conjectur- 
ing what  they  conversed  about  among 
themselves,  before  the  world  was  creat- 
ed ;  whether  about  the  world  which 
was  to  be  created,  or  whether  also  about 
those  who  were  to  be  predestinated  and 
justified,  according  to  the  Supralapsari- 
ans,  or  whether  also  about  redemption  ; 
and  likewise  what  they  conversed  about 
since  the  world  was  created  ;  the  Father 
from  the  authority  and  power  of  imput- 
ing,the  Son  from  the  power  of  mediating, 
and  that  imputation,  which  is  election, 
is  from  the  mercy  of  the  Son  interced- 
ing for  all,  and  particularly  for  some, 
and  that  for  them  the  Father  has  favor, 
being  moved  from  love  towards  the  Son, 
and  from  the  misery  seen  in  Him  upon 
the  wood  of  the  cross.  But  who  can- 
not see  that  such  things  are  deliriums 
of  the  mind  concerning  God  1  And 
yet  they  are,  in  Christian  churches,  the 
holy  things  which  are  to  be  kissed  with 
the  mouth,  but  are  not  to  be  viewed 
with  the  eye  of  the  mind,  because  they 
are  things  above  reason,  which,  if  they 
are  elevated  from  the  memory  into  the 
understanding,  make  a  man  insane. 
But  still  this  does  not  remove  the  idea 
of  three  Gods,  but  induces  a  stupid 
faith,  from  which  man  thinks  concern- 
ing God  as  if  he  were  asleep  in  a  dream, 
walking  in  the  darkness  of  night,  or 
like  one  blind  from  his  birth  in  the 
light  of  day. 

184.  That  a  Trinity  of  Gods  is  fixed 
in  the  minds  of  Christians,  although 
for  shame  they  deny  it,  is  very  evident 
from  the  ingenuity  of  many  in  demon- 
strating that  three  are  one,  and  one 
three,  by  various  things  in  geometry, 


154 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


stereometry,  arithmetic,  and  natural 
philosophy,  and  likewise  by  the  folding 
of  pieces  of  cloth  and  paper  ;  thus  they 
play  tricks  among  themselves,  with 
the  divine  Trinity,  like  jugglers.  Their 
juggling  concerning  it  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  sight  of  the  eye  of  per- 
sons in  a  fever,  who  see  one  object, 
whether  it  be  a  man,  or  a  table,  or  a 
candle,  as  three,  or  three  as  one.  It 
may  also  be  compared  with  the  mock- 
ery of  those  who  turn  soft  wax  between 
their  fingers,  and  mould  it  into  various 
forms,  now  into  a  triangular  form,  that 
they  may  show  the  Trinity ;  now  into 
a  spherical  form,  that  they  may  show 
the  Unity  ;  saying,  "  Is  it  not  still  one 
and  the  same  substance?"  when  yet  the 
Divine  Trinity  is  like  a  pearl  of  the 
greatest  value;  but,  when  divided  into 
persons,  it  is  like  a  pearl  divided  into 
three  parts,  whence  it  entirely  loses  its 
value. 


185.  To  the  above  will  be  added 
these  Relations.  First.  In  the  spir- 
itual world,  there  are  climates  and 
zones,  as  well  as  in  the  natural  world ; 
there  is  not  any  thing  given  in  the  lat- 
ter which  is  not  also  in  the  former ; 
but  they  differ  in  origin.  In  the  natu- 
ral world,  the  varieties  of  climates  are 
according  to  the  distances  of  the  sun 
from  the  equator ;  in  the  spiritual 
world,  they  are  according  to  the  dis- 
tances of  the  affections  of  the  will,  and 
thence  of  the  thoughts  of  the  under- 
standing, from  true  love  and  true  faith  ; 
all  the  things  there  are  correspondences 
of  these.  In  the  frigid  zones,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  there  appear  similar 
things  as  in  the  frigid  zones  in  the  nat- 
ural world ;  the  lands  there  appear 
bound  up  with  ice,  and  likewise  the 
waters,  and  also  snow  upon  them. 
Those  come  thither  and  dwell  there, 
who,  in  the  world,  lulled  their  under- 
standings to  sleep  by  indolence  in 
thinking  about  spiritual  things,  and 
who  are  thence,  at  the  same  time,  in- 
dolent about  doing  any  uses  :  they  are 
called  boreal  spirits.  Once  I  was 
seized  with  a  desire  of  seeing  some 
country  in  the  frigid  zone  where  those 
boreal  spirits  were ;  and  therefore  I 


was  led  in  the  spirit  to  the  north,  even 
to  a  region  where  all  the  land  appear- 
ed covered  with  snow,  and  all  the  wa- 
ter congealed  with  ice.  It  was  the 
day  of  the  Sabbath ;  and  I  saw  men, 
that  is,  spirits,  of  a  similar  stature  with 
men  of  the  world  ;  but,  on  account  of 
the  cold,  they  were  clad,  as  to  the  head, 
with  the  skin  of  a  lion,  whose  mouth 
had  been  applied  to  their  mouth ;  but 
as  to  the  body,  before  and  behind,  as 
far  as  above  the  loins,  they  were  cov- 
ered with  the  skins  of  leopards ;  and 
as  to  the  feet,  with  the  skins  of  bears. 
And  also  I  saw  many  riding  in  chari- 
ots, and  some  in  chariots  carved  in  the 
shape  of  a  dragon,  whose  horns  were 
extended  forwards.  Those  chariots 
were  drawn  by  little  horses  whose  tails 
had  been  cut  off ;  they  were  running 
like  terrible  wild  beasts,  and  the  driv- 
er, holding  the  reins  in  his  hands,  was 
continually  impelling  and  urging  them 
on  their  course.  I  saw,  at  length,  that 
the  multitudes  were  flocking  to  a  tem- 
ple, which,  because  it  was  covered  with 
snow,  had  not  been  seen.  But  the 
keepers  of  the  temple  were  loosening 
the  snow,  and,  by  digging,  were  pre- 
paring an  entrance  for  the  worshippers 
who  had  arrived ;  and  they  descended, 
and  entered.  It  was  given  me  also 
to  see  the  temple  within.  It  was  illu- 
minated with  lamps  and  candles  in 
abundance ;  the  altar  there  was  of 
hewn  stone,  behind  which  there  was 
hanging  a  tablet,  on  which  it  was  writ- 
ten. The  Divine  Trinity,  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  who  essen- 
tially ARE  one  God,  but  personal- 
ly THREE.  At  length  the  priest,  stand- 
ing at  the  altar,  after  he  liad  kneeled 
thrice  at  the  tablet  of  the  altar,  with  a 
book  in  his  hand,  ascended  the  pulpit, 
and  began  a  sermon  by  speaking  of 
the  Trinity,  and  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  how 
great  a  mystery  !  that  God  in  the  High- 
est begat  a  Son  from  eternity,  and  by 
Him  brought  forth  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  three  joined  themselves  together 
by  essence,  but  separated  themselves 
by  properties,  which  are  imputation, 
redemption,  and  operation !  but  if  we 
look  into  these  things  by  reason,  its 
sight  is  blinded,  and  a  spot  is  made 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


155 


before  it,  as  before  the  eye  of  him  who 
fixes  his  gaze  upon  the  naked  sun. 
Wherefore,  my  hearers,  as  to  this,  let 
us  keep  the  understanding  under  obe- 
dience to  faitli."  After  this,  he  ex- 
claimed again,  "  Oh,  how  great  a  myste- 
ry is  our  holy  faith  !  which  is  this ;  that 
God  the  Fatlier  imputes  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  Son,  and  sends  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who,  by  that  imputed  righteous- 
ness, operates  the  pledges  of  justifica- 
tion, which,  in  the  sum,  are  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  renovation,  regeneration 
and  salvation ;  concerning  whose  in- 
flux or  act,  man  knows  no  more  than 
the  pillar  of  salt  into  which  Lot's  wife 
was  turned,  and  concerning  whose  in- 
dwelling, or  state,  he  knows  no  more 
than  a  fish  in  the  sea.  But,  my  friends, 
there  is  hid  in  it  a  treasure,  so  entirely 
covered  and  concealed,  that  not  a  grain 
of  it  appears.  Wherefore,  as  to  that 
also,  let  us  keep  the  understanding  un- 
der obedience  to  faith."  After  some 
sighs, he  exclaimed  again,  saying, "Oh, 
how  great  a  mystery  is  election  !  He 
is  elected,  to  whom  God  imputes  that 
faith,  which,  according  to  a  free  pur- 
pose, and  of  pure  grace,  He  infuses  in- 
to whomsoever  He  will,  and  when  He 
will ;  and  man  is  like  a  stock  when  it 
is  being  infused,  but  he  becomes  like  a 
tree  when  it  is  infused  ;  but  the  fruits, 
which  are  good  works,  hang,  indeed, 
fi-om  that  tree,  which,  in  a  representa- 
tive sense,  is  our  faith,  but  still  they  do 
not  cohere ;  wherefore  the  value  of 
that  tree  is  not  from  the  fruit.  But, 
because  this  sounds  like  heterodoxy, 
and  yet  is  a  mystical  truth,  let  us,  my 
brethren,  keep  the  understanding  un- 
der obedience  to  this  faith."  And 
then,  after  a  pause,  standing  as  if  he 
would  yet  extract  something  more  from 
the  memory,  he  continued,  saying, 
"From  the  store  of  mysteries  I  will 
produce  yet  one  more,  which  is,  that 
man,  in  spiritual  things,  has  not  a  grain 
of  free  will ;  for  the  primates  and  regu- 
lar priests  of  our  order,  in  their  theo- 
logical canons,  say  that  man,  in  those 
things  which  are  of  faith  and  salvation, 
which  are  properly  called  spiritual, 
cannot  will,  think  or  understand  any 
thing,  and  cannot  even  accommodate 


and  apply  himself  to  receive  them  ; 
wherefore  I  say  of  myself,  that  man  of 
himself  cannot  think  concerning  those 
things  from  reason,  and  speak  from 
thought,  otherwise  than  like  a  parrot, 
a  magpie  or  a  raven  ;  so  that  man,  in 
spiritual  things,  is  truly  an  ass,  and  a 
man  only  in  natural  things.  But,  my 
friends,  lest  this  should  trouble  your 
reason,  let  us  in  this,  as  in  the  rest, 
keep  the  imderstanding  under  obedi- 
ence to  faith ;  for  our  theology  is  an 
abyss  without  a  i)ottom,  into  which  if 
you  let  your  understanding  look,  you 
will  be  drowned  and  lost,  as  by  ship- 
wreck. But  still  hear :  we  are,  never- 
theless, in  the  very  light  of  the  gospel, 
which  shines  high  above  our  heads ; 
but,  alas!  the  hair  of  our  heads  and 
the  bones  of  our  skulls  prohibit  and 
prevent  it  from  penetrating  into  the  in- 
ner chamber  of  our  understanding." 
Having  said  this,  he  descended ;  and 
after  he  had  offered  a  prayer  at  the  al- 
tar, and  the  service  was  ended,  I  went 
up  to  some  who  were  talking  together, 
where  also  was  the  priest  in  the  midst 
of  a  circle ;  to  whom  those  standing 
about  him  said,  "We  give  you  immor- 
tal thanks  for  a  sermon  so  magnificent 
and  full  of  wisdom."  But  then  I  said 
to  thenp,  "  Did  you  understand  any 
thing?"  And  they  replied,  "We  re- 
ceived all  with  full  ears ;  but  why  do 
you  ask  whether  we  understood  it?  Is 
not  the  understanding  amazed  in  such 
things?"  And  the  priest  added  this 
to  what  was  said  :  "  Because  you  have 
heard,  and  have  not  understood,  you 
are  blessed,  since  thence  is  your  salva- 
tion." Afterwards  I  spoke  with  the 
priest,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  a 
degree ;  and  he  replied,  "  I  am  a 
master  of  arts."  And  then  I  said, 
"  Master,  I  have  heard  you  preaching 
mysteries:  if  you  know  them,  and  not 
any  thing  which  they  contain,  you 
know  nothing;  for  they  are  just  like 
caskets  locked  up  with  a  triple  lock, 
which  unless  you  open  and  look  in, 
(which  must  be  done  by  the  under- 
standing,) you  know  not  whether  the 
things  therein  are  precious,  or  whether 
they  are  worthless,  or  whether  they 
are  noxious ;  they  may  be  the  eggs  of 


156 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


an  asp,  or  the  web  of  a  spider,  accord- 
ing to  the  description  in  Isaiah  iix.  5." 
As  I  spoke  these  words,  the  priest  looked 
at  me  with  a  crabbed  aspect,  and  the 
worshippers  departed,  and  mounted 
their  chariots,  intoxicated  with  para- 
doxes, infatuated  with  empty  words,  and 
enveloped  with  darkness  in  all  the  things 
of  faith,  and  the  means  of  salvation. 

186.  Second  Relation.  I  was 
once  engaged  in  thinking  in  what  re- 
gion of  the  mind  theological  things  re- 
side with  man,  which,  because  they 
are  spiritual  and  celestial,  I  at  first 
supposed  would  reside  in  the  highest 
region  ;  for  the  human  mind  is  distin- 
guished into  three  regions,  as  a  house 
is  into  three  stories,  and  likewise  as 
the  habitations  of  the  angels  are  into 
three  heavens.  And  then  an  angel 
stood  before  me,  and  said,  "  Theologi- 
cal things,  with  those  who  love  truth 
because  it  is  truth,  rise  up  even  into 
the  highest  region,  because  there  is 
their  heaven,  and  they  are  in  the  light 
in  which  the  angels  are ;  but  moral 
things,  theoretically  contemplated  and 
perceived,  place  themselves  under 
those  in  the  second  region,  because 
they  communicate  with  spiritual  things; 
and  political  things  under  these  in  the 
first  region  ;  but  scientifics,  which  are 
manifold,  and  may  be  referred  to  gen- 
eral and  particular  classes,  make  the 
door  to  those  higher  things.  Those 
with  whom  spiritual,  moral,  political 
and  scientific  things  are  thus  sul)ordi- 
nated,  think  what  they  think,  and  do 
what  they  do,  from  justice  and  judg- 
ment ;  the  reason  is,  because  the  light 
of  truth,  which  also  is  the  light  of 
heaven,  from  the  highest  region,  illu- 
minates tlic  things  which  are  below,  as 
the  light  of  the  sun,  passing  through 
the  ethers  and  air,  progressively,  illu- 
minates the  eyes  of  men,  beasts  and 
fishes.  But  theological  things  are  not 
so  with  those  who  do  not  love  truth 
because  it  is  truth,  but  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  glory  of  their  own  fame. 
Theological  things  with  these,  reside 
in  tlie  lowest  region,  where  scientifics 
are, with  which,  in  some  cases,  they  min- 
gle themselves,  and,  in  some  cases,  they 
cannot  mingle  themselves.  Under  these, 


in  the  same  region,  are  political  things, 
and  under  these,  moral ;  since  with 
such  persons  the  two  higher  regions 
are  not  opened  on  the  right  side,  where- 
fore they  have  no  interior  reason  of 
judgment,  nor  affection  of  justice,  but 
only  a  sort  of  ingenuity,  from  which 
they  can  speak  upon  every  subject,  as 
if  from  intelligence,  and  confirm  what- 
ever occurs,  as  if  from  reason ;  but  the 
objects  of  reason  which  they  principal- 
ly love  are  falses,  because  these  co- 
here with  the  fallacies  of  the  senses. 
Thence  it  is,  that  there  are  so  many  in 
the  world  who  do  not  see  the  truths  of 
doctrine  from  the  Word,  more  than 
those  who  are  born  blind  ;  and  when 
they  hear  them,  they  press  together 
their  nostrils,  lest  their  odor  should  of- 
fend them,  and  excite  nausea ;  but 
they  open  all  their  senses  to  falses,  and 
draw  them  in,  as  a  whale  does  water." 

187.  Third  Relation.  Once,  when 
I  was  meditating  about  the  dragon,  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet,  which  are 
mentioned  in  the  Revelation,  an  an- 
gelic spirit  appeared  to  me,  and  asked, 
"What  are  you  meditating  about?" 
And  I  said,  "  About  the  false  prophet." 
Then  he  said,  "  I  will  lead  you  to  tiie 
place  where  they  are,  who  are  meant 
by  the  false  prophet ;  and  he  said  that 
they  are  the  same  that,  in  the  KJth 
chapter  of  the  Revelation,  are  meant 
by  the  beast  from  the  earth,  which  had 
two  horns  like  a  lamb,  and  spoke  like 
a  dragon.  I  followed  him,  and  lo,  I 
saw  a  crowd,  in  the  mid-st  of  which 
were  the  leaders  of  the  church,  wiio 
taught  that  nothing  saves  man,  but  faith 
in  the  merit  of  Christ ;  and  that  works 
are  good,  but  not  for  salvation ;  and 
that  still  they  should  be  taught  from 
the  Word,  that  the  laity,  especially  the 
simple,  may  be  kept  more  strictly  in 
the  bonds  of  obedience  to  the  magis- 
trates, and  may  be  led,  as  from  reli- 
gion, thus  more  interiorly,  to  exercise 
moral  charity.  And  then  one  of 
them,  seeing  me,  said,  "  Do  you  wish 
to  see  our  temple,  in  wiiich  there  is  an 
image  representative  of  our  faith  V  I 
went  and  saw  it ;  and  lo,  it  was  a 
magnificent  edifice,  and  in  the  midst 
of  it  there  was  the  image  of  a  woman, 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


clothed  in  a  scarlet  garment,  holding 
in  her  right  hand  a  golden  coin,  and 
in  her  left  a  chain  of  pearls ;  but  both 
the  image  and  the  temple  were  induced 
by  fantasy ;  for  by  fantasies  infer- 
nal spirits  can  represent  magnificent 
things,  by  closing  the  interiors  of  the 
mind,  and  opening  only  its  exteriors. 
But  when  I  perceived  that  it  was  such 
a  trick,  I  prayed  to  the  Lord,  and  sud- 
denly the  interiors  of  my  mind  were 
opened  ;  and  then  I  saw,  instead  of  the 
magnificent  temple,  a  house  full  of 
chinks,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  in 
which  nothing  cohered ;  and  I  saw  in 
that  house,  instead  of  the  woman,  a 
pendent  image,  the  head  of  which  was 
like  a  dragon,  the  body  like  a  leopard, 
the  feet  like  those  of  a  bear,  and  the 
mouth  like  that  of  a  lion  ;  thus  in  eve- 
ry respect  as  the  beast  from  the  sea  is 
described,  Rev.  xiii.  2;  and  in  place 
of  a  floor,  there  was  a  quagmire,  in 
which  was  a  multitude  of  frogs ;  and  it 
was  told  me  that  under  the  quagmire 
there  was  a  large  hewn  stone,  under 
which  lay  the  Word,  entirely  conceal- 
ed. On  seeing  these  things,  I  said  to 
the  juggler,  "Is  this  your  temple?" 
And  he  said  that  it  was.  But  then 
suddenly  his  interior  sight  also  Avas 
opened,  from  which  he  saw  the  same 
things  that  I  did ;  on  seeing  which, 
he  exclaimed,  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  What  is  this  ?  and  whence  is  this?" 
And  I  said,  "  It  is  from  the  light  of 
heaven,  which  discovers  the  quality  of 
every  form,  and  thus  the  quality  of 
your  faith  separate  from  spiritual  char- 
ity." And  immediately  an  east  wind 
blew,  and  carried  away  the  temple, 
with  the  image,  and  also  dried  up  the 
quagmire,  and  thus  exposed  the  stone 
under  which  lay  the  Word.  And  af- 
ter this,  a  warmth,  like  that  of  spring, 
breathed  from  heaven  ;  and  lo,  then  in 
the  same  place,  there  was  seen  a  taber- 
nacle, as  to  the  external  form  simple ; 
and  the  angels  who  were  with  me  said, 
"  Behold  the  tabernacle  of  Abraham, 
such  as  it  was  when  the  three  angels 
came  to  him,  and  told  concerning 
Isaac,  who  was  about  to  be  born.  This 
appears  to  the  eyes  simple,  but  still, 
according  to  the  influx  of  light  from 


heaven,  it  becomes  more  and  more 
magnificent."  And  it  was  given  them 
to  open  the  heaven  in  which  were  the 
spiritual  angels,  who  are  in  wisdom ; 
and  then,  from  the  light  thence  flowing 
in,  that  tabernacle  appeared  like  a 
temple,  similar  to  that  at  Jerusalem; 
and,  on  looking  into  it,  I  saw  the  stone 
of  the  foundation,  under  which  the 
Word  was  deposited,  set  around  with 
precious  stones,  from  which  bright  rays, 
like  lightning,  shone  upon  the  walls, 
upon  which  were  the  forms  of  cherubs, 
and  beautifully  variegated  them  with 
colors.  When  I  was  admiring  these 
things,  the  angels  said,  "  You  will  see 
something  still  more  wonderful."  Then 
it  was  given  them  to  open  the  third 
heaven,  in  which  were  the  celestial  an- 
gels, who  are  in  love  ;  and  then,  from 
the  flammeous  light  thence  flowing  in, 
the  whole  of  that  temple  vanished,  and 
instead  of  it  the  Lord  alone  was  seen, 
standing  upon  the  foundation  stone, 
which  was  the  Word,  in  the  same  form 
in  which  he  appeared  to  John,  Rev.  i. 
But  because  a  holy  reverence  then  fill- 
ed the  interiors  of  the  angels'  minds, 
from  which  they  had  an  inclination  to 
fall  prostrate  on  their  faces,  the  way  of 
light  fi-om  the  third  heaven  was  clos- 
ed by  the  Lord,  and  a  way  of  light 
from  the  second  heaven  was  opened ; 
whence  returned  the  former  appear- 
ance of  the  temple,  and  also  of  the 
tabernacle,  but  this  in  the  midst  of  the 
temple.  Hereby  was  illustrated  what 
is  meant  in  the  Revelation,  xxi,  by  this 
passage :  The  tabernacle  of  God  is 
ioith  men,  and  He  toiU  dwell  with  them, 
ver.  3 :  and  also  by  this :  /  saw  no 
temple  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  because 
the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  is  the  tem- 
ple of  it,  and  the  Lamb,  ver.  22. 

188.  Fourth  Relation.  Since  it 
has  been  given  me  by  the  Lord  to  see 
the  wonderful  things  which  are  in  the 
heavens  and  under  the  heavens,  I 
ought  to  relate,  according  to  command, 
what  has  been  seen.  There  was  seen 
a  magnificent  palace,  and  in  the  in- 
most part  of  it  a  temple ;  in  the  midst 
of  this,  there  was  a  table  of  gold,  upon 
which  was  the  Word,  at  which  stood 
two  angels.   About  the  table  there  were 


158 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


three  rows  of  seats ;  the  seats  of  the 
first  row  were  covered  with  silk  drapery 
of  a  purple  color,  the  seats  of  the  sec- 
ond row  with  silk  drapery  of  a  blue 
color,  and  the  seats  of  the  third  row 
with  white  drapery.  Under  the  roof, 
high  above  the  table,  there  appeared  a 
curtain  spread  out,  glittering  with  pre- 
cious stones,  from  the  splendor  of 
which  shone  forth,  as  it  were,  a  rainbow, 
when  the  sky  is  becoming  serene  after 
a  shower.  Suddenly  then  were  seen 
clergymen  sitting  upon  all  the  seats, 
all  clothed  in  the  garments  of  the  sa- 
cerdotal ministry.  On  one  side  there 
was  a  vestry,  where  stood  an  angel, 
who  was  the  keeper,  and  in  it  lay 
splendid  garments,  in  beautiful  order. 

It   was  A   COUNCIL  CONVENED  BY  THE 

Lord  ;  and  I  heard  a  voice  fi-om  heav- 
en, saying,  "  Deliberate."  But  they 
said,  "  On  what  ?"  It  was  said,  "  Con- 
cerning THE  Lord  the  Savior,  and 
concerning  the  Holy  Spirit."  But 
when  they  began  to  think  concerning 
them,  they  were  not  in  illustration  ; 
wherefore  they  made  supplication,  and 
then  light  flowed  down  out  of  heaven, 
and  illuminated  first  the  hinder  parts 
of  their  heads,  and  afterwards  their 
temples,  and  at  last  their  faces ;  and 
then  they  began  to  deliberate,  and,  as 
it  was  commanded,  first  concern- 
ing the  Lord  the  Savior.  The  first 
thing  jjroposed  and  canvassed  was, 
"  Who  assu.med  the  Human  in  the 
Virgin  Mary  ?"  And  an  angel,  stand- 
ing at  the  table,  on  which  was  the 
Word,  read  to  them  these  words  from 
Luke :  Bcltohl,  thou  shalt  conceive  in 
the  ivomb,  and  shalt  bring  forth  a  son, 
and  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus;  He  shall 
be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son 
OF  THE  Most  High.  And  Mary  said 
to  the  angel,  How  shall  this  be  done, 
since  I  know  not  a  man  ?  And  the  an- 
gel, answering,  said.  The  Holy  Spir- 
it sh.\ll  come  UPON  thee,  and  the 
Virtue  of  the  Most  High  shall 
overshadow  thee  ;  wherefore  the 
Holy  Thi.vg  that  is  born  of  thee  shall 
be  called  the  Son  of  God,  i.  31,  32, 
34,  35.  Then  also  he  read  these  in 
Matthew  :  The  angel  said  to  Joseph  in 
a  dream,  Joseph,  soji  of  David,  fear 


not  to  take  Mary  for  thy  vnfe,  for 
that  which  is  born  in  her  is  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  And  Joseph  knew 
her  not  until  she  had  brought  forth 
her  first-born  son,  and  she  called  his 
name  Jesus,  i.  20,  25.  And  besides 
these  passages,  he  read  many  more 
from  the  evangelists;  as  Matt.  iii.  17, 
xvii.  5 ;  John  i.  18,  iii.  16,  xx.  31 ;  and 
many  other  places,  where  the  Lord,  as 
to  the  Human,  is  called  the  Son  of 
God,  and  where  He,  from  his  Human, 
calls  Jehovah  his  Father  ;  as  also 
from  the  prophets,  where  it  is  foretold 
that  Jehovah  Himself  was  about  to 
come  into  the  world ;  among  which 
also  these  two  in  Isaiah,  It  shall  be  said 
in  that  day,  Lo,  this  is  our  God, 
whom  we  have  expected  to  deliver  us  ; 
this  is  Jehovah,  whom  we  have  ex- 
pected ;  let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
his  salvation,  xxv.  9.  The  voice  of 
one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  a 
way  for  Jehovah,  make  smooth  in  the 
desert  a  path  for  our  God  ;  for  the 
glory  of  Jehovah  shall  be  revealed; 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  together.  Behold, 
the  Lord  Jehovah  will  come  in  the 
Mighty  One  ;  He  will  feed  his  flock 
like  a  shepherd,  xl.  3,  5,  10,  11.  And 
the  angel  said,  "  Since  Jehovah  Him- 
self came  into  the  world,  and  assumed 
the  Human,  therefore,  in  the  prophets. 
He  is  called  the  Savior  and  the  Re- 
deemer." And  then  he  read  to  them 
the  following  passages :  God  is  in  thee 
only,  and  there  is  no  God  besides ;  tru- 
ly thou  art  a  God  concealed,  O  God 
OF  Israel  the  Savior,  Isaiah  xlv.  14, 
15.  Am  not  1  Jehovah  ?  and  there 
is  no  God  else  beside  Me  ;  a  just  God 
and  a  Savior,  there  is  not  beside 
Me,  xlv.  21,  22.  I  am  Jehovah,  and 
BESIDE  Me  there  is  no  Savior,  xliii. 
11.  I  Jehovah  am  thy  God,  and  thou 
shalt  acknowledge  no  God  beside  Me, 

AND  THERE  IS  NO  SaVIOR  I'.ESIDE  Me, 

Hosea  xiii.  4.  That  all  flesh  may 
knaiB  that  I  Jehovah  am  thy  Savior 
AND  THY  Redeemer,  Isaiah  xlix.  26; 
Ix.  16.  As  for  OUR  Redeemer,  Je- 
hovah OF  hosts  is  his  name,  xlvii.  4. 
Their  Redeemer  is  mighty;  Jeho- 
vah OF  HOSTS  IS  HIS  NAME,  JcrCm.  1. 

24.     IVius  said  Jehovah  the  King  of 


Concerning  the  Divine  TViniti/'. 


159 


Israel,  and  his  Redeemer,  Jehovah 
OF  HOSTS,  lam  the  First  and  the  Last, 
and  besides  Me  there  is  no  God,  Isaiah 
xliv.  6.  Jehovah,  my  Rock  and  my 
Redeemer,  Psalm  xix.  15.  Thus  said 
Jehovah  thv  Redeemer,  the  Hohj 
One  of  Israel,  I  Jehovah  am  thy  God, 
Isaiah  xlviii.  17;  xliii.  14;  xlix.  7;  liv. 
8.  Thou  Jehovah  art  ovr  Father, 
our  Redeemer  from  an  age  is  thy 
name,  Ixiii.  16.  Thus  said  Jehovah 
THY  Redeemer,  /  am  Jehovah,  doing 
all  things,  even  alone,  by  Myself,  xliv, 
24.  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  his  name, 
and  thy  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,  the  God  of  the  whole  earth 
He  shall  be  called,  liv.  5.  Behold 
the  days  will  come  when  I  shall  raise 
unto  David  a  righteous  Branch,  who 
shall  reign  a  King;  and  this  is  his 
name,  Jehov.\h  our  Righteousness, 
Jerem.  xxiii.  5,  6;  xxxiii.  15,  16.  In 
that  day,  Jehovah  shall  be  for  a  King 
over  all  the  earth ;  in  that  day,  Jeho- 
vah shall  be  one,  and  his  name  one, 
Zech.  xiv.  9.  Those  who  sat  on  the 
seats,  being  confirmed  by  these  and 
the  former  passages,  unanimously  said, 
that  Jehovah  Himself  assumed  the  Hu- 
man in  order  to  redeem  and  save  men. 
But  then  a  voice  was  heard  from  the 
Roman  Catholics,  who  had  hid  them- 
selves behind  the  altar,  saying,  "  How 
can  Jehovah  God  become  Man?  Is 
he  not  the  Creator  of  the  universe?" 
And  one  of  those  who  sat  upon  the 
seats  of  the  second  row,  turned  him- 
self about,  and  said,  "  Who  then  ?" 
And  he  behind  the  altar,  standing 
close  to  the  altar,  replied,  "  The  So.n 
FROM  eternity."  But  he  was  an- 
swered, "  Is  not  the  Son  from  eternity, 
according  to  your  confession,  also  the 
Creator  of  the  universe  ?  And  what  is 
a  Son  and  a  God  born  from  eternity  1 
And  how  can  the  Divine  Essence, 
which  is  one  and  indivisible,  be  sepa- 
rated, and  one  part  of  it  descend,  and 
not  the  whole  together?"  The  sec- 
ond thing  canvassed  concerning 
THE  Lord  was.  Whether,  according 
to  this,  the  Father  and  He  are  not  one, 
as  the  soul  and  body  are  one.  They 
said  that  "  This  is  a  consequence,  be- 
cause the  soul  is  from  the  Father." 


Then  one  of  those  who  sat  upon  the 
seats  of  the  third  row,  read  from  the 
confession  of  faith,  which  is  called  the 
Athanasian  Creed,  these  words  :  "Al- 
though  our  Lord  Jesus  Cfirist,  the  Son 
of  God,  is  both  God  and  Man,  still 
there  arc  not  two,  but  there  is  one 
Christ ;  yea.  He  is  altogether  one ;  He 
is  one  person,  since,  as  the  soul  and 
body  make  one  man,  so  God  and  Man 
is  one  Christ."  The  reader  said,  that 
that  creed  where  those  words  are,  is 
received  in  the  whole  Christian  world, 
even  by  the  Roman  Catholics.  And 
they  said,  "  What  need  is  there  of  more 
proofs  that  God  the  Father  and  He 
are  one,  as  the  soul  and  body  are  one." 
And  they  said,  "  Because  it  is  so,  we 
see  that  the  Human  of  the  Lord  is  Di- 
vine, because  it  is  the  Human  of  Jeho- 
vah ;  and  also  that  the  Lord,  as  to  the 
Divine  Human,  should  be  approached, 
and  that  thus,  and  not  otherwise,  the 
Divine  may  be  approached,  which  is 
called  the  Father."  This,  their  con- 
clusion, the  angel  confirmed  by  many 
things  from  the  Word,  amongst  which 
were  these :  A  Child  is  born  to  us,  a 
Son  is  given  to  us,  whose  name  is  Won- 
derful, Counsellor,  God,  Hero,  the 
Father  of  Eternity,  the  Prince  of 
Peace,  Isaiah  ix.  6.  Abraham  doth 
not  know  us,  and  Israel  doth  not  ac- 
knowledge us;  Thou,  Jehovah,  art 
OUR  Father,  our  Redeemer  ;  from 
AN  age  is  thy  name,  Ixiii.  16 :  and 
in  John ;  Jesus  said.  He  tvho  bclievcth 
in  Me,  believeth  in  Him  who  sent  Me ; 
and  he  who  seeth  Me,  seeth  Him  who 
sent  Me,  xii.  44,  45.  Philip  said  to 
Jesus,  Show  us  the  Father.  Jesus  saith 
to  him.  He  who  seeth  Me,  seeth 
the  Father  ;  how  then  sayest  thou. 
Show  us  the  Father  ?  Believest  thou 
not  that  I  AM  in  the  Father,  and 
the  Father  in  Me.  Believe  Me, 
that  I  AM  IN  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  Me,  xiv.  8,  9.  Jesus  said, 
I  AND  THE  Father  are  one,  x.  30 ; 
and  also.  All  things  that  the  Father 
hath  are  mine,  and  all  mine  are  the 
Father's,  xvi.  15 ;  xvii.  10.  Lastly,  Je- 
sus said,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth 
and  the  Life ;  no  one  cometh  to  the 
Father  but  by  Me,  xiv.  6.    To  this  the 


160 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


reader  added,  that  the  same  things 
that  are  here  said  by  the  Lord,  con- 
cerning Himself  and  his  Father,  may 
also  be  said  by  man,  concerning  him- 
self and  his  soul.  Having  heard  these 
things,  they  all  said,  with  one  mouth 
and  heart,  that  "  The  Human  of  the 
Lord  is  Divine,  and  that  this  is  to  be 
approached,  in  order  that  the  Father 
may  be  approached ;  since  Jehovah 
God,  by  it,  sent  Himself  into  the  world, 
and  made  Himself  visible  to  the  eyes 
of  men,  and  thus  accessible.  In  like 
manner,  He  made  Himself  visible,  and 
thus  accessible,  in  a  human  form,  to 
the  ancients,  but  then  by  an  angel ; 
but  because  this  form  was  representa- 
tive of  the  Lord  who  was  about  to 
come,  therefore  all  things  of  the  church 
with  the  ancients  were  representative." 

After  this  followed  a  deliberation 
concerning  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  in 
the  first  place  was  disclosed  the  idea 
of  most  persons  concerning  God  the 
Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
which  was,  that  God  the  Father  sits 
on  high,  and  the  Son  at  his  right  hand, 
and  that  they  send  forth  from  them  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  enlighten,  teach,  justify 
and  sanctify  men.  But  then  a  voice 
was  heard  from  heaven,  saying,  "  We 
cannot  endure  that  idea  of  thought. 
Who  does  not  know,  that  Jehovah  God 
is  omnipresent?  Whoever  knows  and 
acknowledges  this,  will  also  acknowl- 
edge, that  He  Himself  enlightens, 
teaches,  justifies  and  saves,  and  that 
there  is  not  a  mediating  God  distinct 
from  Him,  still  less  from  two,  as  one 
person  from  anotiier ;  wherefore  let 
the  former  idea,  which  is  vain,  be  re- 
moved, and  let  this,  which  is  just,  be 
received,  and  then  you  will  see  this 
clearly."  But  tiicn  a  voice  was  heard 
from  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  stood 
close  to  the  altar  of  the  temple,  saying, 
"  What  then  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
is  mentioned  in  the  Word  in  the 
evangelists,  and  in  Paul,  by  which  so 
many  learned  men  amongst  the  clergy, 
and  especially  of  our  church,  say  that 
they  are  led  ?  Who,  at  this  day,  in 
the  Christian  world,  denies  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  his  operations  ?"  At  those 
words,  one  of  those  who  sat  upon  the 


seats  of  the  second  row,  turned  himself 
about,  and  said,  "  You  say  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  a  person  by  himself,  and 
a  God  by  himself ;  but  what  is  a  per- 
son going  forth  and  proceeding  from  a 
person,  but  operation  going  forth  and 
proceeding?  One  person  cannot  go 
forth  and  proceed  from  another,  but 
operation  can.  Or  what  is  a  God  go- 
ing forth  and  proceeding  from  God, 
but  the  Divine  going  forth  and  pro- 
ceeding ?  One  God  cannot  go  forth 
and  proceed  from  another,  but  the  Di- 
vine can  from  one  God."  On  hearing 
these  words,  those  who  sat  upon  the 
seats  unanimously  concluded,  that 
"  The  Holy  Spirit  is  not  a  person  by 
itself,  thus  neither  a  God  by  itself; 
but  that  it  is  the  Holy  Divine,  going 
forth  and  proceeding  from  the  one  om- 
nipresent God,  who  is  the  Lord."  To 
this  the  angels,  standing  at  the  golden 
table  upon  which  was  the  Word,  said, 
"  Well.  It  is  not  read  any  where  in 
the  Old  Testament,  that  the  prophets 
spoke  the  Word  from  the  Holy  Spirit, 
but  from  Jehovah ;  and  wherever,  in 
the  New  Testament,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
mentioned,  we  are  to  understand  the 
proceeding  Divine,  which  is  the  Divine 
which  enlightens,  teaches,  enlivens,  re- 
forms and  regenerates."  After  this, 
there  followed  another  question  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Spirit,  which  was, 
From  whom  the  Divine,  which  is  meant 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  proceeds;  whether 
from  the  Father  or  from  the  Lord. 
And  when  they  were  canvassing  this, 
there  shone  upon  them  a  light  from 
heaven,  from  which  they  saw  that  the 
Holy  Divine,  which  is  meant  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  does  not  proceed  out  of 
the  Father  through  the  Lord,  but  out 
of  the  Lord  from  the  Father  ;  compar- 
atively, as  with  man  ;  his  activity  does 
not  proceed  from  the  soul  through  the 
body,  but  out  of  the  body  from  the 
soul.  This  the  angel  standing  at  the 
table  confirmed  by  these  things  from 
the  Word  :  He  whom  the  Father  hath 
sent,  speakcth  the  words  of  God:  He 
hath  given  Him  the  Spirit  not  by 
measure.  The  Father  loveth  the  Son, 
and  hath  given  all  things  into  his  hand, 
John  iii.  34,  'S't.    A  Rod  shall  go  out 


Concerning  the  Divine  Trinity. 


IGl 


from  the  Trunk  of  Jesse,  the  spirit  of 
Jehovah  shall  rest  upon  Him,  the  spirit 
of  wisdom  and  inteUigenre,  the  spirit 
of  counsel  and  virtue,  Isaiah  xi.  1. 
That  the  spirit  of  Jehovah  was  given 
upon  Him,  and  that  it  was  in  Him, 
xlii.  1 ;  lix.  19,20 ;  ixi.  1 ;  Luke  iv.  IS. 
When  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  have  come, 

WHICH  I   SHALL   SEND   TO   YOU  FROM 

THE  Father,  John  xv.  26.  He  shall 
glorify  Me,  because  he  shall  re- 
ceive OF  MINE,  AND  ANNOUNCE  UNTO 
you  :    ALL   THINGS   WHATSOEVER  THE 

Father  hath  are  mine  ;  on  account 

OF  this  I  SAID,  TH.\T  He  SHALL  RE- 
CEIVE OF  MINE,  AND  ANNOUNCE  UN- 
TO YOU,  xvi.  14,  15.    If  I  go  away,  I 

WILL  SEND  THE  PaRACLETE  UNTO  YOU, 

xvi.  7.  That  the  Paraclete  is  the 
Holy  Spirit,  xiv.  26.  The  Holy 
Spirit  was  not  yet,  because  Jesus 

WAS  NOT  YET  GLORIFIED,  vii.  39.  But 

after  the  glorification,  Jesus  breathed 

INTO,  AND  SAID  TO  THE  DISCIPLES,  RE- 
CEIVE THE  Holy  Spirit,  xx.  22.  And 
in  the  Revelation,  Who  shall  not  glo- 
rify thy  name,  O  Lord  ?  because  Thou 
alone  art  holy,  XV.  4.  Since  the 
divine  operation  of  the  Lord,  from  his 
divine  omnipresence,  is  meant  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  when  He  spoke 
to  the  disciples  concerning  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  He  was  about  to  send 
from  the  Father,  He  also  said,  I  will 
not  leave  you  orphans ;  I  go  away,  and 
COME  unto  you  ;  and  in  that  day  ye 
will  know  that  I  am  in  my  Father, 
and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you,  xiv.  18, 
20,  28.  And  just  before  He  departed 
21 


out  of  the  world,  He  said,  Lo,  I  am 
with  you.  (dl  the  days,  even  to  the  con- 
summation of  the  age.  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 
Having  read  these  words  to  them,  the 
angel  said,  "  From  these  and  many 
other  passages  from  the  Word,  it  is 
manifest,  that  the  Divine,  which  is 
called  the  Holy  Spirit,  proceeds  out  of 
the  Lord,  from  the  Father."  To  this 
those  who  sat  upon  the  seats  said, 
"  This  is  Divine  Truth." 

At  last,  this  decree  was  made ;  that, 
"  From  what  has  been  deliberated  in 
this  council,  we  have  clearly  seen,  and 
thence  acknowledge  as  holy  truth,  that 
in  the  Lord  God,  the  Savior  Jesus 
Christ,  there  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  which 
is,  the  Divine  from  which  are  all  things, 
which  is  called  the  Father ;  the  Divine 
Human,  which  is  called  the  Son ;  and 
the  proceeding  Divine,  which  is  called 
the  Holy  Spirit;"  exclaiming  together, 
that  "  Ln  Jesus  Christ  dwelleth  all 

THE  fullness  OF  THE  GoDHEAD  BODI- 
LY," Coloss.  ii.  9.  Thus  there  is  one 
God  ift  the  church. 

After  these  things  were  concluded 
in  that  m.ignificent  council,  they  rose 
up,  and  the  angel  who  was  keeper  of 
the  vestry  came  out  of  it,  and  brought 
to  each  of  those  who  sat  upon  the  seats 
splendid  garments,  interwoven  here 
and  there  with  threads  of  gold,  and 
he  said,  "Receive  the  wedding  gar- 
ments." And  they  were  conducted, 
in  glory,  into  the  new  Christian  heav- 
en, with  which  the  church  of  the  Lord 
upon  earth,  which  is  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem, will  be  conjoined. 


162 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CONCERNING  THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURE,  OR  THE  WORD  OF  THE 

LORD. 


189.  I.  That  the  Sacred  Sckip- 

TURE,  OR  THE  WoRD,  IS  THE  DiVINE 

Truth  itself. 

It  is  in  the  mouth  of  all,  that  the 
Word  is  from  God,  divinely  inspired, 
and  thence  holy ;  but  still  it  has  been 
hitherto  unknown  wlierc  in  it  the  Di- 
vine is;  for  the  Word,  in  the  letter, 
appears  as  a  common  writing,  in  a  for- 
eign style,  not  sublime  nor  elegant,  as 
are  the  writings  of  the  world  to  ap- 
pearance. Hence  it  is,  that  he  uho 
worships  nature  instead  of  God,  or  who 
worships  it  in  preference  to  God,  and 
tiience  thinks  from  himself  and  his 
proprium,  and  not  out  of  heaven  from 
the  Lord,  may  easily  fall  into  error  con- 
cerning the  Word,  and  into  contempt 
of  it,  and  may  say  with  himself,  when 
he  reads  it,  "  What  is  this  ?  What  is 
that  ?  Is  this  Divine  ?  Can  God,  who 
has  infinite  wisdom,  speak  so  ?  Where 
and  whence  is  its  holiness,  unless  from 
superstition,  and  thence  persuasion  ?" 

190.  But  he  who  thinks  so  does  not 
consider,  that  the  Lord  Jehovah,  who 
is  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  spoke  the 
Word  by  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and 
that  thence  it  cannot  be  any  thing  else 
than  Divine  Truth  ;  for  that  which  the 
Lord  Jehovah  himself  speaks  is  that; 
neither  does  he  consider,  that  the 
Lord  the  Savior,  who  is  the  same  with 
Jehovah,  spoke  the  Word  in  the  evan- 
gelists, many  things  from  liis  own 
mouth,  and  the  rest  from  the  Spirit  of 
his  mouth,  which  is  the  Holy  Spirit, 
by  his  twelve  apostles.  Thence  it  is, 
as  He  himself  says,  that  in  his  words 
there  is  spirit  and  life ;  and  that  He 
himself  is  the  Light  which  enlightens, 
and  that  He  is  the  Truth ;  which  is 
manifest  from  the  following  passages  : 
Jesus  said,  Tlie  words  which  I  speak 


unto  you  are  spirit  and  are  life,  John 
vi.  G3.  Jesus  said  to  the  ivoman  at  Ja- 
cob's laell,  If  thou  kncwcst  the  gift 
of  God,  and  who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee. 
Give  Me  to  drink,  thou  icouldst  ask  of 
Him,  and  He  loould  give  to  thee  living 
icater.  He  who  drinkcth  of  the  water 
th  at  I  shall  give  him,  shall  never  thirst ; 
but  the  water  which  I  will  give  him 
shall  become  in  him  a  fountain  of  water, 
springing  up  into  etcrncd  life,  John  iv. 
(i,  10,  IJ.  By  the  fountain  of  Jacob, 
is  signified  the  Word,  as  also  Deut. 
xxMiii.  28;  wherefore  also  the  Lord, 
because  He  is  the  Word,  sat  there,  and 
spoke  with  the  woman  ;  and  by  living 
water,  is  signified  the  truth  of  the 
Word.  Jesus  said,  If  ani/  one  thirst, 
let  him  come  to  Me  ctnd  drink.  TV7io- 
socver  bclicvcth  in  Me,  as  the  Scripture 
saith,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers 
of  living  water,  John  vii.  ;J7,  38.  Pe- 
ter said  to  Jrsus,  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life,  John  vi.  G3.  Jesus  said. 
Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but 
my  words  shall  not  pass  away,  Mark 
xiii.  31.  That  the  words  of  the  Lord 
are  truth  and  life,  is,  because  He  him- 
self is  the  Truth  and  the  Life,  as  He 
teaches  in  John ;  /  can  the  TVay,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life,  xiv.  G.  And  in 
the  same ;  In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  W((s  God;  in  Him  was 
life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men, 
John  i.  1 ,  2,  3.  By  the  Word,  is  meant 
the  Lord  as  to  Divine  Truth,  in  whom 
alone  there  is  life  and  there  is  light. 
Thence  it  is  that  the  Word,  which  is 
from  the  Lord,  and  which  is  the  Lord, 
is  called  the  fountain  of  livinc;  wa- 
ters, Jer.  ii.  13,  xvii.  13,  xxxi.  9; 
the  fountain  of  salvatio.v,  Isaiah 
xii.  3 ;  A  fountain,  Zccji.  xiii.  1  ; 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


163 


and  A  RIVER  OF  the  water  or  life, 
Rev.  xxii.  I ;  and  it  is  said,  that  The 
Law/),  who  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne, 
shall  feed  them  at  living  fountains  of 
waters,  Rev.  vii.  17;  besides  in  other 
places,  where  tlie  Word  also  is  called 
a  S.ANCTUARv,  and  a  Tahernacle,  in 
whicli  the  Lord  dwells  with  man. 

191.  But  still  the  natural  man  can- 
not, from  these  things,  be  persuaded, that 
tiie  Word  is  the  Divine  Truth  itself,  in 
which  there  is  Divine  Wisdom  and  Di- 
vine Life ;  for  he  regards  it  from  the 
style,  in  which  he  does  not  see  those 
things.  But  the  style  of  the  Word  is 
the  very  divine  style,  with  which  no 
other  style,  however  sublime  and  ex- 
cellent it  appears,  can  be  compared. 
The  style  of  the  Word  is  such,  that 
there  is  holiness  in  every  sentence, 
and  in  every  word,  yea,  in  some  in- 
stances, in  the  very  letters :  thence  the 
Word  conjoins  man  to  the  Lord,  and 
opens  heaven.  There  are  two  things 
which  proceed  from  the  Lord,  Divine 
Love  and  Divine  Wisdom,  or,  what  is 
the  same.  Divine  Good  and  Divine 
Truth :  the  Word,  in  its  essence,  is 
both  of  them  ;  and  because  it  conjoins 
man  to  the  Lord,  and  opens  heaven, 
as  it  was  said,  therefore  the  Word  fills 
man  with  the  goods  of  love  and  the 
truths  of  wisdom ;  his  will  with  the 
goods  of  love,  and  his  understanding 
with  the  truths  of  wisdom  :  thence 
man  has  life  by  the  Word.  But  it 
should  be  well  known,  that  those  only 
have  life  from  the  Word,  who  read  it 
for  the  purpose  of  deriving  divine  truths 
from  it,  as  from  their  fountain,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  for  the  purpose  of  applying 
the  divine  truths,  thence  derived,  to  life ; 
and  that  the  contrary  happens  to  those 
who  read  it  only  for  the  sake  of  acquir- 
ing honors,  and  gaining  the  world. 

192.  Every  person,  who  does  not 
know  that  a  spiritual  sense  is  in  the 
Word,  as  the  soul  is  in  the  body,  can 
judge  concerning  the  Word  only  from 
the  sense  of  the  letter  of  it ;  when  yet 
this  is  as  a  casket,  containing  precious 
things,  which  are  its  spiritual  sense. 
When,  therefore,  this  internal  sense  is 
not  known,  one  cannot  judge  of  the 
divine  sanctity  of  the  Word,  otherwise 


than  of  a  precious  stone,  from  the  ma- 
trix which  envelopes  it,  and  sometimes 
appears  as  a  connnon  stone ;  or  as 
from  tlie  cabinet,  made  of  jasper,  lapis 
lazuli,  amianthus,  or  agate,  in  which 
lie,  in  their  order,  diamonds,  rubies, 
sardonyxes,  oriental  topazes,  dtc. 
While  this  is  unknown,  it  is  no  wonder 
if  the  cabinet  is  esteemed  no  more  than 
according  to  the  price  of  its  material, 
which  appears  to  the  eye.  It  is  simi- 
lar with  the  Word,  as  to  the  sense  of 
its  letter.  Lest,  therefore,  mankind 
should  be  in  doubt  concerning  the  di- 
vinity and  sanctity  of  the  Word,  its  in- 
ternal sense  has  been  revealed  to  me, 
which  in  its  essence  is  spiritual,  and 
is  in  the  external  sense,  which  is  natu- 
ral, as  the  soul  is  in  the  body.  That 
sense  is  the  spirit,  which  vivifies  the  let- 
ter ;  wherefore,  that  sense  can  testify 
concerning  the  divinity  and  sanctity  of 
the  Word,  and  convince  even  the  natural 
man,  if  he  is  willing  to  be  convinced. 

193.  IL  That  in  the  Word  there 
IS  A  Spiritual  Sense,  hitherto  un- 
known. 

Who  does  not  acknowledge  and 
assent,  when  he  hears  it  said  that 
the  Word,  because  it  is  divine,  is  in  its 
bosom  spiritual  ?  But  who  has  hither- 
to known  what  the  spiritual  is,  and 
where  it  is  concealed  in  the  Word? 
But  what  the  spiritual  is,  will  be  shown 
in  a  Relation  after  this  chapter  ;  and 
where  it  is  concealed  in  the  Word,  in 
what  now  follows.  That  the  Word, 
in  its  bosom,  is  spiritual,  is  because  it 
descended  from  the  Lord  Jehovah,  and 
passed  through  the  angelic  heavens; 
and  the  Divine,  which  in  itself  is  inef- 
fable and  imperceptible,  became,  in  its 
descent,  adequate  to  the  perception  of 
angels,  and  at  last  to  the  perception  of 
men.  Thence  is  the  spiritual  sense, 
which  is  within  the  natural,  as  the  soul 
in  man,  the  thought  of  the  understand- 
ing in  speech,  and  the  aflTection  of  the 
will  in  action  ;  and  if  it  is  allowable  to 
compare  it  with  such  things  as  appear 
before  the  eyes  in  the  natural  world, 
there  is  a  spiritual  .sense  in  the  natural 
sense,  as  all  the  brains  are  within  their 
meninges  or  maters,  or  as  the  shoots  of 
a  tree  are  within  its  inner  and  outer 


164 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


barks ;  yea,  as  all  the  requisites  for 
producing  the  chicken  are  within  the 
shell  of  the  egg,  &c.  But  that  there 
is  such  a  spiritual  sense,  in  its  natural 
sense,  has  hitherto  been  conjectured 
by  no  one ;  wherefore  it  is  necessary 
that  this  mystery,  which  in  itself  is  pre- 
eminent above  all  other  mysteries  hith- 
erto revealed,  should  be  made  manifest 
to  the  understanding,  which  will  be 
done  while  it  is  explained  in  this  order : 
(I.)  IV/iat  the  $])iritual  sense  is.  (2.) 
That  that  sense  is  in  all  and  every 
part  of  the  Word.  (;?.)  That  thence 
it  is,  that  the  Word  is  divinely  inspir- 
ed, and  holy  in  every  eipression.  (4.) 
That  that  sense  has  been  hitherto  un- 
known. (.5.)  That  hereafter  it  will  not 
he  given  to  any,  birt  those  icho  are  in 
genuine  truths  from  the  Lord.  (6.) 
Wonderful  things  concerning  theWord, 
from  its  spiritual  sense.  These  things 
shall  now  be  unfolded  one  by  one. 

194.  (1.)  What  the  Spiritual  Sense  is. 

The  spiritual  sense  is  not  that  which 
shines  forth  from  the  sense  of  the  letter 
of  the  Word,  when  any  one  searches 
and  explains  the  Word  in  order  to  con- 
firm any  tenet  of  the  church  :  this 
sense  may  be  called  the  literal  and  ec- 
clesiastical sense  of  the  Word;  but  iftlie 
spiritual  sense  does  not  appear  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter,  it  is  inwardly  in 
it,  as  the  soul  in  the  body,  as  the 
thought  of  the  understanding  in  the 
eyes,  and  as  the  affection  of  love  in  the 
face.  It  is  principally  tiiat  sense  which 
makes  the  Word  spiritual,  not  only  for 
men,  but  also  for  angels;  wherefore 
the  Word,  by  that  sense,  comnnuiicatcs 
with  the  heavens.  Since  the  Word  is 
inwardly  spiritual,  therefore  it  is  writ- 
ten by  mere  corros])ondenccs;  and  wliat 
is  written  by  correspondences,  is  writ- 
ten, in  the  ultimate  sense,  in  such  a 
style  as  in  the  prophets,  the  evan- 
gelists and  the  Revelation ;  which,  al- 
though it  appears  ordinary,  still  con- 
ceals within  itself  tlie  divine  wisdom, 
and  all  angelic  wisdom.  What  corre- 
spondence is,  may  be  seen  in  a  work 
concerning  IIl.vven  .\n'd  Hicli,,  pub- 
lished at  London,  17.>8,  where  the  cor- 
respondence of  all  the  things  of  heaven 
with  all  the  things  of  man  is  treated 


of;  n.  87  to  102;  and  the  corre- 
spondence of  all  the  things  of  heaven 
loith  all  the  things  of  the  earth,  n. 
103  to  115;  and  will  be  seen  more 
fully  from  examples  to  be  hereafter  ad- 
duced from  the  Word. 

195.  From  the  Lord  proceeds  the 
Celestial  Divine,  the  Spiritual 
Divine  and  the  Natural  Divine, 
one  after  another.  Whatever  proceeds 
from  his  Divine  Love  is  called  the  Ce- 
lestial Divine,  and  all  that  is  good  ; 
whatever  proceeds  from  his  Divine 
Wisdom  is  called  Spiritual  Divine, 
and  all  that  is  truth.  The  Natural 
Divine  is  of  both,  and  is  their  com- 
plex in  the  ultimate.  The  angels  of 
the  celestial  kingdom,  of  whom  is  the 
third  or  highest  heaven,  are  in  the 
Divine  which  proceeds  from  the 
Lord,  wliich  is  called  celestial;  for 
they  are  in  the  good  of  love  from  the 
Lord.  The  angels  of  the  Lord's  spir- 
itual kingdom,  of  whom  the  second  or 
middle  heaven  consists,  are  in  the 
Divine  which  proceeds  from  the  Lord, 
which  is  called  spiritual ;  for  they  are 
in  divine  wisdom  from  the  Lord.  The 
angels  of  the  Lord's  natural  kingdom, 
of  which  the  first  or  lowest  heaven  con- 
sists, are  in  the  Divine  which  proceeds 
from  the  Lord,  which  is  called  nat- 
ural Divine,  and  they  are  in  the  faith 
of  charity  from  the  Lord.  But  the 
men  of  the  church,  according  to  their 
love,  wisdom  and  faith,  are  in  one  of 
those  kingdoms,  and  into  that  in  which 
they  are,  they  also  come  after  death. 
Such  as  heaven  is,  such  also  is  tlie 
Word  of  the  Lord :  in  its  ultimate 
sense  it  is  natural,  in  its  interior  sense 
it  is  -spiritual,  and  in  its  inn\ost  sense  it  is 
celestial, and  in  every  part  divine;  where- 
fore it  is  accommodated  to  the  angels 
of  the  three  heavens,  and  also  to  nu  n. 

196.  (2.)  nud  the  Spiritual  Sense 
is  in  all  and  every  Part  of  the 
Word,  cannot  be  seen  better  than 
from  examples,  such  as  the  following  : 
John  says,  in  the  Revelation,  /  saw 
heaven  open,  and  behold,  a  ivhite horse; 
and  lie  who  sat  upon  him  was  railed 
the  Faithful  and  True,  who  in  right- 
eousness judges  and  fghts,  and  his 
eyes  as  aflame  of  fire,  and  upon  his 


or  the  Word  of  tM  Lord. 


165 


head  many  diadems;  having  a  name 
written,  ivhich  no  one  knotveth  but 
Himself';  and  He  was  clothed  in  a 
vesture  tinged  with  blood;  and  his 
name  is  called  the  Word  of  God. 
And  his  armies  in  heaven  followed  Him 
upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  lin- 
en, white  and  clean.  He  has  upon  his 
vesture  and  upon  his  thigh  a  name 
written,  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
LORDS.  /  saw,  cdso,  an  angel  standing 
in  the  sun,  who  cried  with  a  loud  voice. 
Come  and  gather  yoxirselves  together  to 
the  great  supper,  that  ye  may  eat  the 
flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  cap- 
tains, and  the  flesh  of  the  mighty,  and 
the  flesh  of  hori;cs,  and  of  those  who  sit 
upon  them,  and  the  flesh  of  all,  free 
and  bond,  small  and  great,  xix.  11  to  18. 
What  these  things  signify,  no  one  can 
see,  except  from  the  spiritual  sense  of 
the  Word ;  and  no  one  can  know  the 
spiritual  sense  except  from  the  science 
of  correspondences  ;  for  all  the  expres- 
sions are  correspondences,  and  no  ex- 
pression is  without  meaning.  The 
science  of  correspondences  teaches 
what  is  signified  hy  the  white  horse; 
what  by  Him  who  sat  upon  him ;  what 
by  the  eyes  which  were  as  a  flame  of 
fire ;  wliat  by  the  diadems  upon  his 
head ;  what  by  the  vesture  tinged  ivith 
blood;  what  by  the  white  fine  linen, 
in  which  they  who  were  of  his  army 
in  heaven  were  clothed ;  what  by  the 
angel  standing  in  the  sun ;  and  what 
by  the  great  supper  to  which  they 
came  and  were  gathered  together ;  and 
also  what  by  the  flesh  of  kings  and 
captains ;  and  of  many  other  things 
which  they  should  eat.  But  what  each 
of  those  expressions,  in  the  spiritual 
sense,  signifies,  may  be  seen  explained 
in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed,  from 
n.  820  to  838 ;  and  also  in  a  little 
work  concerning  the  White  Horse  ; 
wherefore  it  is  unnecessary  to  explain 
them  further.  It  is  there  shown,  that 
the  Lord,  as  to  the  Word,  is  there  de- 
scribed ;  and  that  by  his  eyes,  which 
were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  is  meant  the 
divine  wisdom  of  his  divine  love ;  and 
by  the  diadems  which  were  upon  his 
head,  and  by  the  name  which  no  one 
knew  but  Himself,  are  meant  the  di- 


vine truths  of  the  Word  from  Him; 
and  that  what  the  Word  is,  in  its  spir- 
itual sense,  no  one  sees  but  the  Lord, 
and  those  to  whom  He  reveals  it ;  al- 
so, that  by  the  vesture  tinged  with 
blood,  is  meant  the  natural  sense  of 
the  Word,  which  is  the  sense  of  its  let- 
ter, to  which  violence  has  been  done. 
That  it  is  the  Word  which  is  thus  de- 
scribed, is  very  manifest ;  for  it  is  said, 
His  name  is  called  the  Word  of 
God.  That  it  is  the  Lord  who  is 
meant,  is  also  very  manifest ;  for  it  is 
said,  that  the  name  of  him  who  sat  up- 
on the  tvhite  horse  icas.  King  of  kings 
AND '  Lord  of  lords  ;  in  like  manner 
as  in  Rev.  xvii.  14,  where  it  is  said, 
And  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  them, 
because  He  is  Lord  of  lords  and 
King  of  kings.  That  the  spirit- 
ual sense  of  the  Word  is  to-  be  opened 
at  the  end  of  the  church,  is  signified, 
not  only  by  those  things  which  are  said 
concerning  the  white  horse,  and  Him 
who  sat  upon  him,  but  also  by  the 
great  supper,  to  which  the  angel  stand- 
ing in  the  sun  invited  all  to  come,  and 
eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  of  captains, 
&c. ;  by  which  is  signified  the  appro- 
priation of  all  good  things  from  the 
Lord.  All  the  expressions  there  would 
be  empty  words,  and  without  life  and 
spirit,  unless  there  was  a  spiritual 
sense  within  them,  as  the  soul  is  in 
the  body. 

197.  In  Rev.  xxi.,  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem is  thus  described  :  That  in  it  there 
was  a  luminary,  like  a  very  precious 
stone,  as  a  jasper  stone,  shining  like 
crystal.  That  it  had  a  great  and  high 
wall,  having  twelve  gates,  and  twelve 
angels  upon  the  gates,  and  the  names  of 
the  twelves  tribes  of  the  sons  of  Israel 
written.  That  the  wall  was  of  a  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  cubits,  ivhich  is  the 
measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  an  angel. 
That  the  structure  of  the  toall  was  jas- 
per, and  its  foundations  of  every  pre- 
cious stone ;  of  jasper,  sapphire,  chal- 
cedony, emerald,  sardonyx,  sardius, 
chrysolite,  beryl,  topaz,  chrysoprasus, 
hyacinth  and  amethyst.  That  the  gates 
were  twelve  pearls.  That  the  city  it- 
self was  pure  gold,  like  pure  glass ; 
and   that  it  was  four-cornered,  the 


166 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


length,  the  breadth  and  the  height 
equal;  of  twelve  thousand  furlongs ; 
besides  many  other  things.  That  all 
these  things  are  to  be  understood  spir- 
itually, may  be  evident  from  this,  that  by 
the  New  Jci-usaI.etn  is  meant  a  New 
Church,  which  is  to  be  instituted  by 
the  Lord,  as  is  shown  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse Revealed,  n.  880 ;  and  because 
by  Jerusalem  there,  is  signified  the 
church,  it  follows,  that  all  the  things 
which  are  said  of  it  as  a  city — of  its 
gates,  of  its  wall,  of  the  foundations 
of  the  wall,  also  the  things  which  are 
said  of  their  measures — contain  a  spir- 
itual sense,  since  those  things  which 
are  of  the  church  are  spiritual ;  but 
what  they  signify  has  been  demonstrat- 
ed in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed, 
from  n.  896  to  925  ;  wherefore  it  would 
be  superfluous  to  demonstrate  them 
further.  It  is  sufficient  that  it  is  thence 
known,  that  there  is  a  spiritual  sense 
in  every  part  of  that  description,  as  the 
soul  in  the  body ;  and  that  without  that 
sense  nothing  of  the  church  would  be 
understood  in  those  things  which  are 
written  there  ;  as  that  the  city  was  of 
pure  gold,  its  gates  of  pearls,  the  wall 
of  jasper,  the  foundations  of  the  wall 
of  precious  .stones ;  that  the  wall  was 
of  a  hundred  and  forty-four  cubits, 
which  is  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is, 
of  an  angel ;  and  that  the  city  was  of 
the  length,  breadth  and  height  of  twelve 
thousand  furlongs;  besides  many  oth- 
er things :  but  he  who  knows  the  spir- 
itual sense,  from  the  science  of  corre- 
spondences, understands  those  things ; 
as  that  the  wall  aud  its  foundations 
signify  the  doctrinals  of  that  church, 
from  the  sense  of  the  letter  of  the 
Word ;  and  that  the  numbers,  12,  144, 
12,000,  signify  all  the  things  of  it,  or 
all  the  truths  and  goods  of  it,  in  one 
complex. 

198.  Where  the  Lord  speaks  to  his 
disciples  of  the  consummation  of  the 
age,  which  is  the  last  time  of  the 
church,  at  the  end  of  the  predictions 
concerning  its  successive  changes,  He 
says  :  Immediatcli/  after  the  ajjiiction 
of  those  days,  the  siin  shall  be  darken- 
ed, and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her 
light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from 


heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens 
shall  be  shaken ;  and  then  shall  appear 
the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  heaven ; 
and  then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
mourn,  and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of 
man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
ivith  poioer  and  much  glory.  And,  He 
will  send  forth  the  angels,  with  a  great 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  elect,  from,  the  four 
icinds,  from  one  end  of  the  heavens  even 
to  the  other.  Matt.  xxiv.  29,  30,  31. 
By  these  words,  in  the  spiritual  sense, 
it  is  not  meant  that  the  sun  and  moon 
would  be  darkened,  that  the  stars  would 
fall  from  heaven,  and  that  the  sign  of  the 
Lord  would  appear  in  the  heavens, 
and  that  they  would  see  Him  in  the 
clouds,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  an- 
gels with  trumpets ;  but  by  every  one 
of  the  words  there,  are  meant  spiritual 
things,  which  are  of  the  church,  con- 
cerning the  state  of  which,  at  the  end, 
those  things  are  said ;  for,  in  the  spir- 
itual sense,  by  the  sun,  which  will  be 
darkened,  is  meant  love  to  the  Lord  ; 
by  the  inoon,  which  will  not  give  her 
light,  is  meant  faith  in  Him ;  by  the 
stars,  which  v/'iW  fall  from  heaven,  are 
meant  the  knowledges  of  truth  and 
good ;  by  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  heaven,  is  meant  the  appearing  of  di- 
vine truth  in  the  Word  from  Him ;  by  the 
tribes  of  the  earth,  which  shall  mourn,  is 
meant  the  want  of  all  truth  which  is 
of  faith,  and  of  all  good  which  is  of 
love  ;  by  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power 
and  glory,  is  meant  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  in  the  AVord,  and  revelation ;  by 
the  clouds  of  heaven,  is  signified  the 
sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word,  and  by 
glory,  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  ; 
by  the  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  is  meant  heaven,  whence  is  di- 
vine truth  ;  by  gathering  together  the 
elect  from  the  four  icinds,  from  one 
end  of  the  heavens  to  the  other,  is 
meant  a  new  heaven  and  n  new  church 
of  those  who  have  faith  in  the  Lord, 
and  live  according  to  his  conniiand- 
ments.  That  the  darkening  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  and  the  falling  of  the  stars 
to  the  earth,  are  not  meant,  is  very  man- 
ifest from  the  prophets,  by  whom  simi- 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


167 


lar  things  are  said  concerning  the  state 
of  the  chiircii,  wlien  the  Lord  was  about 
to  come  into  the  world ;  as  in  Isaiah, 
Behold,  the  day  of  Jehovah  xoill  come, 
cruel,  and  of  the  wrath  of  anger ;  the 
stars  of  heaven  and  the  constellations 
of  them  will  not  shine  with  their  light; 
the  sun  will  be  darkened  in  his  rising, 
and  the  moon  will  not  make  her  light 
shine.  I  will  visit  upon  the  world  ivick- 
«/«t.ss,xxiv.21,2;3.  In  Joel,  Thcdayof 
Jehovah  comcth,  a  day  of  darkness  and 
thick  darkness ;  the  sun  and  the  moon 
will  become  black ;  the  stars  will  tvith- 
druw  their  splendor,  iii.  4  ;  iv.  15.  In 
EzckicI,  /  will  cover  the  heavens,  and 
inake  black  the  stars  ;  I  will  cover  the 
sun  with  a  cloud,  and  the  moon  will  not 
make  her  light  shine.  All  the  lumina- 
ries of  light  I  will  cover  over,  and  I 
will  give  darkness  upon  the  earth,  xxii. 
7,  8.  By  tiie  day  of  Jehovah,  is  meant 
the  coming  of  tlie  Lord,  which  was 
when  there  was  no  longer  any  good  of 
love  and  truth  of  iaith  remaining  in  the 
church,  and  not  any  knowledge  of  the 
Lord ;  therefore  it  is  called  a  day  of 
darkness  and  thick  darkness. 

199.  That  the  Lord,  when  He  was 
in  tiie  world,  spoke  by  correspondences, 
thus  also  spiritually,  when  naturally, 
may  be  evident  from  his  parables,  in 
every  word  of  which  there  is  a  spiritu- 
al sense.  Let  the  parable  of  the  ten 
virgins  be  for  an  example.  He  said. 
The  kingdom  of  the  heavens  is  like  ten 
virgins,  who,  taking  their  lamps,  went 
out  to  meet  the  bridegroom;  five  of 
them  were  prudent,  but  five  loere  foolish. 
Those  ivho  were  foolish,  taking  their 
latnps,  took  no  oil;  but  the  prudent 
took  oil  in  their  lamps.  While  the 
hridcgroom  tarried,  they  all  slumbered 
and  slept.  And  at  midnight  a  cry  was 
made.  Behold,  the  bridegroom  is  com- 
ing ;  go  ye  out  to  meet  him.  Then 
all  those  virgins  awoke,  and  trimmed 
their  lamps.  But  the  foolish  said  to  the 
prudent.  Give  us  of  your  oil,  for  our 
lamps  are  going  out.  But  the  prudent 
answered,  saying.  Lest  perhaps  there  be 
not  enough  for  us  and  you,  go  ye  rath- 
er to  those  uiJto  sell,  and  buy  for  your- 
selves. But  while  they  teere  gone  to 
buy,  the  bridegroom  came,  and  those 


who  loerc  prepared  loent  with  him  in  to 
the  wedding ;  and  the  door  was  shut. 
And  at  length  came  also  the  other  vir- 
gins, saying,  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us. 
But  he,  answering,  said.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  I  knozo  you  not.  Matt.  xxv.  1 
to  12.  That  in  every  one  of  these 
words  there  is  a  spiritual  sense,  and 
thence  a  holy  divine,  no  one  sees  but 
he  who  knows  that  there  is  a  spiritual 
sense,  and  what  it  is.  In  the  spiritual 
sense,  by  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens 
is  meant  heaven  and  the  church ;  by 
the  bridegroom,  the  Lord ;  by  the  wed- 
ding, the  marriage  of  the  Lord  with 
them,  by  the  good  of  love  and  the  truth 
of  faith ;  by  virgins,  those  who  are  of 
the  church ;  by  ten,  all ;  by  five,  a  part; 
by  Icunps,  those  things  which  are  of 
faith ;  by  oil,  those  things  which  are 
of  the  good  of  love ;  by  sleeping  and 
awaking,  the  life  of  man  in  the  world, 
which  is  natural,  and  his  life  after 
death,  which  is  spiritual ;  by  buying, 
to  procure  for  themselves ;  by  going  to 
those  who  sell  and  buying  oil,  to  procure 
for  themselves  the  good  of  love  from 
others  after  death  ;  and  because  then 
it  is  no  longer  procurable,  therefore, 
although  they  came  with  lamps,  and  the 
oil  which  they  had  bought,  to  the  door 
where  the  wedding  was,  still  it  was 
said  to  them  by  the  bridegroom,  I  know 
you  not.  The  reason  is,  because  man 
remains,  after  the  life  in  the  world, 
such  as  he  had  lived  in  the  world. 
From  these  examples,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  Lord  spoke  by  mere  corre- 
spondences, and  this  because  from  the 
Divine,  which  was  in  Him,  and  was 
His.  Because  virgins  signify  those 
who  are  of  the  church,  therefore  so  of- 
ten in  the  prophetical  Word  it  is  said, 
the  virgin,  and  the  daughter  of  Zion,  of 
Jerusalem,  of  Judah,  of  Israel.  And 
because  oil  signifies  the  good  of  love, 
therefore  all  the  holy  things  of  the 
church  were  anointed  with  oil.  It  is 
similar  in  the  rest  of  the  parables,  and 
in  all  the  words  which  the  Lord  spoke. 
Thence  it  is  that  the  Lord  says,  that 
his  words  are  spirit  and  are  life,  John 
vi.  63. 

200.  (3.)  That  it  is  from  the  Spir- 
itual Sense,  that  the  Word  is  divine- 


168 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


ly  inspired,  and  holy  in  every  Expres- 
sion. 

It  is  said  in  the  church,  that  the 
Word  is  holy,  and  this  because  the 
Lord  Jehovah  spoke  it ;  but  because 
its  hoHness  does  not  appear  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter  only,  therefore  he 
who,  on  that  account,  once  doubts  con- 
cerning its  holiness,  when  he  after- 
wards reads  the  Word,  confirms  him- 
self by  many  things  there ;  for  he  says 
with  himself,  "  Is  this  holy  1  Is  this 
divine?"  Lest,  therefore,  such  a 
thought  should  flow  in  with  many,  and 
afterwards  be  confirmed,  and  thence 
the  Word  should  be  rejected  as  a 
worthless  writing,  and  the  conjunction 
of  the  Lord  with  man,  by  means  of  it, 
should  perish,  it  has  pleased  the  Lord 
now  to  reveal  its  spiritual  sense,  in  or- 
der that  it  may  be  known  where  in  it 
the  divine  holiness  is  concealed.  But 
let  examples  illustrate  this.  In  the 
Word,  we  sometimes  read  of  Egypt, 
sometimes  of  Assyria,  sometimes  of 
Edom,  of  Moab,  of  the  sons  of  Ammon, 
of  the  Philistines,  of  Tyre  and  Zidon, 
and  of  Gog.  He  who  does  not  know, 
that  by  the  names  of  those  are  signified 
the  things  of  heaven  and  the  church, 
may  be  led  into  the  error,  that  tlie 
Word  treats  much  of  people  and  na- 
tions, and  but  little  of  heaven  and  the 
church ;  thus  nmch  of  worldly,  and  lit- 
tle of  heavenly  things ;  but  v,hen  he 
knows  what  is  signified  by  them,  or  by 
their  names,  he  may  be  led  back  from 
error  into  tlie  truth.  In  like  manner, 
while  he  sees  in  the  Word,  that  there 
are  so  often  mentioned  gardens,  grove.>, 
forests,  and  their  trees,  as  the  olive, 
the  vine,  the  cedar,  the  poplar,  and  the 
oak ;  and  that  so  often  a  lamb,  a  sheep, 
a  goat,  a  calf,  an  ox  ;  and  also  moun- 
tains, hills,  valleys,  and  there  fountains, 
rivers,  waters,  and  many  such  things ; 
he  who  knows  nothing  of  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  Word,  cannot  think  oth- 
erwise, than  that  it  is  only  those  things 
which  are  meant ;  for  he  docs  not 
know,  that  by  a  garden,  grove  and  for- 
est, are  meant  wisdom,  intelligence  and 
science ;  that  by  an  olive,  vine,  cedar, 
poplar  and  oak,  arc  meant  tlie  good 
and  truth  of  the  church,  celestial,  spir- 


itual, rational,  natural  and  sensual ; 
that  by  a  lamb,  a  sheep,  a  goat,  a  calf, 
an  ox,  are  meant  innocence,  charity 
and  natural  affection :  that  by  moun- 
tains, hills  and  valleys,  are  meant  the 
higher,  lower  and  lowest  things  of  the 
church  :  also  that  by  Egypt  is  signi- 
fied the  scientific  ;  by  Assyria,  the  ra- 
tional ;  by  Edom,  the  natural ;  by  Moab, 
the  adulteration  of  good ;  by  the  sons 
of  Ammon,  the  adulteration  of  trutli ; 
by  the  Philistines,  faith  without  chari- 
ty ;  by  Tyre  and  Zidon,  the  knowledges 
of  good  and  truth  ;  by  Gog,  external 
worship  without  internal.  In  general, 
by  Jacob,  in  the  Word,  is  meant  the 
natural  church  ;  by  Israel,  the  spiritual 
church ;  and  by  Judah,  the  celestial 
church.  When  a  man  knows  all  these 
things,  he  may  then  think,  that  the 
W^ord  treats  only  of  heavenly  things, 
and  that  those  worldly  things  are  only 
the  subjects  in  which  these  are.  But 
an  example  from  the  Word  may  illus- 
trate this  also.  It  is  read  in  Isaiah, 
In  that  day,  there  shall  be  a  way  from 
Egypt  to  Assyria,  that  Assyi'ia  may 
come  into  Egypt,  and  Egypt  into  As- 
syria; and  the  Egyptians  may  serve 
with  the  Assyrians.  In  that  day,  Is- 
rael shall  he  a  third  to  Egypt  and  As- 
syria, a  blessing  in  the  midst  of  the 
land;  which  Jehovah  of  hosts  shall 
bless,  saying,  Blessed  be  my  people 
Egypt,  and  Assyria,  the  tcork  of  my 
hands,  and  Israel,  my  blessing,  xix.  23, 
24,  25.  By  these  words,  in  the  spiritual 
sense,  it  is  meant,  that,  at  the  time  of 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,  the  scientific, 
the  rational  and  the  spiritual  should 
make  one,  and  that  then  the  scientific 
will  serve  the  rational,  and  both  the 
spiritual :  for,  as  it  was  said,  by  Egypt 
is  signified  the  scientific,  by  Assyria 
the  rational,  and  by  Israel  the  spiritu- 
.il ;  by  the  day  twice  mentioned,  is 
meant  the  first  and  second  coming  of 
the  Lord. 

20L  (4.)  That  the  Sjiirlfnal  Sense 
of  the  Word  has  been  hitherto  un- 
known. 

That  all  and  every  thing,  whicii  is 
in  nature,  corresponds  to  spiritual 
things ;  in  like  manner,  all  and  every 
thing  in  the  human  body ;  has  been 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


m 


shown  in  a  work  concerning  IIkaven 
AND  Hell,  n.  87  to  105.  But  what 
Correspondence  is,  has  been  liitiier- 
to  unknown ;  but  in  tiie  most  ancient 
times,  it  was  very  well  known ;  for,  to 
those  who  tlien  lived,  the  science  of 
correspondences  was  the  science  of 
sciences,  and  so  universal  that  all  their 
tracts  and  books  were  written  by  cor- 
respondences. The  book  of  Job,  which 
is  a  book  of  the  ancient  ciiurcli,  is  full 
of  correspondences.  The  hieroglyph- 
ics of  the  Egyptians,  and  also  the  fa- 
bles of  the  ancients,  were  no  other. 
All  the  ancient  churches  were  churches 
representative  of  spiritual  things.  Their 
rites,  and  also  the  statutes  according 
to  whicli  their  worship  was  instituted, 
consisted  of  mere  correspondences  ;  in 
like  manner,  all  the  things  of  the  church 
with  the  sons  of  Israel.  The  whole 
burnt-offerings,  sacrifices,  meat-offer- 
ings, and  drink-offerings,  with  every 
thing  appertaining  to  them,  were  cor- 
respondences ;  in  like  manner,  the  tab- 
ernacle, with  all  the  things  in  it ;  and  al- 
so their  feasts,  as  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread,  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  and  the 
feast  of  the  first  fruits ;  likewise  the 
priesthood  of  Aaron  and  the  Levites,  as 
also  their  garments  of  holiness;  but 
what  the  spiritual  things  were,  to  which 
those  things  respectively  corresponded, 
has  been  shown  in  the  Arcana  C(Eles- 
TiA,  published  at  London.  Besides 
these,  also,  all  the  statutes  and  judg- 
ments, which  concerned  their  worship 
and  life,  were  correspondences.  Now, 
because  divine  things,  in  the  world, 
present  themselves  in  correspondences, 
therefore  the  Word  was  written  by 
mere  correspondences;  wherefore  the 
Lord,  because  He  spoke  from  the  Di- 
vine, spoke  by  correspondences ;  for 
what  is  from  the  Divine,  this,  in  nature, 
falls  into  such  things  as  correspond  to 
divine  things,  and  which  then  con- 
ceal, in  their  bosom,  divine  things, 
which  are  called  celestial  and  spir- 
itual. 

202.  I  have  been  instructed,  that 
the  men  of  the  most  ancient  church, 
which  was  before  the  flood,  were  of  so 
heavenly  a  genius,  that  they  conversed 
with  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  that 
22 


they  could  converse  with  them  by  cor- 
respondences :  thence  the  state  of 
tiieir  wisdom  became  such,  that  what- 
ever they  saw  in  the  earth,  they  thought 
of  it  not  only  naturally,  but  also  spirit- 
ually, at  the  same  time  ;  thus  also  con- 
jointly with  the  angels  of  heaven. 
Moreover,  I  have  been  informed,  that 
Enoch,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in 
Genesis  v.  21  to  24,  with  his  compan- 
ions, collected  correspondences  from 
their  mouth,  and  transmitted  the  sci- 
ence of  them  to  posterity ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  the  science  of  corre- 
spondences was  not  only  known,  but 
also  cultivated,  in  many  kingdoms  of 
Asia,  especially  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
Egypt,  Assyria,  Chaldea,  Syria,  Ara- 
bia, Tyre,  Zidon,  and  Nineveh ;  and 
that  thence  it  was  transferred  into 
Greece ;  but  there  it  was  turned  into 
fables,  as  is  evident  from  the  writings 
of  the  most  ancient  authors  of  that 
country. 

203.  That  it  may  be  seen,  that  the 
science  of  correspondences  was  for  a 
long  time  preserved  among  the  Gentile 
nations  in  Asia,  but  among  those  who 
were  called  soothsayers  and  sages,  and 
by  some  Magi,  I  will  adduce  one  ex- 
ample from  1  Sam.  v.  and  vi.  It  is 
there  related,  that  the  ark,  in  which 
were  the  two  tables,  upon  which  the 
decalogue  was  written,  was  taken  by 
the  Philistines,  and  placed  in  the  tem- 
ple of  Dagon,  in  Ashdod,  and  that  Da- 
gon  fell  before  it  to  tlie  ground,  and 
afterwards  his  head,  with  the  palms  of 
his  hands,  severed  from  his  body,  lay 
upon  the  threshold  of  the  temple ;  and 
that  the  Ashdodites  and  Ekronites,  on 
account  of  the  ark,  were  smitten  with 
hemorrhoids,  to  the  number  of  several 
thousands ;  and  that  their  land  was 
devastated  by  mice ;  and  that,  on  ac- 
count of  those  things,  the  Philistines 
called  together  the  princes  and  sooth- 
sayers, and  that  they  concluded,  that, 
in  order  to  prevent  their  destruction, 
they  should  make  five  hemorrhoids  and 
five  mice  out  of  gold,  and  a  new  cart, 
and  upon  this  they  should  place  the 
ark,  and  by  the  side  of  the  ark,  the 
hemorrhoids  and  mice  of  gold ;  and  by 
two  cows,  which  lowed  in  the  way  be- 


170 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


fore  the  cart,  they  sliould  send  back 
the  ark  to  the  sons  of  Israel,  by  whom 
the  cows  and  the  cart  were  sacrificed, 
and  thus  the  God  of  Israel  was  propi- 
tiated. That  all  these  things,  devised 
by  the  soothsayers  of  the  Philistines, 
were  correspondences,  is  evident  from 
their  signification,  which  is  this : — The 
Philistines  themselves  signified  those 
who  are  in  faith  separate  from  charity ; 
Dagon  represented  that  religion ;  the 
hemorrhoids ,  with  which  they  were  smit- 
ten, signified  natural  loves,  which,  sep- 
arate from  spiritual  love,  are  unclean  ; 
and  the  mice  signified  the  devastation 
of  the  church,  by  falsifications  of  the 
truth ;  the  new  cart  signified  natural 
doctrine  of  the  church,  for  chariot,  in 
the  Word,  signifies  doctrine  from  spir- 
itual truths ;  the  cows  signified  good 
natural  affections ;  the  hemorrhoids  of 
gold  signified  natural  loves  purified  and 
made  good ;  the  mice  of  gold  signified 
the  vastation  of  the  church  removed 
by  good,  for  gold,  in  the  Word,  signi- 
fies good ;  the  lowing  of  the  cows  in 
the  way,  signified  the  difficult  conver- 
sion of  the  natural  man's  concupiscences 
of  evil  into  good  affections ;  the  offer- 
ing of  the  cows  with  the  cart  for  a 
whole  burnt-offering,  signified  that 
thus  the  God  of  Israel  was  propitiated. 
All  these  things,  which  the  Philistines 
did  according  to  the  advice  of  their 
soothsayers,  were  correspondences  ; 
from  which  it  is  manifest  that  that  sci- 
ence was  for  a  long  time  preserved 
among  the  Gentile  nations. 

204.  Since  the  representative  rites 
of  the  church,  which  were  correspond- 
ences, in  process  of  time  began  to  be 
turned  into  things  idolatrous,  and  also 
into  things  magical,  then  that  science, 
by  the  Divine  Providence  of  the  Lord, 
was  gradually  lost,  and  amongst  the 
Israelitish  and  Jewish  nation,  it  was 
entirely  obliterated.  The  worship 
of  this  nation,  indeed,  consisted 
of  mere  correspondences,  and  thence 
it  was  representative  of  heavenly 
things;  but  still  they  did  not  know 
what  any  thing  signified,  for  they 
were  altogether  natural  men,  and 
thence  they  would  not  and  could  not 
know  any  thing  concerning  spiritual 


and  heavenly  things :  consequently,  not 
any  thing  concerning  correspondences, 
for  correspondences  arc  representations 
of  spiritual  and  heavenly  things  in  nat- 
ural things. 

205.  That  the  idolatries  of  the  Gen- 
tile nations,  in  ancient  times,  derived 
their  origin  from  the  science  of  corre- 
spondences, was,  because  all  things, 
which  appear  upon  the  earth,  corre- 
spond ;  thus,  not  only  trees,  but  also 
beasts  and  birds  of  every  kind,  also  fishes 
and  other  things.  The  ancients  who 
were  in  the  science  of  correspondences, 
made  for  themselves  images,  which 
corrcs',x)nded  to  heavenly  things,  and 
were  delighted  with  them,  because  they 
signified  such  tilings  as  were  of  heav- 
en and  the  church ;  and  therefore  they 
put  them  not  only  in  their  temples,  but 
also  in  their  houses ;  not  for  the  sake 
of  worshipping  them,  but  of  calling  to 
mind  the  iieavenly  things  which  they 
signified.  Thence  in  Egypt,  and  else- 
where, there  were  images  of  calves, 
oxen,  serpents,  also  of  boys,  old  men, 
and  virgins ;  because  calves  and  oxen 
signified  the  affections  and  powers  of 
the  natural  man ;  serpents,  the  prudence 
and  also  the  cunning  of  the  sensual 
man ;  boys,  innocence  and  charity ; 
old  men,  wisdom  ;  and  virgins,  affec- 
tions of  truth;  and  .'^o  on.  Their  pos- 
terity, when  the  science  of  correspond- 
ences was  obliterated,  began  to  wor- 
ship as  holy,  and  at  length  as  deities, 
the  images  and  resemblances  set  up 
by  the  ancients,  because  they  were  in 
their  temples  and  about  them.  Thence, 
also,  the  ancients  had  worship  in  gar- 
dens and  in  groves,  according  to  the 
sorts  of  trees;  and  also  upon  moun- 
tains and  hills ;  for  gardens  and  groves 
signified  wisdom  and  intelligence,  and 
every  tree  something  of  these  ;  as  the 
olive,  the  good  of  love;  the  vine,  truth 
from  that  good ;  the  cedar,  rational 
good  and  truth:  a  mountain,  the  high- 
est heaven  :  and  a  hill,  the  heaven  un- 
der that.  That  the  science  of  corre- 
spondences continued  amongst  many  of 
the  eastern  nations,  even  to  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  is  also  evident  from  the 
wise  men  from  the  east,  who  came  to 
the  Lord  when  he  was  born  ;  wherefore 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


171 


a  star  went  before  them,  and  they  car- 
ried vvitli  tliem  gifts,  gold,  frankincense 
and  myrrh,  Matt.  ii.  1,  2,  D,  10,  11  ; 
for  the  star  wliich  went  before  them 
signified  knowledge  from  heaven  ;  gold 
signified  heavenly  good  ;  frankincense, 
spiritual  good ;  and  myrrh,  natural 
good;  of  which  three  is  all  worship. 
But  still  the  science  of  correspondences 
was  not  at  all  amongst  the  Israelitish 
and  Jewish  nation,  although  all  the 
things  of  their  worship,  and  all  the 
statutes  and  judgments  given  to  them  by 
Moses,  and  all  the  things  of  the  Word, 
were  mere  correspondences.  The  rea- 
son was,  because  they  were  in  heart 
idolaters,  and  thence  such  that  they 
were  not  even  willing  to  know  that 
any  part  of  their  worship  signified  any 
thing  heavenly  and  spiritual ;  for  they 
believed  that  all  those  things  were  ho- 
ly of  themselves;  wherefore,  if  heaven- 
ly and  spiritual  things  had  been  dis- 
closed to  them,  they  would  not  only 
have  rejected,  but  would  also  have  pro- 
faned them  ;  wherefore  heaven  was  so 
closed  to  them,  that  they  scarcely  knew 
that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  eternal 
life.  That  it  is  so,  is  very  manifest 
from  this,  that  they  did  not  acknowl- 
edge the  Lord,  although  all  the  Sacred 
Scripture  prophesied  concerning  Him, 
and  foretold  his  coming.  They  reject- 
ed Him  for  this  sole  reason,  that  He 
taught  them  concerning  a  heavenly 
kingdom,  and  not  concerning  an  earth- 
ly kingdom ;  for  they  wished  for  a 
Messiah  who  would  exalt  them  above 
all  the  nations  in  the  whole  world,  and 
not  a  Messiah  who  would  provide  for 
their  eternal  salvation. 

206.  The  reason  that  the  science  of 
correspondences,  by  which  is  given 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word,  was 
not  disclosed  after  those  times,  was,  be- 
cause the  Christians,  in  the  primitive 
church,  were  very  simple,  so  that  it 
could  not  have  been  disclosed  to  them  ; 
for,  if  it  had  been  disclosed,  it  would 
have  been  of  no  use  to  them,  nor  would 
it  have  been  understood.  After  their 
times,  darkness  arose  over  all  the 
Christian  world ;  first  by  the  heretical 
opinions  of  many  spread  about,  and 
60on  afterwards  by  the  deliberations 


and  ^decrees  of  the  Nicene  council, 
concerning  three  divine  persons  from 
eternity,  and  concerning  the  person  of 
Christ,  as  tlio  Son  of  Mary,  and  not 
as  the  Son  of  Jehovah  God.  Thence 
originated  the  present  faith  of  justifica- 
tion, in  which  three  Gods  are  approach- 
ed in  their  order ;  on  which  faith  all 
and  every  thing  of  the  church  at  this 
day  depends,  as  the  members  of  the 
body  on  their  head ;  and  because  they 
applied  all  the  things  of  the  Word 
to  confirm  this  erroneous  faith,  the 
spiritual  sense  could  not  be  disclosed  ; 
for,  if  it  had  been,-  they  would  have 
applied  to  it  also  that  sense,  and  there- 
by would  have  profaned  the  very  holi- 
ness of  the  Word  ;  and  thus  they  would 
have  entirely  closed  up  heaven  against 
themselves,  and  removed  the  Lord 
from  the  church. 

207.  The  reason  why  the  science 
of  correspondences,  by  which  the  spir- 
itual sense  of  the  Word  is  given,  has 
been  at  this  time  revealed,  is,  because 
now  the  divine  truths  of  the  church 
come  forth  into  the  light,  and  these 
arc  the  things  of  which  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  Word  consists ;  and  while 
these  are  in  man,  the  sense  of  the  let- 
ter of  the  Word  caimot  be  perverted  ; 
for  the  sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word 
can  be  turned  hither  and  thither ;  but 
if  it  is  turned  to  the  false,  then  its  inter- 
nal holiness  is  lost,  and  with  this  the 
external ;  but  if  it  is  turned  to  the  true, 
its  holiness  remains.  But,  concerning 
these  things,  more  will  be  said  in  the 
following  pages.  That  the  spiritual 
.•^ense  will,  at  this  day,  be  opened,  is 
meant  by  John's  seeing  heaven  open, 
and  then  a  white  horsp  ;  and  also  by 
his  seeing  and  hearing  that  an  angel, 
standing  in  the  sun,  called  all  together 
to  a  great  supper ;  concerning  which, 
see  Rev.  xix.  11  to  18.  But  that 
it  will  not,  for  a  long  time,  be  ac- 
knowledged, is  meant  by  the  beast,- 
and  by  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who 
were  about  to  make  war  with  Him 
who  sat  upon  the  white  horse,  Rev.  xix. 
19;  as  also  by  the  dragon,  that  he 
pursued  the  woman,  who  brought  forth 
the  son,  even  into  the  wilderness,  and 
there  cast  forth  out  of  his  mouth  wa- 


172 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


ters,  as  a  flood,  that  he  might  drown 
her,  Rev.  xii.  13  to  17. 

208.  (5.)  That  the  Spiritual 
Sense  of  the  Word  is  not  here- 
after given  to  any,  hut  those  who 
are  in  genuine  Truths  from  the 
Lord. 

The  reason  is,  because  no  one  can 
see  the  spiritual  sense,  except  from  the 
Lord  alone,  and  unless  he  be  in  divine 
truths  from  the  Lord ;  for  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  Word  treats  concerning 
the  Lord  alone,  and  concerning  his 
kingdom ;  and  that  is  the  sense  in 
which  his  angels  in  heaven  are,  for  it 
is  his  divine  truth  there.  This,  man 
can  violate,  if  he  is  in  the  science  of 
correspondences,  and  wishes  by  it  to 
explore  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word, 
from  his  own  intelligence  ;  for  by 
means  of  some  correspondences,  known 
to  him,  he  can  pervert  that  sense,  and 
even  force  it  to  confirm  the  false ;  and 
this  would  be  to  olfer  violence  to  di- 
vine truth,  and  thus  also  to  heaven,  in 
which  it  dwells.  Wherefore,  if  any 
one  wishes  from  himself,  and  not  from 
the  Lord,  to  open  that  sense,  heaven  is 
shut,  which  being  shut,  man  either 
sees  nothing  of  truth,  or  becomes  spir- 
itually insane.  The  reason  also  is,  be- 
cause the  I>ord  teaches  every  one  by 
the  Word,  and  he  teaches  him  from 
those  knowledges  which  are  with  man, 
and  does  not  immediately  infuse  new 
ones  ;  wherefore,  unless  man  be  in  di- 
vine truths,  or  if  in  only  a  few  truths,  and 
at  tlie  same  time  in  falses,  he  can  by 
these  falsify  truths,  as  is  also  done  by 
every  heretic,  as  to  the  sense  of  the 
letter  of  the  Word.  Lest,  therefore, 
any  one  should  enter  into  the  spiritual 
sense,  and  the  genuine  truth  which  is 
of  that  sense,  guards  are  placed  by  the 
Lord,  which  are  meant  in  the  Word 
by  cherubs. 

209.  (G.)  Wonderful  Things  con- 
cerning the  Word,  from  its  Spiritual 
Sense. 

In  the  natural  world,  no  wonderful 
things  exist  from  the  Word,  because 
tiie  spiritual  sense  does  not  tliero  n])- 
pcar,  nor  is  it  inwardly  received  i)y 
man,  such  as  it  is  in  itself;  but  in  the 
spiritual  world,  wonderful  things  ap- 


pear from  the  Word,  because  all  there 
are  spiritual,  and  spiritual  things  affect 
the  spiritual  man,  as  natural  things 
the  natural  man.  The  wonderful 
things  which  exist  in  the  spiritual 
world,  from  the  Word,  are  many ;  a 
few  of  which  I  shall  here  relate.  The 
Word  itself,  in  the  inmost  recesses  of 
the  temples  there,  shines  before  the 
eyes  of  the  angels  like  a  great  star,  and 
sometimes  like  the  sun  ;  and  also,  from 
the  bright  radiance  round  about  it, 
there  appear,  as  it  were,  most  beauti- 
ful rainbows ;  this  happens  as  soon  as 
the  sacred  recess  is  opened.  That  all 
and  every  one  of  the  truths  of  the 
Word  shine,  was  made  evident  to  me 
from  this,  that  when  any  single  verse 
of  the  Word  is  written  out  upon  paper, 
and  the  paper  is  thrown  into  the  air, 
the  paper  itself  shines,  in  such  a  form 
as  it  was  cut  into  ;  wherefore  spirits 
are  able  to  produce,  by  the  Word,  va- 
rious shining  forms,  and  also  those  of 
birds  and  fishes.  And,  what  is  still 
more  wonderful,  when  any  one  rubs 
the  face,  the  hands,  or  the  clothes 
which  he  has  on,  with  the  Word  open, 
applying  the  writing  of  it  to  them,  the 
face  itself,  tiie  hands  and  the  clothes 
shine,  as  if  he  were  standing  in  a  star, 
surrounded  with  its  light.  This  I  have 
often  seen  and  wondered  at ;  thence  it 
was  evident  to  me,  whence  it  was,  that 
the  face  of  Moses  shone,  when  he 
brought  down  tiie  tables  of  the  cove- 
nant from  mount  Sinai. 

Besides  these,  there  are  many  other 
wonderful  things  there,  which  are 
from  the  Word ;  as,  for  instance,  if 
any  one,  who  is  in  falses,  looks  at  the 
Word,  lying  in  the  holy  place,  there 
arises  a  thick  darkness  before  his  eyes, 
and  thence  the  Word  appears  to  him 
black,  and  sometimes,  as  it  were,  cov- 
ered over  with  soot;  but,  if  he  also 
touches  the  Word,  an  explosion  is 
made  with  a  loud  noi.se,  and  he  is 
thrown  to  a  corner  of  the  room,  and 
for  an  hour  lies  there  as  if  he  were 
dead.  If  any  thing  is  written  out  of 
tlie  Word  upon  paper,  by  any  one  who 
is  in  falses,  and  the  ])aper  is  thrown  up 
towards  heaven,  tiicn  a  similar  explo- 
sion is  made  in  the  air,  between  his 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


173 


eye  and  heaven,  and  the  paper  is  torn 
into  atoms,  and  vanishes  :  the  like  hap- 
pens, if  that  paper  is  thrown  towards 
an  angel,  who  stands  near:  this  I 
have  often  seen.  Thence  it  was 
manifest  to  nie,  that  those  who  are  in 
falses  of  doctrine  have  no  communica- 
tion with  heaven,  by  means  of  the 
Word ;  but  that  their  reading  is  dis- 
persed in  the  way,  and  perishes,  like 
gunpowder  enclosed  in  paper,  when  it 
is  set  on  fire,  and  thrown  into  the  air. 
The  contrary  happens  with  those  who 
are  in  truths  of  doctrine,  by  means  of 
the  Word,  from  the  Lord  :  the  reading 
of  the  Word  by  those  penetrates  even 
into  heaven,  and  makes  conjunction 
with  the  angels  there.  The  angels 
themselves,  when  they  descend  from 
heaven  to  execute  any  business  below, 
appear  encompassed  w\\\\  little  stars, 
especially  about  the  head,  which  is  a 
sign  that  divine  truths  from  the  Word 
are  in  them. 

Moreover,  in  the  spiritual  world 
there  are  things  similar  to  those  which 
are  upon  earth,  but  all  and  every  thing 
there  is  from  a  spiritual  origin ;  so 
there  are  also  gold,  and  silver,  and 
precious  stones  of  every  kind,  and  the 
spiritual  origin  of  these  is  the  sense  of 
the  letter  of  the  Word.  Thence  it  is, 
that,  in  the  Revelation,  the  foundations 
of  the  wall  of  the  New  Jerusalem  are 
described  by  twelve  precious  stones : 
the  reason  is,  because,  by  the  founda- 
tions of  its  wall  are  signified  the  doc- 
trinals  of  the  New  Church,  from  the 
sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word.  Thence 
also  it  is,  that,  in  the  ephod  of  Aaron, 
there  were  also  twelve  precious  stones, 
called  Urim  and  Thummim,  and  that 
by  these,  answers  were  given  from 
heaven.  Besides  these,  there  are 
many  more  wonderful  things  from  the 
Word,  which  concern  the  power  of 
truth  there,  which  is  so  immense,  that, 
if  it  should  be  described,  it  would  ex- 
ceed all  belief;  for  the  power  is  such, 
that  it  overturns  mountains  and  hills 
there,  removes  them  to  a  distance,  and 
casts  them  into  the  sea ;  besides  many 
other  things.  In  short,  the  power  of 
the  Lord,  from  the  Word,  is  infinite. 

210.  III.  That  the  Sense  of  the 


Letter  of  the  Word  is  the  Basis, 
THE  Continent  and  the  Firmament 
of  its  Spiritual  and  Celestial 
Sense. 

In  every  thing  divine,  there  is  a 
first,  a  middle,  and  a  last ;  and  the 
first  goes  through  the  middle  to  the 
last,  and  thus  exists  and  subsists ; 
thence  the  last  is  the  basis.  The  first, 
also,  is  in  the  middle,  and,  by  the  mid- 
dle, in  the  last;  thus  the  last  is  the 
continent  ;  and  because  the  last  is 
the  continent  and  the  basis,  it  is  also 
the  firmament.  It  is  comprehended 
by  the  learned,  that  those  three  may 
be  called  end,  cause  and  effect;  and 
also  esse  [to  be],  fieri  [to  be  done], 
and  ei  isterc  [to  exist] ;  and  that  the 
end  is  the  esse,  the  cause  the  fieri,  and 
the  effect  the  existcrc ;  consequently, 
that  in  every  complete  thing  there  is  a 
trine,  which  is  cvAXeA  first,  middle  and 
last ;  also  etid,  cause  and  effect.  When 
these  tilings  are  comprehended,  it  is 
also  comprehended  that  every  divine 
work  is  complete  and  perfect  in  the 
last;  and,  likewise,  that  all  are  in  the 
last,  because  the  former  are  together 
in  it. 

'  211.  It  is  from  this,  that  by  three, 
in  the  Word,  in  the  .spiritual  sense,  is 
meant  what  is  complete  and  perfect, 
and  also  all  together ;  and  because 
these  'things  are  signified  by  that 
number,  therefore  it  is  used  in  the 
Word  whenever  such  a  tiling  is  des- 
ignated, as  in  these  passages:  That 
Isaiah  should  go  naked  and  barefoot 
three  years,  Isaiah  xx.  8.  That  Je- 
hovah called  Samuel  rmiEE  times,  and 
that  Samuel  ran  three  times  to  Eli, 
and  that  Eli  the  third  tiate  under- 
stood, 1  Sam.  iii.  1  to  8.  That  Jona- 
than said  to  David,  that  he  should  hide 
himself  in  the  field  three  days  ;  that 
Jonathan  afterwards  shot  three  ar- 
rows at  the  side  of  a  stone ;  and  that 
David  then  bowed  himself  three  times 
before  Jonathan,  xx.  5,  12  to  42.  That 
Elijah  stretched  himself  three  times 
vpon  the  icidoio's  son,  1  Kings  xvii.  21. 
That  Elijah  commanded  that  they 
should  pour  water  upon  the  tvhole  burn  t- 
offering  three  times,  xviii.  34.  That 
Jesus  said,  that  the  kingdom  of  the 


174 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


heavens  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a 
icoman,  taking,  hid  in  three  measures 
OF  MEAL,  till  the  whole  was  leavened, 
Matt.  xiii.  33.  That  Jesus  said  to 
Peter,  that  he  would  deny  him  three 
TIMES,  xxvi.  34.  2Viat  Jesus  said 
THREE  TIMES  to  Peter,  Lovest  thou 
Me  7  John  xxi.  15,  16,  17.  That  Jo- 
nah was  in  the  belli/  of  a  whale  three 
DAYS  AND  three  NIGHTS,  Jon.  ii.  2. 
T7iat  Jesus  said,  Destroy  this  temple, 
and  I  will  rebuild  it  in  three  days, 
John  ii.  19;  Matt.  xxvi.  61.  That  Jesus, 
in  Gethsemanc,  prayed  three  times. 
Matt.  xxvi.  39  to  44.  That  Jesus  rose 
again  the  third  day.  Matt,  xxviii.  1 : 
besides  in  many  other  places,  where 
the  number  three  is  mentioned ;  and 
it  is  mentioned  where  a  worit  finished 
and  perfect  is  treated  of,  because  this 
is  signified  by  that  number. 

212.  There  are  three  heavens,  the 
highest,  the  middle,  and  the  lowest. 
The  highest  heaven  makes  the  celes- 
tial kingdom  of  the  Lord ;  the  middle 
heaven  makes  his  spiritual  kingdom, 
and  the  Ipwest  heaven  makes  liis  natu- 
ral kingdom.  As  there  are  three  heav- 
ens, so  likewise  there  are  three  senses 
of  the  Word,  the  celestial,  the  spiritui- 
al,  and  the  natural ;  with  which  also 
those  things  coincide  wiiich  were  said 
above,  n.  210,  viz.  that  the  first  is  in 
the  middle,  and,  by  the  middle-,  in  the 
last ;  just  as  the  end  is  hi  the  cause, 
and,  by  the  cause,  in  the  effect. 
Thence  it  is  manifest  what  the  Word 
is,  viz.  that,  in  the  sense  of  its  letter, 
which  is  natural,  there  is  an  interior 
sense,  which  is  spiritual,  and  in  this 
an  inmost  sense,  which  is  celestial ; 
and  thus  that  the  last  sense,  which  is 
natural,  and  is  called  the  sense  of  the 
letter,  is  the  continent,  and  so  the  ba- 
sis and  firmament,  of  the  two  interior 
senses. 

213.  Hence  it  follows,  that  the 
Word,  without  the  sense  of  its  letter, 
would  be  like  a  palace  without  a  foun- 
dation, thus  like  a  palace  in  the  air, 
and  not  upon  the  earth,  which  would 
be  only  the  shadow  of  a  palace,  tliat 
would  vanish  away ;  also  that  the 
Word,  without  the  sense  of  its  letter, 
would  be  like  a  temple  in  which  are 


many  holy  things,  and  in  the  midst  of 
it  the  most  holy  place,  without  a  roof 
and  walls,  which  are  its  continents ; 
and  if  these  should  be  wanting,  or  if 
they  should  be  taken  away,  its  holy 
things  would  be  plundered  by  thieves, 
and  violated  by  the  beasts  of  the  earth 
and  the  birds  of  the  air,  and  thus  they 
would  be  dissipated.  It  would  like- 
wise be  like  the  tabernacle  of  the  sons 
of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  in  the  in- 
most part  of  which  was  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  and  in  the  middle  of  it  the 
golden  candlestick,  the  golden  altar, 
upon  which  incense  was  offered,  and 
also  the  table  upon  which  the  bread  of 
faces  was  placed,  without  its  last  things, 
which  were  the  curtains,  veils  and  col- 
umns. Yea,  the  Word,  without  the 
sense  of  its  letter,  would  be  like  the 
human  body  without  its  coverings, 
which  are  called  skins,  and  without  its 
supporters,  which  are  called  bones; 
v.'ithout  the  latter  and  the  former,  all 
the  inner  parts  of  it  would  be  dispers- 
ed. It  would  also  be  like  the  heart 
and  the  lungs,  in  the  thorax ;  without 
their  covering,  which  is  called  tlie 
pleura,  and  their  supporteTs,  which  are 
called  the  ribs ;  or  like  the  brain  with- 
out its  coverings,  which  are  called  tlie 
dura  and  the  pia  mater,  and  without 
its  common  covering,  continent  and 
firmament,  which  is  called  the  skull. 
It  would  be  similar  with  the  Word, 
without  the  sense  of  its  letter ;  where- 
fore it  is  said  in  Isaiah,  that  Jehovah 
creates  upon  all  the  glory  a  covering, 
iv.  5. 

214.  IV.  That  Divine  Truth,  in 
the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of  the 
Word,  is  in  its  Fullness,  in  its  Ho- 
liness, and  in  its  Power. 

That  the  Word,  in  the  sense  of  the 
letter,  is  in  its  fullness,  in  its  holiness, 
and  in  its  power,  is  because  the  two 
former,  or  interior  senses,  which  are 
called  the  spiritual  and  the  celestial, 
are  together  in  the  natural  sense, 
which  is  the  sense  of  the  letter,  as 
was  said  above,  n.  210  and  212  ;  but 
how  they  are  together,  shall  be  fiirther 
told.  There  is  in  heaven  and  in  the 
world,  a  successive  order  and  a  simul- 
taneous order :  in  successive  order,  one 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


175 


thing  succeeds  and  follows  after  anoth- 
er, from  tlic  highest  even  to  the  lowest ; 
but  in  simultaneous  order,  one  thing 
is  next  to  anotiier  from  the  inmost  even 
to  the  outermost.  Successive  order  is 
like  a  column,  with  steps  from  the  top 
to  the  bottom  ;  hut  simultaneous  order 
is  like  a  work  cohering  with  the  cir- 
cumference,- from  the  centre  even  to 
the  surface.  It  shall  now  be  told, 
how  successive  order  becomes,  in  the 
last,  simultaneous  order  :  it  is  done  in 
this  manner  :  the  highest  things  of  suc- 
cessive order  become  the  inmost  things 
of  .simultaneous  order,  and  the  lowest 
things  of  successive  order  become  the 
outermost  tilings  of  simultaneous  order. 
It  is,  comparatively,  like  a  column  of 
steps,  subsiding,  and  becoming  a  co- 
herent body,  in  a  plain.  Thus,  what 
is  simultaneous  is  formed  from  what  is 
successive,  and  this  in  all  and  every 
thing  of  the  natural  world,  and  in  all 
and  every  thing  of  the  spiritual  world  ; 
for  every  where  there  is  a  first,  a  mid- 
dle, and  a  last ;  and  the  first,  by  the 
middle,  tends  and  goes  to  its  last;  but 
it  should  be  well  understood,  that  there 
are  degrees  of  purity,  according  to 
whicii  each  order  is,  made.  Now  to 
the  Word :  the  celestial,  the  spiritual 
and  the  natural  proceed  from  the  Lord 
in  successive  order ;  and,  in  the  last, 
they  arc  in  simultaneous  order ;  so  now 
tlic  celestial  and  the  spiritual  senses  of 
the  Word  arc  together  in  its  natural 
sense.  When  this  is  comprehended, 
it  may  be  seen  how  the  natural  sense 
of  tiie  Word  is  tlie  continent,  the  basis 
and  the  firmament  of  its  spiritual  and 
celestial  senses ;  and  also  how  the  di- 
vine good  and  the  divine  truth,  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word,  are  in 
their  fullness,  in  their  holiness,  and  in 
their  power.  Hence  it  may  be  evident, 
that  the  Word  is  the  Word  itself, 
in  its  sense  of  the  letter ;  for  in  this 
interiorly  there  is  spirit  and  life : 
this  is  what  the  Lord  says  :  The  words 
lehich  1  speak  unto  you  are  spirit  and 
life,  John  vi.  03 ;  for  the  Lord  spoke 
his  words  in  the  natural  sense.  The 
celestial  and  the  spiritual  senses  are 
not  the  Word,  without  the  natural 
sense,  for  they  are  like  spirit  and  life 


without  a  body  ;  and  they  are,  as  was 
said  before,  n.  213,  like  a  palace  which 
has  no  foundation. 

215.  The  truths  of  the  sense  of  the 
letter  of  the  Word,  as  to  a  part,  are  not 
naked  truths,  but  they  are  appearances 
of  truth,  and  like  similitudes  and  com- 
parisons taken  from  such  things  as  are 
in  nature,  and  which  thus  are  accom- 
modated and  adapted  to  the  capacity 
of  the  simple,  and  also  of  children ; 
but,  because  they  are  at  the  same  time 
correspondences,  they  are  the  recepta- 
cles and  habitations  of  genuine  truth  ; 
and  they  are  vessels  which  contain,  as 
a  crystal  cup  contains  noble  wine,  a 
silver  plate  palatable  food  ;  and  as  gar- 
ments used  for  clothing,  as  swaddling- 
bands  for  an  infant,  and  a  handsome 
dress  for  a  virgin ;  they  are  also  like 
the  scientifics  of  the  natural  man, 
which  comprehend  in  them  the  percep- 
tions and  affections  of  spiritual  truth. 
The  naked  truths  themselves,  which 
are  included,  contained,  clothed  and 
comprehended,  are  in  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  Word,  and  the  naked 
goods  are  in  its  celestial  sense.  But 
this  may  be  illustrated  from  the  Word  : 
Jesus  said,  Wo  unto  you,  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  because  ye  cleanse  the  outside 
of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  but  the  in- 
sides  are  full  of  rapine  and  intemper- 
ance. Blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  the 
inside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter, 
that  the  outside  also  may  be  clean. 
Matt,  xxiii.  25,  26.  Here  the  Lord 
spoke  by  similitudes  and  comparisons, 
which  at  the  same  time  are  correspond- 
ences ;  and  He  said  cup  and  platter ; 
and  by  cjip  is  not  only  meant,  but  also 
signified,  the  truth  of  the  Word ;  for 
by  the  cup  wine  is  meant,  and  truth  is 
signified  by  7oine  ;  but  by  the  platter 
meat  is  meant,  and  good  is  signified 
by  meat ;  wherefore,  by  cleansing  the 
inside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  is 
signified,  to  purify  the  interiors  of  the 
mind,  which  are  of  the  will  and  the 
thought,  by  the  Word ;  by  that  thus 
the  outside  may  be  clean,  is  signified, 
that  thus  the  exteriors  are  purified, 
which  are  works  and  words,  for  the 
latter  derive  their  essence  from  the 
former.   Again,  Jesus  said,  There  was 


176 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture. 


a  certain  rich  man,  who  was  clothed 
in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fared 
sumptuously  every  day  ;  and  there  was 
a  certain  poor  man,  named  Lazarus, 
who  was  laid  at  his  gate,  full  of  sores, 
Luke  xvi.  19,  20.  Here  also  the  Lord 
spoke  by  similitudes  and  comparisons, 
which  were  correspondences,  and  con- 
tained spiritual  things ;  by  the  rich 
7nan  is  meant  the  Jewish  nation,  who 
are  called  rich,  because  they  had  the 
Word,  in  which  are  spiritual  riches ; 
by  the  purple  and  fine  linen,  with  which 
he  was  clothed,  is  signified  the  good 
and  truth  of  the  Word ;  by  purple,  its 
good,  and  hy  fine  linen,  its  truth;  by 
faring  sumptuously  every  day,  is  sig- 
nified their  delight  in  having  it,  and  in 
hearing  from  it  many  things  in  the  tem- 
ples and  synagogues ;  by  the  poor  man, 
Lazarus,  are  meant  the  Gentiles,  be- 
cause they  had  not  the  Word ;  that 
they  were  despised  and  rejected  by  the 
Jews,  is  meant  by  Lazarus  being  laid 
at  the  rich  man's  gate ;  hy  full  of  sores, 
is  meant  that  the  Gentiles,  from  igno- 
rance of  the  truth,  were  in  many  falses. 
That  the  Gentiles  are  meant  by  Laza- 
rus, was  because  the  Gentiles  were 
loved  by  the  Lord ;  as  Lazarus,  who 
was  raised  from  the  dead,  was  loved 
by  the  Lord,  John  xi.  3,  5,  3G;  and  is 
called  his /mHc?,  xi.  11;  and  sat  at 
table  with  the  Lord,  xii.  2.  From 
these  two  passages,  it  is  manifest  that 
the  truths  and  goods  of  the  sense  of 
the  letter  of  the  Word,  are  like  vessels, 
and  like  garments  for  the  naked  good 
and  truth,  which  two  are  concealed  in 
the  spiritual  and  celestial  senses  of  the 
Word.  Since  the  Word,  in  the  sense 
of  the  letter,  is  such,  it  follows,  that 
those  who  are  in  divine  truths,  and  in 
the  belief  that  the  Word,  inwardly,  in 
its  bosom,  is  holy  and  divine,  and  es- 
pecially those  who  are  in  the  faith  that 
the  Word  is  such  from  its  spiritual 
and  celestial  senses,  while,  in  illustra- 
tion from  the  Lord,  they  read  the 
Word,  see  divine  truths  in  natural 
light ;  for  the  light  of  heaven,  in  which 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  is,  flows 
into  natural  light,  in  which  the  sense 
of  the  letter  of  the  Word  is,  and  illu- 
minates the  intellectual  of  man,  which 


is  called  the  rational,  and  makes  him 
see  and  acknowledge  divine  truths, 
where  they  are  obvious  and  where  they 
are  latent.  These  things,  with  the 
light  of  heaven,  flow  into  some,  on  some 
occasions,  even  when  they  are  uncon- 
scious of  it. 

216.  Since  the  Word,  in  its  inmost 
bosom,  from  its  celestial  sense,  is  like 
a  gentle  flame  which  enkindles,  and 
in  its  middle  bosom,  from  its  spiritual 
sense,  is  like  a  light  which  enlightens, 
therefore  the  Word,  in  its  last,  from  its 
natural  sense,  is  like  a  transparent 
object  receiving  both,  which,  from  the 
flame,  is  red  like  purple,  and  from  the 
light,  white  like  snow ;  thus  it  is  re- 
spectively like  a  ruby  and  like  a  dia- 
mond ;  from  the  celestial  flame,  like  a 
ruby,  and  from  the  spiritual  light,  like 
a  diamond.  Because  the  Word  is 
such  in  the  sense  of  the  letter, 'there- 
fore the  Word  in  this  sense  is  meanfr, 
(1.)  By  the  precious  stones  of  which  the 
foundations  of  the  New  Jerusalem  con- 
sisted. (2.)  Also  by  the  Urim  and 
Thummim  upon  the  cphod  of  Aaron. 
(3.)  And  also  by  the  garden  of  Eden, 
in  which  the  king  of  Tyre  is  said  to 
have  been.  (4.)  As  cdso  by  the  cur- 
tains, veils  and  columns  of  the  taberna- 
cle. (5.)  Li  like  manner,  by  the  exter- 
nals of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  (6.) 
That  the  Word  in  its  glory  teas  repre- 
sented in  the  Lord,  when  He  was 
transfigured.  (7.)  That  the  power 
of  the  Word,  in  its  lasts  or  ultimates, 
icas  represented  by  the  Nazaritrs. 
(8.)  Of  the  ineffable  power  of  the 
Word.  But  these  things  are  to  be  il- 
lustrated one  bv  one. 

217.  (1.)  that  the  Truths  of  the 
Tjctter  of  the  Word  arc  meant  by  the 
precious  Stones  of  which  the  Founda- 
tions o  f  the  New  Jerusalem  consisted, 
in  the  Revelation,  xxi.  17  to  21. 

It  was  mentioned  above,  n.  209, 
that  there  are  precious  stones  in  the 
spiritual  world,  as  well  as  in  the  natu- 
ral world,  and  that  their  spiritual  ori- 
gin is  from  the  truths  in  the  sense  of 
the  letter  of  the  Word  ;  this  appears 
incredible,  but  still  it  is  a  truth. 
The'ncp  it  is,  that  wheresoever  in  the 
Word  precious  stones  are  named,  by 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


them,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  truths  are 
meant.  Tliat  by  the  precious  stones, 
of  which  the  foundations  of  the  wall 
around  the  city  New  Jerusalem  are 
said  to  be  constructed,  arc  signified 
the  truths  of  the  doctrine  of  the  New 
Church,  follows  hence,  because  by 
the  New  Jerusalem  is  meant  the  New 
Church,  .IS  to  doctrine  from  the  Word ; 
wherefore,  by  its  loall,  and  by  foun- 
dations of  the  wall,  no  other  can  be 
meant  than  the  external  of  the  Word, 
which  is  the  sense  of  its  letter ;  for  it 
is  this  from  which  doctrine  is,  and  by 
doctrine  the  church  ;  and  this  sense  is 
like  a  wall  with  foundations,  which  en- 
compasses and  secures  a  city.  Con- 
cerning the  New  Jerusalem  and  its 
doctrine,  these  words  are  read  in  the 
Revelation  :  An  angel  measured  the 
wall  of  the  city  Jerusalem,  a  hundred 
forty  and  four  cubits,  which  icas  the 
measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  an  angel. 
And  the  wall  had  twelve  foundations, 
adorned  with  every  precious  stone. 
The  first  foundation  teas  a  jasper ;  the 
second  a  sapphire ;  the  third  a  chalce- 
dony;  the  fourth  an  emerald;  the  fifth 
a  sardonyx ;  the  sixth  a  sardiics ;  the 
seventh  a  chrysolite;  the  eighth  a  beryl; 
the  ninth  a  topaz ;  the  tenth  a  chrysopra- 
sus ;  the  eleventh  a  jacinth ;  the  twelfth 
an  amethyst,  xxi.  17  to  20.  The  rea- 
son why  the  foundations  of  the  wall 
there  were  twelve,  of  as  many  precious 
stones,  is,  because  the  number  twelve  sig- 
nifies all  the  things  of  truth  from  good ; 
here,  therefore,  all  things  of  doctrine. 
But  these  things,  as  also  those  which 
precede  and  follow  in  that  chapter, 
may  be  seen  particularly  explained  and 
confirmed  by  parallel  passages  from 
the  Word,  in  our  Apocalypse  Re- 
vealed. 

218.  (2.)  That  the  Goods  and 
Truths  of  the  Word,  in  the  Sense 
of  its  Letter,  are  meant  by  the  Urim 
and  Thummim,  upon  the  Ephod  of 
Aaron. 

The  Urim  and  Thummim  were  up- 
on the  ephod  of  Aaron,  by  whose 
priesthood  the  Lord  was  represented, 
as  to  the  divine  good,  and  as  to  the 
work  of  salvation.  By  the  garments 
of  the  priesthood,  or  of  its  holiness, 
23 


were  represented  divine  truths  fi-om  the 
Lord ;  by  the  ephod,  was  represented 
the  divine  truth  in  its  ultimate,  and  so 
the  Word,  in  the  sense  of  the  letter, 
for  this  is  divine  truth  in  its  ultimate; 
thence  by  the  twelve  precious  stones, 
with  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel,  which  were  the  Urim  and 
Thummim,  were  represented  divine 
truths  from  divine  good  in  the  whole 
complex.  Concerning  these,  it  is  thus 
read  in  Moses :  They  shall  make  the 
ephod  of  blue  and  purple,  scarlet  double 
dyed,  and  fine-twined  linen;  and  after- 
wards they  shall  make  the  breastplate 
of  judgment  according  to  the  work  of 
the  ephod;  and  thou  shall  set  it  with 
settings  of  stone,  four  rows  of  stone ; 
the  first  I'ow,  a  ruby,  a  topaz  and  an 
emerald ;  the  second  row,  a  chrysopna- 
sus,  a  sapphire  and  a  diamond;  the 
third  row,  a  ligure,  an  agate  and  an 
amethyst ;  the  fourth  row,  a  beryl,  a 
sardius  and  a  jasper.  These  stones 
shall  be  according  to  the  names  of  the 
S071S  of  Lrael;  the  engravings  of  a  sig- 
net shall  be  according  to  their  name  for 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Lrael ;  and  Aaron 
shall  carry  upon  the  breastplate  of 
judgment,  the  Urim  and  Thummim; 
and  let  them  be  upon  the  heart  of 
Aaron,  when  he  goeth  in  before  Jeho- 
vah, Exod.  xxvin.  6,  15  to  20,  30. 
What  was  represented  by  the  garments 
of  Aaron,  his  ephod,  robe,  coat,  mitre 
and  belt,  is  explained  in  the  Arcana 
CcELESTiA,  published  at  London,  upon 
that  chapter,  where  it  is  shown,  that  by 
the  ephod  is  represented  divine  truth 
in  its  ultimate ;  that  by  the  precious 
stones  there,  are  represented  divine 
truths  shining  from  good ;  by  twelve  in 
a  fourfold  order,  all  those  truths  from 
the  firsts  to  the  lasts ;  by  the  tioclve 
tribes,  all  the  things  of  the  church ;  by 
the  breastplate,  divine  truth  from  di- 
vine good  in  a  universal  sense  ;  by  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,  the  brilliancy  of 
divine  truth  from  divine  good,  in  the 
lasts  or  ultimates ;  for  Urim  is  shin- 
ing fire,  and  Thummim  is  brilliancy,  in 
the  angelic  language,  and  integrity  in 
the  Hebrew  language :  and  also  that 
answers  were  given  by  variegations  of 
light,  and,  at  the  same  time,  by  tacit 


178 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


perception,  or  by  an  audible  voice ; 
besides  many  other  tilings.  From 
these  things,  it  may  be  evident,  that 
by  these  stones,  also,  are  signified  di- 
vine truths  from  good,  in  the  last  or 
ultimate  sense  of  tiie  Word ;  nor  are 
answers  from  heaven  given  by  other 
means,  because,  in  that  sense,  the  pro- 
ceeding divine  is  in  its  fullness. 

219.  (3.)  Thai  similar  Things 
are  meant  hy  the  Precious  Stones 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  in  which 
the  King  of  Tyre  is  said  to  have 
been. 

It  is  read  in  Ezekiel,  Kitig  of  Tyre, 
thou  who  sealest  up  thy  7ncasurc,  full 
of  wisdom  and  perfect  in  beauty  ;  thou 
hast  been  in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God; 
every  precious  stone  was  thy  covering; 
thp  ruby,  the  topaz  and  the  diamond ; 
the  beryl,  the  sardonyx  and  the  jasper ; 
the  sapphire,  the  chrysoprasus  and  the 
emerald  ;  and  gold,  xwiu.  \2,  V3.  By 
Tyre,  in  the  Word,  is  signified  the 
church,  as  to  tlie  knowledges  of  the 
good  and  the  true  ;  by  Icing,  is  signified 
the  truth  of  the  church  ;  by  the  garden 
of  Eden,  is  signified  wisdom  and  intel- 
ligence from  the  Word  ;  by  precious 
stones,  are  signified  truths  sliining  fro,'n 
good,  such  as  are  in  the  sense  of  the 
letter  of  the  Word  ;  and  because  these 
things  are  signified  by  those  stones, 
therefore  they  are  called  his  covering. 
That  the  sense  of  the  letter  covers  the 
interior  things  of  the  Word,  may  be 
seen  above,  n.  213. 

220.  (4.)  That  Goods  and  Truths, 
in  the  Easts  or  Ultimates,  such  as 
they  are  in  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of 
the  Word,  were  represented  by  the  Cur- 
tains, Veils  and  Columns  cf  the  Tab- 
ernacle. 

By  the  tabernacle  built  by  Moses 
in  the  wilderness,  was  represented 
heaven  and  the  church  ;  wherefore  the 
form  of  it  was  shown  by  Jehovah  upon 
mount  Sinai ;  thence  by  all  the  things 
which  were  in  that  tabernacle,  which 
were  the  candlestick,  the  golden  altar 
for  incense,  and  the  table  upon  which 
was  the  bread  of  faces,  were  represent- 
ed and  signified  the  holy  things  of 
heaven  and  the  church ;  and  by  the 
lioly  of  holies,  where  was  the  ark  of 


the  covenant,  was  represented,  and 
thence  signified,  the  inmost  of  heaven 
and  the  church ;  and  by  the  law  itself, 
written  upon  the  two  tables,  was  signi- 
fied the  Word ;  and  by  the  cherubs 
above  it,  were  signified  guards,  lest  the 
holy  things  of  the  Word  should  be  vio- 
lated. Now,  because  externals  derive 
their  essence  from  internals,  and  these 
and  those  from  the  inmost,  which  there 
was  the  law,  therefore  the  holy  things 
of  the  Word  were  represented  and  sig- 
nified by  ail  the  things  of  the  taberna- 
cle ;  thence  it  follows,  that  by  the  last 
things,  or  ultimates,  of  the  tabernacle, 
which  were  the  curtains,  veils  and 
columns,  which  were  the  coverings, 
continents  and  firmaments,  were  signi- 
fied the  last  tilings  or  ultimates  of  the 
Word,  which  are  the  truths  and  goods 
of  tlie  sense  of  its  letter.  Because 
those  things  were  signified,  therefore 
all  the  curtains  and  veils  were  made 
of  fine-twined  linen,  and  blue,  and  pur- 
ple, and  scarlet  double  dyed,  with  cher- 
ubs, Exod.  xxvi.  1,31,  36.  What  was 
represented  and  signified,  in  general 
and  in  particular,  by  the  tabernacle 
and  by  all  the  things  that  were  in  it,  is 
explained  in  the  Arcana  C(ELf.stia, 
upon  that  chapter  of  Exodus :  and  it 
is  there  shown,  that  by  the  curtains 
and  veils,  were  represented  the  exter- 
nals of  heaven  and  the  church,  and  so 
likewise  the  externals  of  the  Word ; 
and  also  that  by  Jine  linen,  was  signi- 
fied truth  from  a  spiritual  origin ;  by 
blue,  truth  from  a  celestial  origin  ;  by 
purple,  celestial  good ;  by  scarlet 
double  dyed,  s[)iritual  good ;  and  by 
cherubs,  the  guards  of  the  interiors  of 
the  Word. 

221.  (;>.)  Tliat  the  same  was  repre- 
sented by  the  Externals  of  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem. 

The  reason  is,  because  iiy  the  tem- 
ple, as  well  as  by  the  tabernacle,  was 
represented  heaven  and  the  church ; 
but  by  the  temple,  the  heaven  in  which 
the  spiritual  angels  are,  and  by  the 
tabernacle,  the  heaven  where  the  ce- 
lestial angels  are.  The  .spiritual  an- 
gels are  they  who  are  in  wisdom  from 
the  Word,  but  the  celestial  angels  are 
they  who  are  in  love  from  the  Word. 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


179 


Tliat  by  the  temple,  at  Jerusalem,  in 
the  highest  sense,  was  signified  the 
Divine  Human  of  the  Lord,  lie  teaciies 
in  John :  Destroy  this  temjylc,  and  in 
three  dai/s  I  will  ra/se  it  up ;  He  spoke 
concerning  the  temple  of  his  body,  ii. 
19,  21 ;  and  where  tlie  Lord  is  meant, 
,  the  Word  also  is  meant,  because  He 
is  the  Word.  Now,  because  by  the 
interiors  of  tlie  temple,  were  represent- 
ed the  interiors  of  heaven  and  the 
church,  and  so  likewise  of  the  Word, 
therefore,  by  its  exteriors  were  repre- 
sented and  signified  the  exteriors  of 
heaven  and  the  church,  and  so  likewise 
of  the  Word,  which  are  the  sense  of 
its  letter.  Concerning  the  exteriors 
of  the  temple,  it  is  read,  that  They  toere 
built  of  whole  stone,  not  hewn,  and  of 
cedar  loithin;  and  that  all  its  walls 
within  were  carved  tcith  cherubs,  palm- 
trees,  and  openings  of  flowers ;  and  that 
the  floor  was  overlaid  with  gold,  1 
Kings  vi.  7,  29,  30;  by  all  which 
things,  also,  are  signified  the  externals 
of  the  Word,  which  are  the  holy  things 
of  the  sense  of  its  letter. 

222.  (6.)  That  the  Word  in  its 
Glory  was  represented  in  the  Lord, 
when  He  ims  transflgured. 

Concerning  the  Lord  transfigured 
before  Peter,  James  and  John,  it  is 
read,  That  his  face  shone  like  the  sun ; 
his  garments  became  like  the  light;  and 
that  Moses  and  Elijah  were  seen  talk- 
ing with  Him ;  and  that  a  bright  cloud 
overshadowed  the  disciples ;  and  that  a 
voice  was  heard  from  the  cloud,  saying, 
This  is  my  beloved  Son;  hear  Him, 
Matt.  xvii.  1  to  5.  I  have  been  in- 
structed, that  the  Lord  then  represent- 
ed the  Word ;  by  his  face,  which  shone 
like  the  sun,  was  represented  the  divine 
good  of  his  divine  love  ;  by  the  gar- 
ments, which  became  like  the  light,  the 
divine  truth  of  his  divine  wisdom ;  by 
Moses  and  Elijah,  the  historical  and 
prophetical  Word ;  by  Moses,  the  Word 
written  by  Him,  and  the  historical 
Word  in  general ;  and  by  Elijah,  all 
the  prophetical  Word  ;  by  the  bright 
cloud,  which  overshadowed  the  disciples, 
the  Word  in  the  sense  of  the  letter ; 
wherefore,  from  this  a  voice  was  heard, 
saying,  TTiis  is  my  beloved  Son ;  hear 


Him  ;  for  all  declarations  and  answers 
from  heaven  are  always  made  by  ulti- 
niates,  such  as  are  in  the  sense  of  the 
letter  of  the  Word  ;  for  they  arc  made 
by  the  Lord  in  fullness. 

223.  (7.)  That  the  power  of  the 
Word,  in  (Jltimates,  was  represented 
by  the  Nazaritcs. 

It  is  read  in  the  book  of  Judges 
concerning  Samson,  that  he  was  a 
Nazarite  from  his  mother's  womb,  and 
that  his  power  consisted  in  hair.  By 
Nazarite,  and  Nazariteship,  also,  is 
signified  hair.  That  his  power  con- 
sisted in  his  hair,  he  himself  made 
manifest,  saying.  There  hath  not  come 
a  razor  upon  7ny  head,  because  I  am  a 
Nazarite  from  my  mother's  womb ;  if 
I  be  shaved,  then  my  strength  toill  go 
from  me,  and  I  shall  become  weak,  and 
shall  be  like  any  other  man.  Judges 
xvi.  17.  No  one  can  know  why  the 
Nazariteship,  by  which  is  signified 
hair,  was  instituted,  and  whence  it  is 
that  Samson  had  strength  from  his 
hair,  unless  he  knows  what  is  signified 
in  the  Word  by  the  head.  By  the  head, 
is  signified  the  intelligence  which  an- 
gels and  men  have  from  the  Lord  by 
divine  truth ;  thence,  by  hair,  is  signi- 
fied intelligence  in  ultimates,  or  ex- 
tremes, from  divine  truth.  Because 
this  was  signified  by  hair,  therefore  it 
was  a  statute  for  the  Nazarites,  that 
they  should  not  shave  the  hair  of  their 
head,  because  that  is  the  Nazariteship 
of  God  upon  their  head.  Num.  vi.  1  to 
21 ;  and  also  it  was  for  that  reason  or- 
dained, that  the  high  priest  and  his 
sons  should  not  shave  their  heads,  lest 
they  should  die,  and  the  whole  house  of 
Israel  should  be  angry.  Lev.  x.  6. 
Since  the  hair,  on  account  of  this  sig- 
nification from  correspondence,  was  so 
holy,  therefore  the  Son  of  Man,  who  is 
the  Lord  as  to  the  Word,  is  described 
even  as  to  the  hair,  that  it  was  like 
white  wool,  like  snow,  Rev.  i.  14 ;  in 
like  manner,  the  Ancient  of  days,  Dan. 
vii.  9.  Since  hair  signifies  truth  in 
the  ultimates,  and  so  the  sense  of  the 
letter  of  the  Word,  therefore  those  who 
despise  the  Word,  in  the  spiritual 
world  become  bald  ;  and,  on  the  con- 
trary, those  who  have  highly  esteemed 


180 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


the  Word,  and  have  accounted  it  holy, 
appear  in  becoming  hair.  On  account 
of  this  correspondence,  it  Came  to  pass, 
that  forty-two  children,  because  they 
called  Elisha  bald,  were  torn  in  pieces 
by  two  she-bears,  2  Kings  ii.  23,  24 ; 
for  Elisha  represented  the  church,  as 
to  doctrine  from  the  Word,  and  she- 
bears  signify  the  power  of  truth  in  the 
ultimates.  That  the  power  of  divine 
truth,  or  of  the  Word,  is  in  the  sense 
of  its  letter,  is  because  the  Word 
there  is  in  its  fullness,  and  because  the 
angels  of  both  kingdoms  of  the  Lord, 
and  men,  are  together  in  that  sense. 

224.  (8.)  Concerning  the  ineffable 
Pmver  of  the  Word. 

Scarcely  any  one,  at  this  day,  knows 
that  there  is  any  power  in  truths ;  for 
it  is  supposed  that  it  is  only  a  word 
spoken  by  some  one  who  is  in  authori- 
ty, which  ought,  on  that  account,  to 
be  done ;  consequently,  that  truth  is 
only  like  breath  from  the  mouth,  or 
sound  in  the  ear ;  when  yet  truth  and 
good  are  the  constituent  principles  of 
all  tilings  in  both  worlds,  the  spiritual 
and  the  natural ;  and  that  they  are  the 
things  by  which  the  universe  was  cre- 
ated, and  by  which  the  universe  is  pre- 
served, and  also  by  which  man  was 
made ;  wherefore  those  two  are  all  in 
all.  That  the  universe  was  created 
by  the  Divine  Truth,  is  openly  said  in 
Jolm  :  In  the  beginning  teas  the  IVord, 
and  the  JVord  mas  God;  cdl  things 
tcerc  made  by  Him,  that  were  made. 
And  the  world  was  made  by  Him,  i.  1, 3, 
10.  And  in  David,  By  the  Word  of 
Jehovah  the  heavens  tcere  made,  Psalm 
xxxiii.  G.  By  the  Word,  in  both  pas- 
sages, is  meant  the  divine  truth.  Since 
the  universe  was  created  by  it,  there- 
fore, also,  the  universe  is  preserved  by 
it ;  for,  as  subsistence  is  perpetual  ex- 
istence, so  preservation  is  perpetual 
creation.  That  man  was  made  by  tlie 
divine  truth,  is,  because  all  the  things 
of  man  refer  themselves  to  the  under- 
standing and  the  will ;  and  the  under- 
standing is  the  receptacle  of  divine 
truth,  and  the  will,  of  divine  good ; 
consequently  the  human  mind,  which 
consists  of  those  two  principles,  is  no 
other  than  a  form  of  divine  truth  and 


divine  good,  spiritually  and  naturally 
organized :  the  human  brain  is  that 
form  ;  and  because  the  whole  of  man 
depends  on  his  mind,  all  the  things 
which  are  in  his  body  are  appendages, 
which  are  actuated  and  live  from  those 
two  principles.  Hence,  now,  it  may 
be  evident,  why  God  came  into  the 
world,  as  the  Word,  and  became  Man ; 
that  this  was  for  the  sake  of  redemp- 
tion ;  for  then  God,  by  the  Human, 
which  was  divine  truth,  put  on  all 
power,  and  cast  down,  subjugated  and 
reduced  under  obedience  to  Himself, 
the  hells,  which  had  grown  up  even  to 
the  heavens,  where  the  angels  were ; 
and  this  not  by  an  oral  word,  but  by 
the  divine  Word,  which  is  the  divine 
truth;  and  afterwards  He  opened  a 
great  gulf  between  the  hells  and  the 
heavens,  which  no  one  from  hell  can 
pass  over ;  if  any  one  attempts  it,  he  is, 
at  the  first  step,  tortured  like  a  serpent, 
placed  upon  plates  of  red-hot  iron,  or 
upon  a  heap  of  ants ;  for  devils  and 
satans,  as  soon  as  they  smell  the  divine 
truth,  instantly  precipitate  themselves 
into  the  deep,  cast  themselves  into  cav- 
erns, and  stop  them  up  so  closely,  that  not 
a  crack  may  be  open.  The  reason  is,  be- 
cause their  will  is  in  evils,  and  their 
understanding  in  falses,  and  so  in  the 
oppositos  to  divine  good  and  divine 
truth ;  and  because  the  whole  man 
consists  of  those  two  principles  of  life, 
as  was  said,  therefore  they  are  so  griev- 
ously tortured  all  over,  from  the  head 
to  the  heel,  on  the  sensible  perception 
of  the  opposite.  Hence  it  may  be  evi- 
dent, that  the  power  of  divine  trutli  is 
ineffable;  and  because  the  Word, 
which  is  in  the  Christian  church,  is 
the  continent  of  divine  truth,  in  the 
three  degrees,  it  is  manifest,  that  it  is 
that  which  is  meant  in  John  i.  3,  10. 
That  the  power  of  this  is  ineffable,  I 
can  confirm  by  many  documents  of  ex- 
perience, in  the  spiritual  world ;  but, 
because  they  exceed  belief,  or  appear 
incredible,  I  forbear  to  adduce  them ; 
some,  however,  you  may  see  related 
above,  n.  209.  From  these  things,  this 
memorable  inference  will  be  deduced ; 
That  the  church,  which  is  in  divine 
truths  from  the  Lord,  prevails  over  the 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


181 


hells,  and  that  it  is  that,  concerning 
which  the  Lord  said  to  Peter,  Upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  church,  and 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
it,  Matt.  xvi.  iJi.  The  Lord  said  these 
words,  when  Peter  liad  confessed  that 
He  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  liv- 
ing God,  16 ;  this  truth  is  meant  there 
by  rock;  for  by  rock,  every  where  in 
the  Word,  is  meant  the  Lord  as  to  di- 
vine truth. 

225.  V.  That  the  Doctrine  of 
THE  Church  should  be  derived 
from  the  Sense  of  the  Letter  of 
the  Word,  and  confirmed  by  it. 

It  was  shown  in  the  preceding  ar- 
ticles, that  the  Word,  in  the  sense  of 
the  letter,  is  in  its  fullness,  in  its  holi- 
ness, and  in  its  power ;  and  because 
the  Lord  is  the  Word,  and  the  First 
and  the  Last,  as  He  says  in  the  Reve- 
lation, i.  17,  it  follows  that  the  Lord, 
in  that  sense,  is  most  present,  and  that 
from  that,  He  teaches  and  enlightens 
man ;  but  these  things  are  to  be  de- 
monstrated in  this  order :  (L)  That  the 
Word,  without  doctrine,  is  not  under- 
stood. (2.)  That  doctrine  should  be 
derived  from  the  sense  of  the  letter  of 
the  Word.  (3.)  But  that  divine  truth, 
which  is  of  doctrine,  does  not  appear  to 
any  others,  than  those  who  are  in  illus- 
tration from  the  Lord. 

22(5.  (1.)  That  the  Word,  without 
Doctrine,  is  not  understood. 

The  reason  is,  because  the  Word, 
in  the  sense  of  the  letter,  consists  of 
mere  correspondences,  to  the  end  that 
spiritual  and  celestial  things  may  be  in 
it  together,  and  that  every  single  word 
may  be  a  continent  and  support  of 
them ;  therefore  divine  truths,  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter,  are  rarely  naked, 
but  clothed,  which  are  called  appear- 
ances of  truth ;  and  there  are  many 
things  accommodated  to  the  capacity 
of  the  simple,  who  do  not  elevate  their 
thoughts  above  such  things  as  they  see 
before  their  eyes ;  and  there  are  some 
things,  which  appear  like  contradic- 
tions, when  yet,  in  the  Word,  viewed 
in  its  own  spiritual  light,  there  is  no 
contradiction ;  and  also  in  some  pas- 
sages in  the  prophets,  there  are  names 
of  places  and  persons  brought  togeth- 


er, from  which  no  sense  can  be  elicit- 
ed.   Since,  therefore,  the  Word,  in 
the  sense  of  the  letter,  is  such,  it  may 
be  evident,  that  it  cannot  be  under- 
stood without  doctrine.    But  examples 
may  illustrate.    It  is  said  that  Jehovah 
repenteth,  Exod.  xxxii.  12,  14;  Jonah 
iii.  9,  iv.  2 ;  and  also  it  is  said,  that 
Jehovah  doth  not  repent.  Num.  xxiii. 
19 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  29.    These,  without 
doctrine,  are  not  conformable  to  each 
other.    It  is  said  that  Jehovah  visitetk 
the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
eration, Num.  xiv.  18 ;  and  also  it  is 
said,  that  The  father  shall  not  die  on 
account  of  the  son,  nor  the  son  on  ac- 
count of  the  father ;  but  every  one  in 
his  own  sin,  Deut.  xxiv.  16.    These  do 
not  disagree,  but  agree  by  doctrine. 
Jesus  says.  Ask,  and  it  shcdl  be  given 
to  you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  Jind;  and 
to  him  that  knocketh,  it  shall  be  open- 
ed, Matt.  vii.  7,  8 ;  xxi.  21 ,  22.  AVith- 
out  doctrine,  it  might  be  supposed  that 
every  one  would  receive  what  he  asks ; 
but  from  doctrine  it  is  known,  that 
whatever  man  asks  of  the  Lord,  this  is 
given.    This  also  the  Lord  teaches; 
If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  my  words  abide 
in  you,  whatever  ye  tvish,  ask,  and  it 
shall  be  done  for  you,  John  xv.  7.  The 
Lord  says.  Blessed  are  the  poor,  because 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  theirs,  Luke  vi. 
20.    Without   doctrine,   it   may  be 
thought,  tliat  heaven  is  for  the  poor, 
and  not  for  the  rich ;   but  doctrine 
teaches,  that  the  poor  in  spirit  are 
meant ;  for  the  Lord  says,  Blessed  are 
the  poor  in  sjiirit,  because  the  kingdom 
of  the  heavens  is  theirs.  Matt.  v.  5. 
Again,  the  Lord  says,  Judge  not,  lest 
ye  be  judged;  with  what  judgment  ye 
judge,  yc  shall  be  judged,  Matt.  vii.  1, 
2;  Luke  vi.  37.    Without  doctrine, 
any  one  might  be  led  to  conclude  that 
we  should  not  judge  concerning  a  bad 
man,  that  he  is  bad  ;  but  from  doctrine 
it. is  lawful  to  judge,  but  justly;  for 
the  Lord  says.  Judge  righteous  judg- 
ment, John  vii.  24.    Jesus  says.  Be  not 
ye  called  teacher;  because  one  is  your 
Teacher,  Christ.    Call  no  man  your 
father  on  the  earth  ;  for  one  is  your 
Father  in  the  heavens.    Neither  be  ye 


182 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


caUed  masters ;  for  one  is  your  Master, 
Christ,  Matt,  xxiii.  8,  9,  10.  Without 
doctrine,  it  would  be,  that  it  is  not 
lawful  to  call  any  one  teacher,  father, 
and  master;  but  from  doctrine,  it  is 
known,  that  it  is  lawful  in  a  natural 
sense,  but  not  in  a  spiritual  sense.  Je- 
sus said  to  the  disciples,  When  the 
Son  of  man  shall  sit  upon  the  throne 
of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel,  Matt.  xix.  28.  From  these 
words,  it  may  be  concluded,  that  the 
disciples  of  the  Lord  are  also  to  judge, 
when  yet  they  can  judge  no  one  ;  doc- 
trine, therefore,  will  reveal  this  myste- 
ry, by  this,  that  the  Lord  alone,  who 
is  omniscient,  and  knows  the  hearts  of 
all,  will  judge,  and  is  able  to  judge ; 
and  that,  by  his  .  twelve  disciples,  is 
meant  the  church  as  to  all  the  truths 
and  goods  which  it  has  from  the  Lord 
by  the  Word ;  whence  doctrine  con- 
cludes, that  those  are  to  judge  every 
one,  according  to  the  words  of  the 
Lord  in  John,  iii.  17,  18 ;  xii.  47,  48. 
There  are  many  other  things  in  the 
Word  similar  to  these,  from  which  it 
is  very  manifest,  that  the  Word,  with- 
out doctrine,  is  not  understood. 

227.  The  Word,  by  doctrine,  is  not 
only  understood,  but  it  also  shines  in 
the  understanding  ;  for  doctrine  is  like 
a  cliandelier  with  lighted  candles ;  a 
man  then  sees  many  things,  which  he 
liad  not  seen  before,  and  also  under- 
stands those  things,  which  he  had  not 
understood  before :  obscure  and  dis- 
cordant passages  he  either  does  not 
see  and  passes  by,  or  he  sees  and  ex- 
plains them  so  that  they  may  be  in 
accordance  uith  doctrine.  That  the 
Word  is  seen  from  doctrine,  and  ex- 
plained according  to  it,  is  testified  by 
experience  in  the  Christian  world.  All 
the  Reformed  see  the  Word  from  their 
doctrine,  and  they  explain  the  Word  ac- 
cording to  it;  in  like  manner,  the  Roman 
Catholics  from  theirs,  and  according  tp 
it ;  yea,  the  Jews  from  theirs,  and  accord- 
ing to  it ;  consequently  they  see  falses 
from  false  doctrine,  and  truths  from  true 
doctrine.  Hence  it  is  manifest,  that 
true  doctrine  is  like  a  lantern  in  the 
dark,  and  like  a  guide-post  in  the  ways. 


228.  From  these  things,  it  may  be 
evident,  that  those  who  read  the  Word, 
without  doctrine,  are  in  the  dark  con- 
cerning every  truth,  and  that  their 
mind  is  wandering  and  uncertain, 
prone  to  errors,  and  also  inclinable  to 
heresies,  which  they  embrace,  if  favor 
and  authority  support  them  and  their 
fame  be  not  endangered ;  for  the 
Word  is  to  them  like  a  candlestick 
without  light,  and  they  see  in  the 
shade,  as  it  were,  many  things ;  and 
yet  they  see  scarcely  any  thing,  for 
doctrine  alone  is  the  candle.  I  have 
seen  such  explored  by  the  angels,  and 
it  was  found  that  they  could  confirm 
from  the  Word  whatever  they  would, 
and  that  they  do  confirm,  particularly, 
those  things  which  are  of  their  love, 
and  of  the  love  of  those  whom  they  fa- 
vor. But  I  saw  them  stripped  of  their 
garments,  a  sign  that  they  were  with- 
out truths ;  garments  there  are  truths. 

229.  (2.)  That  Doctrine  should 
be  derived  from  the  Sense  of  the 
Letter  of  the  Word,  and  confirmed 
by  it. 

The  reason  is,  because  the  Lord 
is  there  present,  and  teaches  and  illus- 
trates; for  the  Lord  never  performs 
any  thing  except  in  fullness,  and  the 
Word,  in  the  sense  of  the  letter,  is  in 
its  fullness,  as  was  shown  above ; 
thence  it  is,  that  doctrine  should  be 
derived  from  the  sense  of  the  letter. 
The  doctrine  of  genuine  truth  may  al- 
so be  fully  derived  from  the  literal 
sense  of  the  Word  ;  for  the  Word,  in 
that  sense,  is  like  a  man  clothed, 
whose  face  is  bare,  and  whose  hands 
also  are  bare.  All  the  things  which- 
appertain  to  the  faith  and  life  of  man, 
consequently  to  his  salvation,  are  there 
naked  or  bare,  but  the  rest  are  clothed ; 
and  in  many  places  where  they  are 
clothed,  they  appear  through  the  cloth- 
ing as  objects  appear  to  a  woman 
through  thin  silk  before  her  face.  The 
truths  of  the  Word,  also,  as  they  are 
nmltiplied  from  the  love  of  them,  and 
as  by  this  they  are  arranged  in  order, 
shine  and  appear  more  and  more 
clearly. 

230.  It  may  be  supposed,  that  the 
doctrine  of  genuine  truth  might  be 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


188 


obtained  by  the  spiritual  sense  of  the 
Word,  whicli  is  given  by  the  science 
of  correspondences ;  but  doctrine  is 
not  obtained  by  that,  but  it  is  only 
illustrated  and  corroborated ;  for,  as 
was  before  said,  n.  208,  a  man,  by 
some  correspondences  which  are 
known,  may  falsify  the  Word,  by  con- 
joining and  applying  them  to  confirm 
that  whicii  is  fixed  in  his  mind  from 
a  principle  which  he  has  imbibed. 
Besides,  the  spiritual  sense  is  not  giv- 
en to  any  one,  except  by  the  Lord 
alone,  and  it  is  guarded  by  Him,  as 
the  angelic  heaven  is  guarded ;  for 
this  is  in  it. 

231.  (3.)  Tliat genuine  Truth,  which 
should  be  of  Doctrine,  in  the  Sense 
of  the  Letter  of  the  Word,  does 
not  appear  to  any  others,  than  those 
who  are  in  Illustration  from  the 
Lord. 

Illustration  is  irom  the  Lord  alone, 
and  with  those  who  love  truths  because 
they  are  truths,  and  make  them  uses 
of  life ;  with  others,  illustration  in  the 
Word  is  not  given.  That  illustration 
is  from  the  Lord  alone,  is,  because  the 
Word  is  from  Him,  and  thence  He  is 
ill  it.  That  those  have  illustration, 
who  love  truths  because  they  are 
truths,  and  make  them  uses  of  life,  is, 
because  they  are  in  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  in  them ;  for  the  Lord  is  the 
Truth  itself,  as  was  shown  in  the  chap- 
ter concerning  the  Lord ;  and  the 
Lord  is  then  loved,  when  man  lives  ac- 
cording to  his  divine  truths,  and  so 
when  uses  are  performed  from  them,  ac- 
cording to  these  words  in  John  :  In  that 
day,  ye  shall  knot/}  that  ye  are  in  Me, 
and  I  in  you.  He  who  hath  my  com- 
inandments,  and  doeth  them,  lovcth  Me ; 
and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest 
Myself  to  him ;  and  I  will  come  to 
him,  and  make  an  abode  with  him,  xiv. 
20,  21,  23.  These  are  they  who  are 
in  illustration,  when  they  read  the 
Word,  and  with  whom  the  Word 
shines  and  becomes  translucent.  The 
.  reason  why  the  Word,  with  those,  shines 
and  becomes  translucent,  is,  because 
there  is  a  spiritual  and  a  celestial 
sense  in  every  part  of  the  Word,  and 
these  senses  are  in  the  light  of  heaven ; 


wherefore,  through  these  senses,  and 
their  light,  the  Lord  flows  into  the  nat- 
ural sense  of  the  Word,  and  into  the 
light  of  this  with  man  ;  thence  man 
acknowledges  the  truth  from  an  interi- 
or perception,  and  then  sees  it  in  his 
thought,  and  this  as  often  as  he  is  in 
the  affection  of  truth,  for  the  sake  of 
truth ;  for  perception  comes  from  af- 
fection, and  thought  from  perception, 
and  thus  acknowledgment  is  made, 
which  is  caWeA  faith. 

232.  The  contrary  happens  to  those, 
who  read  the  Word  from  the  doctrine 
of  a  false  religion,  especially  to  those 
who  confirm  that  doctrine  from  the 
Word,  and  then  look  to  their  own  glo- 
ry, and  to  the  riches  of  the  world. 
With  these,  the  truths  of  the  Word  are 
as  in  the  shade  of  niglit,  and  falses  as 
in  the  light  of  day ;  they  read  truths, 
but  they  do  not  see  them  ;  and  if  they 
see  the  shadow  of  them,  they  falsify 
them.  These  are  they,  concerning 
whom  the  Lord  says,  that  They  have 
eyes,  and  they  do  not  see,  and  ears,  and 
they  do  not  understand,  Matt.  xiii.  14, 
15.  Thence  their  light,  in  spiritual 
things,  which  are  of  the  church,  be- 
comes merely  natural,  and  the  sight 
of  their  mind,  like  that  of  one  who 
sees  spectres  in  the  bed  when  he 
wakes  up  ;  or  like  that  of  one  walking 
in  the  night,  who  believes  himself 
awake  when  he  is  asleep. 

233.  It  has  been  given  me  to  speak 
with  many  after  death,  who  believed 
that  they  should  shine  like  the  stars  in 
heaven,  because,  as  they  said,  they 
had  accounted  the  Word  holy,  had  of- 
ten read  it  through,  had  collected 
thence  many  things,  by  which  they 
had  confirmed  the  tenets  of  their  faith, 
and  therefore  had  been  celebrated  as 
learned  men ;  whence  they  believed 
that  they  should  be  Michaels  and  Ra- 
phaels. But  many  of  them  were  ex- 
amined, as  to  the  love  from  which  they 
studied  the  Word ;  and  it  was  found 
that  some  studied  it  from  the  love  of 
themselves,  that  they  might  be  wor- 
shipped as  primates  of  the  church ; 
and  some  from  the  love  of  the  world, 
that  they  might  gain  riches ;  when 
these,  also,  were  examined,  as  to  what 


184 


Concerning  the  Saa-ed  Scripture, 


they  knew  from  the  Word,  it  was 
found  that  they  knew  nothing  thence 
of  genuine  truth,  but  only  such  as  is 
called  truth  falsified,  which  in  itself  is 
the  false  in  a  state  of  putridity,  for  in 
heaven  it  stinks ;  and  it  was  said  to 
them,  that  they  had  this  because  they 
themselves  and  the  world  were  the 
ends,  when  they  read  the  Word,  and 
not  the  truth  of  faith  and  the  good  of 
life ;  and  when  self  and  the  world 
become  ends,  then  the  mind,  in  read- 
ing the  Word,  is  fixed  in  self  and 
in  the  world ;  and  thence  they  think 
continually  from  their  proprium,  and 
the  proprium  of  man  is  in  thick  dark- 
ness, as  to  all  the  things  which  are  of 
heaven  and  the  church ;  in  which  state 
man  cannot  be  led  by  the  Lord,  and 
elevated  into  the  light  of  heaven  ;  con- 
sequently he  cannot  receive  any  influx 
from  the  Lord  through  heaven.  I  have 
also  seen  these  admitted  into  heaven, 
and  when  there  they  were  found  to  be 
without  truths,  they  were  cast  down  ; 
but  still  there  remained  with  them 
a  conceit  that  they  were  deserving. 
The  case  was  different  with  those  who 
had  studied  the  Word  from  the  affec- 
tion of  knowing  truth,  because  it  is 
truth,  and  serves  for  the  uses  of  life, 
not  only  of  their  own,  but  also  of  their 
neighbor's  :  those  I  have  seen  elevated 
into  heaven,  and  thus  into  the  light  in 
which  the  divine  truth  there  is ;  and 
then,  at  the  same  time,  exalted  into 
angelic  wisdom,  and  into  its  happiness, 
in  which  the  angels  of  heaven  are. 

234.  VL  That  uy  the  Sense  of 
THE  Letter  of  tue  Word,  there 
IS  Conjunction  with  the  Lord,  and 
Consociation  with  the  Angels. 

That  by  the  Word,  there  is  con- 
junction with  the  Lord,  is,  because  He 
is  the  Word,  that  is,  the  Divine  Truth 
itself  and  the  Divine  Good  therein ; 
that  conjunction  is  by  the  sense  of  the 
letter,  is,  because  the  Word,  in  that 
sense,  is  in  its  fullness,  in  its  holiness, 
and  in  its  power,  as  was  shown  above, 
in  its  proper  article.  This  conjunction 
does  not  appear  to  man,  but  it  is  in  the 
affection  of  truth,  and  in  the  percep- 
tion of  it.  That  by  the  sense  of  tiie 
letter,  there  is  consociation  with  the 


angels  of  heaven,  is,  because  the  spir- 
itual sense  and  the  celestial  sense  are 
within  that  sense,  and  the  angels  are 
in  those  senses;  the  angels  of  the 
Lord's  spiritual  kingdom,  in  the  spirit- 
ual sense  of  the  Word,  and  the  angels 
of  his  celestial  kingdom,  in  its  celestial 
sense :  these  two  senses  are  evolved  from 
the  natural  sense  of  the  Word,  whilst 
man,  who  accounts  the  Word  holy,  is 
reading  it.  The  evolution  is  instantane- 
ous ;  consequently  consociation  is  also. 

235.  That  the  spiritual  angels  are 
in  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word,  and 
the  celestial  angels  in  its  celestial 
sense,  has  been  manifested  to  me  by 
much  experience.  It  was  given  to  per- 
ceive, that,  while  I  was  reading  the 
Word  in  the  sense  of  its  letter,  com- 
munication was  made  with  the  heav- 
ens, now  with  this  society  there,  now 
with  that :  the  things  which  I  under- 
stood according  to  the  natural  sense, 
the  spiritual  angels  understood  accord- 
ing to  the  spiritual  sense,  and  the  ce- 
lestial angels  according  to  the  celestial 
sense,  and  this  in  an  instant ;  and  be- 
cause this  communication  has  been 
perceived  several  thousands  of  times, 
I  have  not  any  doubt  left  concerning 
it.  There  are  also  spirits  who  are  be- 
low the  heavens,  and  who  abuse  this 
communication ;  for  they  recite  some 
sayings  from  the  sense  of  the  letter  of 
the  Word,  and  immediately  observe 
and  note  tlic  society  with  wliich  com- 
numication  is  made :  this,  also,  I  have 
often  seen  and  heard.  From  these 
things,  it  has  been  given  to  know  by 
lively  experience,  that  the  Word,  as 
to  the  sense  of  its  letter,  is  a  divine 
medium  of  conjunction  with  the  Lord, 
and  of  consociation  with  the  angels  of 
heaven. 

23G.  But  it  shall  be  illustrated  by 
examples,  how  the  spiritual  angels 
perceive  their  sense,  and  the  celestial 
angels  theirs,  from  the  natural  sense, 
when  man  reads  the  Word.  Let  four 
commandments  of  the  decalogue  be 
for  examples;  as,  tiii:  Fifth  Com- 
mandment, Tkoii  s/ialt  not  kill.  By 
this,  man  not  only  understands  to  kill, 
l)Ut  also  to  cherish  hatred  and  breatlie 
revenge  even  to  dcatli ;  a  spiritual  an- 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


185 


gel,  for  killing,  understands  to  act  the 
devil  and  destroy  the  soul  of  man  ;  but 
a  celestial  angel,  for  killing,  under- 
stands to  cherish  hatred  towards  the 
Lord  and  the  Word.  The  Sixth 
Commandment,  Thou  shalt  not  com- 
mit adulttry.  Man,  by  committing  adul- 
tery, understands  to  commit  av boredom, 
to  do  obscene  things,  to  speak  lascivious 
words,  and  to  entertain  filthy  thoughts  ; 
a  spiritual  angel,  for  committing  adulte- 
ry, understands  to  adulterate  the  goods 
of  the  Word,  and  to  falsify  its  truths  ; 
but  a  celestial  angel,  for  committing 
adultery,  understands  to  deny  the  Di- 
vine of  the  Lord,  and  to  profane  the 
Word.  The  Seventh  Commandment, 
Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Man,  by  steal- 
ing, understands,  to  steal,  to  defraud, 
and,  under  any  pretence,  to  take  away 
from  the  neighbor  his  goods ;  a  spiritu- 
al angel,  for  stealing,  understands  to 
deprive  others  of  the  truths  and  goods 
of  their  faith,  by  falses  and  evils ;  but  a 
celestial  angel,  for  stealing,  under- 
stands to  attribute  to  himself  those 
things  which  are  the  Lord's,  and  to 
claim  to  himself  his  righteousness  and 
merit.  The  Eighth  Commandment, 
Tfiou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Man, 
by  bearing  false  witness,  understands, 
also,  to  tell  lies,  and  to  defame  any 
one ;  a  spiritual  angel,  for  bearing  false 
toitness,  understands  to  say,  and  to  per- 
suade others  to  believe,  that  the  false  is 
true,  and  evil  is  good,  and  vice  ver- 
sa; but  a  celestial  angel,  for  bearing 
false  tvitness,  understands  to  blaspheme 
the  Lord  and  the  Word.  From  these 
examples,  it  may  be  seen  how  the  spir- 
itual and  the  celestial  are  evolved  and 
extracted  from  the  natural  sense  of  the 
Word,  within  which  they  are ;  and, 
what  is  wonderful,  the  angels  extract 
their  senses,  without  knowing  what  the 
man  is  thinking ;  but  still  the  thoughts 
of  angels  and  men  make  one  by  corre- 
spondences, like  end,  cause  and  effect; 
ends,  also,  are  actually  in  the  celestial 
kingdom,  causes  in  the  spiritual  king- 
dom, and  effects  in  the  natural  king- 
dom ;  thence,  now,  the  consociation  of 
men  with  angels  is  by  means  of  the 
Word. 

237.  That  a  spiritual  angel  extracts 


and  calls'  forth  from  the  sense  of  the 
letter  of  the  Word  spiritual  things,  and 
a  celestial  angel,  celestial  things,  is,  be- 
cause those  things  are  according  to 
their  nature,  and  are  homogeneous. 
That  it  is  so,  may  be  illustrated  by  sim- 
ilar things  in  the  three  kingdoms  of  na- 
ture, the  animal,  the  vegetable  and  the 
mineral.  In  the  Animal  Kingdom  ; 
From  the  food,  when  it  has  become 
chyle,  the  vessels  derive  and  call  forth 
their  blood,  the  nervous  fibres,  their 
juice,  and  the  substances  which  are 
the  origins  of  the  fibres,  their  spirit.  Irt 
THE  Vegetable  Kingdom  ;  A  tree, 
with  its  trunk,  branches,  leaves  and 
fruit,  stands  upon  its  root;  and  from 
the  ground,  by  means  of  the  root,  it  ex- 
tracts and  calls  forth  a  grosser  juice  for 
the  trunk,  branches  and  leaves,  a 
purer,  for  the  fleshy  part  of  the  fruit,  and 
the  purest,  for  the  seeds  within  the  fruit. 
In  THE  Mineral  Kingdom  ;  In  the  bo- 
som of  the  earth,  in  some  places,  there 
are  minerals  impregnated  with  gold, 
silver,  copper  and  iron;  from  the  va- 
pors and  effluvia  from  rocks,  gold,  sil- 
ver and  iron,  respectively,  derive  their 
proper  elements,  and  the  watery  ele- 
ment carries  them  round  about. 

238.  Thie  Word,  in  the  letter,  is  like  a 
cabinet,  in  which  lie  in  order  precious 
stones,  pearls  and  diadems ;  and  when  a 
man  accounts  the  Word  holy,  and  reads 
it,  for  the  sake  of  the  uses  of  life,  the 
thoughts  of  his  mind  are,  comparatively, 
like  one  who  holds  such  a  cabinet  in 
his  hand,  and  sends  it  to  heaven,  and 
it  is  opened  in  its  ascent,  and  the  pre- 
cious things  therein  come  to  the  angels, 
who  are  interiorly  delighted  with  see- 
ing and  examininfj  them.  This  de- 
light  of  the  angels  is  communicated  to 
man,  and  makes  consociation,  and  also 
a  communication  of  perceptions.  For 
the  sake  of  this  consociation  wjth  an- 
gels, and,  at  the  same  time,  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Lord,  the  Holy  Supper 
was  instituted,  in  which  the  Bread  be- 
comes, in  heaven,  divine  good,  and 
the  Wine  becomes  divine  truth,  both 
from  the  Lord.  Such  correspondence 
is  from  creation,  to  the  end  that  the  an- 
gelic heaven,  and  the  church  upon  earth, 
and   the  spiritual  world    in  general, 


186 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


may  make  one  with  the  natural  world, 
and  that  the  Lord  may  conjoin  Himself 
with  both  at  the  same  time. 

239.  The  reason,  also,  why  the  con- 
sociation of  men  with  angels  is  effected 
by  the  natural  or  literal  sense  of  the 
Word,  is,  because,  in  every  man,  there 
are,  from  creation,  three  degrees  of  life, 
the  celestial,  the  spiritual  and  the  natu- 
ral ;  but  man  is  in  the  natural  degree  as 
long  as  he  is  in  the  world,  and  then  so 
far  in  the  angelic-spiritual  as  he  is  in 
genuine  truths,  and  so  far  in  the  celes- 
tial as  he  is  in  a  life  according  to  them ; 
but  still  he  does  not  come  into  the  spir- 
itual and  celestial  themselves,  till  after 
death,  because  these  two  are  included 
and  concealed  in  his  natural  ideas; 
M'herefore,  when  the  natural  goes  off 
by  death,  the  spiritual  and  the  celestial 
remain,  from  which  the  ideas  of  his 
thought  are  then  produced.  From 
these  things,  it  may  be  evident,  that  in 
the  Word  alone  there  is  spirit  and  life, 
as  the  Lord  says  :  The  words  which  I 
speak  unto  you  arc  spirit  and  life, 
John  vi.  63.  The  water  which  I  will 
give  unto  you  shall  become  a  fountain 
of  water,  springing  up  into  eternal  life, 
iv.  14.  Mart  doth  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  proceeding 
from  the  mouth  of  God,  Matt.  iv.  4. 
Work  for  the  meat  which  cndureth  unto 
eternal  life,  which  the  Son  of  Man  will 
give  to  you,  John  vi.  27. 

240.  VII.  That  thk  Word  is  in 
Ai,L  THE  Heavens,  and  that  thence 
IS  ANGELIC  Wisdom. 

That  the  Word  is  in  the  heavens,  has 
been  hitherto  unknown ;  nor  could  it 
be  made  known  so  long  as  the  church 
was  ignorant  that  angels  and  spirits  are 
men,  altogether  .similar,  in  face  and 
body,  to  men  in  our  world ;  and  that 
there  are  with  them  things  similar  to 
the  things  which  are  with  men,  in  all 
respects,  with  this  difTerence  only,  that 
they  are  spiritual,  and  that  all  the 
things  that  are  with  tirem,  are  from  a 
spiritual  origin ;  and  that  men  in  the 
world  are  natural,  and  that  all  the 
things  with  them,  are  from  a  natural 
origin.  As  long  as  this  was  concealed, 
it  could  not  be  known,  that  the  Word 
is  also  in  the  heavens,  and  that  it  is  read 


by  the  angels  there,  and  also  by  the 
spirits  who  are  under  the  heavens. 
But  lest  this  should  be  concealed  forev- 
er, it  has  been  given  me  to  be  in  com- 
pany with  angels  and  spirits,  and  to 
speak  with  them,  and  to  see  the  things 
that  are  with  them,  and  afterwards  to 
relate  many  things  which  I  have  seen 
and  heard ;  this  has  been  done  in  a 
work  concerning  Heaven  and  Hell, 
published  at  London  in  the  year  1758; 
from  which  it  may  be  seen,  that  angels 
and  spirits  are  men,  and  that  there  are 
with  them,  in  abundance,  all  the  things 
that  there  are  with  men  in  the  world. 
That  angels  and  spirits  are  men,  may  be 
seen  in  that  work,  n.  73  to  77,  and  n. 
453  to  45G ;  that  there  are  with  them 
things  similar  to  the  things  that  are 
with  men  in  the  v.orld,  n.  170  to  190; 
and  ako  that  there  is  divine  worship, 
and  that  there  is  preaching  in  the 
temples  with  them,  n.  221  to  227 ;  and 
that  there  are  writings  and  also  books, 
n.  253  to  264;  and  that  the  Sacred 
Scripture  or  the  Word  is  there,  n.  259. 

241.  As  to  what  respects  the  Word 
in  heaven,  it  is  written  in  a  spiritual 
style,  which  differs  entirely  from  a 
natural  style.  The  spiritual  style  con- 
sists of  mere  letters,  each  of  which  in- 
volves some  particular  sense ;  and 
there  are  little  lines,  curvatures  and 
dots  above  and  between  the  letters  and 
in  them,  wliich  exalt  the  sense.  The 
letters  witli  the  angels  of  the  spiritual 
kingdom  are  lii;c  tlie  letters  u.sed  in 
printing,  in  our  world,  and  the  letters 
with  the  angels  of  the  celestial  king- 
dom, are,  with  some,  like  Arabic  let- 
ters, and  with  some  like  the  old  He- 
brew letters,  but  inflected  above  and 
below,  with  marks  above,  between  and 
within  ;  each  of  these  also  involves  an 
entire  sense.  Because  their  writing  is 
such,  therefore  the  names  of  persons  and 
places  in  the  Word  witli  them  are  ex- 
pressed by  signs;  thence  it  is  understood 
by  the  wise,  what  spiritual  and  celestial 
thing  is  signified  by  e;!ch  ;  as  by  Moses, 
the  Word  of  God  written  by  him,  and  in 
a  general  sense,  the  historical  Word ; 
by  Elijah,  the  prophetical ;  by  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  Lord  as  to 
the  celestial  Divine,  the  spiritual  Di- 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


187 


viae  and  tlie  natural  Divine ;  by  Aaron, 
tlie  priestly  ollice  ;  by  David,  the  kingly 
otBce,  both  of  the  Lord ;  by  the  names 
of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  or  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel,  various  things  of  heav- 
en and  the  church  ;  similar  things  by 
tiie  names  of  the  twelve  disciples  of  the 
Lord ;  by  Zion  and  Jerusalem,  the 
church  as  to  doctrine  from  the  Word  ; 
by  the  land  of  Canaan,  the  church  it- 
self; by  the  places  and  cities  there,  on 
this  side  and  beyond  the  Jordan,  vari- 
ous things  which  are  of  the  church  and 
its  doctrine.  It  is  similar  with  num- 
bers; these  are  not  in  the  copies  of  the 
Word  which  are  in  heaven,  but,  instead 
of  them,  the  things  to  which  the  num- 
bers correspond.  From  these  things  it 
may  be  evident,  that  the  Word,  in  heav- 
en, is,  as  to  the  literal  sense,  similar,  and 
at  the  same  time  corresponding  to  our 
Word,  and  thus  that  they  are  one.  This 
is  wonderful,  that  the  Word  in  the  heav- 
ens is  so  written,  that  the  simple  under- 
stand it  in  simplicity,  and  the  wise  in 
wisdom  ;  for  there  are  many  curvatures 
and  marks  above  the  letters,  which,  as 
was  said,  exalt  the  sense ;  the  sim- 
ple do  not  attend  to  them,  nor -do  they 
know  them,  but  the  wise  attend,  each 
one  according  to  his  wisdom,  even  to 
the  highest.  A  copy  of  the  Word, 
WTitten  by  angels  inspired  by  the  Lord, 
is  preserved  amongst  every  larger  soci- 
ety, in  its  sacred  repository,  lest  the 
Word,  as  to  some  point,  slioidd  in  other 
places  be  altered.  The  Word  which  is 
in  our  world,  is  similar  to  the  Word  in 
heaven,  in  this,  that  the  simple  under- 
stand it  in  simplicity,  and  the  wise  in 
wisdom ;  but  this  is  effected  in  a  differ- 
ent manner. 

•242.  That  the  angels  have  all  their 
wisdom  by  the  Word,  they  themselves 
confess;  for  as  far  as  they  are  in  the 
understanding  of  the  Word,  so  far  they 
are  in  light.  The  light  of  heaven  is 
divine  wisdom,  which  to  their  eyes  is 
light.  In  the  sacred  repository  in 
which  a  copy  of  the  Word  is  laid  up, 
the  light  is  flammeous  and  bright, 
exceeding  every  degree  of  the  light 
which  is  out  of  it  in  heaven.  The  wis- 
dom of  the  celestial  angels  exceeds  the 
wisdom  of  the  spiritual  almost  as  much 


as  the  wisdom  of  these  angels  exceeds 
the  wisdom  of  men  ;  and  this  because 
the  celestial  angels  are  in  the  good  of 
love  from  the  Lord,  and  the  spiritual 
angels  are  in  the  truths  of  wisdom  from 
the  Lord ;  and  where  the  good  of  love 
is,  there  wisdom  resides  at  the  same 
time ;  but  where  truths  are,  there  re- 
sides no  more  of  wisdom,  than  there 
does,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  good  of 
love.  This  is  the  reason  why  the  Word, 
in  the  Lord's  celestial  kingdom,  is 
written  differently  from  the  Word  in 
his  spiritual  kingdom  ;  for,  in  the  Word 
of  the  celestial  kingdom,  the  things  ex- 
pressed are  the  goods  of  love,  and  the 
marks  are  affections  of  love ;  but  in  the 
word  of  the  spiritual  kingdom,  the 
things  expressed  are  the  truths  of  wis- 
dom, and  the  marks  are  interior  per- 
ceptions of  truth.  From  these  things 
it  may  be  concluded,  what  wisdom 
there  is  concealed  in  the  Word ,  which 
is  in  the  world,  for  in  it  all  angelic 
wisdom,  which  is  ineffable,  is  conceal- 
ed; and  the  man  who  is  made  an  an- 
gel by  the  Lord,  through  the  Word, 
comes  into  that  wisdom  after  death. 

243.  VIII.  That  the  Church  is 
FROM  THE  Word,  and  t.hat  it  is  such 
WITH  Man  as  is  his  Understanding 
OF  THE  Word. 

That  the  church  is  from  the  Word, 
does  not  fall  into  doubt ;  for  it  has  been 
shown  above,  that  the  Word  is  the  di- 
vine truth,  n.  189  to  192;  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  church  is  from  the 
Word,  n.  225  to  233  ;  and  that  con- 
junction with  the  Lord  is  by  the  Word, 
n.  234  to  239;  but  that  the  under- 
standing of  the  Word  makes  the  church, 
may  be  a  matter  of  doubt,  because 
there  are  those  who  believe  that  they 
are  of  the  church,  because  they  have 
the  Word,  read  it  or  hear  it  from  a 
preacher,  and  know  something  of  the 
sense  of  its  letter;  but  how  this  and 
that  in  the  Word  is  to  be  understood, 
they  do  not  know,  and  some  do  not 
care;  wherefore  it  will  here  be  con- 
firmed, that  the  Word  does  not  make 
the  church,  but  the  understanding  of  it, 
and  that  the  church  is  such,  as  is  the 
understanding  of  the  Word  with  those 
who  are  in  the  church. 


1 88  Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


244.  That  the  church  is  according 
to  the  understanding  of  the  Word,  is, 
because  the  church  is  according  to  the 
truths  of  faith  and  the  goods  of  charity, 
and  these  two  are  universals  which  are 
not  only  scattered  about  through  all 
the  literal  sense  of  the  Word,  but  they 
are  also  concealed  within,  like  precious 
things  in  treasuries.  Those  things 
wJiich  are  in  its  literal  sense,  appear  to 
every  man,  because  they  flow  in  directly 
into  the  eyes  ;  but  those  things  which 
are  hid  in  the  spiritual  sense  do  not 
appear,  except  to  those  who  love  truths 
because  they  are  truths,  and  do  goods 
because  they  are  goods ;  to  these  the 
treasure  is  manifested,  which  the  literal 
sense  covers  and  guards ;  and  these  are 
the  things  which,  essentially,  make  the 
church. 

245.  That  the  church  is  according 
to  its  doctrine,  and  that  doctrine  is  from 
the  Word,  is  known ;  but  still  doctrine 
does  not  make  the  church,  but  sound- 
ness and  purity  of  doctrine,  conse- 
quently the  understanding  of  the 
Word ;  but  doctrine  does  not  institute 
and  make  the  particular  church,  which 
is  with  every  single  man,  but  faitli 
and  a  life  according  to  it;  in  like  man- 
ner, the  Word  does  not  institute  and 
make  tlie  church,  in  particular,  with 
every  man,  but  a  faith  according  to  the 
truths,  and  a  life  according  to  the  goods, 
wliich  he  derives  thence  and  applies 
to  himself  The  AVord  is  like  a  mine, 
in  wliich  gold  and  silver  arc  at  the  bot- 
tom in  all  abundance  ;  and  like  a  mine 
in  which,  more  and  more  interiorly, 
stones  more  and  more  precious  are 
concealed :  these  mines  are  opened 
according  to  the  understanding  of 
the  Word.  Without  an  understanding 
of  the  Word,  such  as  it  is  in  itself,  in 
its  bosom  and  in  its  depth,  it  would 
no  more  make  the  church  with  man, 
than  those  mines  in  the  continent  of 
Asia  could  make  an  European  rich, 
unless  he  were  among  tlio.se  who  possess 
and  work  them.  The  Word,  with  those 
who  search  for  the  truths  of  faith,  and 
the  goods  of  lile  tlience,  is  like  the 
treasures  with  the  king  of  Persia,  the 
Great  Mogul,  or  the  emperor  of  China; 
and  the  men  of  the  church  are  like  the 


officers  placed  over  them,  to  whom  per- 
mission is  given  to  take  thence,  for  their 
uses,  as  much  as  they  please ;  but  those 
who  only  possess  the  Word,  and  read  it, 
and  yet  do  not  seek  after  genuine  truths 
for  faith,  and  genuine  goods  for  life,  are 
like  those,  who  from  hearsay,  know  that 
so  great  treasures  are  there,  but  do  not 
receive  from  them  any  money.  Those 
who  possess  the  Word,  and  do  not  de- 
rive thence  any  understanding  of  gen- 
uine truth,  and  will  of  genuine  good, 
are  like  those  who  believe  themselves  to 
be  rich,  from  having  borrowed  money 
of  others,  or  having  in  possession  the 
farms,  houses  and  merchandise  ofothers : 
that  this  is  fanciful  every  one  sees.  They 
are  also  similar  to  those  who  go  dress- 
ed in  fine  clothes,  and  ride  in  gilded 
chariots,  with  attendants  before^  behind 
and  at  the  sides,  and  yet  not  any  of 
those  things  are  their  own  property. 

246.  Such  was  the  Jewish  nation: 
wherefore  tiiat  nation,  because  it  pos- 
sessed the  Word,  was  likened  by  the 
Lord  to  a  rich  man,  who  was  clothed 
in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fared  sump- 
tuously every  day  ;  and  yet  he  had  not 
derived  from  the  Word  so  much  of 
good  and  truth,  as  to  show  mercy  to 
poor  Lazarus,  who  lay  before  his  gate 
full  of  pores.  That  nation  not  only  did 
not  appropriate  to  it.-^elfauy  truths  from 
the  Word,  but  it  appropriated  falses  in 
such  abundance,  that,  at  length,  not 
any  truth  appeared  to  them  ;  for  truths 
are  not  only  covered  over  by  falses,  but 
they  are  also  obliterated  and  rejected  : 
thence  it  was,  tliat  they  did  not  ac- 
knowledge the  Messiah,  althougli  all 
the  prophets  had  announced  his  advent. 

247.  In  many  places  in  the  proph- 
ets, the  church,  with  the  Israelitish  aud 
Jewish  nation,  is  described  as  being 
entirely  destroyed  and  annihilated  by 
this,  that  they  falsified  the  meaning  or 
understanding  of  the  Word  ;  for  noth- 
ing else  destroys  the  church.  The 
understanding  of  the  Word,  as  well  the 
true  as  the  false,  is  described  in  the 
prophets  by  Ephraim,  particularly  in 
Hosea ;  for  by  Ephraim,  in  the  Word, 
is  signified  the  understanding  of  the 
Word  in  the  church.  Since  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  Word  makes  the 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord- 


189 


church,  therefore  Ephraim  is  called  in 
the  Word  a  dear  son,  and  a  pleasant 
CHILD,  Jerem.  xxxi.  21 ;  the  first- 
born, 20;    THE    STRENGTH    OF  THE 

HEAD  OF  Jehovah,  Psalm  Ix.  9,  cviii. 
9 ;  POWERFUL,  Zech.  x.  7 ;  filled  with 
THE  BOW,  ix.  13 ;  and  the  sons  of 
Ephraim  are  called  armed,  and  shoot- 
ers WITH  THE  BOW,  Psalm  Ixxviii.  9 ; 
for  by  the  how  is  signified  doctrine 
from  the  Word  fighting  against  falses. 
Therefore,  also,  Ephraim  was  removed 
to  the  right  hand  of  Israel,  and  blessed; 
and  also  he  was  accepted  instead  of 
Reuben,  Gen.  xlviii.  5,  11,  and  the  fol- 
lowing verses.  And  therefore  Ephrcdm, 
with  his  brother  Manasseh,  icas  exalted, 
by  Moses,  in  the  benediction  of  the  sons 
(^Israel, under  the  name  of  Joseph,  their 
father,  above  all,  Deut.  xxxiii.  13  to 
17.  But  what  the  church  is,  when  the 
understanding  of  the  Word  is  lost,  is 
also  described  by  Ephraim,  in  the 
prophets,  particularly  in  Hosea,  as  in 
these  passages ;  Israel  and  Ephraim 
will  fall  together.  Ephraim  will  be  for 
a  wilderness.  Ephraim  is  oppressed 
and  shaken  in  judgment,  Hosea  v. 
5,  9,  1 1 ,  12,  13,  14.  What  shall  I  do 
to  thee,  O  Ephraim,  because  thy  holi- 
ness, like  the  morning  cloud,  and  like 
the  early  falling  dew,goeth  away  1  vi. 
4.  They  shall  not  dwell  in  the  land  of 
Jehovah ;  Ephraim  shall  return  into 
Egypt,  and  in  Assyria  he  shall  eat 
what  is  unclean,  ix.  3 ;  the  land  of  Je- 
hovah is  the  church ;  Egypt  is  the  sci- 
entific of  the  natural  man ;  Assyria  is 
reasoning  thence ;  fi'om  which  two 
together,  the  Word,  as  to  the  interior 
understanding  of  it,  is  falsified ;  there- 
fore it  is  said,  that  Ephraim  shall  re- 
turn into  Egypt,  and  in  Assyria  he  shall 
eat  what  is  unclean.  Ephraim  ftcdeth 
on  the  wind,  and  followcth  after  the 
east  wind.  Every  day  he  mulfiplieth 
falsehood  and  vastation  ;  he  maketh  a 
covenant  with  Assyria,  and  oil  is  carri- 
ed into  Egypt,  Hosea  xii.  2.  To  feed 
OH  the  wind,  to  follow-  after  the  east 
wind,  and  to  multiply  fcdsehood  and 
vastation,  is  to  falsify  truths,  and  thus 
t6  destroy  the  church.  The  like  is 
signified  by  the  whoredom  of  Ephraim ; 
for  ichoixdom  signifies  the  falsification 


of  the  understanding  of  the  Word,  that 
is,  of  its  genuine  truth,  as  in  these  pas- 
sages :  /  know  Ephraim,  that  he  hath 
altogether  committed  whoredom,  and  Is- 
rael is  defied,  Hosea  v.  3.  In  the 
house  of  Israel,  I  have  seen  a  horrible 
thing ;  there  Ephrcdm  committed  whore- 
dom, and  Israel  is  defiled,  vi.  10.  Israel 
is  the  church  itself,  and  Ephraim  is  the 
understanding  of  the  Word,  from  which 
and  according  to  which  the  church  is ; 
wherefore  it  is  said,  Ephraim  has  com- 
mitted whoredom,  and  Israel  is  defiled. 
Since  the  church,  with  the  Israelitish 
and  Jewish  nation,  was  utterly  destroy- 
ed by  falsifications  of  the  Word,  there- 
fore it  is  said  concerning  Ephraim,  / 
will  give  thee  up,  Ephraim,  I  will  deliver 
thee  up,  Israel,  like  Admah,  and  I  will 
set  thee  as  Zcboim,  Hosea  xi.S.  Now, 
because  the  prophet  Hosea,  from  the  first 
chapter  to  the  last,  treats  concerning 
the  falsification  of  the  genuine  under- 
standing of  the  Word,  and  concerning 
the  destruction  of  the  church  thereby, 
and  because  by  whoredom  is  signified 
the  falsification  of  the  truth  there,  there- 
fore it  was  commanded  that  prophet, 
that  he  should  represent  the  state  of  the 
church,  by  taking  to  himself  a  harlot  to 
toifc,  and  begetting  children  of  her,  Ho- 
sea i. ;  and  again,  that  he  shmdd  take 
a  woman,  an  adultcrtss,  iii.  These 
passages  have  been  cited,  that  it  may  be 
known  and  confirmed  from  the  Word, 
that  the  church  is  such,  as  the  under- 
standing of  the  word  in  it ;  excellent  and 
precious,  if  the  understanding  be  firom 
the  genuine  truths  of  the  Word,  but 
destroyed,  yea,  filthy,  if  from  those  that 
are  falsified. 

248.  IX.  That  the  Marriage  of 
THE   Lord   and  the  Church,  and 

THENCE  THE  MaRRIAGE  OF  THE  GoOD 

AND  THE  True,  is  in  every  Part  of 
THE,  Word. 

That  the  marriage  of  the  Lord  and 
the  church,  and  thence  the  marriage 
of  the  good  and  the  true,  is  in  every 
part  of  the  Word,  has  not  hitherto  been 
seen ;  nor  could  it  be  seen,  because  the 
spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  has  not  be- 
fore been  disclosed,  and  that  marriage 
cannot  be  seen,  except  by  that;  for 
there  are  two  senses  in  the  Word, 


190 


ConcemiTig  the  Saa  ed  Scripture^ 


concealed  iu  the  sense  of  its  letter, 
which  are  called  the  spiritual  and  the 
celestial.  In  the  spiritual  sense,  in  the 
Word,  those  things  which  are  of  it  re- 
fer themselves  chiefly  to  the  church  ; 
and  in  the  celestial,  chiefly  to  the  Lord ; 
and  also  in  the  spiritual  sense,  those 
things  which  are  of  it  refer  themselves 
to  the  divine  truth,  and  in  the  celestial, 
to  the  divine  good ;  thence,  there  is  in 
the  Word  that  marriage.  But  this  does 
not  appear  to  any  one  except  to  him, 
who,  from  the  spiritual  and  celes- 
tial senses,  knows  the  significations  of 
words  and  names ;  for  some  words  and 
names  are  predicated  of  good,  and  some 
of  truth,  and  some  include  both ;  where- 
fore, without  that  knowledge,  that  mar- 
riage in  every  part  of  the  Word  cannot 
be  seen  ;  this  is  the  reason,  why  this 
arcanum  was  never  before  discovered. 
Since  there  is  such  a  marriage  in  every 
part  of  the  Word,  therefore  many  times, 
in  the  Word,  there  are  two  expressions, 
which  appear  like  repetitions  of  one 
tiling ;  but  yet  they  are  not  repetitions, 
but  one  refers  itself  to  good,  and  the 
other  to  truth,  and  both,  taken  together, 
make  tlieir  conjunction,  and  so  one 
thing.  Thence  also  is  the  divine  ho- 
liness of  the  Word  ;  for,  in  every  divine 
work,  there  is  good  conjoined  to  truth, 
and  truth  conjoined  to  good. 

•249.  It  is  said,  that  the  marriage  of 
the  Lord  and  tiie  church,  and  thence 
the  niarriage  of  the  good  and  the  true, 
is  in  every  pnrt  of  the  Word,  because, 
where  the  marriage  of  the  Lord  and  the 
church  is,  there  also  is  tlic  marriage  of 
the  good  and  the  true,  for  this  marriage- 
is  from  that ;  lor  when  the  church,  or 
the  man  of  the  church,  is  in  truths,  then 
the  Lord  flows  into  his  truths  with  good, 
and  vivifies  them  :  or,  what  is  the  same, 
when  the  man  of  the  church  is  in  the  un- 
derstanding of  truth,  then  the  Lord,  by 
the  good  of  charity,  flows  into  his  under- 
standing, and  thus  infuses  life  into  him. 

Tliere  are  two  faculties  of  life  with 
every  man,  whicli  are  called  the  under- 
standing and  tiic  will :  the  understand- 
ing is  the  receptacle  of  truth,  and 
thence  of  wisdom  ;  and  the  will  is  the 
receptacle  of  good,  and  thence  of  char- 
ity ;  these  two  faculties  should  make 


one,  that  man  may  be  a  man  of  the 
church  ;  and  they  do  make  one  when 
man  fornis  the  understanding  from  gen- 
uine truths  and  this  is  done  to  appear- 
ance as  by  himself,  and  when  his  will 
is  filled  with  the  good  of  love,  this  is 
done  by  the  Lord ;  thence  man  has  the 
life  of  truth,  and  the  life  of  good ;  the 
life  of  truth  in  the  understanding,  and 
the  life  of  good  in  the  will,  which,  when 
they  are  united,  do  not  make  two,  but 
one  life.  This  is  the  marriage  of  the 
Lord  and  the  church,  and  also  the  mar- 
riage of  the  good  and  the  true  with 
man. 

250.  That  there  are  in  tlie  Word 
two  expressions,  which  appear  like  rep- 
etitions of  the  same  thing,  may  be 
seen  by  readers  who  attend  to  it ;  as, 
brother  znA  companion, poor  and  needy, 
wilderness  and  elescrt,  void  and  emp- 
tiness, foe  and  enemy,  sin  and  iniquity, 
emger  andicratk, nation  and  people,  joy 
and  gleedness,  mourning  and  weeping, 
justiee  and  judgment,  &oC.,  which  ap- 
pear like  synonymous  expressions,  when 
yet  they  are  not  so ;  for  brother,  poor, 
tcildcrness,  foe,  sin,  anger,  nation,  joy, 
mourning  and  justice,  are  predicated  of 
good,  and  in  the  opposite  sense,  of  evil ; 
but  eompanion,  neeely, desert,  emptiness, 
enemy,  iniquity,  tnrath,  people, gladness, 
jpceping  and  judgment,  are  predicated 
of  truth,  and  in  the  opposite  sense,  of 
the  false  ;  and  yet  it  appe;irs  to  the  rea- 
der, who  does  not  know  this  arcanum, 
that  poor  and  tieedy,  wilderness  andrffi- 
ert,  void  and  emptiness,  &-c.,  are  one 
thing,  and  yet  they  are  not;  but  they 
become  one  thing  by  conjunction.  In 
the  Word,  also,  many  things  Jire  joined 
together,  zs  jirc  and  fame,  gold  and  sil- 
ver, brass  and  iro?i,  icood  and  stone, 
breetd  and  wine, purple  znd  Jin e  linen, 
&-C. ;  because  fire,  gold,  brass,  xcood, 
bread  and  purple,  are  predicated  of 
good  ;  hut  fame,  silver,  iron,  stone,  wa- 
ter, wine,  andjine  linen,  are  predicated  of 
truth.  In  like  manner,  it  is  said,  that 
men  should  love  God  with  the  whole 
heart  and  with  the  whole  soul :  and  al- 
so, that  God  will  create  in  man  a  new 
heart  and  a  new  spirit ;  for  heart  is  pred- 
icated of  the  good  of  love,  and  soul 
and  spirit  of  the  truths  of  faith.  There 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord.. 


191 


are  also  words,  which,  because  they 
partake  of  hoih,  as  well  of  the  good  as 
the  true,  arc  used  by  themselves  with- 
out others  adjoined ;  but  these  and  ma- 
ny more  things  are  not  apparent,  except 
to  the  angels,  and  to  those  who,  while 
they  are  in  the  natural  sense,  are  also 
in  the  spiritual  sense. 

251.  It  would  be  tedious  to  show 
from  the  Word,  that  there  are  two  such 
expressions  in  the  Word,  which  appear 
like  repetitions  of  the  same  thing,  for  it 
would  fill  many  pages  ;  but,  that  doubt 
may  be  removed,  I  will  adduce  the  pas- 
sages where  nation  and  people,  and 
where  joy  and  gladness  are  used  to- 
gether.   The  passages  where  nation 
and  people  are  named,  are  these  ;  Ah 
sinful  NATION,  A  PEOPLE  laden  with  iti- 
iqnit)/ ,l^a.\a.h.  i.  4.  The  peoplv^  walk- 
ing in  darkness,  saiv  a  great  light; 
thou  hast  multiplied  the  nation,  ix.  1, 
2.    Assyria,  the  rod  of  mine  anger ; 
I  will  send  him  against  a  hypocritical 
NATION,  /  will  give  him  a  charge 
against  the  people  of  my  wrath,  x.  5, 
6.    It  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
THE  nations  shall  seek  the  Root  of 
Jesse,  which  standethfor  a  sign  of  the 
people,  xi.  10.    Jehovah,  who  smiteth 
the  people  tcith  an  incurable  wound, 
ruling  the  nations  with,  anger,  xiv.  6. 
In  that  day  shall  be  brought',  as  an  of- 
fering to  Jehovah  of  hosts,  a  people 
distracted  and  peeled,  and  a  nation 
marked  out  and  trampled  upon,  xviii.  2. 
The  strong  people  shall  honor  thee, 
the  city  of  powerful  nations  slmllfear 
thee,  XXV.  3.    Jehovah  will  destroy  the 
covering  upon  all  people,  the  veil  xtpon 
all  nations,  XXV.  8.    Approach,  ye 
nations,    and   hearken,  ye  people, 
xxxiv.  1.    I  have  called  thee  for  a  cov- 
'  cnant  of  THE  veovijE,  for  alight  of  the 
nations,  xlii.  6.  Let  allTUE  nations  be 
gathered  together,  and  let  the  people 
come  together,  xliii.  9.    Behold,  I  will 
lift  up  my  hand  towards  the  nations, 
and  my  standard  towards  the  people, 
xlix.  22.    I  have  given  Him  for  a  loit- 
ness  to  THE  people,  a  Prince  and  a 
Lawgiver  to  the  nations,  liv.  4,5.  Be- 
hold a  people  coming  from  the  land  of 
the  north,  and  a  great  nation  from  the 
sides  of  the  land,  Jerem.  vi.  22,  23.  / 


will  not  make  thee  hear  the  calumny  of 
THE  nations  any  more,  andthoii  shalt 
not  bear  the  reproach  of  the  people 
any  7nore,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  15.    All  peo- 
ple and  nations  shall  worship  Him, 
Dan.  vii.  14.    Let  not  the  nations 
make  a  by-word  concerning  them,  and 
say  among  the  people,  Wliere  is  their 
God  ?    Joel  ii.  7.     The  remains  of 
my  PEOPLE  shall  spoil  them,  and  the  res- 
idue of  my  NATION  shall  inherit  them, 
Zeph.  ii.  9.    Many  people  and  numer- 
ous NATIONS  shall  come  to  seek  Jehovah 
in  Jerusalem,  Zech.  viii.  22.    Mine  eyes 
have  seen  thy  salvation,  which  thou  hast 
prepared  before  the  face  of  all  people, 
a  light  for  the  eidightcning  of  the  na- 
tions,  Luke  ii.  30,  31,  32.  Thou 
hast  redeemed  us  by  thy  blood,  out  of 
every  people  and  nation,  Rev.  v.  9. 
Thou  must  agcdn  prophesy  over  people 
and  nations,  x.  11.     Thou  wilt  set  me 
for  the  head  of  the  nations  ;  a  people 
which  I  had  not  known  tcill  serve  me, 
Psaim  xviii.  43.    Jehovah  frustrateth 
the  counsel  of  the  nations.  He  sub- 
verteth  the  thoughts  of  the  people, 
xxxiii.  10.     Thousettestus  as  a  proverb 
among  THE  nations,  a  shaking  of  the 
head  among  the  people,   xliv.  14.. 
Jehovah  will  subdue  the  people  under 
us,  and  the  nations  under  our  feet ; 
Jehovah  rcigneth  over  the  nations,  the 
voluntary  o  f  the  people  are  gathered 
together,  xlvii.  3,  8,  9.     The  people 
will  confess  Thee,  and  the  nations 
will  sing  praise,  because  Thou  wilt 
judge  the  people  in  uprightness,  and 
wilt  lead  THE  nations  upo7i  the  earth, 
Ixvii.  3,  4.    Remember  me,  Jehovah,  in 
the  good  pleasure  of  thy  people,  that 
I  may  be  glad  in  the  joy  of  thy  nations, 
cvi.  4, 5  :  besides  in  other  places.  The 
reason  why  nations  and  people  are  men- 
tioned at  the  same  time,  is,  because,  by 
nations,  are  meant  those  who  are  in  good, 
and  in  the  opposite  sense,  those  who  are 
in  evil ;  and  by  people,  those  who  are  in 
truths,  and  in  the  opposite  sense,  those 
who  are  in  falses ;  wherefore  those  who 
are  of  the  Lord's  spiritual  kingdom,  are 
called  people,  and  those  who  are  of  the 
Lord's  celestial  kingdom,  are  called 
nations;   for  all  in  the  spiritual  king- 
dom are  in  truths,  and  thence  in  intel- 


192 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


ligence ;  but  all  in  the  celestial  king- 
dom are  in  goods,  and  thence  in  wisdom. 

252.  It  is  similar  with  many  others ; 
as  that  where  joy  is  mentioned,  gl.\d- 
NESS  also  is  mentioned,  as  in  these 
passages :  Behold  joy  and  gladness 
to  slay  an  or,  Isaiah  xxii.  13.  TJui/ 
shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and 
sorrow  and  sighing  shall  jlee  away, 
XXXV.  10;  li.  11.    Gladness  and  joy 
are  cut  off  from  the  house  of  our  God, 
Joel  i.  16.     The  voice  of  joy  shall 
cease,  and  the   voice   of  gladness, 
Jerem.  vii.  34;  xxv.  10.     The.  fast  of 
the  tenth  shall  be  to  the  house  of  Judah 
for  JOY  and  gladness,  Zech.  viii.  19. 
Be  glad  in  Jerusalem,  and  rejoice  in 
her,  Isaiah  Ixvi.  10.    Rejoice  and  be 
glad,  O  daughter  of  Edom,  Sam.  iv. 
21.     The  heavens  shall  be  glad,  and 
the  earth  shall  rejoice.  Psalm  Ixviii.  3. 
They  will  make  me  hear  joy  and  glad- 
ness, li.  10.    Joy  and  gladness  shall 
be  found  in  Zion,  confession  and  the 
voice  of  singing,  Isaiah  li.  3.  There 
shcdl  be  gladness,  and  many  shall 
rejoice  at  his  birth,  Luke  i.  14.  T 
tvill  make  the  voice  of  joy  and  the  voice 
of  gladness  cease;  the  voice  of  the 
bridegroom  and  the  voice  of  the  bride, 
Jerem.  vii.  34  ;  xvi.  9 ;  xxv.  10.  There 
shall  yet  be  heard,  in  this  place,  the 
voice  of  joy,  and  the  voice  of  glad- 
ness, and  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom, 
and  the  voice  of  the  bride,  10, 
1 1  :  and  in  other  places.    The  reason 
tliat  both,  jVy  as  well  as  gladness,  arc 
mentioned,  is,  because ^'o^  is  predicat- 
ed of  good,  and  gladness  of  truth, 
or  joy  of  love,  and  gladness  of  wisdom  ; 
for  joy  is  of  the  heart,  and  gladness  of 
the  spirit;  or  joy  is  of  the  will,  and 
gladness  is  of  the  understanding.  That 
the  marriage  of  the  Lord  and  the 
church  is  also  in  these,  is  manifest  from 
this,  that  it  is  said,  The  voice  of  joy 
and  the  voice  of  gladness,  the  voice  of 
the  bridegroom  and  the  voice  of  the 
bride,  Jerem.  vii.  34  ;  xvi.  9;  xxv.  10; 
xxxiii.  10,  11:  and  the  Lord  is  the 
bridegroom,  and  the   church  is  the 
bride.     That  the  Lord  is  the  bride- 
groom, may  be  seen  in  Matt.  ix.  15 ; 
Mark  ii.  19,  20:  Luke  v.  3:  and  that 
the  church  is  the  bride,  Rev.  xxi.  2, 


9 ;  xxii.  17.  Wherefore  John  the  Bap- 
tist said  concerning  Jesus,  He  who  hath 
the  bride  is  the  bridegroom,  John  iii.  29. 

253.  On  account  of  the  marriage  of 
divine  good  and  divine  truth,  in  every 
part  of  the  Word,  it  is  said,  in  very 
many  places,  Jehovah  God,  and  also, 
Jehovah  and  the  Holy  "One  of  Israel, 
as  if  they  were  two,  when  yet  they  are 
one ;  for  by  Jehovah  -is  meant  the 
Lord,  as  to  the  divine  good  of  divine 
love,  and  by  God  and  by  the"  Holy 
One  of  Israel  is  meant  the  Lord,  as 
to  the  divine  truth  of  the  divine  wis- 
dom. That  Jehovah  and  God,  and 
Jehovah  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel, 
are  mentioned  in  very  many  places,  in 
the  Word,  and  yet  one  is  meant,  may 
be  seen  in  the  Doctrine  concerning 
THE  Lord  the  Redeemer. 

254.  X.  That  Heresies  may  be 
taken  fro:\i  the.  Sense  of  the  Let- 
ter OF  the  Word,  but  that  to  con- 
firm THEM  IS  HURTFUL. 

It  was  shown  above,  that  the  Word 
cannot  be  understood  without  doctrine, 
and  that  doctrine  is  like  a  candle,  that 
genuine  truths  may  be  seen  ;  and  this 
because  the  Word  was  written  by  mere 
correspondences ;  thence  it  is,  that 
many  things  there  are  aj)pearances  of 
truth,  and  not  naked  truths ;  and  many 
things  are  written  according  to  the 
capacity  of  the  merely  natural  man, 
and  vet  so  that  the  simple  may  under- 
stand them  in  simplicity,  the  intelligent 
in  intelligence,  and  the  wise  in  wis- 
dom. Now,  because  the  Word  is 
such,  appearances  of  truth,  which  arc 
truths  clothed,  may  be  taken  for  naked 
truths,  which,  when  they  are  confirm- 
ed, become  fallacies,  which  in  them- 
selves are  falses.  From  this,  that  ap- 
pearances of  truth  may  be  taken  for 
naked  truths,  and  confirmed,  have 
sprung  all  the  heresies  v.liich  have 
been  and  still  are  in  the  Christian 
world.  Heresies  themselves  do  not 
condemn  men ;  but  confirmations  of  the 
falsities,  which  are  in  a  heresy,  from 
the  Word  and  by  reasonings  from  the 
natural  man  and  an  evil  life,  do  con- 
demn. For  every  one  is  born  into  the 
religion  of  his  country  or  of  his  parents, 
is  initiated  into  it  iVom  infancy,  and 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


193 


afterwards  retains  it ;  nor  can  lie  extri- 
cate liiniseif  from  its  ialses,  both  on  ac- 
count of  business  in  the  world,  and  on 
account  of  the  weakness  of  the  under- 
standing in  perceiving  trutii.s  of  that 
sort ;  but  to  live  wickedly  and  confirm 
falses,  even  to  the  destruction  of  genu- 
ine truth,  this  does  condemn.  For  he 
who  continues  in  his  religion,  and  be- 
lieves in  God,  and  in  Christendom 
believes  in  the  Lord,  and  esteems 
the  Word  holy,  and  from  religion 
lives  according  to  the  commandments 
of  the  decalogue,  he  does  not  swear 
to  falses ;  wherefore,  when  he  hears 
truths,  and  in  his  own  way  perceives 
them,  he  can  embrace  them,  and  thus 
be  led  out  of  falses ;  but  not  he  who 
had  confirmed  the  falses  of  his  religion, 
for  the  false,  when  confirmed,  remains, 
and  cannot  be  extirpated  ;  for  a  false, 
after  confirmation,  is  as  if  one  had 
sworn  to  it,  particularly  if  it  coheres 
with  the  love  of  himself,  or  with  the 
pride  of  his  own  intelligence. 

255.  I  have  spoken  with  some  in 
the  spiritual  world,  who  lived  many 
ages  ago,  and  confirmed  themselves  in 
the  falses  of  their  own  religion,  and  I 
have  found  that  they  still  remained  firm- 
ly in  the  same  ;  and  I  have  also  spoken 
with  some  there,  who  were  in  the  same 
religion,  and  thought  like  those,  but 
had  not  confirmed  its  falses  in  them- 
selves ;  and  I  have  found,  that,  when 
instructed  by  the  angels,  they  have  re- 
jected falses  and  received  truths ;  and 
that  these  were  saved,  but  not  those. 
Every  man  is  instructed  by  the 
angels  after  death,  and  those  are 
received  who  see  truths,  and  from 
truths,  falses ;  but  those  only  see 
truths  who  have  not  confirmed  them- 
selves in  falses ;  but  those  who  have 
confirmed  themselves  are  not  willing 
to  see  truths ;  and  if  they  do  see,  they 
turn  themselves  back,  and  then  either 
laugh  at  thern  or  falsify  them ;  the 
genuine  cause  is,  that  confirmation 
enters  the  will,  and  the  will  is  the 
man  himself,  and  it  disposes  the  un- 
derstanding according  to  its  pleasure ; 
but  bare  knowledge  only  enters  the 
understanding,  and  this  has  not  any 
authority  over  the  will,  and  so  is  not 


in  man,  otherwise  than  as  one  who 
stands  in  the  entry,  or  at  the  door,  and 
not  as  yet  in.  the  house. 

25(5.  But  this  may  be  illustrated  by 
an  example.  In  the  Word,  there  is, 
in  many  places,  attributed  to  God, 
anger,  wrath,  revenge,  and  that  He 
punishes,  casts  into  hell,  tempts,  and 
many  like  things;  he  who  believes 
this  in  simplicity,  and  like  a  child, 
and  on  this  account  fears  God,  and 
takes  heed  to  himself  not  to  sin  against 
Him,  is  not  condemned  on  account  of 
that  simple  belief  But  he  who  confirms 
in  himself  those  things  to  such  a  de- 
gree, as  to  believe  that  anger,  wrath, 
revenge,  and  thus  such  things  as  are 
of  evil,  are  with  God,  and  that,  from 
anger,  wrath  and  revenge,  He  punishes 
man,  and  casts  into  hell,  he  is  con- 
demned, because  he  has  destroyed  the 
genuine  truth,  which  is,  that  God  is 
love  itself,  mercy  itself,  and  goodness 
itself ;  and,  being  these,  He  cannot  be 
angry,  wrathful  and  revengeful.  That 
these  things  are  attributed  to  God, 
in  the  Word,  is,  because  it  appears 
so :  such  things  are  appearances  of 
truth. 

257.  That  many  things,  in  the  sense 
of  the  letter  of  the  Word,  are  appear 
ances  of  truth,  in  which  genuine  truths 
lie  concealed  ;  and  that  it  is  not  hurt- 
ful to  think  and  also  to  speak  in  sim- 
plicity, according  to  the  appearances 
of  truth;  but  that  it  is  hurtful  to  con- 
firm them,  since,  by  confirmation,  the 
divine  truth,  which  is  concealed  with- 
in, is  destroyed,  may  also  be  illustrat- 
ed by  an  example  in  nature  ;  which  is 
presented,  because  what  is  natural 
more  clearly  illustrates  and  teaches, 
than  what  is  spiritual.  It  appears  to 
the  eye  as  if  the  sun  were  carried 
around  the  earth  every  day,  and  also 
once  every  year ;  hence  it  is  said, 
that  the  sun  rises  and  sets ;  that  it 
makes  morning,  noon,  evening  and 
night ;  and  also  the  times  of  spring, 
summer,  autumn  and  winter,  and  thus 
days  and  years :  when  yet  the  sun 
stands  still,  for  it  is  an  ocean  of  fire, 
and  the  earth  revolves  every  day,  and 
is  carried  about  the  sun  every  year. 
The  man  who,  from  simplicity  and 


194 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


from  ignorance,  thinks  that  the  sun  is 
carried  about  the  earth,  does  not 
destroy  the  natural  truth,  which  is, 
that  the  earth  is  turned  about  its  axis, 
and  every  year  is  carried  along  the 
ecliptic.  But  he  who  confirms  the 
apparent  motion  of  the  sun,  by  rea- 
sonings from  the  natural  man  ;  and 
still  more  he  who  does  so  by  the 
Word,  because  it  is  there  said,  that 
the  sun  rises  and  sets,  weakens  the 
truth  and  disperses  it ;  and  afterwards 
he  can  scarcely  see  it,  although  it 
should  be  shov.  n  to  the  eye,  that  the  uni- 
versal starry  heaven  is,  in  like  manner, 
carried  around  every  day  and  every 
year,  to  appearance,  and  yet  not  even 
one  star  is  removed  from  its  fixed  place, 
in  relation  to  another.  That  the  sun 
is  moved,  is  an  apparent  truth,  but 
that  it  is  not  moved,  is  a  genuine  truth  ; 
yet  every  one  speaks  according  to  the 
apparent  truth,  in  saying  that  the  sun 
rises  and  sets  ;  and  this  is  allowable, 
because  it  cannot  be  otherwise ;  but  to 
think  according  to  that,  from  confir- 
mation, blunts  and  darkens  the  ration- 
al understanding. 

•25S.  The  reason  why  it  is  hurtfiil 
to  confirm  the  appearances  of  truth, 
which  are  in  the  Word,  since  thereby 
fallacy  is  produced,  and  tlms  the  di- 
vine truth,  which  is  concealed  within, 
is  destroyed,  is,  because  each  and  every 
part  of  the  sense  of  the  letter  of  the 
Word  communicates  with  heaven  ;  for, 
as  was  shown  above,  in  each  and  eve- 
ry part  of  the  sense  of  its  letter,  there 
is  a  spiritual  sense,  and  tliis  is  opened 
when  it  passes  from  man  to  heaven  ; 
and  all  the  things  of  the  spiritual 
sense  are  genuine  truths ;  wherefore, 
when  man  is  in  falses,  and  applies  the 
sense  of  the  letter  to  them,  then 
falses  are  therein ;  and  wiien  falses 
enter,  truths  are  dissipated,  which  is 
done  in  the  way  from  man  to  heaven. 
And  tliis  is  done,  comparatively,  as 
when  a  shining  bladder,  filled  witii 
gall,  is  thrown  to  another,  which 
is  burst  in  the  air,  before  it  comes 
to  him,  and  the  gall  is  scattered 
about ;  whereupon  the  other,  when 
he  perceives  the  air  infected  with  the 
gall,  turns  himself  away,  and  also 


shuts  his  mouth,  lest  it  should  touch 
his  tongue.  It  is  also  like  a  bottle 
hooped  with  twigs  of  cedar,  in  which 
there  is  vinegar  full  of  little  worms ; 
and  the  bottle  is  burst  in  the  way,  and 
its  stench  is  perceived  by  another, 
who  then  immediately,  from  nausea, 
dissipates  its  stench  by  some  ven- 
tilator, lest  it  should  enter  into  his 
nostrils.  It  is  also  like  an  al- 
mond in  the  shell,  within  which,  in- 
stead of  the  almond,  is  a  snake  just 
born,  and  the  shell  is  broken,  and  the 
little  snake  appears  to  be  carried  by 
the  wind  towards  the  eyes  of  another ; 
that  this  turns  himself  away,  lest  it 
should  be  done,  is  plain  of  itself  It 
is  the  same  with  the  reading  of  the  Word 
by  a  man  who  is  in  falses,  and  who 
applies  to  his  falses  some  things  of  the 
sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word  ;  which 
is  then  rejected  in  its  way  to  heav- 
en, lest  any  such  thing  should  flow  in 
and  infest  the  angels;  for  the  false, 
when  it  touches  the  truth,  is  like  the 
point  of  a  needle  when  it  touches  the 
fibril  of  a  nerve,  or  the  pupil  of  the 
eye  :  that  the  fibril  of  the  nerve  in- 
stantly rolls  itself  back  into  a  spiral,  and 
betakes  itself  within  itself,  is  known ; 
and  in  like  manner,  that  the  eye, 
at  the  first  touch,  covers  itself  with 
its  eyelids.  From  these  things,  it  is 
manifest,  that  truth  falsified  takes  away 
communication  with  heaven,  and  closes 
it.  This  is  the  cause  that  it  is  hurtful 
to  confirm  any  heretical  false. 

259.  The  Word  is  like  a  garden, 
which  may  be  called  a  heavenly  para- 
dise, in  which  are  delicacies  and  de- 
lights of  every  kind ;  delicacies  from 
the  fruits,  and  delights  from  the  flow- 
ers ;  in  the  middle  of  which  are  trees 
of  life,  and  be.side  them  fountains  of 
living  water,  and  around  tiie  garden 
are  forest  trees.  The  man  who, 
from  doctrine,  is  in  divine  truths,  is  in 
the  middle,  where  are  the  trees  of  life, 
and  he  actually  enjoys  its  delicacies 
and  delights ;  but  the  man  who  is  not 
in  truths  from  doctrine,  but  only  from 
the  sense  of  the  letter,  is  in  the  cir- 
cumference, and  sees  only  the  things 
of  the  forest.  But  he  who  is  in  the 
doctrine  of  a  false  religion,  and  who 


or  the  fVord  of  the  Lord. 


195 


has  confirmed  its  false  in  liimself,  is 
not  even  in  the  forest,  but  out  of  it,  in 
a  sandy  plain,  whore  there  is  not  any 
grass.  That  such  also  is  the  state  of 
those  after  death,  is  shown  in  a  work 

CONCERNING  HeAVEN  AND  HeLL. 

260.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  known, 
that  the  sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word 
is  a  guard  for  the  genuine  truths  which 
are  concealed  within,  lest  they  should 
be  injured ;  and  it  is  a  guard  in  this, 
that  this  sense  may  be  turned  hither 
and  thither,  and  explained  according 
to  apprehension,  and  yet  its  inter- 
nal not  be  hurt  or  violated.  For 
it  does  no  hurt,  that  the  sense  of  the 
letter  is  understood  otherwise  by  one 
than  by  another  ;  but  it  is  hurtful,  if 
a  man  introduces  falses,  which  are 
contrary  to  divine  truths,  which  is 
done  only  by  those  who  have  confirm- 
ed themselves  in  falses  ;  by  this,  vio- 
lence is  done  to  the  Word.  Lest  this 
should  be  done,  the  sense  of  the  let- 
ter operates  as  a  guard,  and  it  operates 
as  a  guard  with  those  who  arc  in  fnJses 
from  religion,  and  do  not  confirm  its 
falses.  The  sense  of  the  letter  of  the 
Word,  as  a  guard,  is  signified  in  the 
Word  by  cherubs,and  it  is  also  described 
there  by  them.  This  guard  is  signified 
by  the  cherubs,  which,  after  Adam  with 
his  wife  was  cast  out  of  the  garden  of 
Eden,  were  placed  at  its  entrance,  con- 
cerning which  these  things  are  read  : 
When  Jehovah  God  had  driven  out 
the  man.  He  caused  cherubs  to  dtodl  at 
the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  and 
the  flame  of  a  sword,  turning  itself 
hither  and  thither,  to  guard  the  tony 
of  the  tree  of  life,  Gen.  iii.  23,  24. 
What  these  words  signify,  no  one  can 
see,  unless  he  knows  what  is  signified 
by  cherubs,  and  what  by  the  garden  of 
Eden,  and  by  the  tree  of  life  there, 
and  then  what  by  the  flame  of  a  sword, 
turning  itself  hither  and  thither. 
Eaph  of  these  is  explained  in  the 
Arcana  CojLESTiA,  published  at  Lon- 
don, upon  that  chapter ;  where  it  is 
shown,  that  by  cherubs  is  signified  a 
guard  ;  by  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life 
is  signified  entrance  to  the  Lord,  which 
men  have  through  the  truths  of  the 
spiritual  sense  of  the  Word;  by  the 


flame  of  a  steord  turning  itself,  is 
signified  divine  truth  in  ultimates, 
which  is  like  the  Word  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter,  whicli  can  be  so 
turned.  The  like  is  meant  by  the 
cherubs  of  cold  jilaced  upon  the  tioo 
cxtremicies  of  the  propitiator)/,  which 
was  upon  the  ark  in  the  tabernacle,  Exod. 
XXV.  18  to  21.  By  the  ark  was  signi- 
fied the  Word,  because  the  decalogue 
in  it  was  the  primitive  of  the  Word ; 
by  the  cherubs  there  was  signified  a 
guard ;  wherefore  the  Lord  spoke 
with  Moses  between  them,  Exod.  xxv. 
22,  xxxvi.  9 ;  Num.  vii.  89 ;  and  He 
spoke  in  the  natural  sense ;  for  He  does 
not  speak  with  man,  except  in  fullness ; 
and  in  the  sense  of  the  letter,  divine 
truth  is  in  its  fullness ;  see  above,  n. 
214  to  224.  Nor  is  any  thing  else 
signified  by  the  cherubs  upon 
the  curtains  of  the  tabernacle,  and 
upon  the  veil,  Exod.  xxvi.  31 ;  for 
the  curtains  and  veils  of  the  taber- 
nacle signified  the  ultimates  of  heaven 
and  the  church,  and  so  also  of  the 
Word ;  see  above,  n.  220 ;  in  like 
manner,  by  the  cherubs  carved 
upon  the  walls,  and  upon  the  doors  of 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  1  Kings  vi. 
29,  32,  35 ;  see  above,  n.  221 ;  and  al- 
so by  THE  CHERUBS  in  the  new  temple, 
Ezek;  xli.  18,  19,  20.  Since  by  cher- 
ubs was  signified  a  guard,  that  the 
Lord,  heaven,  and  divine  truth  such  as 
it  is  interiorly  in  the  Word,  may  not 
be  approached  immediately,  but  medi- 
ately through  ultimates,  therefore  it  is 
thus  said  concerning  the  king  of  Tyre  : 
Thou,  zolio  sealcst  up  the  measure,  who 
art  full  of  loisdom,  and  perfect  in  beau- 
ty, hast  been  in  the  garden  of  Eden; 
every  precious  stone  was  thy  covering. 
Thou,  O  CHERUB,  art  the  outspreading 
of  one  that  covereth ;  I  have  lost  thee,  O 
COVERING  CHERUB,  in  the  midst  of  the 
stones  of  fire,  Ezek.  xxviii.  12,  13,  14, 
16.  By  Tyre,  is  signified  the  church, 
as  to  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good, 
and  thence  by  the  king  of  Tyre,  the 
Word,  where  and  whence  those  knowl- 
edges are.  That  the  Word  in  its  ul- 
timate is  here  signified  by  him,  and  a 
guard  by  cherub,  is  manifest ;  for  it  is 
said,  Thou  who  sealest  up  the  measure. 


196 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


evert/  precious  stone  was  thy  covering, 
thou  clieruh,  the  outspreading  of  one  that 
covcrcth;  as  also,  O  covering  cherub. 
That  by  precious  stones,  which  are 
also  there  named,  are  meant  those 
things  which  are  of  the  sense  of  the 
letter,  may  be  seen  above,  n.  217, 
218.  Since  by  cherubs  is  signified 
the  Word  in  the  ultimates,  and  also  a 
guard,  therefore  it  is  said  in  David, 
Jehovah  boioed  the  heavens,  and  came 
down,  and  he  rode  upon  a  cherub, 
Psalm  xviii.  9,  10.  Shepherd  of  Is- 
rael, who  sittest  upon  the  cherubs, 
shine  forth,  Ixxx.  1.  Jehovah  sitteth 
upon  THE  CHERUBS,  xcix.  1.  To  ride 
upon,  cherubs,  and  to  sit  upon  them,  is 
upon  the  ultimate  sense  of  the  Word. 
Divine  truth  in  the  Word,  and  its  qual- 
ity, are  described  by  the  four  animals 
which  are  also  called  cherubs,  in  Eze- 
kiel,  i.,  ix.  and  x.  ;  and  also  by  the 
four  animals  in  the  midst  of  the  throne, 
and  near  the  throne,  Rev.  iv.  G,  and 
the  following  verses.  See  the  Apoc- 
alypse Revealed,  published  by  me 
at  Amsterdam,  n.  239,  275,  314. 

261.  XI.  That  the  Lord,  in  the 
World,  fulfilled  all  Things  of 
the  Word,  and  thereby  became 
THE  Word,  ti!.\t  is,  the  Divine 
Truth,  even  in  Ulti.m.\tes. 

That  the  Lord,  in  the  world,  ful- 
filled all  things  of  the  Word,  and  that 
lie  thereby  became  the  Divine  Truth, 
or  the  Word,  even  in  ultimates,  is 
meant  by  these  words  in  John  :  And 
the  Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among 
us,  and  we  saw  his  glory,  the  glory  as 
of  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth,  i.  14.  To  be- 
come flesh  is  to  become  the  Word  in 
ultimates.  What  the  Lord  was,  as  the 
Word  in  ultimates,  He  siiouod  to  the 
disciples,  when  lie  was  transfigured. 
Matt.  xvii.  2,  and  the  following  verses ; 
Mark  ix.  2,  and  the  following ;  Luke 
ix.  28,  and  the  following :  and  it  is 
there  said,  that  Mosos  and  Elijah  were 
seen  in  glory.  By  Moses  is  meant  the 
Word  which  was  written  by  him,  and 
the  iiistorical  Word  in  general ;  and 
by  Elijah,  the  ])rophetical  Word.  The 
Lord,  as  the  Word  in  ultimates,  was 
also  represented  before  John,  Rev.  i. 


13  to  16;  where  all  things  of  the 
description  of  Him  signify  the  ulti- 
mates of  divine  truth,  or  of  the  Word. 
The  Lord  had  indeed  been  the  Word 
or  the  divine  truth  before,  but  in 
firsts ;  for  it  is  said,  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  icas  with 
God,  and  God  was  the  Word,  John 
i.  1,2;  but  when  the  Word  became 
flesh,  then  the  Lord  became  the 
Word,  even  in  the  ultimates :  it  is 
from  this,  that  He  is  called  the  First 
and  the  Last,  Rev.  i.  8,  11,  17  ;  ii.  8 ; 
xxi.  G ;  xxii.  12,  13 ;  Isaiah  xliv.  G. 

262.  That  the  Lord  fulfilled  all 
things  of  the  Word,  is  manifest  from 
the  passages  where  it  is  said,  tliat  the 
law  and  the  Scripture  were  fulfilled 
by  Him,  and  that  all  things  were  ac- 
complished ;  as  from  these  :  Jesus  said. 
Think  not  that  I  have  come  to  de- 
stroy the  law  and  the  prophets  ;  I  have 
not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill. 
Matt.  V.  17,  18.  Jesus  entered  into  the 
synagogue,  and  rose  up  to  read;  then 
was  delivered  to  Him  the  book  of  Isaiah 
the  prophet ;  and  He  opened  the  book, 
and  found  the  place  tcritten.  The  Spirit 
of  Jehovah  is  upoii  Me,  because  He 
hath  anointed  Me ;  He  hath  sent  Me 
to  bring  good  neics  to  the  poor,  to  heal 
the  broken  in  heart,  to  preach  deliver- 
ance to  the  bound,  and  sight  to  the 
blind ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year 
of  the  Lord.  Afterivards,  closing 
the  book.  He  said.  This  day  is  this 
Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears, 
Luke  iv.  16  to  21.  That  the  Scrip- 
ture MIGHT  be  fulfilled.  He  that  eat- 
cth  bread  with  Me,  hath  lifted  up  his 
heel  upon  Me,  John  xiii.  18.  No  one 
of  them  is  lout,  except  the  son  of  per- 
dition, THAT  THE  ScRIPTURE  MIGHT 
BE    FULFILLED,  Xvii.    12.      Til  AT  THE 

Word  might  be  fulfilled,  which  He 
spoke.  Of  those  whom  thou  gavest  Me, 
I  have  not  lost  one,  xviii.  19.  Jesus 
said  to  Peter,  Put  away  thy  sworel  in- 
to its  place ;  how  then  would  the 
Scripture  be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it 
fnust  be  done  ?  liut  this  was  done,  that 
THE  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled. 
Matt.  xxvi.  52,  54,  56,  The  Son  of 
man  gocth  away,  as  i  t  is  written  con- 
cerning Him,  that  the  Scriptures 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


197 


MIGHT  BE  FULFILLED,  Mark  xiv.  21, 
24.  'r/lllS  THE  SCUII'TUIIE  WAS  FUL- 
FILLED, which  said.  He  was  reckoned 
with  the  impious,  Mark  xv.  28 ;  Luke 
xxii.  37.  That  the  Scripture  might 
BE  FULFILLED,  They  divided  to  them- 
selves my  garments,  and  upon  my  ves- 
ture they  cast  lots,  John  xix.  24. 
After  this,  Jesus  knowing  that  all 
things  were  now  accomplished,  that 
the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled, 
xix.  28.  When  Jesus  -had  received  the 
vinegar,  He  said,  It  is  finished,  that 
is,  FULFILLED,  xix.  uO.  These  things 
were  done,  that  the  Scripture  might 
BE  FULFILLED,  Ye  shall  not  break  a 
bone  in  Him ;  andagain,  another  Scrip- 
ture SAiTH,  They  shall  see  Him  7vhom 
they  have  pierced,  xix.  36,  37.  That 
all  the  Word  was  written  concerning 
Him,  and  that  He  came  into  the  world 
that  He  might  fulfill  it,  He  also  taught 
the  disciples,  before  He  went  away,  in 
these  words  :  He  said  to  them,  O  fools, 
and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken  ;  was  it  not  neces- 
sary for  Christ  to  suffer  this,  and  enter 
into  glory  ?  And  beginning  with  Moses 

AND  ALL  THE  PROPHETS, i/c  eTpOUndedtO 
</jem,IN  ALL  THE  ScRIPTURES  CONCERN- 
ING Himself,  Luke  xxiv.  25,  26,  27. 
Moreover,  Jesus  said,  that  all  the 

THINGS  MUST  BE  FULFILLED,  WHICH 
AVERE  WRITTEN  IN  THE  LAW  OF  MoSES, 
AND    IN  THE    PROPHETS,    AND  IN  THE 

Psalms,  concerning  Me,  xxiv.  44,  45. 
That  the  Lord,  in  the  world,  fulfilled  all 
things  of  the  Word,  even  to  its  least 
particulars,  is  manifest  from  these  his 
words:  Verily,  I  say  to  you,  until 
heaven  and  earth  pass  away,  one  jot 

OR  ONE  tittle  SHALL  NOT  PASS  AWAY 
FROM  THE  LAW,  UNTIL  ALL  THINGS  ARE 

DONE,  Matt.  V.  18.  From  these  things, 
now,  it  may  be  clearly  seen,  that  by 
this,  that  the  Lord  fulfilled  all  things 
of  the  law,  is  not  meant,  that  He 
fulfilled  all  the  precepts  of  the 
decalogue,  but  all  things  of  the  Word. 
That  all  things  of  the  Word  al- 
so are  meant  by  the  law,  may  be 
evident  from  these  passages :  Jesus 
said,  Is  it  not  written  in  your  law, 
I  said.  Ye  are  gods,  John  x.  34;  this 
is  written.  Psalm  Ixxxii.  6  ;   The  mid- 


titude  answered.  We  have  heard  out  of 
THE  LAW,  that  Christ  abideth  forever, 
John  xii.  34  ;  this  is  written,  Psalm 
Ixxxix.  29;  ex.  4  ;  Dan.  vii.  14  :  That 
the  Word  ivritten  in  their  law  might 
be  fulfilled,  Thry  hated  Me  without  a 
cause,  John  xv.  25;  this  is  written, 
Psalm  xxxv.  19  :  It  is  easier  for  heav- 
en and  earth  to  pass  away,  than  for 
one  tittle  of  the  law  to  fail,  Luke  xvi. 
17.  By  the  law  there,  as  also  every 
where  else,  is  meant  the  whole 
Sacred  Scripture. 

263.  How  the  Lord  is  the  Word,  is 
understood  by  few  ;  for  they  think  that 
the  Lord  can,  by  the  Word,  enlighten 
and  teach  men,  and  yet  cannot  thence 
be  called  the  Word;  but  let  them 
know,  that  every  man  is  his  own  will, 
and  his  own  understanding,  and  thus 
one  distinct  from  another  ;  and  because 
the  will  is  the  receptacle  of  love,  and 
thus  of  all  the  goods  which  are  of  that 
love,  and  the  understanding  is  the  re- 
ceptacle of  wisdom,  and  thus  of  all  things 
of  truth  which  are  of  that  wisdom,  it 
follows,  that  every  man  is  his  own  love 
and  his  own  wisdom ;  or,  what  is  the 
same,  his  own  good  and  his  own  truth. 
Man  is  not  man  from  any  thing  else, 
and  not  any  thing  else  with  him  is 
man.  With  respect  to  the  Lord,  He 
is  Love  itself  and  Wisdom  itself,  thus 
Good  itself  and  Truth  itself,  which 
He  became  by  means  of  his  fulfilling 
all  the  good  and  all  the  truth  which  is 
in  the  Word ;  for  he  who  thinks  and 
speaks  nothing  but  truth,  becomes  that 
truth ;  and  he  who  wills  and  does 
nothing  but  good,  becomes  that  good  ; 
and  the  Lord,  because  He  fulfilled  all 
the  divine  truth  and  the  divine  good 
which  are  in  the  Word,  as  well  those 
which  are  in  its  natural  sense  as  those 
which  ai'e  in  its  spiritual  sense,  He  be- 
came Good  itself  and  Truth  itself,  con- 
sequently the  Word. 

264.  XII.  That  BEFORE  THIS  Word, 

which  AT  THIS  DaY  IS  IN  THE  WoRLD, 
THERE  WAS  A  WoRD,  WHICH  IS  LOST. 

That  before  the  Word  given  by  Mo- 
ses and  the  prophets  to  the  Israelitish 
nation,  worship  by  sacrifices  was  known, 
and  that  they  prophesied  fi-om  the  mouth 
of  Jehovah,  may  appear  evident  from 


198 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


what  is  related  in  the  books  of  Moses. 
That  worship  by  sacrifices  was 
KNOWN,  is  evident  from  these  things : 
It  was  commanded,  that  the  sons  of 
Israel  should  overthrow  the  altars  of 
the  nations,  and  break  in  pieces  their 
images,  and  cut  down  their  groves, 
Exod.  xxxiv.  13 ;  Deut.  vii.  5 ;  xii.  3. 
That  Israel  in  Shittim  began  to  com- 
mit whoredom  with  the  daughters  of 
Moab,  that  they  called  the  people  to 
the  SACRIFICES  of  their  gods,  and  that 
the  people  did  eat,  Num.  xxv.  1,  2,  3. 
That  Balaam,  who  was  from  Syria, 
caused  altars  to  be  built,  and  sacri- 
ficed oxen  and  sheep,  xxii.  40 ;  xxiii.  1, 
2,  14,  29,  30.  That  he  also  prophesi- 
ed CONCERNING  THE  LoRD,  Saying, 
That  a  star  -should  arise  from  Jacob  and 
a  sceptre  from  Israel,  xxiv.  17.  And 

THAT  HE  PROPHESIED  FROM  THE  MOUTH 

OF  Jehovah,  xxii.  13,  IS  ;  xxiii.  3,  5, 8, 
16,  26 ;  xxiv.  1,  13.  From  which  it  is 
manifest,  that  there  was  among  the 
nations  divine  worship,  very  similar  to 
the  worship  instituted  by  Moses  with 
the  Israelitish  nation.  That  it  was  al- 
so before  the  time  of  Abraham,  appears 
evident  from  the  words  in  Moses,  Dent, 
xxxii.  7,  8 ;  but  more  evidently  from 
Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  in  that 
he  brought  forth  bread  and  wine, 
and  blessed  Abram  ;  and  that  Abram 
gave  him  tithes  of  all,  Gen.  xiv.  18  to 
20  ;  and  that  Melchizedek  represent- 
ed the  Lord,  for  he  is  called  a^yrics<  to 
the  Most  High  God,  Gen.  xiv.  18 ;  and 
it  is  said  in  David  concerning  the 
Lord,  2'hou  art  a  priest  forever,  after 
the  manner  of  Melchizedek,  Psalm  ex.  4. 
Thence  it  was,  that  Melchizedek 
brought  forth  bread  and  wine,  as  the 
most  holy  things  of  the  church,  as  they 
are  holy  in  the  Sacred  Supper.  These, 
besides  many  other  tilings,  are  stand- 
ing proofs,  that,  before  the  Israelitish 
Word,  there  was  a  Word,  from  which 
were  sucii  revelations. 

265.  That  there  was  a  Word  among 
the  ancients,  is  evident  in  Moses,  by 
whom  it  is  mentioned,  and  something 
taken  from  it,  Num.  xxi.  14,  lo,  27 
to  30;  and  that  the  historical 
of  that  Word  were  called  the  Wars 
OF  Jehovah,  and  the  prophcticals,  the 


Enunciations.  From  the  historicals 
of  that  Word,  this  passage  was  tak- 
en by  Moses;  Therefore  it  is  said 
in  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of 
Jehovah,  /  walked  into  {the  sea) 
Suph,  and  the  rivers  of  Arnon,  and  the 
channel  of  the  rivers,  which  twrned 
aside  vjhere  Ar  is  inhabited,  and  stop- 
ped at  the  border  of  Moab,  Num.  xxi. 

14,  15.  By  the  wars  of  Jehovah,  in 
that  Word,  as  in  ours,  are  meant  and 
described  the  combats  of  the  Lord 
with  the  hells,  and  victories  over  them, 
when  He  was  to  come  into  the  world. 
The  same  combats  also  are  meant  and 
described  in  many  places  in  the  histor- 
icals of  our  Word,  as  in  the  wars  of 
Joshua  with  the  nations  of  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  in  the  wars  of  the  judges 
and  of  the  kings  of  Israel.  From  the 
propheticals  of  that  Word,  these  things 
were  taken ;  Therefore  the  Enun- 
ciATORs  say.  Go  into  Heshbon;  the 
city  of  Sihon  shall  be  built  and  strength^ 
cried;  for  a  fire  iccnt  out  of  Heshbon, 
and  a  flame  out  of  the  city  of  Sihon ;  it 
hath  devoured  Ar  of  3Ioab,  the  posses- 
sors of  the  heights  of  Arnon.  Tl'o 
to  thee,  O  Moab ;  thou  hast  pci  ishcd, 
O  people  of  Chcmosh ;  he  hath  given 
his  sons  fugitives,  and  his  daughters  in- 
to captivity  to  Sihon,  king  of  the  Am- 
oritc.  We  have  despatched  them  with 
weapons.  Heshbon  hath  perished  even 
to  Dibon,  and  we  have  laid  waste  even 
to  Nophah,  which  is  even  to  Mtdebtdt, 
Num.  xxi.  27  to  30.  The  translators 
render  them  Composers  of  Proverbs  ; 
but  they  should  be  called  Enuncia- 
TORS,  or  Propiieticai-  Enunciations, 
as  may  appear  evident  from  the  signifi- 
cation of  tlic  word  Mosiiauim  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue,  which  means  not  only 
proverbs,  but  also  prophetical  cnimci.v 
tions,  as  in  Num.  xxiii.  7,  18.  xxiv.  3, 

15,  where  it  is  said,  that  Balaam  utter- 
ed his  Enunciation,  which  was  pro- 
jihetical,  even  concerning  the  Lord. 
His  enunciation  is  called  Moshal,  in 
tiie  singular.  It  may  be  added,  that 
those  things,  taken  thence  by  Mo- 
ses, are  not  proverbs,  but  prophecies. 
That  that  Word  was  likewise  divinely 
inspired,  is  manifest  in  Jeremiah,  where 
almost  the  same  things  are   said — 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


199 


A  fire  has  gone  out  from  Heshbon, 
and  a  fiamc  from  among  Sihon,  ivhich 
hath  devoured  the  corner  of  Bloab,  and 
the  crown  of  the  head  of  the  sons  of 
Shaon.  Wo  to  thee,  O  Moab;  the 
people  of  Chemosh  have  perished;  for 
thy  sons  have  been  carried  into  captivi- 
ty, and  thy  daughters  into  captivity, 
xlviii.  45,  46.  Besides  those,  a  pro- 
plietical  book  of  the  ancient  Word,  call- 
ed THE  BOOK  OF  Jasher,  or  the  book 
of  the  Upright,  is  mentioned  by  David 
and  by  Joshua.  By  David ;  David 
lamented  over  Saul  and  over  Jonathan, 
and  wrote  to  teach  the  sons  of  Jvdah 
the  bow;  see  what  is  written  in  the 
BOOK  OF  Jasher,  2  Sam.  i.  17,  18; 
and  by  Joshua;  Joshua  said.  Sun, 
rest  in  Gibeon,  and  moon  in  the 
valley  of  Ajalon;  is  not  this  tvritten 
in  THE  BOOK  OF  Jasher  ?  Josliua 
X.  12. 

266.  From  these  thmgs  it  may  be 
evident,  that  there  was  an  ancient 
Word  in  the  world,  particularly  in  Asia, 
before  the  Israelitish  Word.  That  this 
Word  is  preserved  in  heaven,  with 
the  angels,  who  lived  in  those  ages, 
and  cilso  that  it  is  still,  at  this  day, 
among  the  nations  in  Great  Tartary, 
may  be  seen  in  the  third  Relation-, 
after  this  chapter  concerning  tlie  Sa- 
cred Scripture. 

267.  XIII.  That  by  the  Word, 
those  also  have  Light,  who  are 
OUT  of  the  Church,  and  have  not 
the  Word. 

Conjunction  with  heaven  cannot  be 
given,  unless  there  be  somewhere  in 
the  earth  a  church,  where  the  Word  is, 
and  the  Lord  is  known  by  it ;  because 
the  Lord  is  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  without  the  Lord  there  is 
no  salvation. 

That  by  the  Word,  there  is  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Lord  and  consociation 
with  the  angels,  may  be  seen  above, 
n.  234  to  240.  It  is  enough  that 
there  be  a  church,  where  the  Word 
is;  although  it  be  of  few  respect- 
ively, still,  by  the  Word,  the  Lord  is 
present  in  the  whole  world,  for  by  it 
heaven  is  conjoined  to  the  human 
race. 

268.  But  how  the  presence  and  con- 


junction of  the  Lord  and  heaven  is 
given  in  all  countries,  by  means  of  the 
Word,  shall  be  told.  The  whole  an- 
gelic heaven,  before  the  Lord,  is  as  one 
man,  and  so  also  is  the  church  upon 
earth.  That  they  also  actually  ap- 
pear as  a  man,  may  be  seen  in  the 
Work  concerning  Heaven  and  Hell, 
n.  59  to  87.  In  that  man,  the  church 
where  the  Word  is  read  and  the  Lord 
is  known  by  it,  is  as  the  heart  and  as 
the  lungs;  the  Lord's  celestial  king- 
dom as  the  heart,  and  his  spiritual 
kingdom  as  the  lungs.  As,  from  these 
two  fountains  of  life  in  the  human 
body,  all  the  rest  of  the  members, 
viscera  and  organs  subsist  and  live, 
so  also  all  those  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  with  whom  there  is  religion, 
and  one  God  is  worshipped,  and  who 
live  well,  and  thereby  are  in  that  man, 
and  resemble  the  members  and  viscera 
out  of  the  thorax,  in  which  are  the 
heart  and  lungs,  subsist  and  live  from 
the  conjunction  of  the  Lord  and  heaven 
with  the  church  by  means  of  the 
Word ;  for  the  Word,  in  the  Chris- 
tian church,  is  life  to  the  rest  from  the 
Lord  through  heaven,  just  as  the  life 
of  the  members  and  viscera  of  the 
whole  body  is  from  the  heart  and 
lungs ;  there  is  also  similar  communi- 
cation, which  also  is  the  reason  why  the 
Christians  among  whom  the  Word  is 
read  constitute  the  breast  of  that  man ; 
they  are  also  in  the  midst  of  all,  and 
around  them  are  the  Papists ;  around 
these  are  the  Mahometans,  who  ac- 
knowledge the  Lord  as  the  greatest 
Prophet,  and  as  the  Son  of  God ;  after 
these  are  the  Africans ;  and  the  peo- 
ple and  nations  in  Asia  and  the  Indies 
make  the  last  circumference. 

269.  That  it  is  so  in  the  whole  heav- 
en may  be  concluded  from  the  like  in 
every  society  of  heaven ;  for  every  so- 
ciety is  a  heaven  in  a  less  form,  which 
also  is  like  a  man.  That  it  is  so,  may 
be  seen  in  the  Work  concerning  Heav- 
en AND  Hell,  n.  41  to  87.  In  every 
society  of  heaven,  those  who  are  in  the 
middle  of  it,  in  like  manner,  resemble 
the  heart  and  lungs,  and  with  them  is  the 
greatest  light ;  the  light  itself  and  the 
perception  of  truth  thence,  propagates 


200 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


itself  from  that  middle  to  the  circumfer- 
ences every  way,  thus  to  all  who  are  in 
the  society,  and  makes  their  spiritual  life. 
It  was  shown,  that  when  those  who 
were  in  the  middle  arid  constituted  the 
province  of  the  heart  and  lungs,  and 
with  whom  was  the  greatest  light, 
were  taken  away,  those  who  were 
around  were  in  the  shade  of  the 
understanding,  and  then  in  so  little 
perception  of  truth,  that  they  lament- 
ed; but  as  soon  as  those  returned,  the 
light  was  seen,  and  they  had  percep- 
tion of  truth  as  before.  A  comparison 
may  be  made  with  the  heat  and  light 
from  the  sun  of  the  world,  which  give 
vegetation  to  trees  and  shrubs,  even 
to  those  which  stand  at  the  sides  and 
under  a  cloud,  provided  the  sun  be 
risen.  Thus  the  light  and  heat  of 
heaven  are  from  the  Lord  as  the  sun 
there,  which  light,  in  its  essence,  is 
divine  truth,  from  which  is  all  the 
intelligence  and  wisdom  of  angels  and 
men.  Wherefore  it  is  said,  concern- 
ing the  Word,  that  it  was  with  God 
and  was  God;  that  it  enlightencth 
f.vcry  man  that  ronicth  into  the  world; 
and  that  that  light,  also,  appearcth  in 
darkness,  John  i.  1,5,9.  By  the  word 
there,  is  meant  the  Lord  as  to  Divine 
Truth. 

270.  From  these  things  it  may  be 
evident,  that  the  Word,  which  is  with 
the  Protestants  and  the  Reformed, 
enlightens  all  nations  and  people,  by 
spiritual  communication ;  also  that  it 
is  provided  by  the  Lord,  that  there 
should  always  be  on  the  earth  a  church, 
where  the  Word  is  read,  and  by  it  the 
Lord  may  be  made  known.  .  Where- 
fore, when  the  Word  was  almost  re- 
jected by  the  Papists,  by  the  divine 
providence  of  the  Lord  the  Reforma- 
tion took  place ;  and  thence  the  Word 
was  drawn,  as  it  were,  from  its  con- 
cealment, and  sent  into  use.  When 
also  the  Word  with  the  Jewish  nation 
was  entirely  falsified  and  adulterated, 
and,  as  it  were,  made  none,  then  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  descend  from  heav- 
en, and  to  come,  as  the  Word,  and  to 
fulfill  it  and  thereby  to  renew  and 
restore  it  and  again  to  give  light  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  accord- 


ing to  these  words  of  the  Lord : — 
T/te  people  sitting  in  darkness  saw  a 
great  light;  and  to  those  sitting  in 
the  region  and  shadoio  of  death,  light 
hath  arisen,  Isaiah  ix.  2;  and  Matt, 
iv.  16. 

271.  Since  it  was  foretold,  that,  at 
the  end  of  this  church,  darkness  also 
would  arise  from  not  knowing  the  Lord, 
that  He  is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  fi-om  the  separation  of  faith  from 
charity,  lest  thereby  the  genuine  un- 
derstanding of  the  Word  should  per- 
ish, and  so  too  the  church,  therefore  it 
has  pleased  the  Lord  now  to  reveal  the 

SPIRITUAL  SENSE   OF  THE  WoRD,  and 

to  show  that  the  Word,  in  that  sense, 
and  from  it,  in  the  natural  sense,  con- 
tains innumerable  things,  by  which 
the  light  of  truth  from  the  Word, 
almost  extinguished,  may  be  restored. 
That,  at  the  end  of  this  church,  the 
light  of  truth  would  be  almost  extin- 
guished, is  foretold  in  many  places 
in  the  Revelation,  and  also  it  is  meant 
by  these  words  of  the  Lord :  Imme- 
diately after  the  afflietion  of  those 
days,  the  sun  will  be  darkened,  and  the 
moon  will  not  give  her  light,  and  the 
stars  will  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  potc- 
ers  of  the  heavens  will  be  shake7i ;  and 
then  they  will  sec  the  Son  of  Man,  com- 
ing in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with  glory 
and  virtue,  Matt.  xxiv.  29,  30.  By 
sun  there  is  meant  the  Lord  as  to 
love ;  by  moon,  the  Lord  as  to  faith  ; 
by  stars,  as  to  the  knowledges  of 
truth  and  good  ;  by  the  Son  of  Man, 
the  Lord  as  to  the  Word ;  by  clouds, 
the  sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word ; 
by  glory,  the  spiritual  sense  of  the 
Word,  and  its  transparence  through 
the  sense  of  its  letter ;  and  by  virtue  its 
power. 

272.  By  much  experience,  it  has 
been  given  me  to  know,  tiiat  through 
the  Word  man  has  communication 
with  heaven.  While  I  read  through 
the  Word,  from  the  first  chapter  of 
Isaiah  even  to  the  last  of  Malachi,  and 
the  Psalms  of  David,  and  kept  the 
thought  in  their  spiritual  sense,  it 
was  given  me  to  perceive  clearly,  that 
every  verse  communicated  \\  \t\\  some 
society  of  heaven,    and    thus  the 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lurd. 


201 


Word  with  the  universal  heaven; 
from  wliich  it  was  manifest,  that,  as 
the  Lord  is  the  Word,  heaven  also  is 
the  Word,  since  heaven  is  heaven 
from  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  by  the 
Word,  is  the  all  in  all  of  heaven. 

273.  XIV.  That,  unless  there 
WERE  A  Word,  no  one  would  know 
God,  Heaven  and  Hell,  and  Life 
AFTER  Death,  and  still  less  the 
Lord. 

Since  those  who  maintain,  have 
also  confirmed  with  themselves,  that 
man,  without  the  Word,  might  know 
the  existence  of  God,  and  also  of  heav- 
en and  hell,  and  the  other  things  which 
the  Word  teaches,  therefore,  it  is  not 
proper  to  argue  with  them  fi'om  the 
Word,  but  from  the  natural  light  of 
reason ;  for  they  believe  not  the  Word, 
but  themselves.  Inquire  from  the  light 
of  reason,  and  3'ou  will  find,  that  there 
are  two  faculties  of  life  with  man, 
which  are  called  the  understanding 
and  the  will ;  and  that  the  understand- 
ing is  subject  to  the  will,  and  not  the 
will  to  the  understanding ;  for  the  un- 
derstanding only  teaches  and  shows 
what  is  to  be  done  from  the  will. 
Thence  it  is,  that  many,  who  are  of  an 
acute  genius,  and  understand,  better 
than  others,  the  moral  duties  of  life, 
still  do  not  live  according  to  them ; 
it  would  be  otherwise,  if  they  willed 
them.  Inquire,  also,  and  you  will  find, 
that  the  will  of  man  is  his  proprium, 
and  that  this  from  nativity  is  evil,  and 
that  thence  is  the  false  in  the  under- 
standing. When  you  shall  have  found 
out  these  things,  you  will  see,  that 
man  from  himself,  wishes  not  to  under- 
stand any  thing  else,  than  what  is  from 
the  proprium  of  his  will ;  and  that  unless 
there  be  some  other  source,  whence  he 
may  know  it,  man  from  tlie  proprium 
of  his  will,  would  not  wish  to  under- 
stand any  thing,  but  what  is  of  himself 
and  the  world.  Whatever  is  above, 
is  in  thick  darkness ;  as  when  he  sees 
the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  if  by  chance 
he  should  then  think  concerning  their 
origin,  he  could  not  think  otherwise 
than  that  they  are  fi-om  themselves. 
Could  they  think  more  deeply  than 
many  learned  men  in  the  world,  who, 
26 


although  they  know  from  the  Word, 
that  all  things  were  created  by  God, 
still  acknowledge  nature  ?  What,  then, 
would  these  have  done,  if  they  had 
known  nothing  from  the  Word  ?  Do 
you  believe  that  the  ancient  philoso- 
phers, as  Aristotle,  Cicero,  Seneca, 
and  others,  who  have  written  concern- 
ing God  and  concerning  the  immortal- 
ity of  the  soul,  took  it  first  from  their 
own  understanding?  No;  but  from 
others,  by  tradition,  fi'om  those  who 
knew  it  first  from  the  ancient  Word, 
of  which  we  have  spoken  above.  Nei- 
ther do  writers  on  natural  theology 
draw  any  such  thing  fi-om  themselves, 
but  only  confirm  those  things,  which 
they  know  fi-om  the  church  in  which  the 
Word  is,  by  rational  arguments ;  and 
there  may  be  those  among  them,  who 
confirm,  and  yet  do  not  believe  them. 

274.  It  has  been  given  me  to  see 
people  born  in  islands,  rational  as"  to 
civil  affairs,  who  know  nothing  at  all 
concerning  God ;  those,  in  the  spiritu- 
al world,  appear  like  sphinxes;  but, 
because  they  were  born  men,  and 
thence  in  a  capacity  of  receiving  spirit- 
ual life,  they  are  instructed  by  the  an- 
gels; and  by  means  of  knowledges 
concerning  the  Lord,  as  Man,  they  are 
vivified.  What  man  is  of  himself, 
evidently  appears  from  those  who  are 
in  hell,  among  whom  are  also  some 
prelates  and  scholars,  who  are  not  will- 
ing even  to  hear  concerning  God,  and, 
therefore,  neither  can  they  name  God. 
I  have  seen  these  and  conversed  with 
them ;  and  I  have  also  conversed  with 
those  who  came  into  the  fire  of  anger 
and  wrath,  when  they  heard  any  one 
speaking  concerning  t!ie  Lord.  Con- 
sider, therefore,  wliat  the  man  would 
be,  who  has  heard  nothing  concern- 
ing the  Lord,  when  such  are  some,  who 
have  talked  about  God,  written  about 
God,  and  preached  about  God.  That 
they  are  such,  is  fi-om  the  will,  which 
is  evil ;  and  this,  as  was  said  before, 
leads  the  understanding,  and  takes 
away  the  truth,  which  is  there  fi-om  the 
Word.  If  man  could,  of  himself,  have 
known  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that 
there  is  a  life  after  death,  why  did 
ho  not  know,  that  man  is  man  after 


202 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


death  ?  Why  does  he  believe  that  his 
soul  or  spirit  is  like  wiud  or  ether, 
which  does  not  see  with  eyes,  and  hear 
with  ears,  and  speak  with  a  mouth,  be- 
fore it  is  conjoined  and  grows  with  its 
carcass  and  with  its  skeleton?  Suppose, 
therefore,  a  doctrine  hatched  from  ra- 
tional light  alone,  would  it  not  be,  that 
self  should  be  v/orshipped,  as  was  done 
for  ages,  and  also  at  this  day  is  done 
by  those  who  know,  from  the  Word, 
that  God  alone  is  to  be  worshipped ! 
Other  worship  cannot  be  given  from 
the  proprium  of  man,  not  even  the  wor- 
ship of  the  sun  and  moon. 

275.  That  from  the  most  ancient 
times  there  was  religion,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  the  world  everywhere  knew 
concerning  God,  and  something  con- 
cerning life  after  death,  was  not  from 
themselves,  or  from  their  own  intelli- 
gence, but  from  the  ancient  Word,  of 
which  we  have  treated  above,  n.  264 
to  266;  and  afterwards  from  the  Is- 
raelitish  Word.  From  these  two 
Words,  religions  emanated  into  the 
Indies,  and  their  islands,  and  through 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia  into  the  kingdoms 
of  Africa,  and  from  tlie  maritime  parts 
of  Asia  into  Greece,  and  thence  into 
Italy.  But,  because  the  Word  could 
not  be  written  otherwise  than  by  rep- 
resentatives, which  are  such  things  in 
the  world  as  correspond  to  heavenly 
things,  and  thence  signify  them,  there- 
fore the  religious  things  of  the  gentile 
nations  were  turned  into  idolatries,  and 
in  Greece,  into  fables ;  and  the  divine 
attributes  and  properties,  into  so  many 
gods,  over  whom  they  made  one  su- 
preme, whom  they  called  Jove,  perhaps 
from  Jehovah.  It  is  known  that  they 
had  knowledge  concerning  paradise, 
concerning  the  deluge,  concerning  the 
sacred  fire,  and  concerning  the  four  ages, 
from  the  first,  or  the  golden,  to  the  last, 
or  the  iron,  as  in  Daniel,  ii.  31  to  35. 

276.  Those  who  believe  that  they 
can,  from  their  own  intelligence,  pro- 
cure for  themselves  knowledges  con- 
cerning God,  concerning  heaven  and 
hell,  and  concerning  the  spiritual  things 
which  are  of  the  church,  do  not  know 
that  the  natural  man,  viewed  in  himself, 
is  contrary  to  the  spiritual,  and  that, 


therefore,  the  spiritual  things,  which 
enter,  he  wishes  to  extirpate  or  in- 
volve in  fallacies,  that  are  like  norms, 
which  consume  the  roots  of  herbs  and 
grain.  They  may  be  likened  to  those 
who  dream  that  they  are  sitting  upon 
eagles,  and  borne  up  on  high ;  or  on 
Avinged  horses,  and  are  flying  over  mount 
Parnassus  to  Helicon ;  and  tliey  are 
actually  like  Lucifers  in  hell,  who  still 
call  themselves  there,  sons  of  the  morn- 
ing, Is.  xiv.  12.  And  they  are  like 
those  in  the  valley  of  the  land  of  Shi- 
nah,  who  undertook  to  build  a  tower, 
whose  head  should  be  in  heaven.  Gen. 
xi.  2,  4 ;  and  they  trust  in  themselves 
like  Goliah,  not  foreseeing  that  they 
may,  like  him,  be  prostrated  by  a  sling- 
stone  driven  into  the  forehead.  I  will 
tell  what  lot  awaits  them  after  death ; 
first  they  become  as  drunk ;  after- 
wards as  insane,  and  at  last  sottish, 
and  sit  in  darkness.  Let  them  there- 
fore beware  of  such  a  delirium. 


277.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  the 
following  Relations. —  First.  One 
day,  in  the  spirit,  I  rambled  through 
various  places  in  the  spiritual  world, 
in  order  tliat  I  might  observe  the  rep- 
resentations of  heavenly  things,  which, 
in  many  places,  are  there  exhibited ; 
and  in  a  certain  house,  where  there 
were  angels,  I  saw  great  purses,  in 
which  silver  was  stored  up  in  great 
abundance ;  and  because  they  were 
open,  it  was  perceived  as  if  every  one 
might  take  out,  yea,  steal  the  silver 
there  laid  up ;  but  near  these  purses 
sat  two  youths,  who  were  guards. 
The  place  where  they  were  depos- 
ited appeared  like  a  manger  in  a 
stable.  In  the  next  room  were  seen 
modest  virgins,  with  a  chaste  wife ; 
and  near  that  room  stood  two  little 
children :  and  it  was  said,  that  they 
were  not  to  be  played  with  child- 
ishly, but  were  to  be  dealt  with 
wisely.  Afterwards  there  appeared 
a  harlot,  also  a  horse  lying  dead. 
After  these  things  were  seen,  I  was 
instructed,  that  by  them  was  repre- 
sented the  natural  sense  of  the 
Word,   in   which    there   is  a  spir- 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord, 


203 


itual  sense.  Those  great  purses, 
full  of  silver,  signified  knowledges  of 
truth  in  great  abundance ;  that  they 
were  open  and  yet  guarded  by 
youths,  signified,  that  every  one  might 
take  thence  the  knowledges  of  truth, 
but  that  there  should  be  care,  lest 
any  one  violate  the  spiritual  sense, 
in  which  are  mere  truths ;  the  man- 
ger, as  in  a  stable,  signified  spiritual 
nourishment  for  the  understanding ;  a 
manger  signifies  this,  because  a  horse, 
which  eats  out  of  it,  signifies  the 
understanding ;  the  modest  virgins, 
who  were  seen  in  the  next  room,  signi- 
fied the  affections  of  truth :  and  the 
chaste  wife,  the  conjunction  of  good 
and  truth ;  the  little  children  signified 
the  innocence  of  wisdom,  for  the  angels 
of  the  highest  heaven,  who  are  the 
wisest,  from  innocence,  appear,  at  a 
distance,  like  little  children ;  the  har- 
lot with  the  dead  horse,  signified 
the  falsification  of  truth  by  many  at 
this  day,  by  which  all  understanding 
of  truth  perishes;  a  harlot  signifies  falsi- 
fication, and  a  dead  horse,  no  under- 
standing of  truth. 

278.  Second  Relation.  There 
was  once  sent  down  to  me  Irom  heav- 
en a  piece  of  paper,  inscribed  with 
Hebrew  letters,  but  written  as  with 
the  ancients,  with  whom  those  letters, 
which  at  this  day  are  in  some  part  lin- 
ear, were  curved  with  little  horns 
turning  upwards.  And  the  angels, 
who  were  then  with  me,  said  that 
they  knew  entire  senses  fi-om  the  let- 
ters themselves,  and  that  they  knew 
these,  especially,  from  the  flexures  of 
the  lines  and  of  the  points  of  the  let- 
ter ;  and  they  explained  what  they  sig- 
nified separately,  and  what  conjointly; 
saying  that  the  H,  which  was  added  to 
the  names  of  Abram  and  Sarai,  signi- 
fied infinite  and  eternal.  They  also 
explained  to  me  the  sense  of  the 
Word  in  Psalm  xxxii.  2,  from  the  let- 
ters only,  or  syllables ;  that  the  sense 
of  them  in  the  sum  was,  that  the 
Lord  is  merciful,  also  to  those 
WHO  do  evil.  They  informed  me 
that  writing,  in  the  third  heaven,  con- 
sisted of  letters,  inflected  and  variously 
curved,  of  which  each  contained  a 


certain  sense ;  and  that  the  vow- 
els there  were  for  sound,  which  corre- 
sponds to  affection ;  and  that,  in  that 
heaven,  they  cannot  utter  the  vow- 
els i  and  c,  but  instead  of  them,  y 
and  cu;  and  that  the  vowels  a,  o 
and  u  were  in  use  with  them,  because 
they  give  a  full  sound  ;  also  that  they 
did  not  express  any  of  the  consonants 
roughly,  but  softly ;  and  that  thence 
it  is,  that  some  Hebrew  letters  are 
pointed  within,  as  a  sign  that  they  are 
uttered  softly ;  saying  that  rough- 
ness in  letters  was  in  use  in  the  spiritu- 
al heaven,  because  there  they  are  in 
truths,  and  truth  admits  of  the 
rough,  but  not  good,  in  which  the 
angels  of  the  Lord's  celestial  king- 
dom,  or  third  heaven,  are.  They 
also  said,  that  they  had  with  them  the 
Word,  written  with  inflected  letters,  with 
significant  little  horns  and  points ;  fi-om 
which  it  was  manifest,  what  these 
words  of  the  Lord  signify — Not  an  iota 
nor  a  tittle  [or  little  horn]  shall  pass 
from  the  law,  until  all  things  are 
done,  Matt.  v.  IS;  also.  It  is  easier  for 
heaven  and  earth  to  pass  away,  than 
for  one  point  of  the  law  to  fail,  Luke 
xvi.  17. 

279.  Third  Relation.  Seven 
years  ago,  when  I  was  collecting 
the  things  which  Moses  wrote  from 
those  two  books  called  the  Wars  of 
Jehovah,  and  the  Enunciations, 
Num.  xxi.,  some  angels  were  present, 
and  said  to  me,  that  those  books  were 
the  ancient  Word,  the  historicals 
of  which  were  called  the  Wars 
OF  Jehovah,  and  the  Prophetic- 
ALS  were  called  the  Enuncia- 
tions ;  and  they  said  that  that  Word 
was  still  preserved  in  heaven,  and  in 
use  among  the  ancients  there,  with 
whom  that  Word  was  when  they  were 
in  the  world.  Those  ancients,  with 
whom  that  Word  is  still  in  use  in  heav- 
en, were  in  part  from  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan and  from  its  confines,  as  fi-om 
Syria,  Mesopotamia,  Arabia,  Chaldea, 
Assyria,  Egypt,  Zidon,  Tyre  and  Nin- 
eveh ;  the  inhabitants  of  all  which 
kingdoms  were  in  representative  wor- 
ship, and  thence  in  the  science  of  cor- 
respondences.    The  wisdom  of  that 


204 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


time  Avas  from  that  science,  and  by  it 
they  had  interior  perception  and  com- 
munication with  the  heavens.  Those 
who  knew  the  correspondences  of  that 
Word,  were  called  wise  and  intelligent, 
and  afterwards  diviners  and  Magi. 
But  because  that  Word  was  full  of  such 
correspondences  as  remotely  signified 
celestial  and  spiritual  things,  and 
thence  began  to  be  falsified  by  many ; 
therefore,  by  the  divine  providence  of 
the  Lord,  in  course  of  time  that  dis- 
appeared, and  another  Word,  written 
by  correspondences  not  so  remote,  was 
given,  and  this  by  the  prophets  among 
the  sons  of  Israel.  In  this  Word  were 
retained  many  names  of  places,  not 
only  which  were  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, but  also  which  were  round 
about  in  Asia,  all  which  signified 
things  and  states  of  the  church ;  but 
the  significations  were  from  that  an- 
cient Word.  For  that  reason,  Abram 
was  commanded  to  go  into  that  land, 
and  his  posterity  from  Jacob  were  in- 
troduced into  it. 

Concerning  that  ancient  Word 
which  had  been  in  Asia  before  the  Is- 
raelitish  Word,  it  is  permitted  to  relate 
this  news,  that  it  is  still  reserv- 
ed there,  among  the  people  who  live 
in  Great  Tartary.  I  have  conversed 
with  spirits  and  angels  who  were 
thence,  in  the  spiritual  world  ;  who  in- 
formed me  that  they  possess  the 
Word,  and  that  they  have  possessed 
it  from  ancient  times,  and  that  they 
perform  their  divine  worship  according 
to  this  Word,  and  that  it  consists  of 
mere  correspondences.  They  said 
that  in  it  also  is  the  book  of  Ja- 
SHER,  which  is  mentioned  in  Joshua 
X.  12,  13,  and  in  the  second  book  of 
Samuel,  i.  17,  18;  and  also,  that  with 
them  are  the  books  called  the  Wars 
OF  Jeuovah,  and  tup.  Enunciations, 
which  are  incntioneil  by  Moses,  Num. 
xxi.  14,  lo,  and  27  to  30 ;  and  when 
I  read  to  them  the  words  which  Moses 
liad  taken  thence,  they  looked  to  see 
if  they  were  there,  and  found  them ; 
lience  it  was  manifest  to  me,  that  the 
ancient  Word  is  still  with  them.  In 
conversing  with  them,  they  said  that 
they  worship  Jehovah,  some  as  an  in- 


visible God,  and  some  a8  visible. 
They  further  told  me,  that  they  do 
not  suffer  foreigners  to  come  among 
them,  except  the  Chinese,  with  whom 
they  cultivate  peace,  because  the  Chi- 
nese emperor  is  from  their  country ; 
and  also  that  they  are  so  populous,  that 
they  do  not  believe  any  country  in 
the  whole  world  to  be  more  populous  ; 
which  also  is  credible,  from  the  wall 
of  so  many  miles,  which  the  Chinese 
formerly  built  for  their  protection 
against  invasion  from  them.  Moreover, 
I  heard  from  the  angels,' that  the  first 
chapters  of  Genesis,  which  treat  con- 
cerning the  creation,  concerning  Adam 
and  Eve,  concerning  the  garden  of 
Eden,  and  concerning  their  sons  and 
posterity  till  the  flood,  and  likewise 
concerning  Noah  and  his  sons,  are  al- 
so in  that  Word  ;  and  thus  that  they 
were  copied  thence  by  Moses.  The 
angels  and  spirits  from  Great  Tartary 
appear  in  the  southern  quarter,  on  the 
side  of  the  east,  and  are  separated  from 
the  rest  by  their  dwelling  in  a  higher  ex- 
panse, and  by  their  not  admitting  any 
to  them  from  the  Christian  world ;  and 
that  if  any  ascend,  they  guard  them, 
that  they  may  not  go  away.  The 
reason  of  this  separation,  is,  because 
they  possess  another  Word. 

280.  Fourth  Relation.  I  once 
saw,  at  a  distance,  walks  between  rows 
of  trees,  and  the  youths  collected 
there  in  groups,  so  many  clubs  of 
persons,  conversing  on  the  things  of 
wisdom  ;  this  was  in  the  spiritual  world. 
I  approached,  and  when  I  was  near,  I 
saw.  one  whom  the  rest  venerated  as 
their  primate,  because  he  excelled 
them  in  wisdom.  He,  when  he  saw 
me,  said,  "I  wondered,  when  I  saw 
you  in  the  way  coming  up,  that  you 
now  passed  into  my  sight,  and  now  pass- 
ed out  of  it,  or  that  you  was  now 
seen  by  me,  and  suddenly  not  seen ; 
certainly  you  are  not  in  the  same  state 
of  life  as  our  people."  Smiling  at 
this,  I  replied,  "  I  am  not  a  puppet- 
man,  nor  a  Vertumnus  (or  a  Proteus), 
but  I  am,  by  turns,  now  in  your  light, 
and  now  in  your  shade ;  thus  a  foreign- 
er and  also  a  native  here."  Upon  this, 
that  wise  one  looked  at  me,  and  said, 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


205 


"You  speak  strange  and  wonderful 
things ;  tell  me  who  you  are."  And  I 
said,  "  I  am  in  the  world  in  which  you 
were,  and  from  which  you  have  de- 
parted, which  is  called  the  natural 
world  ;  and  I  am  also  in  the  world  in 
which  you  are,  which  is  called  the 
spiritual  world.  Thence  it  is,  that  I 
am  in  a  natural  state,  and  at  the  same 
time  in  a  spiritual  state ;  in  a  natural 
state  with  men  of  the  earth,  and  in  a 
spiritual  state  with  you  ;  and  when  I 
am  in  a  natural  state,  I  am  not  seen  by 
you ;  but  when  in  a  spiritual  state, 
I  am  seen :  that  I  am  such,  has  been 
given  by  the  Lord.  It  is  known 
to  you,  enliglitened  man,  that  a  man 
of  the  natural  world  does  not  see  a 
man  of  the  spiritual  world,  nor  the 
reverse ;  wherefore,  when  I  had  let 
my  spirit  into  the  body,  I  was  not  seen 
by  you,  but  when  I  had  let  it  out  of  the 
body,  I  was  seen  ;  and  this  exists  from 
the  distinction  between  spiritual  and 
natural."  When  he  heard  the  dis- 
tinction between  spiritual  and  nat- 
ural, he  said,  "What  is  the  distinc- 
tion 1  Is  it  not  as  between  more  and 
less  pure*?  Thus,  what  is  the  spirit- 
ual, but  the  purer  natural?"  And  I 
replied,  "  The  distinction  is  not  such  ; 
the  natural  can  never  by  subtilization 
approximate  to  the  spiritual,  so  as  to 
become  the  same ;  for  the  distinction 
is  such  as  between  prior  and  posteri- 
or, between  which  no  finite  ratio  is 
given ;  for  the  prior  is  in  the  posterior, 
as  the  cause  in  its  effect ;  and  the 
posterior  is  from  the  prior,  as  the  effect 
from  its  cause.  Hence  it  is,  that  the 
one  does  not  appear  to  the  other." 
To  this  the  wise  one  said,  "  I  have 
meditated  on  this  distinction,  but  hith- 
erto in  vain.  Would  that  I  might  per- 
ceive it."  And  I  said,  "  You  shall  not 
only  perceive  the  distinction  between 
spiritual  and  natural,  but  you  shall 
also  see  it."  And  then  I  said  this : 
"  You  are  in  a  spiritual  state  when 
with  your  companions,  but  in  a  natu- 
ral state  with  me ;  for  you  speak 
with  your  companions  in  spiritual  lan- 
guage, which  is  common  to  every  spir- 
it and  angel,  but  with  me  you  speak  in 
my  native  language;   for  every  spirit 


and  angel,  speaking  with  man,  speaks 
his  own  language  ;  thus  French  with  a 
Frenchman,  Greek  with  a  Grecian, 
Arabic  with  an  Arabian,  and  so  forth. 
That  you  may  know  therefore  the 
distinction  between  spiritual  and  nat- 
ural, as  to  languages,  do  thus :  Go  in 
to  your  companions,  and  speak  some- 
thing there,  and  retain  the  words,  and 
return  with  them  in  your  memory,  and 
utter  them  before  me."  And  he  did 
so,  and  returned  to  me  with  those 
words  in  his  mouth,  and  uttered  them  ; 
and  they  were  words  altogether  foreign 
and  strange,  which  are  not  given  in 
any  language  of  the  natural  world. 
From  this  experiment,  several  times  re- 
peated, it  was  clearly  manifest,  that  all 
in  the  spiritual  world  have  a  spiritual 
language,  which  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  any  natural  language ;  and 
that  every  man  after  death  comes  of 
himself  into  that  language.  I  once 
also  have  experienced,  that  the  very 
sound  of  spiritual  language,  differs  so 
much  from  the  sound  of  natural  lan- 
guage, that  a  spiritual  sound,  how- 
ever loud,  cannot  be  heard  at  all 
by  a  natural  man,  nor  a  natural 
sound  by  a  spiritual  man.  After- 
wards I  asked  him  and  the  bystand- 
ers to  go  in  among  their  companions, 
and  write  some  sentence  upon  pa- 
per, and  come  out  with  that  paper 
to  me,  and  read  it.  They  did  so, 
and  returned  with  the  paper  in  their 
hand ;  but  when  they  would  read, 
they  could  not;  since  that  writing 
consisted  only  of  some  alphabetical 
letters  with  curvatures  above,  each  of 
which  signified  some  sense  of  a 
thing.  Because  every  letter  in  the 
alphabet  signifies  there  some  sense, 
it  is  manifest  whence  it  is,  that  the 
Lord  is  called  the  Alpha  and  the  Ome- 
ga. When  they  had  gone  in  again 
and  again,  and  written  and  returned, 
they  found  that  that  writing  involv- 
ed and  comprehended  innumerable 
things,  which  any  natural  writing 
could  never  express ;  and  it  was  said 
that  this  is  so,  because  the  spiritual  man 
thinks  things  incomprehensible  and 
ineffable  to  the  natural  man  ;  and  that 
these   cannot  be  brought  into  other 


206 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


writing,  and  into  other  language. 
Then,  because  those  standing  by  were 
not  willing  to  comprehend  that  spir- 
itual thought  so  far  exceeded  natural 
thought,  that  it  is  respectively  ineffa- 
ble, I  said  to  them,  "  Make  the  exper- 
iment ;  enter  into  your  spiritual  society, 
and  think  of  some  thing,  and  retain  it, 
and  return  and  express  it  before  me." 
And  they  entered  in,  thought,  retained, 
and  came  out ;  and  when  they  would 
express  the  thing  thought  of,  they  could 
not ;  for  they  did  not  find  any  idea  of 
natural  thought  adequate  to  any  idea 
of  purely  spiritual  thought,  and  so  not 
any  words  expressing  it ;  for  the  ideas 
of  thought  become  words  of  speech. 
And  afterwards  they  went  in  again, 
and  returned,  and  confirmed  them- 
selves, that  spiritual  ideas  were  super- 
natural, inexpressible,  ineffable  and  in- 
comprehensible to  the  natural  man ; 
and  because  they  are  so  super-emi- 
nent, they  said,  that  spiritual  ideas  or 
thoughts,  in  respect  to  natural,  were 
ideas  of  ideas,  and  thoughts  of  thoughts ; 
and  tiiat  by  them  therefore  were  express- 
ed qualities  of  qualities,  and  affections 
of  affections  ;  consequently,  that  spirit- 
ual thoughts  were  the  beginnings  and 
origins  of  natural  thoughts.  Thence 
also  it  was  manifest,  that  spiritual  wis- 
dom was  the  wisdom  of  wisdom,  thus 
inexpressible  to  any  wise  man  in  the 
natural  world.  Then  it  was  said  from 
the  superior  heaven,  that  there  is  a 
wisdom  still  more  interior  or  superior, 
which  is  called  celestial,  wOiose  relation 
to  spiritual  wisdom,  is  like  the  relation 
of  this  to  natural ;  and  that  these  flow 
in,  in  order,  according  to  the  heavens, 
from  the  divine  wisdom  of  the  l^ord, 
which  is  infinite.  To  this  tlie  man 
speaking  witli  me  said,  "  I  see  this, 
because  1  have  perceived,  that  one 
natural  idea  is  the  continent  of  many 
spiritual  ideas,  and  also  that  one  spir- 
itual idea  is  the  continent  of  many  ce- 
lestial ideas.  From  this,  also,  follows 
this  consequence,  that  a  tiling  divided 
does  not  become  more  and  more  sim- 
ple, but  more  and  more  multiple,  be- 
cause it  draws  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
Infinite,  in  whom  are  all  things  infinite- 
ly."   These  tilings  being  done,  I  said 


to  the  by-standers,  "You  see,  from 
these  three  experimental  proofs,  what 
the  distinction  is  between  spiritual 
and  natural,  and  also  the  cause 
why  the  natural  man  does  not  appear 
to  the  spiritual,  nor  the  spiritual  man 
to  the  natural,  although  each  is  in  a 
perfect  human  form,  and  from  this 
form  it  seems  to  him  as  if  the  one 
might  see  the  other ;  but  the  inte- 
rior things,  which  are  of  the  mind, 
are  what  make  that  form,  and  the 
mind  of  spirits  and  angels  is 
formed  from  spiritual  things,  and  the 
mind  of  men,  as  long  as  they 
live  in  the  world,  from  natural  things. 
After  this,  a  voice  was  heard  from  the 
superior  heaven,  saying,  to  one  who 
stood  by,  "  Ascend  hither."  And  he 
ascended  and  returned  and  said,  that 
"  The  angels  did  not  before  know  the 
differences  between  the  spiritual  and 
the  natural,  because  no  opportunity 
of  comparison  had  been  before  given, 
with  any  man,  who  was  in  both  worlds 
at  the  same  time  ;  and  those  difierences 
cannot  be  known  without  comparison 
and  relation." 

Before  we  separated,  we  conversed 
again  on  this  subject;  and  I  said,  that 
"  These  distinctions  exist  from  nothing 
else,  than  because  you,  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  are  substantial  and  not 
material ;  and  substantial  things  are 
the  beginnings  of  material  things. 
What  is  matter,  but  an  aggregation  of 
substances?  You,  therefore,  are  in 
principles,  and  thus  in  singulars ;  but 
we  are  in  things  derived  and  compos- 
ed ;  you  are  in  particulars,  but  we 
in  generals ;  and  as  generals  cannot 
enter  into  particulars,  so  neither  can 
natural  things,  which  are  material,  en- 
ter into  .spiritual  things,  which  are  .sub- 
stantial ;  ju.st  as  the  cable  of  a  ship 
cannot  enter  or  be  drawn  through  the 
eye  of  a  sewing  needle,  or  as  a  nerve 
cannot  be  inserted  into  one  of  the  fibres 
of  which  it  consists.  This,  now,  is 
the  cause  that  the  natural  man  can- 
not think  those  things  w  hich  the  spirit- 
ual man  thinks,  and  thence  cannot 
speak  them.  Wherefore  Paul  calls 
those  tilings,  which  he  heard  from  the 
third  heaven,  ineffable.    Add  to  this, 


or  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


207 


that  to  think  spiritually  is  to  think 
without  time  and  space,  and  that  to 
think  naturally  is  to  think  with  time 
and  space ;  for  something  from  time 
and  space  adheres  to  every  idea  of  nat- 
ural thought,  but  not  to  any  spiritual 
idea.  The  cause  is,  that  the  spir- 
itual world  is  not  in  space  and  time,  as 
the  natural  world  is,  but  it  is  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  tiicse  two ;  in  this  also 
thoughts  and  perceptions  differ :  where- 
fore, you  can  think  concerning  the 
essence  and  omnipresence  of  God  from 
eternity,  that  is,  concerning  God  before 
the  creation  of  the  world  ;  because  you 
think  concerning  the  essence  of  God 
without  time,  and  concerning  his  om- 
nipresence without  space,  and  thus 
you  comprehend  such  things  as  trans- 
cend the  natural  ideas  of  man."  I 
then  related,  that  I  once  thought  con- 
cerning the  essence  and  omnipres- 
ence of  God  from  eternity,  that  is,  con- 
cerning God  before  the  creation  of  the 
world ;  and  that,  because  I  could  not 
yet  remove  spaces  and  times  from  the 
ideas  of  my  thought,  I  became  anxious, 
since  the  idea  of  nature  entered  instead 
of  God  ;  but  it  was  said  to  me,  "  Re- 
move the  ideas  of  space  and  time,  and 
you  will  see."  And  it  was  given  me 
to  remove  them,  and  I  saw ;  and  from 
that  time  I  have  been  able  to  think  of 
God  from  eternity,  and  not  at  all  of  na- 
ture from  eternity,  because  God  is  in 
all  time  without  time,  and  in  all  space 
without  space ;  but  nature  in  all  time 
is  in  time,  and  in  all  space  is  in  .space ; 
and  nature  with  its  time  and  space 
could  not  but  begin,  but  not  God, 
who  is  without  time  and  space  ;  where- 
fore nature  is  from  God,  not  from  eter- 
nity, but  in  time  together  with  its 
•  time  and  space. 

\  2S1.  Fifth  Relation.  Since  it 
'has  been  given  me  by  the  Lord,  to  be 
at  the  same  time  in  the  spiritual  world 
and  in  the  natural  world,  and  thence  to 
speak  with  angels  as  with  men,  and 
thereby  to  know  the  states  of  those, 
who  after  death  flow  into  that  hitherto 
unknown  world ;  for  I  have  spoken 
with  all  my  relations  and  friends,  and 
likewise  with  kings  and  generals,  as 
also  with  the  learned,  who  have  de- 


ceased, and  this  now  continually  for 
twenty-seven  years ;  therefore  I  am 
able  to  describe,  from  lively  experience, 
the  states  of  men  after  death,  both  of 
those  wiio  have  lived  well  and  of  those 
who  have  lived  ill.  But  here  I  shall 
only  relate  some  things  concerning 
the  state  of  those  who  have  conlirmed 
themselves  from  the  Word  in  falses  of 
doctrine,  who  are  those,  in  particular, 
who  have  done  it  in  favor  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone.  The  successive 
states  of  these  are  as  now  follows :  I.  As 
soon  as  they  are  deceased,  and  revive 
as  to  the  spirit,  which  takes  place  com- 
monly the  tliird  day  after  the  heart  has 
ceased  to  beat,  they  appear  to  them- 
selves in  a  like  body  as  before  in 
the  world,  so  much  so  that  they 
do  not  know  otherwise  than  that  they 
are  still  living  in  the  former  world ; 
nevertheless  not  in  a  material  body,  but 
in  a  substantial  body,  which,  to  their 
senses  appears  like  material,  although 
it  is  not.  II.  After  some  days,  they 
see  that  they  are  in  a  world  where  va- 
rious societies  are  instituted,  which 
world  is  called  the  world  of  spirits, 
and  is  in  the  middle  between  heaven 
and  hell.  All  the  societies  there, 
which  are  innumerable,  are  wonder- 
fully arranged  in  order,  according 
to  natural  affections,  good  and  evil. 
The  societies  arranged  according  to 
good  natural  affections,  communicate 
with  heaven,  and  the  societies  arranged 
according  to  evil  affections,  communi- 
cate with  hell.  III.  A  novitiate  spirit, 
or  .spiritual  man,  is  led  about  and  brought 
into  various  societies,  as  well  good  as 
evil,  and  is  explored  whether  he  is 
affected  with  goods  and  truths,  and  in 
what  manner,  or  whether  he  is  affect- 
ed with  evils  and  falses,  and  in  what 
manner.  IV.  If  he  is  affected  with 
goods  and  truths,  he  is  led  away  from 
evil  societies,  and  is  led  into  good  soci- 
eties, and  also  into  various  ones,  un- 
til he  comes  into  a  society  correspond- 
ing to  his  own  natural  affection,  and 
there  he  enjoys  the  good  corresponding 
to  that  affection,  and  this  until  he  puts 
off"  the  natural  affection  and  puts  on 
the  spiritual,  and  then  he  is  elevated 
into  heaven ;  but  this  is  done  with 


208 


Concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 


those  who  have  in  the  world  lived  the 
life  of  charity,  and  thus  also  the  life  of 
faith ;  which  is,  that  they  have  believ- 
ed in  the  Lord,  and  shunned  evils  as 
sins.  V.  But  those  who  have  confirm- 
ed themselves  in  falses  by  rational 
things,  especially  by  the  Word,  and 
so  have  lived  no  other  than  a  merely 
natural,  thus  an  evil  life,  (for  falses 
accompany  evils  and  evils  adhere 
to  falses,)  these,  because  they  are 
not  affected  with  goods  and  truths,  but 
with  evils  and  falses,  are  led  away  from 
good  societies,  and  are  led  into  evil  so- 
cieties, and  also  into  various  ones,  un- 
til they  come  into  some  one  correspond- 
ing to  the  concupiscences  of  their  own 
love.  VI.  But,  because  in  the  world 
they  had  feigned  good  affections 
in  externals,  although  in  their  inter- 
nals there  were  nothing  but  evil 
affections  or  concupiscences,  they 
are  kept  by  turns  in  externals ;  and 
those  who  in  the  world  had  been 
over  bodies  of  men,  are  appointed 
over  societies  here  and  there  in  the 
world  of  spirits,  greater  or  less, 
according  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
duties  which  they  had  previously 
fulfilled.  But,  because  they  neither 
love  what  is  true,  nor  love  what 
is  just,  nor  can  be  enlightened 
so  that  they  may  know  what  is  true 
and  just,  therefore,  after  some  days, 
they  are  deposed.  I  have  seen 
such  transferred  from  one  society 
into  another,  and  an  administration 
given  to  them  in  each,  but  after  a 
short  time  as  often  deposed.  VII. 
After  frequent  abdications,  some  from 
weariness  do  not  wish,  and  some  from 
fear  of  the  loss  of  liime,  do  not  dare, 
to  seek  any  more  for  oflSces ;  where- 
fore they  go  away  and  sit  down  sor- 
rowful ;  and  then  they  arc  led  away 
into  a  desert,  where  are  cottages,  which 
they  enter,  and  there  some  work  is  giv- 
en them  to  do ;  and  as  they  do  it,  they 
receive  food,  and  if  they  do  not  do  it, 
they  are  hungry  and  do  not  receive 
any  ;  wherefore  necessity  compels  them. 
The  food  there  is  similar  to  the  food  in 
our  world,  but  it  is  from  a  spiritual  ori- 
gin, and  is  given  from  heaven  by  the 
Lord  to  all,  according  to  the  uses  which 


they  do ;  to  the  idle,  because  they  are 
useless,  it  is  not  given.  VIII.  After 
some  time,  they  scorn  their  work,  and 
then  go  out  of  the  cottages  ;  and  if 
they  were  priests,  they  wish  to  build ; 
and  then  instantly  appear  piles  of 
hewn  stone,  bricks,  beams,  boards,  and 
also  heaps  of  reeds  and  rushes,  of  clay, 
lime  and  bitumen :  when  they  see 
which,  the  lust  of  building  is  enkindled, 
and  they  begin  to  build  a  house,  by 
taking  now  a  stone,  now  a  timber, 
now  a  reed,  now  mortar ;  and  they 
put  one  upon  another,  without  order, 
though  in  their  view  with  order ; 
but  what  they  build  in  the  day 
time,  falls  down  in  the  night ;  yet 
the  following  day  they  gather  from  the 
fallen  rubbish,  and  build  again,  and 
this  even  till  they  are  tired  of  building ; 
this  is  done  from  correspondence,  which 
is,  that  they  had  heaped  up  texts 
fi-om  the  Word  for  confirming  the 
falses  of  faith,  and  their  falses  no  oth- 
erwise build  up  the  church.  IX.  Al- 
terwards  they  go  away  through  v.eari- 
ness,  and  sit  down  solitary  and  idle; 
and  because  food  is  not  given  from 
heaven  to  the  idle,  as  was  said,  they 
begin  to  be  hungry,  and  to  think  of 
nothing  else  than  how  they  shall  get 
food  and  appease  their  hunger.  When 
they  are  in  this  state,  some  come  to 
them,  of  whom  they  ask  alms;  and 
they  say,  "  Why  do  you  sit  thus 
idle  ?  Come  with  us  into  our  houses, 
and  we  will  give  you  work  to  do, 
and  will  feed  you."  And  then  they 
get  up  joyfully,  and  go  along  with 
them  into  their  houses,  and  there  to 
cacli  is  given  his  work,  and  for  the 
work  food  is  given.  But,  because 
all  who  have  confirmed  themselves  in 
falses  of  faith,  cannot  do  works  of  good 
use,  but  works  of  evil  use,  neither 
do  them  faithfidly  but  fraudulently,  as 
also  unwillingly,  therefore  they  leave 
their  works,  and  only  love  to  converse, 
to  talk,  to  walk,  and  to  sleep;  and  be- 
cause thev  cannot  then  any  longer  be 
induced  by  their  masters  to  work, 
therefore  they  are  dismissed  as  useless. 
X.  When  they  arc  dismissed,  their  eyes 
are  opened,  and  they  see  a  way  leading 
to  a  certain  cavern  ;  when  they  come  to 


or  the  I'Vord  of  the  Lord. 


209 


which,  a  door  is  opened,  and  they  en- 
ter, and  ask  whetlicr  there  is  food 
there;  and  wlien  it  is  answered,  that 
there  is  food  tliere,  they  request  to 
be  permitted  to  remain  there,  and 
it  is  said,  that  it  is  permitted ;  and 
they  are  led  in,  and  the  door  is 
shut  after  them.  And  then  the  over- 
seer of  that  cavern  comes  and  says  to 
them,  "  You  cannot  go  out  any  more ; 
see  your  companions,  they  all  labor, 
and  as  they  labor,  food  is  given  them 
from  heaven ;  I  tell  you  this  that  you 
may  know."  And  also  their  compan- 
ions say,  "  Our  overseer  knows  for 
what  work  every  one  is  fit,  and  such  he 
enjoins  on  each  daily ;  and  on  the  day 
that  you  perform  it,  food  is  given  to  you ; 
and  if  not,  neither  food  nor  clothing  is 
given ;  and  if  any  one  does  evil  to 
another,  he  is  thrown  to  a  corner  of 
the  cavern  into  a  kind  of  bed  of  cursed 
dust,  where  he  is  miserably  tortured; 
and  this  even  until  the  overseer  sees  in 
him  a  sign  of  penitence,  and  then  he  is 
released,  and  it  is  commanded  him  to  do 
his  work."  And  it  is  also  said  to  him, 
that  every  one  is  permitted,  after  his 
work,  to  walk,  to  converse,  and  after- 
wards to  sleep ;  and  he  is  led  along 
farther  into  the  cavern,  where  are  har- 
lots, some  one  of  whom  each  is  permit- 
ted to  take  to  himself,  and  to  call  her  his 
woman ;  but  it  is  forbidden  under  a 
penalty  to  commit  whoredom  promis- 
cuously. Of  such  caverns,  which  are 
27 


nothing  but  eternal  work-houses,  hell 
consists.  It  has  been  given  me  to  enter 
into  some,  and  see,  in  order  that  I 
might  make  it  known ;  and  they 
were  all  seen  as  vile ;  neither  did  one 
of  them  know  whom,  or  in  what  em- 
ployment, he  had  been  in  the  world ; 
but  the  angel,  who  was  with  me, 
said  to  me,  that  this  had  been  in  the 
world  a  servant,  this  a  soldier,  this  an 
officer,  this  a  priest,  this  in  dignity, 
this  in  opulence ;  and  yet  they  all 
know  no  otherwise,  than  that  they  had 
been  slaves  and  like  companions ; 
and  this,  because  they  had  been  in- 
wardly alike,  although  outwardly 
unlike  ;  and  the  interiors  consociate 
all  in  the  spiritual  world. 

With  respect  to  the  hells  in  general, 
they  consist  merely  of  such  caverns  or 
work-houses,  but  different  where  sa- 
tans  are  from  where  devils  are :  those 
are  called  satans,  who  have  been  in 
falses  and  thence  in  evils,  and  those 
devils,  who  have  been  in  evils  and 
thence  in  falses.  Satans  appear  in 
the  light  of  heaven  livid  like  corpses, 
and  some  black  like  mummies;  but 
devils  appear,  in  the  light  of  heaven, 
darkly  ignited,  and  some  black  like 
soot;  but  all,  as  to  their  faces  and 
bodies,  monstrous :  but  in  their  own 
light,  which  is  like  the  light  from 
ignited  coals,  not  as  monsters,  but  as 
men ;  this  is  given  them,  that  they 
may  be  consociated. 


2.9 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  CATECHISM  OR  DECALOGUE  EXPLAINED  AS  TO  ITS  EXTER- 
NAL AND  INTERNAL  SENSE. 


2S2.  There  is  not  a  nation  in  the 
whole  world  which  does  not  know,  that 
it  is  evil  to  kill,  to  commit  adultery,  to 
steal,  and  to  testify  falsely ;  and  also, 
unless  these  evils  were  guarded  against 
by  laws,  that  kingdom,  republic,  and 
any  established  society  whatever,  would 
be  done  with.  Who,  then,  can  sup- 
pose, that  the  Israel itish  nation  was 
so  stupid  above  others,  that  it  did 
not  know  that  those  things  were 
evils?  On  which  account  one  may 
wonder  that  those  laws,  universally 
known  in  the  world,  were  pro- 
mulgated with  so  great  a  miracle 
from  mount  Sinai  by  Jehovah  himself 
But  hear ;  they  were  promulgated  with 
so  great  a  miracle,  that  they  might 
know,  that  those  laws  were  not  only 
civil  and  moral  laws,  but  also  divine 
laws;  and  that  to  do  contrary  to  them, 
was  not  only  to  do  evil  against  the 
neighbor,  that  is,  a  fellow  citizen 
and  society,  but  was  also  to  sin 
against  God.  Wherefore  those  laws, 
by  promulgation  from  mount  Sinai  by 
Jehovah,  were  made  also  laws  of  reli- 
gion. It  is  evident,  that  whatever  Je- 
hovah commands.  He  commands,  that 
it  may  be  of  religion,  and  thus  that  it 
is  to  be  done  for  the  sake  of  salvation. 
But  before  the  commandments  are  ex- 
plained, something  is  to  be  premised 
concerning  their  holiness,  that  it 
may  be  manifest  that  religion  is  in 
them. 

283.  That  the  Decalogue  was 
Holiness  itself  in  the  Israelitish 
Church. 

The  commandments  of  the  deca- 
logue, because  they  were  the  first-fruits 
of  the  Word,  and  thence  the  first-fruits 


of  the  church  about  to  be  instituted 
with  the  Israelitish  nation,  and  because 
they  were,  in  a  short  summary,  an 
assemblage  of  all  things  of  religion, 
by  which  conjunction  of  God  with 
man  and  of  man  with  God  is  given, 
therefore  they  were  so  holy,  that 
nothing  is  holier.  That  they  were 
most  holy,  is  evidently  manifest  from 
these  things  follow'ing :  That  the  Lord 
Jcliovah  himself  descended  upon  mount 
Sinai  in  fire  and  with  angels,  and 
thence  promulgated  them  with  a 
living  voice,  and  that  the  mountain 
was  hedged  around,  lest  any  should 
draw  near  and  die.  That  neither  the 
priests  nor  the  ciders  approached,  but 
Moses  alone.  That  those  command- 
ments were  written  upon  two  tables  of 
stone,  by  the  finger  of  God.  That  when 
Moses  brought  down  those  tables  the 
second  time,  his  face  beamed.  That 
the  tables  were  afterwards  laid  up  in 
the  ark,  and  the  latter  inmostly  in 
the  tabernacle,  and  over  it  was  set 
the  ])ropitiatory,  and  upon  this  were 
placed  cherubs  of  gold ;  that  this 
inmost  in  the  tabernacle,  where  the 
ark  was,  was  called  the  holy  of  holies. 
That  without  the  veil,  within  which  that 
ark  was,  were  arranged  many  things, 
which  represented  the  holy  things  of 
heaven  and  the  church,  which  were  the 
table  overlaid  with  gold,  upon  which 
was  the  bread  of  faces ;  the  golden  al- 
tar, upon  which  incense  was  burned ; 
and  the  golden  candlestick  with  seven 
lamps  ;  also  the  curtains  round  about, 
of  fine  linen,  purple  and  scarlet.  The 
holiness  of  the  whole  of  this  taber- 
nacle was  from  nothing  else,  than 
from  the  law  which  was  in  the  ark. 


as  to  its  Kxternal  and  Internal  Sense. 


211 


On  account  of  the  holiness  of  tlie  tab- 
ernacle, from  the  law  in  tiie  ark,  all 
the  Israelitish  people  by  command  en- 
camped around  it,  in  order,  according 
to  the  tribes,  and  marched  in  order  af- 
ter it;  and  then  a  cloud  was  over  it 
by  day,  and  a  fire  by  night.  On  ac- 
count of  the  holiness  of  that  law,  and 
the  presence  of  Jehovah  in  it,  Jehovah 
spoke  with  Moses  upon  the  propitiatory 
between  the  cherubs,  and  the  ark  was 
called  Jehovah  there.  That  it  was  not 
lawful  for  Aaron  to  enter  within  thp 
veil,  except  with  sacrifices  and  incense, 
lest  he  should  die.  On  account  of  the 
presence  of  Jehovali  in  that  law  and 
around  it,  miracles  also  were  done  by 
the  ark  in  which  that  law  was ;  as  that 
the  waters  of  the  Jordan  were  divided ; 
and,  while  the  ark  rested  in  the  middle  of 
it,  the  people  passed  over  on  dry  ground. 
That  by  its  being  carried  around,  the 
walls  of  Jericho  fell  dovv-n.  Tliat  Da- 
gon,  the  god  of  the  Philistines,  first  fell 
on  his  face  before  it,  and  afterwards, 
being  severed  from  the  head  with 
the  two  palms  of  the  hands,  lay  upon 
the  threshold  of  the  temple.  That 
on  account  of  it,  the  Bethshemites 
were  smitten,  to  several  thousands. 
That  Uzzah,  because  he  touched 
it,  died.  That  this  ark  was  intro- 
duced by  David  into  Zion,  with  a 
sacrifice  and  jubilations;  and  after- 
wards by  Solomon  into  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem,  where  it  made  its  se- 
cret recess,  besides  many  other 
things;  from  which  it  is  manifest, 
that  the  decalogue  was  holiness  itself 
in  the  Israelitish  church. 

284.  The  things  which  are  adduced 
above  concerning  tlie  promulgation,  ho- 
liness and  power  of  that  law,  are  found 
in  these  passages  in  the  Word :  That 
Jehovah  descended  itjion  mount  Sinai  in 
Jire,  and  that  then  the  mountain  smoked 
and  trembled,  and  that  there  were  thun- 
derings,  lightnings,  a  heavy  cloud,  and 
the  voice  of  a  trumpet,  Exod.  xix.  16  to 
18.  Deut.  iv.  11 ;  V.  19  to  23.  Tliat 
the  people,  before  the  descent  of  Ji  ho- 
vah,  prepared  and  sanctified  themselves 
for  t/iree  days,  Exod.  xix.  10,  11,  15. 
That  the  mountain  was  hedged  around, 
in  order  that  no  one  should  approach 


to  the  bottom  of  it,  and  come  near, 
lest  he  die;  and  that  the  priests 
might  not,  but  Moses  alone,  xix.  12,  13, 
20  to  23;  xxiv.  1,  2.  The  law  promul- 
gated from  mount  Sinai,  xx.  2  to  14. 
Deut.  V.  6  to  18.  That  the  laze  was 
written  upon  two  tables  of  stone,  and 
that  it  was  written  by  the  finger  of  God, 
Exod.  xxxi.  18;  xxxii.  15,  16.  Deut; 
ix.  10.  That  when  Moses  brought 
those  tables  doion  from  the  mountain 
the  second  time,  his  face  beamed  so 
that  he  covered  his  face  with  a  veil, 
while  he  talked  with  the  people,  Exod. 
xxxiv.  29  to  35.  That  the  tables 
were  laid  up  in  the  ark,  xxv.  16; 
xl.  20 ;  Deut.  x.  5 ;  1  Kings  viii.  9. 
IViat  over  the  ark  icas  given  the  pro- 
pitiatory, and  that  upon  this  were 
placed  cherubs  of  gold,  E.xod.  xxv. 
17  to  21.  That  the  ark,  toith  the 
propitiatory  and  the  cherubs,  vms 
put  into  the  tabernacle;  and  that  it 
made  the  first,  and  thus  the  inmost  of 
it ;  and  that  the  table,  overlaid  ivith 
gold,  vpon  which  was  the  bread  of 
faces  and  the  altar  of  gold  for  incense, 
and  the  candlestick  with  lamps  of  gold, 
made  the  external  of  the  tabernacle; 
and  the  ten  curtains  of  fine  linen, 
purple  and  scarlet,  the  most  exter- 
nal of  it,  xxv.  1  to  the  end ;  xxvi.  1 
to  the  end  ;  xl.  17  to  28.  That  the 
place  where  the  ark  was,  was  called  the 
holy  of  holies,  xxvi.  33.  That  the 
lohole  people  of  Israel  encamped  around 
the  tabernacle,  in  order,  according  to 
the  tribes,  and  marched  in  order  after 
it,  Num.  ii.  1  to  the  end.  That  there 
loas  then  over  the  tabernacle,  a  cloud  by 
day,  and  a  fire  by  night,  Exod.  xl.  38. 
Num.  ix.  15,  16  to  the  end ;  xiv.  14. 
Deut.  i.  33.  That  Jehovah  spoke  with 
Sloses  over  the  ark  between  the  cherubs, 
Exod.  xxv.  22.  Num.  vii.  89.  That 
the  ark,  from  the  law  in  it,  was  called 
Jehovah  there  ;  for  3foses  said,  when 
the  ark  went  forward.  Arise,  Jehovah  ; 
and  when  it  rested,  Return,  Jehovah, 
Num.  x.  35,  36,  &.c.  2  Sam.  xi.  2. 
Ps.  cxxxii.  7,  8.  That  on  account  of 
the  holiness  of  that  law,  it  was  not 
lawful  for  Aaron  to  enter  within  the 
veil,  except  with  sacrifices  and  incense, 
Lev.  xvi.  2  to  14,  and  the  following 


212 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


verses.  Tliatfrom  the  presence  of  the 
LorcPs  power  in  the  law  which  was 
in  the  ark,  the  waters  of  the  Jordan 
were  separated;  and  lohilst  it  rested 
in  the  midst,  the  people  passed  over 
on  dry  ground.  Josh.  iii.  1  to  17 ; 
iv.  5  to  20.  That  at  carrying  around 
the  ark,  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell  down, 
Josh.  vi.  1  to  20.  That  Dagon,  the 
god  of  the  Philistines,  fell  down  upon 
the  ground,  before  the  ark,  and  after- 
wards lay  upon  the  threshold  of  the 
temple,  severed  from  the  head,  and  the 
palms  of  the  hands  being  cut  off,  1 
Sam.  V.  That  the  Bethshemites,  on 
account  of  the  ark,  tcere  smitten,  to 
several  thousands,  v.  and  vi.  That 
Uzzah,  because  he  touched  the  ark, 
died,  2  Sam.  vi.  7.  That  the  ark 
was  introduced  into  Zion  by  David, 
with  sacrifces  and  jubilations,  vi.  1 
to  19.  That  the  ark  tvas  introduced 
by  Solomon  into  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, where  it  made  the  secret  recess, 
1  Kings  vi.  19,  and  the  follov.ing  vers- 
es ;  viii.  3  to  9. 

285.  Since  through  that  law  tliere 
is  conjunction  of  tiie  Lord  with  man 
and  of  man  with  tiie  Lord,  it  is 
therefore  called  the  covenant,  and 
THE  TESTIMONY  ;  the  covenant,  because 
it  conjoins,  and  the  testimony,  because 
it  confirms  the  articles  of  the  covenant ; 
for  covenant,  in  the  Word,  signifies 
conjunction,  and  testimony,  the  con- 
firmation and  attestation  of  its  articles. 
On  this  account  those  tables  were  two, 
one  for  God,  and  the  other  for  man. 
Conjunction  is  effected  by  the  Lord, 
but  only  wlien  man  does  the  things 
which  are  written  in  his  tal)Ie ;  for  tiie 
Lord  is  continually  ])resent,  and  wishes 
to  enter;  but  man,  from  the  freedom 
which  he  has  from  the  Lord,  must 
open  ;  for  He  says,  Behold  I  stand  at 
the  door  and  knock;  if  any  one  hear 
my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  ivill  go 
in  to  him,  and  sup  with  him,  and  he 
with  Me,  Rev.  iii.  20.  That  the  ta- 
bles of  stone,  on  which  the  law  was 
written,  were  called  the  tables  of 
THE  COVENANT,  and  that  the  ark  was 
from  them  called  the  ark  op  the 
COVENANT,  and  the  law  itself  the  cov- 
enant, may  be  seen,  Num.  x.  33; 


Deut.  iv.  13,  23 ;  v.  2,  3 ;  ix.  9 ;  Josh, 
iii.  11 ;  1  Kings  viii.  19,  21 ;  Rev.  ix. 
19:  and  elsewhere.  Since  covmant 
signifies  conjunction,  therefore  it  is 
said  concerning  the  Lord,  That  He 
shall  be  for  a  covenant  to  the  people, 
Isaiah  xlii.  6 ;  xlix.  9 :  and  He  is  call- 
ed the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  Mai. 
iii.  1 ;  and  his  blood,  the  blood  of  the 
covenant,  Matt,  xxvi.28;  Zech.  ix.  11 ; 
Exod.  xxiv.  4  to  10:  and  therefore 
the  Word  is  called  the  Old  Covenant 
AND  the  New  Covenant  ;  for  covenants 
are  made  for  the  sake  of  love,  friend- 
ship, consociation  and  conjunction. 

286.  So  great  holiness  and  so  great 
power  were  in  that  law,  because  it  was 
a  summary  of  all  things  of  religion  ;  for 
it  was  written  upon  two  tables,  one  of 
which  contains,  in  a  summary,  all 
things  which  regard  God ;  and  the 
other,  in  a  summary,  all  things  which 
regard  man :  therefore  the  com- 
mandments of  that  law  are  called 
The  Ten  Words,  Ex.  xxxiv.  28: 
Deut.  iv.  13;  ix.  4.  They  were  so 
called,  because  ten  signifies  all,  and 
words  signify  truths;  for  there  were 
more  than  ten  words.  That  ten 
signifies  all,  and  that  tithes  were 
instituted  on  account  of  that  signi- 
fication, may  be  seen  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse Revealed,  n.  101 :  and  that 
that  law  is  a  summary  of  all  tilings 
of  religion,  will  be  seen  in  what 
follows. 

287.  That  the  Decalogue,  in  the 
Sense  of  the  Letter,  contains  the 
GENERAL  Precepts  of  Doctrine  and 
Life  ;  hut,  in  the  Spiritual  .\nd  Ce- 
lestial Sense,  all  universally. 

It  is  known,  that  the  decalogue  is 
called,  in  the  Word,  by  way  of  emi- 
nence, THE  Law,  because  it  contains 
all  things  which  are  of  doctrine  and 
life ;  for  it  contains  not  only  all  things 
which  regard  God,  but  also  all  which 
regard  man ;  wherefore  that  law  was 
written  uj)on  two  tables,  one  of  which 
treats  of  God,  the  other  of  man.  It 
is  also  known,  that  all  things  of 
doctrine  and  life  have  reference  to 
love  to  God  and  love  towards  the 
neighbor ;  all  things  of  these  loves 
are   contained    in    the  decalogue. 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


213 


That  the  whole  Word  teaches  nothing 
else,  is  evident  from  these  words  of  the 
Lord  :  Jesus  said,  Thou  sliult  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  from  thy  whole  heart,  and 
in  thy  jchole  soul,  and  in  thy  whole 
mind;  and  the  neighbor  as  thyself ;  on 
these  two  commandments  hang  the  law 
and  the  prophets.  Matt.  xxii.  37  to  40. 
The  law  and  the  prophets  signify  the 
whole  Word.  And  again  :  A  certain 
lawyer,  tempting  Jesus,  said,  Blaster, 
what  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  inherit 
eternal  life  1  And  Jesus  said  to  him. 
What  is  written  in  the  law  ?  Hoto 
rcadest  thou  ?  And  he,  answering,  said, 
Thou  shall  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
from  thy  whole  heart,  and  from  thy 
lohole  soul,  and  from  thy  tchole  strength, 
and  from  th  y  whole  mind ;  and  the  neigh- 
boras  thyself  AndJesussaid,  Dothis, 

AND  THOU  SHALT  LIVE,  Lukc  X.  25  tO 

28.  Now,  because  love  to  God  and 
love  towards  the  neighbor  are  all  things 
of  the  Word ;  and  the  decalogue,  in  the 
first  table,  contains  in  a  summary  all 
things  of  love  to  God ;  and  in  the 
second  table,  all  things  of  love  to- 
wards the  neighbor ;  it  follows,  that 
it  contains  all  things  which  are  of 
doctrine  and  life.  From  a  sight  of  the 
two  tables,  it  is  manifest,  that  they 
were  so  conjoined,  that  God  from  his 
table  may  look  to  man,  and  that  man 
from  his  may  look  to  God,  recipro- 
cally ;  and  thus  that  there  is  a  re- 
ciprocal looking,  which  is  such, 
that  God,  on  his  part,  never  ceases 
to  look  at  man,  and  to  work 
such  things  as  are  of  his  salvation ; 
and  if  man  receives  and  does  those 
things  which  are  in  his  table,  recip- 
rocal conjtmction  is  effected,  and  then 
it  is  done  according  to  the  words  of  the 
Lord  to  the  lawyer.  Do  this,  and  thou 
shall  live. 

2S8.  In  the  Word,  the  law  is  often 
mentioned ;  and  it  shall  be  said  what  is 
meant  by  it  in  a  strict  sense,  and  what 
is  meant  by  it  in  a  wider  sense,  and 
what  in  the  widest  sense.  In  a  strict 
sense,  by  the  laio  is  meant  the  deca- 
logue ;  in  a  icider  sense,  are  meant  the 
statutes  given  by  Moses  to  the  sons  of 
Israel  ;  and  in  the  tvidcst,  is  meant 
the  whole  Word.'    That    by  the 


LAW,  IN  A  STRICT  SENSE,  IS  MEANT 
THE  DECALOGUE,  is  kuOWH  ;  BUT  THAT 
BY  THE  LAW,  IN  A  WIDEK  SENSE,  ARE 
MEANT  THE  STATUTES   GIVEN   BY  Mo- 

SES  TO  THE  SONS  OF  IsRAEL,  is  evident 
from  the  statutes  singly  in  Exodus, 
in  that  they  are  called  the  law;  as. 
This  is  the  law  of  the  sacrifice,  Lev. 
vii.  1.  This  is  the  law  of  the  sacrifice 
of  peace-offerings,  vii.  7,  II.  This  is 
the  lata  of  the  bread-offering,  vi.  7,  and 
the  following  verses.  This  is  the  law 
for  the  whole  burnt-offering,  for  the 
bread-offering ,  for  the  sacrifices  of  sin 
and  trespass,  and  for  consecrations,  vii. 
37.  This  is  the  law  of  the  beast  and 
of  the  bird,  xi.  46,  and  the  following 
verses.  This  is  the  law  of  one  bring- 
ing forth,  for  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
xii.  7.  This  is  the  law  of  leprosy,  xiii 
59 ;  xiv.  2,  32,  54,  57.  This  is  the 
law  of  one  affected  with  the  flux,  xv. 
31.  This  is  the  law  of  jealousy ,  Num. 
V.  29,  30.  This  is  the  'law  of  the  Naz- 
arite,  vi.  13,  21.  This  is  the  law  of 
cleansing,  xix.  14.  This  is  the  law 
concerning  the  red  heifer,  xix.  2.  The 
law  for  the  king,  Deut.  xvii.  15  to  19. 
Yea,  the  whole  book  of  3foses  is  called 
the  law,  xxxi.  9,  11,  12,  26 ;  besides 
also  in  the  New  Testament,  as  Luke 
ii.  22 ;  xxiv.  44 ;  John  i.  46 ;  vii.  22, 
23 ;  viii.  5,  and  in  other  places.  That 
these  statutes  are  meant  by  the  works 
of  the  law,  by  Paul,  where  he  says,  that 
man  is  justified  by  faith,  without  the 
uwrks  of  the  law,  Rom.  iii.  28,  is  plainly 
manifest  from  what  there  follows ;  and 
also  from  his  words  to  Peter,  whom  he 
censured  for  Judaizing,  where  he  says, 
three  times  in  one  verse,  that  no  one  is 
justified  by  the  works  of  the  lata.  Gal. 
ii.  14  to  16.    That  by  the  law,  in 

THE    AVIDEST    sense,    IS    MEANT  THE 

WHOLE  Word,  is  manifest  from  these 
passages  :  Jesus  said.  Is  it  not  ivritten 
in  YOUR  law.  Ye  are  gods,  John  x. 
34.  This  is  written.  Psalm  Ixxxii.  6. 
The  midtitude  ansioered.  We  have 
heardfrom  the  law,  that  Christ  abideth 
forever,  John  xii.  34.  This  is  written. 
Psalm  Ix.xxix.  29;  ex.  4;  Dan.  vii.  14. 
That  the  Word  icrittcn  in  their 
law  might  be  fulfilled,  They  hated  3Ie 
without  cause,  John  xv.  25.    This  is 


214 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


written,  Psalm  xxxv.  19.  The  Phar- 
isees said,  Hath  any  one  of  the  rulers 
believed  on  Him  ?  But  the  multitude 
which  knoweth  not  the  law,  John  vii. 
48,  49.  It  is  easier  for  heaven  and 
earth  to  pass  away,  than  for  one  tittle 
OF  THE  LAAv  to  fail,  Lukc  xvii.  17.  By 
the  laic  there,  is  meant  the  whole  Sa- 
cred Scripture  ;  besides  in  a  thousand 
places  in  David. 

289.  Tiiat  the  decalogue,  in  the 
spiritual  and  celestial  sense,  con- 
tains, universally,  all  the  precepts 
of  doctrine  and  of  life,  thus  all 
things  of  faith  and  charity,  is  because 
the  Word,  in  the  sense  of  the  letter, 
in  every  and  each  thing  of  it,  or  in 
the  whole  and  in  every  part,  contains 
two  interior  senses ;  one  which  is  call- 
ed spiritual,  and  another  which  is  call- 
ed celestial;  and  because,  in  these 
senses,  divine  truth  is  in  its  light,  and 
divine  goodness  in  its  heat.  Now,  be- 
cause the  Word,  in  the  whole  and  in 
every  part,  is  such,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  ten  commandments  of  the  decalogue 
be  explained  according  to  those  three 
senses,  which  are  called  ?iatural,  spir- 
itual, and  celestial.  That  the  Word 
is  such,  may  be  evident  from  tiie 
things  which  have  been  demonstrated 
above,  in  the  chapter  concerning  the 
Sacred  Scripture,  or  the  Word,  n. 
193  to  208. 

290.  No  one,  unless  he  knows  what 
the  Word  is,  can  get  at  any  idea,  that 
there  is  infinity  in  every  part  of  it ;  that 
is,  that  it  contains  innumerable  things, 
which  not  even  the  angels  can  draw  out. 
Every  thing  there  may  be  likened  to  a 
seed,  wiiicli  may  grow  up  from  the 
ground  into  a  great  tree,  and  produce 
abundance  of  seeds,  from  which  again 
may  be  similar  trees,  which  together 
make  a  garden ;  and  from  the  seeds 
of  this,  other  gardens ;  and  thus  to 
infinity.  Such  is  the  Word  of  the 
Lord,  in  every  part,  and  such  es- 
pecially is  tlie  decalogue;  for  this,  be- 
cause it  teaches  love  to  God  and  love 
towards  the  neighbor,  is  a  short  sum- 
mary of  the  whole  Word.  That  the 
Word  is  such,  the  Lord  also  explains 
by  a  similitude,  thus  :  The  kingdom  of 
God  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed, 


which  one,  taking,  sowed  in  his  field; 
which  is  less  than  all  seeds,  but  when  it 
hath  grown  up,  it  is  greater  than  the 
herbs,  and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that  the 
winged  tribes  of  heaven  come  and  nest  in 
its  branches,  Matt.  xiii.  31,  32;  Mark 
iv.  31,  32;  Luke  xiii.  18,  19.  Com- 
pare also  Ezekiel  xvii.  2  to  8.  That 
there  is  such  an  infinity  of  spiritual 
seeds,  or  truths,  in  the  Word,  may  be 
evident  from  the  wisdom  of  the  angels, 
which  is  all  from  the  Word ;  this  increas- 
es with  them  to  eternity,  and  the  wiser 
they  become,  the  more  clearly  they 
see  that  wisdom  is  without  end,  and 
perceive  that  themselves  are  only 
in  its  entrance,  and  that  they  can- 
not, as  to  the  minutest  particular, 
attain  to  the  divine  wisdom  of  the 
Lord,  which  they  call  an  abyss.  Now, 
since  the  Word  is  from  this  abyss,  be- 
cause from  the  Lord,  it  is  manifest, 
that  in  all  parts  of  it  there  is  a  kind 
of  infinity. 

The  First  Commandment. 

There  shall  not  be  to  thee  another  God 
before  my  faces. 

291.  These  are  the  words  of  the  first 
commandment,  Exod.  xx.  3 ;  Deut.  v. 
7 ;  by  which,  in  the  natural  sense, 
which  is  the  sense  of  the  letter,  is  first 
of  all  meant,  that  idols  are  not  to  be 
worshipped  ;  for  it  follows,  Thou  shalt 
not  make  to  thee  a  carving,  or  any 
figure,  which  is  in  the  heavens 
above,  and  u'hich  is  in  the  earth  be- 
neath, and  which  is  in  the  waters  under 
the  earth ;  thou  shalt  not  bow  down 
thyself  to  than,  and  shalt  not  wor- 
ship them,  because  I,  Jehovah,  am 
THv  God,  a  jealous  God,  Exod. 
XX.  3,  4,  5,  C.  That  by  this 
commandment  it  is  first  of  all 
meant,  that  idols  are  not  to  be  wor- 
shipped, was  because,  before  this 
lime,  and  after  it,  even  to  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  there  was  idolatrous  wor- 
ship in  a  great  part  of  Asia  :  the  cause 
of  that  v.orshi])  was,  tiiat  all  the 
ciuirchcs,  i)efore  the  Lord,  were  repre- 
sentative and  typical ;  and  the  types 
and  representations  were  such,  that  di- 
vine things  were  set  forth  under  various 


as  to  its  External  and  Intcrnai  Sense. 


215 


figures  nnd  images,  whicli  the  people, 
when  their  significations  were  obiit- 
eruied,  began  to  worship  for  gods. 
That  the  Israelitish  nation  also  was 
in  such  worship  when  in  Egypt,  may 
be  evident  from  the  golden  calf  which 
they  worshipped  in  the  wilderness  in- 
stead of  Jehovah  ;  and  that  afterwards 
they  were  not  alienated  from  that  wor- 
ship, is  evident  from  many  places  in  the 
Word,  both  historical  and  prophetical. 

292.  By  this  commandment,  There 
shall  not  he  to  thcc  another  God  brfore  my 
facci,  in  the  natural  sense,  is  also  meant, 
that  no  man,  dead  or  alive,  is  to  be  wor- 
shipped as  a  god  ;  which  also  was  done 
in  Asia  and  around  it,  in  various  places. 
Many  gods  of  the  nations  were  no  oth- 
er; as  Baal,  Ashtaroth,  Chemosh, 
Milcom,  Beelzebub ;  and  at  Athens 
and  Rome,  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Neptune, 
Pluto,  Apollo,  Pallas,  &c. ;  some  of 
whom  they  worshipped  first  as  saints, 
afterwards  as  divinities,  and  lastly  as 
gods.  That  they  also  worshipped  liv- 
ing men  as  gods,  is  evident  from  the 
edict  of  Darius  the  Mede,  that  no 
one,  within  thirty  days,  should  ask 
any  thing  of  God,  but  of  the  king 
alone;  if  otherwise,  he  should  be 
cast  into  a  den  of  lions,  Dan.  vi.  8  to 
the  end. 

293.  In  the  natural  sense,  which  is 
the  sense  of  the  letter,  is  also  meant 
by  this  commandment,  that  not  any 
one,  except  God,  and  that  not  any  thing, 
except  that  which  proceeds  from  God, 
is  to  be  loved  above  all  things,  which  is 
also  according  to  the  words  of  the  Lord, 
Matt.  xxii.  35  to  37 ;  Luke  x.  25  to 
2S;  for  he  who  and  that  which  is 
loved  above  all  things,  is  to  the 
lover  a  god  and  divine;  as,  whoso- 
ever loves  himself  above  all  things, 
or  also  the  world,  to  him  himself  or 
the  world  is  his  god  ;  which  is  the 
cause,  that  the  same  do  not  in  heart 
acknowledge  any  god ;  tliey  therefore 
are  conjoined  with  their  like  in  hell, 
where  are  collected  all  who  have  loved 
themselves  and  the  world  above  all 
things. 

294.  The  spiritual  sense  of  this 
commandment  is,  that  no  other  God 
than  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  to  be 


worshipped,  because  He  is  Jehovah, 
who  came  into  the  world,  and  made  re- 
demption, without  which  not  any  man, 
nor  any  angel,  could  have  been  saved. 
That  besides  him  there  is  no  other  God, 
is  evident  from  these  passages  in  the 
Word  :  It  shall  he  said  in  that  day. 
Behold,  this  is  our  God,  whoin  we  have 
erpected  that  he  should  deliver  us ;  this  is 
Jehovah,  tokom  we  have  expected;  let  us 
exult  and  be  glad  in  his  salvation,  Isaiah 
XXV.  9.  T/ie  voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness.  Prepare  ye  a  way  for  Jeho- 
vah, make  smooth  in  the  desert  a  path 
for  our  God;  for  the  glory  of  Jehovah 
shall  be  revecdcd,  and  all  flesh  shall  see 
together.  Behold!  the  Lord  Jehovah 
Cometh  in  the  Mighty  One,  He  shall 
feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd,  xl.  3,  5, 
11.  Only  in  thee  is  God;  besides, 
there  is  no  God ;  verily  thou  art  a  God 
concealed,  O  God  of  Israel,  the  S.w- 
lOR,  xlv.  14,  15.  Am  not  I  Jehovah, 
and  there  is  no  God  else  beside  Me  7 
a  just  God  and  a  Savior  there  is  not 
beside  Me !  xlv.  21 ,  22.  /  am  Jeho- 
vah, and  beside  me  there  is  no  S.wior, 
xliii.  11 ;  Hosea  xiii.  4.  That  all 
flesh  may  know,  that  I  Jehovah  am  thy 
Savior,  and  thy  Redeemer,  Isaiah 
xlix.  26  ;  Ix.  16.  yls /'or  owr  Redeem- 
er, Jehovah  of  hosts  is  his  name,  xlvii. 
4  ;  Jer.  1.  34.  Jehovah,  my  Rock  and 
MY  Redeemer,  Psalm  xix.  14.  2'hus 
said  Jehovah,  thy  Redeemer,  the  Ho- 
ly One  of  Israel,  I  am  Jehovah  thy 
God,  Isaiah  xlviii.  17;  xliii.  24;  xlix. 

7.  Thus  said  Jehovah,  thy  Redeem- 
er, /  am  Jehovah,  that  maketh  all 
things,  even  alone  by  Myself,  xliv.  24. 
Thus  said  Jehovah,  the  King  of  Israel, 
and  his  Redeemer,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  I 
am  the  First  and  the  Last,  and  beside 
Me  there  is  no  God,  xliv.  6.  Jehovah 
of  hosts  is  his  name,  and  thy  Redeem- 
er, the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  shall  be 
called  the  God  of  the  whole  earth,  liv. 

8.  Abraham  doth  not  know  ns,  Israel 
doth  not  acknowledge  us;  Thou,  Jeho- 
vah, art  our  Father,  our  Redeemer, 
from  an  age  is  thy  name,  Ixiii.  16. 
A  Child  is  born  to  us,  a  Son  is  given  to 
us,  tchose  name  is  Wonderful,  Counsel- 
lor, God,  Hero,  Father  of  eternity, 
the  Prince  of  peace,  ix.  6.    Behold  the 


216 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


days  will  come,  when  I  shall  raise  up  to 
David  a  righteous  Branch,  2cho  shall 
reign  King,  and  this  is  his  name,  Je- 
hovah OUR  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Jcr.  xxiii. 
5,  6;xxxiii.  15,  10.  Philip  said  to 
Jesus,  Show  us  the  Father.  Jesus  said 
to  him,  Me  who  secth  Mc,  secth  the  Fa- 
ther. Believtst  thou  not  that  I  am  in 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Mc  ? 
John  xiv.  8,  9.  In  Jesus  Christ  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwclleth 
bodily.  Col.  ii.  9.  We  are  in  the 
Truth,  in  Jesus  Christ ;  This  is  the 
true  God  and  eternal  life.  Little  chil- 
dren, keep  yourselves  from  idols,  1 
Jolm  V.  20,  21.  From  these  passages 
it  is  clearly  manifest,  that  the  Lord  our 
Savior  is  Jehovah  Himself,  who  is  at 
the  same  time  the  Creator,  Redeemer, 
and  Regenerator.  This  is  the  spiritu- 
al sense  of  this  commandment. 

295.  The  celestial  sense  of  this 
commandment  is,  that  Jehovah  the 
Lord  i.s  Infinite,  Immense  and  Eternal; 
that  He  is  Omnipotent,  Omniscient  and 
Omnipresent ;  that  He  is  the  First  and 
the  Last,  the  Beginning  and  the  End; 
who  Was,  Is,  and  Will  Be  ;  that  He  is 
Love  itself,  and  Wisdom  itself,  or  Good 
itself  and  Truth  itself;  consequently, 
Life  itself ;  thus  the  Only  One,  from 
vvliom  are  all  tilings. 

29G.  All  who  acknowledge  and  wor- 
ship any  other  God,  than  the  liOrd  the 
Savior  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  Him.';elf  Je- 
hovah God  in  the  human  ibrm,  sin 
again.st  this  first  commandment ;  just 
so  also  do  those  who  jiersuadc  them- 
selves that  there  arc  three  divine  per- 
sons actually  existing  fi-om  eternity. 
These,  as  they  confirm  themselves  in 
that  error,  become  more  and  more  nat- 
ural and  corporeal,  and  then  they  can- 
not compreliend,  internally,  any  divine 
truth;  and  if  they  hear  and  receive  it, 
still  they  defile  and  disguise  it  with 
fallacies.  They  may ,  therefore,  bo  com- 
pared to  those  who  live  in  the  lower 
story  of  a  house ;  or  in  a  room  under 
ground,  and  on  that  account  do  not 
hear  any  thing  that  those  wiio  are  in 
the  second  and  third  story  say  to  each 
other,  because  the  covering  over  head 
prevents  the  sound  from  penetrating. 
The  human  mind  is  like  a  house  of 


three  stories,  in  the  lowest  of  which 
are  those  who  have  confirmed  them- 
selves in  favor  of  three  Gods  from  eter- 
nity ;  in  the  second  and  third  stories 
are  those  who  acknowledge  and  be- 
lieve in  one  God,  under  a  visible  human 
form,  and  the  Lord  God  the  Savior  to 
be  that  God.  The  sensual  and  corpo- 
real man,  because  he  is  merely  natural, 
viewed  in  himself,  is  altogether  an  an- 
imal, and  only  difiers  from  a  brute  ani- 
mal, in  that  he  is  able  to  speak  and 
reason ;  wherefore  he  is  like  one  living 
in  a  menagerie  where  are  beasts  of  eve- 
ry kind,  and  where  he  sometimes  acts 
tlie  lion,  and  sometimes  the  bear,  and 
sometimes  the  tiger,  leopard  or  wolf; 
yea,  he  can  also  act  the  sheep,  but 
then  he  laughs  in  his  heart.  The 
merely  natural  man  does  not  think 
concerning  divine  truths,  except  from 
the  things  of  the  world,  thus  from 
the  fallacies  of  the  senses ;  for  he 
cannot  elevate  his  mind  above  them. 
Wherefore  the  doctrine  of  his  faith 
may  be  compared  to  a  pudding  made 
of  chalf,  which  he  eats  as  a  dainty,  or 
as  it  was  commanded  Ezekiel,  the 
prophet,  that  he  should  mix  wheat,  bar- 
ley, beans,  lentiles  and  spelt,  with  man's 
or  cow's  dung,  and  make  for  himself 
bread  and  cakes,  and  thus  represent 
the  church,  such  as  it  was  with 
the  Israelitisli  nation,  Ezck.  iv.  9, 
and  the  following  verses.  It  is  similar 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  which 
is  founded  and  built  upon  three  divine 
persons  from  (!ternity,  each  of  whom 
singly  is  God.  Who  would  not  see 
the  enormity  of  that  faith,  if  it  should 
be  exhibited,  such  as  it  is  in  itself,  in  a 
picture  before  the  eyes,  as  if  the  three 
should  stand  in  order  by  each  other, 
the  first  distinguished  by  a  sceptre  and 
crown  ;  the  second  hohling  in  his  right 
hand  a  book,  which  is  the  Word,  and 
in  his  left,  a  cross  of  gold  sprinkled 
with  blood  ;  and  the  third  girded  with 
wings,  standing  upon  one  foot,  in  the 
eftbrt  of  flying  and  operating;  over 
which  is  written,  These  three  Per- 
sons, BEING  AS  MANY  GoDS,   ARE  ONE 

God.  What  wise  man,  seeing  this 
picture,  would  not  say  with  himself. 
Oh,  what  a  fantasy  !   But  he  would 


as  to  its  Kxtcnud  and  Internal  Sense. 


217 


say  otherwise,  if  he  should  sec  the 
picture  of  one  divine  Person,  witli  rnys 
of  heavenly  liglit  around  the  liead, 
with  this  superscription,  Tins  is  our 
God;  at  the  sami;  time.  Crea- 
tor, Redeemer  and  Regenerator, 
THUS  the  Savior.  Would  not  that 
wise  man  kiss  this  picture,  and  carry  it 
home  in  liis  bosom,  and  witii  the  siglit  of 
it,  delight  both  his  own  mind,  and  the 
mind§  of  his  wife  and  children  and  ser- 
vants ? 

The  Second  Commandment. 

I'/wH  shalt  not  take  the  Name  of  Jeho- 
vah thy  God  in  vain ;  because  Jeho- 
vah loill  not  hold  him  guiltless,  who 
takdh  his  name  in  vain. 

297.  By  taking  the  name  of  Jehovah 
God  in  vain,  in  the  natural  sense, 
which  is  the  sense  of  the  letter,  is 
meant  the  name  itself,  and  the  abuse 
of  it,  in  various  conversations,  especially 
in  falsehoods  or  lies,  and  in  oaths  with- 
out cause,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
culpation in  evil  intentions,  which 
are  execrations,  and  in  tricks  and  in- 
cantations. But  to  swear  by  God  and 
his  holiness,  the  Word  and  the  Gos- 
pel, at  coronations,  at  inaugurations 
into  the  priesthood,  at  inductions  into 
offices  of  trust,  is  not  to  take  the  name 
of  God  in  vain,  unless  the  swearer  after- 
wards rejects  his  engagements  as  vain. 
But  the  name  of  God,  which  is  itself 
holy,  is  to  be  constantly  used  in  the 
holy  things  which  are  of  the  church, 
as  in  prayers,  psalms,  and  in  all  wor- 
ship ;  and  also  in  preaching,  and  in 
writing  on  ecclesiastical  affairs :  the 
reason  is,  because  God  is  in  all  things 
of  religion,  and  when  He  is  rightly 
invoked,  He  is  present  by  his  name, 
and  hears ;  in  these  things  the  name  of 
God  is  hallowed.  That  the  name  of 
Jehovah  God  is  in  itself  holy,  is  evident 
from  that  name,  in  that  the  Jews,  since 
their  first  time,  have  not  dared,  and  do 
not  dare,  to  say  Jehovah,  and  that,  on 
their  account,  neither  would  the  evan- 
gelists and  apostles ;  wherefore,  instead 
of  Jehovah,  they  said  Lord  ;  as  is 
evident  from  various  passages,  tran- 
2S 


scribed  from  the  Old  Testament  into 
the  New;  where,  instead  of  Jehovah, 
Lord  is  named,  as  Matt.  xxii.  35 ; 
Luke  X.  27 ;  compared  with  Deut.  vi. 
5;  and  in  other  places.  That  the 
name  Jesus  is  in  like  manner  holy,  is 
known  from  the  apostle  saying,  that 
at  that  name  the  knees  in  tlie  heavens 
and  in  the  eartiis  are  and  must  be  bowed; 
and  moreover,  that  it  can  be  named  by 
no  devil  in  hell.  The  names  of  God, 
M"hich  are  not  to  be  taken  in  vain,  are 
several,  as  Jehovah,  Jehovah  God, 
Jehovah  of  hosts,  the  Hohj  One  of 
Israel,  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

298.  In  the  spiritual  sense,  by  the 
name  of  God,  is  meant  all  that  which 
the  church  teaches  fi-om  the  Word,  and 
by  which  the  Lord  is  invoked  and 
worshipped ;  all  those  things  are  the 
name  of  God,  in  the  complex ;  where- 
fore by  taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain, 
is  meant,  to  take  any  thing  thence  in 
frivolous  conversation,  falsehoods,  lies, 
execrations,  tricks  and  incantations; 
for  this  is  also  to  revile  and  blaspheme 
God,  thus  his  name.  That  the  Word, 
and  whatever  of  the  church  is  thence, 
and  thus  all  worship,  is  the  name  of 
God,  may  be  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages :  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  my 
name  shall  be  invoked,  Isaiah  xli.  25. 
From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  to  its 
setting,  my  name  shall  be  great  among 
the  nations  ;  and  in  every  place,  incense 
shall  be  offered  to  my  name.  Yc  pro- 
fane 7ny  name,  when  yc  say.  The  table 
of  Jehovah  is  polluted ;  and  yc  snuff  at 
my  name,  ivhcn  yc  bring  the  torn,  the 
lame  and  the  sick,  Mai.  i.  11,  12,  13. 
All  people  walk  in  the  name  of  their 
God,  and  we  toill  walk  in  the  name  of 
Jehovah,  our  God,  Mich.  iv.  5.  They 
shall  worship  Jehovah  in  one  place, 
where  He  shcdl  place  his  name,  Deut. 
xii.  5,  11, 13,  14,  18 ;  xvi.  2,  6,  11,  15, 
16 ;  that  is,  where  his  worship  is.  Je- 
sus said,  Where  two  or  three  are  gath- 
ered together  in  my  name,  there  I  am  in 
the  midst  of  f/(c,«,'  Matt,  xviii.  20.  As 
many  as  received  Him,  He  gave  to 
them  power  that  they  might  be  sons  of 
God,  believing  in  his  name,  John  i. 


218 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


12.  He  who  doth  not  believe,  is  al- 
ready judged,  because  he  hath  not  be- 
lieved in  the  name  of  the  Only-begotten 
Son  of  God,  iii.  17.  Believing,  they 
shall  have  life  in  his  name,  xx.  31. 
Jesus  said,  I  have  manifested  thy  name 
to  men ;  and  I  have  made  known  to 
them  thy  name,  xvii.  26.  The  Lord 
said,  I  have  a  few  names  in  Saj-dis, 
Rev.  iii.  4 ;  besides  in  many  other 
places,  in  which,  as  in  the  preceding, 
by  the  name  of  God,  is  meant  the  Di- 
vine, whicli  proceeds  from  God,  and  by 
which  He  is  worshipped.  But,  by  the 
name  of  Jesus  Chkist,  is  meant  all 
of  redemption,  and  all  of  his  doc- 
trine, and  thus  all  of  salvation;  by 
Jesus,  all  of  salvation  by  redemption, 
and  by  Christ,  all  of  salvation  by  his 
doctrine. 

299.   In  THE   CELESTIAL  SE.NSE,  by 

taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain,  is 
meant  that  which  the  Lord  said  to  the 
Pharisees  :  All  sin  and  blasphemy  shall 
be  remitted  unto  man,  but  the  blasphe- 
my of  the  Spirit  shall  not  be  remitted. 
Matt.  xii.  31.  By  the  blasphemy  of 
the  Spirit,  is  meant  blasphemy  again.st 
the  divinity  of  the  Lord's  Human,  and 
against  the  holiness  of  the  Word. 
That  the  Divine  Human  of  the  Lord 
is  meant,  by  the  name  of  Jehovah 
God,  in  the  celestial  or  highest  sense, 
is  evhlcnt  from  these  words  :  Jesus  said, 
F.\THEK,  GLORii  v  THY  NAME  ;  and  a 
voice  came  out  from  heaven,  saying,  I 
have  both  glorified,  and  will  glorify 
again,  John  xii.  2S.  Whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  in  iny  name,  this  I  will  do,  that 
the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son  ; 
if  ye  shall  ask  any  thing  in  my  name, 
I  will  do  it,  xiv.  13, 14.  In  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  by  Hallowed  be  thy  name,  in 
the  celestial  sense,  no  other  is  signi- 
fied ;  and  also  by  name,  Exod.  xxiii.  21 ; 
Isaiah  Ixiii.  16.  Since  blasphemy 
of  the  Spirit  is  not  remitted  to  man,  ac- 
cording to  the  words.  Matt.  xii.  31,  32; 
and  this,  in  the  celestial  sense,  is  meant, 
therefore  it  is  added  to  this  command- 
ment. Because  Jehovah  will  not  hold  him 
guiltless  who  taketli  his  name  in  vain. 

300.  That  by  the  name  of  any  one 
is  not  meant  his  name  only,  but  also  all 


his  quality,  is  manifest  from  names  in 
the  spiritual  world,  where  no  man  re- 
tains the  name  which  he  received  at 
his  baptism,  and  from  his  father  or  an- 
cestors, in  the  world ;  but  every  one  there 
is  named  according  to  his  quality,  and 
the  angels  arc  called  according  to  their 
moral  and  spiritual  life ;  these  also  are 
they  who  are  meant  by  thege  words  of 
the  Lord  :  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  good 
Shepherd;  the  sheep  hear  his  voic^,  and 
He  eallcth  his  own  sheep  by  name,  and 
leadcth  them  out,  John  x.  3.  And  also 
by  these  :  1  have  a  fw  names  in  Sardis, 
who  have  not  defied  their  garments. 
TVliosocver  overcvmeth,  I  trill  write  up- 
on him  the  name  of  the  city.  New 
Jerusalem,  and  my  neto   name.  Rev. 
iv.  12.    Gabriel  and  Michael  are  not 
the  names  of  two  persons  in  heaven, 
but  by  those  names  are  meant  all  in 
heaven,  who  are  in  wisdom  concern- 
ing the  Lord,  and  worship  Him.  Also 
by  the  name  of  percons  and  places  in 
the  Word,  arc   not   meant  persons 
and  places,  but  the  things  of  the  church. 
In  tlse  natural  world  also,  by  name,  is  not 
meant  the  name  only,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  the  quality  of  the  person,  because 
this  adheres  to  liis  name ;  for  it  is  said 
in  common  discourse,  "  He  does  this 
for  the  sake  of  his  name,  or  for  the 
fame  of  a  name ;  This  man  has  a  great 
name ;"   by  which  is  signified,  that  he 
is  celebrated  for  such  tilings  as  are  in 
him,  as  for  ingenuhy,  erudition,  merit, 
and  .>;o  forth.    Who  does  not  know, 
that  lie  wli«  defames  and  calumniates 
any  one,  as  to  his  name,  defames  and 
calumniates  also  the  actions  of  his  life  ? 
They  are  conjoined  in  idea,  thence  the 
fame  of  his  name  perishes.    In  like 
manner,  whoever  utters,  disrespectful- 
ly, the  name  of  a  king,  a  duke  or  a 
grandee,  casts  reproach  also  upon  their 
majesty  and  dignity :  .«o  also  he,  who 
utters  the  name  of  any  one  with  a  tone 
of  contempt,  at  the  same  time  vilifies 
the  actions  of  his  life.    The  case  is 
similar  with  every  person,  whose  name, 
that  is,  whose  quality  and  consequent 
fame,  according  to  the  laws  of  all  king- 
doms, it  is  not  allowable  to  blast  and 
(h^fame. 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


219 


TuK  Third  Commandment. 

Remember  the  Sabbath  Day,  that  thou 
keep  it  holy ;  six  days  thou  shalt  labor 
and  do  all  thy  work;  but  the  sev- 
enth day  is  a  Sabbath  to  Jehovah  thy 
God. 

301 .  That  this  is  the  third  command- 
ment, may  be  seen,  Exod.  xx.  8,9, 10; 
and  Deut.  v.  12,  13.  By  this  ia  the 
NATUR.\L  SENSE,  which  is  the  sense  of 
the  letter,  is  meant,  that  six  days  are 
for  man  and  his  labors,  and  the  sev- 
enth for  the  Lord,  and  for  man's  rest 
from  Him.  Sabbath,  in  the  original 
tongue,  signifies  rest.  Tlie  Sabbath, 
among  the  sons  of  Israel,  was  the  sanc- 
tity of  sanctities,  because  it  represented 
the  Lord ;  the  six  days,  his  labors  and 
combats  with  the  hells ;  and  the  seventh, 
his  victory  over  them,  and  thus  rest ; 
and  because  that  day  was  representa- 
tive of  the  close  of  the  whole  redemp- 
tion of  the  Lord,  therefore  it  was  holi- 
ness itself.  But  when  the  Lord  came 
into  the  world,  and  thence  tlie  represen- 
tations of  Him  ceased,  that  day  became 
a  day  of  instruction  in  divine  things, 
and  thus  also  a  day  of  rest  from  labors, 
and  of  meditation  on  such  things  as 
are  of  salvation  and  eternal  life  ;  as  al- 
so a  day  of  love  towards  the  neighbor. 
That  it  became  a  day  of  instruction  in 
divine  things,  is  manifest  from  this,  that 
the  Lord  on  that  day  taught  in  the 
temple  and  synagogues,  Mark  vi.  2 ; 
Luke  iv.  16,  31, 32  ;  xiii.  10 ;  and  that 
he  said  to  the  man  who  was  healed, 
Take  up  thy  bed  and  wrdk ;  and  to  the 
Pharisees,  That  it  jcas  lawful  for  the 
disciples  on  the  Sabbath  day  to  gather 
the  ears  of  corn  and  to  cat,  Matt.  xii. 
1  to  9 ;  Mark  ii.  23  to  the  end  ;  Luke 
vi.  1  to  6  ;  John  v.  9  to  19  ;  by  which 
particulars,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  is 
signified,  to  be  instructed  in  doctrinals. 
That  that  day  became  also  a  day  of 
love  towards  the  neighbor,  is  evident 
from  those  things  which  the  Lord  did 
and  taught  on  the  day  of  the  Sabbath, 
Matt.  xii.  10  to  14;  Mark  iii.  1  to  9; 
Luke  vi.  6  to  12;  xiii.  10  to  18;  xiv. 
1  to  7 ;  John  v.  9  to  19 ;  vii.  22,  23; 
ix.  14,  16.  From  these  and  the  former 
passages,  it  is  manifest  why  the  Lord 


said,  that  He  is  Lord  also  of  the 
Sabbath,  Matt.  xii.  8;  Mark  ii.  28; 
Luke  vi.  5 ;  and  because  He  said  this, 
it  follows  that  that  day  was  representa- 
tive of  Him. 

302.  By  tliis  commandment,  in  the 
SPIRITUAL  SENSE,  is  signified  the  ref- 
ormation and  regeneration  of  man  by 
the  Lord ;  by  the  six  days  of  labor, 
the  combat  against  the  flesh  and  its 
concupiscences,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
against  the  evils  and  falses  which  are 
with  him  from  hell ;  and  by  the  sev- 
enth day,  is  signified  his  conjunction 
with  the  Lord,  and  thereby  regenera- 
tion. That,  as  long  as  that  combat  con- 
tinues, man  has  spiritual  labor,  but 
that,  when  he  is  regenerated,  he  has 
rest,  will  be  evident  from  those  things 
which  will  be  said  hereafter,  in  the 
chapter  concerning  Reformation  and 
Regeneration, particularly  from  these 
things  there :  L  That  regeneration  is 
effected  in  a  maimer  analogous  to  that 
in  which  man  is  conceived,  carried  in 
the  zcomb,  born  and  educated.  II. 
That  the  first  act  of  the  new  generation 
is  called  reformation,  ichich  is  of  the 
itndcr standing ;  and  that  its  second  is 
ccdled  regeneration,  which  is  of  the 
will,  and  thence  of  the  understanding. 

III.  That  the  internal  man  frst  is  to 
be  reformed,  and  by  this  the  external. 

IV.  That  then  a  combat  ai-ises  between 
the  internal  and  the  external  man,  and 
that  the  one  that  overcomes  rules  over  the 
other.  V.  That  the  regenerate  man 
has  a  neio  icill  and  a  new  understandr 
ing,  &c.  The  reason  why  the  reform- 
ation and  regeneration  of  man  are 
signified  by  this  commandment,  in  the 
spiritual  sense,  is,  because  they  coin- 
cide with  the  labors  and  combats  of  the 
Lord  with  the  hells,  and  with  the  vic- 
tory over  them,  and  rest  then  ;  for  the 
Lord  reforms  and  regenerates  man, 
and  renders  him  spiritual,  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  He  glorified  his  Hu- 
man, and  made  it  Divine  :  this  is  what 
is  meant  by  following  Him.  That  the 
Lord  had  combats,  and  that  they  are 
called  labors,  is  manifest  in  Isaiah  liii- 
and  Ixiii. ;  and  that  similar  things  are 
called  labors,  in  relation  to  men,  Ixv. 
23 ;  Rev.  ii.  23. 


220 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


303.    In  THE   CELESTIAL  SENSE,  by 

this  commandment,  is  meant  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Lord,  and  then  peace, 
because  protection  from  hell ;  for  by 
the  Sabbath,  is  signified  rest,  and  in 
this  highest  sense,  peace ;  wherefore 
the  Lord  is  called  the  Prince  of  Peace ; 
and  also  He  calls  himself  Peace,  as  is 
evident  from  these  passages  :  A  Child 
is  born  to  us,  a  Son  is  given  to  us,  up- 
on whose  shoulders  shall  be  the  gov- 
ernment, and  his  name  shall  be  called 
Wonderful,  Counsellor,  God,  Hero, 
the  Father  of  eternity,  the  Prince 
OF  Peace  ;  to  the  increase  of  his  gov- 
ernment and  peace  thc7-e  will  be  no 
end,  Isaiah  ix.  6,  7.  Jesus  said,  Peace 
/  leave  to  you,  my  peace  I  give  to  you, 
John  xiv.  27.  Jesus  said,  I  have  spok- 
en these  things,  that  in  Me  ye  may 
have  peace,  xvi.  33.  Hoio  delight- 
ful, upon  the  mountains,  are  the  feet 
of  Him  who  uringetii  good  tidings, 
who  publisheth  peace,  saying.  Thy 
King  reigneth,  Isaiah  Hi.  7.  Jehovah 
will  redeem  my  soul  in  peace,  Psalm 
Iv.  18.  The  work  of  Jehovah  is 
peace,  the  labor  of  righteousness 
IS  rest,  and  security  forever,  that 
they  may  dwell  in  a  habitation  of 

PEACE,  AND  in  TENTS  OF  SECURITY, 
AND    IN    TRANQUIL    RESTING  PLACES, 

Isaiah  xxxii.  17,  18.  Jesus  said  to  the 
seventy  whom  He  se7it  forth.  Into 
whatsoever  house  ye  enter,  first  say, 
Peace  to  this  house  ;  and  if  a  son  of 
PEACE  be  there,  your  peace  shall  rest 
7ipon  him,  hiikc  X.  5,  G;  Matt.  x.  12, 
13,  14.  Jehovah  trill  speak  peace  to 
his  people;  righteousness  and  peace 
shall  kiss  each  other.  Psalm  Ixxxv.  9, 
10.  When  the  Lord  appeared  to  the 
disciples.  He  said,  Peace  he  with 
YOU,  John  XX.  19,  21,  2(5.  Moreover, 
the  state  of  peace,  into  which  tliosc  who 
are  regenerated  by  the  Lord  arc  about 
to  come,  is  treated  of  in  Isaiah  Ixv. 
and  Ixvi.,  and  in  other  places;  and 
those  will  come  into  it  who  are  re- 
ceived into  the  New  Church,  which  the 
Lord  is  at  this  day  instituting.  What 
the  peace  is  in  its  essence,  in  which  the 
angels  of  heaven  are,  and  those  who  are 
in  the  Lord,  may  be  seen  in  the  work 
concerning   Heaven  and  Hell,  n. 


284  to  290.  From  these  things  also 
it  is  manifest,  why  the  Lord  calls  Him- 
self the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  that  is, 
of  rest  and  peace. 

304.  Celestial  peace,  which  is  in  re- 
spect to  the  hells,  that  evils  and  falses 
may  not  thence  arise  and  invade,  may 
be  compared  with  natural  peace,  in 
many  cases,  as  with  peace  after  wars, 
when  every  one  lives  in  security  with 
respect  to  enemies,  and  safe  in  his 
city,  in  his  own  house  and  in  his  own 
farms  and  gardens.  It  is  as  the  proph- 
et said,  when  he  speaks  naturally  con- 
cerning celestial  peace  ;  They  shall  sit 
every  man  xinder  his  vine,  and  under 
his  fg-tree,  and  none  shall  terrify  them, 
Micah.iv.  4;  Isaiah  Ixv.  21,22,  23. 
It  may  be  compared  also  with  recrea- 
tions of  the  mind  and  with  rests,  after 
grievous  labors,  and  with  the  consola- 
tions of  mothers  after  parturition,  when 
their  love,  called  storgc,  manifests  its 
delights.  It  may  also  be  compared 
with  serenity  after  tempests,  black 
clouds  and  thunders ;  and  likewise  with 
spring  after  a  severe  winter  passed  by  ; 
and  then  with  the  expressions  of  joy 
from  the  tender  plants  in  the  fields, 
and  from  the  blossoms  in  gardens, 
plains  and  woods.  It  may  be  com- 
pared also  with  the  state  of  mind  with 
those,  who,  after  storms  and  dangers 
upon  the  sea,  reach  the  port,  and  set 
their  feet  upon  the  expected  land. 

The  Fourth  Commandment. 

Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that 
thy  days  may  be  prolonged,  and  that 
it  may  be  well  tcith  thee  upon  the 
earth. 

305.  This  commandment  is  so  read, 
Exod.  XX.  12,  and  Deut.  v.  16.  By 
honoring  thy  father  and  thy  mother, 
in  THE  natural  sense,  which  is  the 
sense  of  the  letter,  is  meant,  to  honor 
parents,  to  obey  them,  to  be  attentive 
to  them,  and  to  be  grateful  to  them  for 
benefits,  which  are,  that  they  feed  and 
clothe  their  children,  and  introduce 
them  into  the  world,  that  they  may  act 
in  it  as  civil  and  moral  persons ;  and 
also  into  heaven,  by  the  precepts 
of  religion ;   thus   they  consult  for 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


221 


their  temporal  prosperity,  and  .also  for 
their  eternal  felicity ;  and  they  do  all 
these  things  from  the  love  in  which 
they  are  from  the  Lord,  whose  office 
they  perform.  In  a  respective  sense, 
is  meant,  the  honor  of  guardians  from 
wards,  if  the  parents  are  dead.  In  a 
wider  sense,  by  this  commandment,  is 
meant,  to  honor  the  king  and  magis- 
trates, since  they  provide  things  neces- 
sary for  all  in  common,  which  parents 
do  in  particular.  In  the  widest  sense,  by 
this  commandment,  is  meant,  that  men 
should  love  tiieir  country,  because  this 
nourishes  them  and  protects  them ; 
wherefore  country  [patria]  is  called 
from  father  [poter].  But  honors 
should  be  paid  by  parents  to  their 
country,  king  and  magistrates,  and 
implanted  by  them  in  their  children. 

30(3.  In  THE  SPIRITUAL  SENSE,  by 
honoring  father  and  mother,  is  meant, 
to  adore  and  love  God  and  the  church. 
In  this  sense,  by  father,  is  meant  God, 
who  is  the  Father  of  all ;  and  by  7noth- 
er,  the  church.  Infants  and  angels 
in  the  heavens  know  no  other  father 
and  no  other  mother,  since  they  are 
born  there  anew  of  the  Lord  by  the 
church ;  wherefore  the  Lord  says.  Call 
no  one  your  father  on  the  earth ;  for 
one  is  your  Father,  who  is  in  the  heav- 
ens, Matt,  xxiii.  9.  Tiiese  things  were 
said  for  infants  and  angels  in  heaven, 
but  not  for  infants  and  men  on  the 
earth.  The  Lord  teaches  tlie  same 
in  the  common  prayer  of  Christian 
churches  :  Our  Father,  who  art  in  the 
heavens,  hallowed  be  thy  name.  That 
by  mother,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  is 
meant  the  church,  is,  because,  as  a 
mother  on  the  earth  feeds  her  children 
with  natural  food,  so  the  church  feeds 
them  with  spiritual  food ;  wherefore, 
also,  the  church  is  every  where  in  the 
Word  called  mother,  as  in  Hosea : 
Contend  with  your  mother  ;  she  is  not 
my  7cife,  and  I  am  not  her  husband,  ii. 
2,  5;  in  Isaiah  :  Where  is  your  mother' s 
bill  of  divoreement,  whom  I  have  pxit 
away  1.  1  ;  and  Ezek.  xvi.  45;  xix. 
10.  And  in  the  evangelists :  Jesus, 
stretching  out  his  hand  to  the  disciples, 
said.  My  mother  and  my  brethren  are 
those  who  hear  the  Word  of  God  and 


do  it.  Matt.  xii.  48,  49 ;  Mark  iii.  33, 
34,  35 ;  Luke  viii.  21 ;  John  xix.  25, 
26,  27. 

307.  In  the  celestial  sense,  by 
father,  is  meant  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ; 
and  by  mother,  the  communion  of  the 
saints,  by  which  is  meant  his  church, 
spread  over  all  the  world.  That 
the  Lord  is  Father,  is  evident  from 
these  passages  :  A  Child  is  born  to  us, 
a  Son  is  given  to  us,  lohosc  name  is 
God,  Hero,  the  Father  of  eterni- 
ty, the  Prince  of  peace,  Isaiah  ix.  6. 
Thou  art  our  Father;  Abraham  doth 
not  know  us,  and  Israel  doth  not  ac- 
knotoledge  us :  Thou  art  our  Fa- 
ther, our  Redeemer ;  from  an  age  is 
thy  name,  Ixiii.  16.  Philip  said,  Sho7v 
us  the  Father.  Jesus  saith  to  him.  He 
WHO  seeth  Me,  seeth  the  Father; 
how,  then,  saycst  thou,  Show  us  the 
Father  ?  Believe  Me,  that  I  am  in 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me, 
John  XV.  7  to  11;  xii.  45.  That  by 
mother,  in  this  sense,  is  meant  the 
church  of  the  Lord,  is  evident  from 
these  passages :  /  saw  the  holy  city. 
New  Jerusalem,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband,  Rev.  xxi. 
2.  The  angel  said  unto  John,  Come,  I 
icill  show  thee  the  bride,  the  L.vmb's 
WIFE.  And  he  showed  the  city,  the  ho- 
ly Jerusalem,  xxi.  9,  10.  The  time  of 
THE  MARRIAGE  OF  THE  Lamb  hath  come, 
and  HIS  WIFE  hath  prepared  herself. 
Blessed  are  those  who  are  called  to  the 
MARRIAGE-SUPPER  of  thc  Lamb,  xix.  7, 
9 ;  and  besides.  Matt.  ix.  15 ;  Mark  ii. 
19,  20 ;  Luke  v.  34,  35 ;  John  iii.  29 ; 
xix.  26,  27.  That  by  New  Jerusa- 
lem, is  meant  a  New  Church,  which 
the  Lord  is  now  instituting,  may  be 
seen  in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed, 
n.  880,  8S1 :  this  church,  and  not  the 
former,  is  wife  and  mother  in  this 
sense.  The  spiritual  offspring,  which 
are  born  of  this  marriage,  are  the  goods 
of  charity  and  the  truths  of  faith ;  and 
those  who  are  in  these,  from  the  Lord, 
are  called  children  of  the  marriage, 
children  of  God,  and  born  of  Him. 

308.  It  is  to  be  held,  that  there 
continually  proceeds  from  the  Lord  a 
divine  sphere  of  celestial  love  towards 
all  who  embrace  tlie  doctrine  of  his 


222 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


church,  and  who  obey  Him,  as  little 
children  in  the  world  obey  father  and 
mother,  apply  themselves  to  Him,  and 
wish  to  be  nourished,  that  is,  instructed 
by  Him.  From  this  celestial  sphere 
arises  a  natural  sphere,  which  is  of 
love  towards  infants  and  children, 
which  is  most  universal,  and  not  only 
affects  men,  but  also  birds  and  beasts, 
even  to  serpents ;  and  not  only  animate, 
but  also  inanimate  things.  But  that 
the  Lord  might  operate  into  these, 
even  as  into  spiritual  things,  He  creat- 
ed the  sun,  which  might  be  in  the  nat- 
ural world  as  father,  and  the  earth  as 
mother ;  for  the  sun  is  like  a  common 
father,'  and  the  earth  like  a  common 
mother,  from  whose  marriage  exist  all 
the  germinations  that  adorn  the  surface 
of  the  globe.  From  the  influx  of  that 
celestial  sphere  into  the  natural  world, 
exist  those  wonderful  progressions 
of  vegetation,  from  seed  to  the  fruit, 
and  to  new  seeds.  Thence  also 
it  is,  that  there  are  many  kinds  of 
shrubs,  which,  in  the  day  time,  turn, 
as  it  were,  their  faces  to  the  sun,  and 
turn  them  away  when  the  sun  sets; 
thence  also  it  is,  that  there  are  flowers, 
which,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  open 
themselves,  and  close  themselves  at 
his  setting  ;  and  thence  also  it  is,  that 
the  nightingales  sing  sweetly  at  the 
first  dawn  of  the  morning,  and  in  like 
manner  after  they  have  been  fed  by 
their  mother  earth.  Thus  these  and 
those  honor  tlieir  father  and  their 
mother.  All  these  things  are  testimo- 
nies, that  tlie  Lord,  by  means  of  the 
sun  and  the  earth,  in  the  natural  world, 
provides  all  things  necessary  for  ani- 
mate and  inanimate  things.  Where- 
fore it  is  said  in  David,  Praise  Jeho- 
vah from  the.  heavens ;  praise  Him, 
sun  and  moon.  Praise.  Him  from  the 
earth,  ye  whales  and  abysses  ;  praise 
Him,  ye  trees  of  fruit  and  all  eedars  ; 
wild  beast,  and  every  beast,  reptile,  and 
bird  of  wing,  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
all  people,  youths  and  virgins,  Psalm 
cxlvii.  7  to  12  ;  and  in  Job:  Ask,  I 
pray,  the  beasts,  and  they  will  teach 
thee;  or  the  birds  of  heaven,  and  they 
will  shoic  thee;  or  the  shrub  of  the 
earth,  and  it  will  instruct  thee;  and 


the  fishes  of  the  sea  will  tell  thee.  T17(0 
knoweth  not  from  all  these,  that  the 
hand  of  Jehovah  hath  done  that  ?  xii. 
7,  8,  9.  Ask,  and  they  will  teach,  sig- 
nifies. Look  at,  attend  to,  and  judge 
from  them,  that  the  Lord  Jehovah  hath 
created  them. 

The  Fifth  Commandment. 
Tliou  shalt  not  kill. 

309.  By  this  commandment.  Thou 
shalt  not  kill,  in  thf,  natural  sense, 
is  meant,  not  to  kill  a  man,  and  not  to 
inflict  on  him  any  wound  of  which  he 
may  die,  and  also  not  to  mutilate  his 
body  ;  and  moreover  not  to  bring  any 
deadly  evil  upon  his  name  and  fame, 
since  fame  and  life  with  many  go  hand 
in  hand.  Li  a  wider  natural  sense,  by 
murders,  are  meant  enmity,  hatred,  and 
revenge,  which  breathe  death ;  for 
murder  lies  concealed  within  them,  like 
fire  in  wood  under  ashes  ;  infernal  fire 
is  nothing  else ;  wherefore  one  is  said 
to  be  inflamed  with  hatred,  and  to  burn 
with  revenge.  These  are  murders  in 
intention,  but  not  in  act ;  and  if  the 
fear  of  the  law,  and  of  retaliation  and  re- 
venge, were  taken  from  them,  they 
would  burst  forth  into  act ;  especially  if 
there  be  treachery  or  ferocity  in  the  in- 
tention. That  hatred  is  nuirder,  is  evi- 
dent from  these  words  of  the  Lord ; 
Ye  have  heard,  that  it  was  said  by  the 
ancients,  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  who- 
soever shall  kill,  shall  be  obnoxious  to 
the  judgment.  But  I  say  vnto  you, 
that  whosoever  is  angry  with  his  broth- 
er rashly,  shall  be  obnoxious  to  the  fire 
of  hell.  Matt.  v.  21,  22.  The  reason 
i.*,  because  all  that  is  of  the  intention,  is 
also  of  the  will,  and  thus  in  itself  of  the 
deed. 

310.  In  THE  SPIRITUAL  SENSE,  by 

murders,  arc  meant  all  methods  of 
killing  and  destroying  the  souls  of  men, 
which  are  various  and  manifold  ;  as  to 
turn  them  away  from  God,  religion,  and 
divine  worship,  by  injecting  scandals 
against  them,  and  by  advising  such 
tiiinixs  as  create  aversion  and  also  abhor- 
rence. Such  are  all  the  devils  and  satans 
in  hell,  with  whom  the  violators  and 
prostitutors  of  the  sanctities  of  the 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


223 


church,  in  this  world,  are  conjoined. 
Those  who  destroy  souls  by  falses,  are 
meant  by  tlic  king  of  the  abyss,  called 
Abaddon  or  ApoUyon,  that  is,  the  dc- 
stroi/cr,  in  Rev.  ix  ;  and  in  the  prophetic 
Word  by  the  slain,  as  in  these  passages  ; 
Jehovah  God  said,  Feed  the  sheep  of  the 
slaughter,  whieh  their  possessors  have 
slain,  Zech.  xi.  4,  5, 7.  Wc  have  been 
slain  all  the  dai/,ioe  have  been  aceount- 
ed  as  a  jloek  for  the  slaughter,  Psalm 
xliv.  22.  Jacob  shall  cause  those  who 
are  to  come  to  take  root ;  is  he  slain, 
arcording  to  the  slaughter  of  those 
slain  by  him  ?  Isaiah  xxvii.  G,  7.  The 
thief  Cometh  not,  but  that  he  may  steed 
and  kill  the  sheep;  I  have  come  that 
they  may  have  life  and  abundance, 
John  X.  10 ;  besides  in  other  places,  as 
Isaiah  xiv.  21 ;  xxvi.  21 ;  xxvii.  9;  Jer. 
iv.  31 ;  xii.  3 ;  Rev.  ix.  4 ;  xi.  7. 
Thence  it  is,  that  the  devil  is  called  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning,  John  viii. 
44. 

311.  In  THE   CELESTIAL   SENSE,  by 

killing,  is  meant,  to  be  angry,  rashly, 
with  the  Lord,  to  hate  Him,  and  to 
wish  to  blot  out  his  name.  These  are 
they  concerning  whom  it  is  said,  that 
they  crucify  Him ;  which  also  they 
would  do,  in  like  manner  as  did  the 
Jews,  if  He  sliould  come  into  the  world, 
as  he  did  before.  This  is  meant  by 
the  Lamb  standing  as  it  were  slain, 
Rev.  V.  6 ;  xiii.  8 ;  and  by  one  crucified, 
Rev.  xi.  8;  Heb.  vi.  6;  Gal.  iii.  1. 

312.  What  the  internal  of  man  is, 
unless  it  be  reformed  by  the  Lord,  was 
manifest  to  me  from  the  devils  and  sa- 
tans  in  hell ;  for  they  have  it  continually 
in  mind  to  kill  the  Lord ;  and  because 
they  cannot  do  this,  they  are  in  the  en- 
deavor to  kill  those  who  are  devoted  to 
the  Lord ;  but  because  they  cannot  do 
this,  like  men  in  the  world,  they  attempt 
every  method  of  destroying  their  souls, 
that  is,  of  destroying  the  faith  and 
charity  with  them.  That  hatred  and 
revenge  with  them  appear  like  dark 
fires  and  like  bright  fires ;  hatred  like 
dark  fires,  and  revenge  like  bright 
fires;  yet  they  are  not  fires,  but  ap- 
pearances. The  cruelties  of  their 
hearts  are  sometimes  seen  above  them 
in  the  air  like  combats  with  the  an- 


gels, and  like  the  death  and  destruc- 
tion of  them ;  it  is  their  anger  and 
hatred  against  heaven  from  which 
such  direful  mockeries  arise.  More- 
over, they  also  appear  at  a  distance  like 
wild  beasts  of  every  kind,  as  tigers, 
leopards,  wolves,  foxes,  dogs,  crocodiles, 
and  like  serpents  of  every  kind  ;  and 
when  they  see,  in  representative  forms, 
gentle  beasts,  they  attack  them  in 
fantasy,  and  attempt  to  kill  them. 
There  came  into  my  sight,  as  it  were, 
dragons,  standing  beside  women,  with 
whom  were  infants,  which  they  endeav- 
ored, as  it  were,  to  devour,  according 
to  those  things  which  are  related  in 
Revelation  xii ;  which  are  nothing  else 
than  representations  of  hatred  against 
the  Lord  and  his  New  Church.  That 
the  men  in  the  world,  who  wish  to  de- 
stroy the  church  of  the  Lord,  are  simi- 
lar to  them,  is  not  apparent  to  tlieir 
companions,  because  the  bodie.';,  by 
which  they  perform  moral  duties,  ab- 
sorb and  conceal  those  things ;  but  still 
they  appear  to  the  angels,  who  look  not 
at  their  bodies  but  at  their  .spirits,  in 
like  forms  with  those  devils  above  de- 
scribed. Who  could  have  known  such 
things,  unless  the  Lord  had  opened 
the  sight  of  some  one,  and  enabled  him 
to  look  into  the  spiritual  world  ?  If  this 
had  not  been  done,  must  not  these 
things,  and  others  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance, have  been  concealed  from 
men  forever? 

The  Sixth  Commandment. 

Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

313.  In  the  natural  sense,  by 
this  commandment,  is  meant,  not  only 
to  commit  adultery,  but  also  to  will  and 
do  obscene  things,  and  thence  to  think 
and  speak  lascivious  things.  That  on- 
ly to  lust  is  to  commit  adultery,  is  evi- 
dent from  these  words  of  the  Lord ; 
Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  the 
ancients,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adul- 
tery. But  I  say  unto  you,  that  if  any 
one  shall  look  upon  a  looman,  belong- 
ing to  another,  so  as  to  lust  after  her, 
he  hath  already  committed  adultery  with 
her  in  his  heart.  Matt.  v.  27,  28. 
The  reason  is,  because  the  lust  becomes 


224 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


as  the  deed,  when  it  is  in  the  will ;  for 
allurement  enters  only  into  the  under- 
standing, but  intention  into  the  will, 
and  the  intention  of  lust  is  the  deed. 
But  more  may  be  seen  concerning  these 
things  in  the  work  concerning  Conju- 
GiAL  Love,  and  concerning  Scorta- 
TORY  Love,  published  at  Amsterdam  in 
the  year  1768 ;  which  treats  Concerning 
the  Opposition  of  Conjugial  Love  and 
Scortatory,  n.  423  to  443 ;  Concerning 
Fornication,  n.  444  to  460 ;  Concerning 
Adulteries  and  their  Kinds  and  Degrees, 
n.  473  to  499 ;  Concerning  the  Lust  of 
Defloration,  n.  501  to  505;  Concern- 
ing the  Lust  of  Varieties,  n.  506  to  510 ; 
Concerning  theLust  of  Violation,  n.  5 1 1 , 
512  ;  Concerning  the  Lust  of  seducing 
Innocences,  n.  513,  514;  Concerning 
the  Imputation  of  each  Love,  Scortato- 
ry  and  Conjugial,  n.  523  to  531.  All 
these  things  are  meant  by  this  com- 
mandment, in  the  natural  sense. 

314.  In  THE  SPIRITUAL  SENSE,  by 
comtnitting  adultery,  is  meant  to  adul- 
terate the  goods  of  the  Word,  and  to 
falsify  its  truths.  That  these  things, 
also,  are  meant  by  committing  adultery, 
has  been  hitherto  unknown,  because 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  has 
been  hitherto  concealed  ;  that  no  other 
is  signified  in  the  Word,  by  commit- 
ting adultery  [incEchari, adulter ari'\,  and 
whoredom,  is  very  manifest  from  these 
passages;  Run  about  through  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem,  and  seek  if  ye  may  find 
a  man  who  doeth  judgment  and 
seeketh  truth.  When  I  fed  them 
to  the  full,  THEY  committed  whore- 
dom, Jer.  V.  1,  7.  /  have  seen  in  the 
prophets  of  Jertisalem  a  horrible  obsti- 
nacy, IN  committing  adultery  and 
going  in  falsehood,  xxiii.  14.  They 
have  done  folly  in  Israel,  they  have 
committed  whoredom,  and  have 
SPOKEN  my  Word  falsely,  xxix. 
23.  They  committed  whoredom  be- 
cause they  forsook  Jehovah,  Ilosca  iv. 
7.  /  will  cut  off  the  soul  that  hath 
respect  to  diviners  and  soothsayers,  to 
go  a  whoring  after  them.  Lev.  xx.  6. 
A  covenant  should  not  be  made  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  lest  they  should 
go  a  whoring  after  their  gods, 
Exod.  xxxiv.  15.  Since  Babylon,  above 


all  others,  adulterates  and  falsifies  the 
Word,  therefore  she  is  called  the 
GREAT  Whore,  and  these  things  are 
said  concerning  her  in  the  Revela- 
tion ;  Babylon  hath  made  all  nations 
drink  of  the  tcine  of  the  anger  of  her 
tvhoredovi,  xiv.  8.  The  angel  said,  1 
will  show  thee  the  judgment  of  the 
great  Vi'liore,  with  whom  the  kings  of 
the  earth  have  committed  tohoredom,  xvii. 
1,2.  He  hathjudgcd  the  great 
who  hath  corrupted  the  earth  with 
her  tohoredom  ,  xix.  2.  Since  the  Jewish 
nation  had  falsified  the  Word,  therefore 
it  was  called  by  the  Lord,  an  adulter- 
ous GENERATION,  Matt.  xii.  39 ;  xvi. 
4 ;  Mark  viii.  38 ;  and  the  seed  of  the 
ADULTERER,  Isaiah  Ivii.  3 ;  besides  in 
many  other  places,  where,  by  adulteries 
and  whoredoms,  are  meant  adulterations 
and  falsifications  of  the  AVord,  as  Jer. 
iii.  6,  8 ;  xiii.  27 ;  Ezek.  xvi:  15,  16, 
26,  28, 29,  32, 33 ;  xxiii.  2,  3,  5, 7, 11, 
14,  16,  17  ;  Hosea  v.  3 ;  vi.  10  ;  Na- 
hum  iii.  1,  3,  4. 

315.  In  THE  celestial  SENSE,  by 
committing  adultery,  is  meant  to  deny 
the  holiness  of  the  Word,  and  to  pro- 
fane it.  That  this  is  meant,  in  this 
sense,  follows  from  the  former  spiritu- 
al sense,  which  is,  to  adulterate  its 
goods  and  to  falsify  its  truths.  Those 
deny  and  profane  the  holiness  of  the 
Word,  who  in  heart  laugh  at  ev- 
ery thing  of  the  church  and  of  re- 
ligion ;  for  all  things  of  the  church 
and  of  religion,  in  the  Christian  world, 
arc  from  the  Word. 

316.  There  are  various  causes 
which  make  a  man  appear  not  only  to 
others,  but  also  to  himself,  to  be  chaste, 
and  yet  he  is  wholly  unchaste  ;  for  he 
does  not  know,  that  lust,  when  it  is  in 
the  will,  is  the  deed,  and  that  it  cannot 
be  removed,  except  by  the  Lord  after 
repentance.  Abstinence  from  doing 
does  not  make  one  chaste,  but  absti- 
nence from  willing,  when  he  can  do, 
because  it  is  sin,  does ;  as,  if  any  one 
abstains  from  adulteries  and  whoredoms 
only  from  fear  of  the  civil  law  and  its 
penalties  ;  from  fear  of  the  loss  of  fame, 
and  thence  of  honor;  from  fear  of 
diseases  from  them ;  from  fear  of 
chidings  at  home  from  his  wife,  and 


ns  to  its  External  and  Intermd  Sense. 


225 


thence  of  unquietness  of  life  ;  from  fear 
of  reveiiffo  irom  the  husband  and  rela- 
tions and  of  whips  from  their  servants  ; 
or  from  avarice ;  or  from  weakness, 
arising  either  from  disease,  or  from 
abuse,  or  from  age,  or  from  any  other 
cause  of  impotence  ;  yea,  if  lie  abstains 
from  them  from  any  natural  or  moral 
law,  and  not,  at  the  same  time,  from  a 
spiritual  law,  he  is  still,  inwardly,  an 
adulterer  and  a  whoremonger ;  for, 
nevertheless,  he  believes  that  they 
are  not  sins,  and  thence  does  not  in 
his  spirit  make  them  uidawful  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  thus  in  spirit  he  com- 
mits them,  although  not  before  the 
world  in  the  body ;  wherefore,  after 
death,  when  he  becomes  a  spirit,  he 
speaks  openly  in  favor  of  them.  More- 
over, adulterers  may  be  compared  with 
covenant-breakers,  who  violate  engage- 
ments ;  and  also  with  the  satyrs  and 
priapnses  of  the  ancients,  who  wander- 
ed in  the  woods,  and  cried,  "  Where  are 
virgins,  brides  and  wives,  with  whom 
we  may  sport  ?" Adulterers  also,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  actually  appear  like 
satyrs  and  priapuses.  They  may  be 
compared,  also,  with  he-goats  which 
stink ;  as  also  with  dogs  which  run 
hither  and  thither  through  the  streets, 
and  look  about,  and  smell  where  dogs 
are,  with  which  they  may  wanton ; 
and  so  forth.  Their  manly  power, 
when  they  become  husbands,  may  be 
compared  to  the  blossoming  of  tulips 
in  the  time  of  spring,  which,  after  a 
month  of  days,  drop  their  blossoms, 
and  wither  away. 

The  Seventh  Commandment. 
Thou  slialt  not  steal. 

317.    In    THE    NATURAL   SENSE,  by 

this  commandment,  is  meant,  accord- 
ing to  the  letter,  not  to  steal,  to  rob,  or 
to  act  the  pirate,  in  time  of  peace  ;  and, 
in  general,  not  to  take  away  from  any 
one  his  goods  secretly,  or  under  any 
pretext.  It  also  extends  itself  to  all 
impostures,  illegitimate  gains,  usuries 
and  exactions ;  and  also  to  fraudulent 
practices  in  paying  duties  and  taxes, 
and  in  discharging  debts.  Workmen 
offend  against  this  commandment,  who 
29 


do  their  work  unfaithfully  and  dishon- 
estly ;  merchants  who  deceive  in  mer- 
chandise, in  weight,  measure  and 
accounts ;  officers  who  deprive  the 
soldiers  of  their  just  wages ;  judges 
who  judge  for  friendship,  bribes,  re- 
lationship, aflinity,  and  other  causes, 
by  perverting  the  laws  or  legal  cases, 
and  thus  deprive  others  of  their 
goods,  which  they  rightfully  pos- 
sess. 

318.  In  Tiiii  SPIRITUAL  SENSE,  by 
stealing,  is  meant  to  deprive  others  of 
the  truths  of  their  faith,  which  is  done 
by  false  and  heretical  things.  Priests 
who  minister  only  for  the  sake  of  gain, 
or  worldly  honor,  and  teach  such  things 
as  they  sec  or  may  see  I'rom  the  Word, 
are  not  true,  are  spiritual  thieves,  since 
they  take  away  from  the  people  the 
means  of  salvation,  which  are  the 
truths  of  faith.  These  also  are  called 
thieves  in  the  Word,  in  these  passages: 
He  who  cntercth  not  through  the  door 
into  the  skecpfold,  but  elimbeih  up 
some  other  tceuj,  is  a  thief  and  a  robber. 
The  thief  comtth  not  but  that  he  may 
steal,  kill  and  destroy,  John  x.  1,  10. 
Lay  up  treasures,  not  on  the  earth,  but 
in  heaven,  lohere  thieves  do  not  eome 
and  steal,  Matt.  vi.  19,  20.  Jf  thieves 
come  to  thee,  if  overthrowers  by  night, 
how  wilt  thou  be  eut  off!  Will  they 
Jiot  steal  what  is  enough  for  them, 
Obad.  5.  They  will  run  about  in  the 
city,  they  will  run  on  the  wall,  they  will 
climb  up  into  the  houses,  they  loill  enter 
through  the  windows,  Joel  ii.  9.  They 
have  7nade  a  lie,  and  the  thief  conieth, 
and  the  troop  spreadetli  itself  abroad, 
Hosea  vii.  1. 

319.  In  THE  CELESTIAL  SENSE,  by 

thieves,  are  meant  those  who  take 
away  divine  power  from  the  Lord,  and 
also  those  who  claim  to  themselves  his 
merit  and  righteousness.  These,  al- 
though they  adore  God,  still  do  not 
trust  Him,  but  themselves ;  and  also 
they  do  not  believe  in  God,  but  in 
themselves. 

320.  Those  who  teach  false  and 
heretical  things,  and  persuade  the 
common  people  that  they  are  true  and 
orthodox,  and  yet  read  the  Word,  and 
thence  may  know  what  is  false  and 


226 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


what  is  true ;  and  also  those  who  con- 
firm the  falses  of  religion  by  fallacies, 
and  seduce,  may  be  compared  with  im- 
postors and  impostures  of  every  kind  ; 
which,  because  they  are  in  themselves 
thefts,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  may  be 
compared  with  impostors  who  coin 
false  money,  and  gild  it,  or  give  it  the 
color  of  gold,  and  pass  it  for  pure; 
and  also  with  those  who  know  how  to 
cut  and  polish  crystals,  and  harden 
them  dexterously,  and  sell  them  for 
diamonds ;  as  also  with  those  who 
carry  sphinxes  or  apes,  clothed  like 
men,  and  covered  as  to  their  faces,  on 
horses  or  mules,  through  cities,  and 
cry,  that  they  are  noblemen  of  ancient 
ancestry.  They  are  like  those  who 
apply  painted  masks  to  their  living 
and  natural  faces,  and  conceal  their 
beauty.  And  they  are  like  those  who 
show  selenites  and  pellucid  stones, 
which  shine  as  from  gold  and  silver, 
and  sell  them  for  stones  of  great  value. 
They  may  also  be  likened  to  those  who, 
by  theatrical  exhibitions,  lead  away 
people  from  true  divine  worship,  and 
from  temples  to  play-houses.  Those 
who  confirm  falses  of  every  kind,  es- 
teeming the  truth  of  no  value,  and 
who  discharge  the  office  of  priest  only 
for  the  sake  of  gain  and  honor,  and 
thus  are  spiritual  thieves,  may  be 
likened  to  those  thieves  who  carry 
keys,  with  which  they  can  open  the 
doors  of  all  houses ;  and  also  to  leop- 
ards and  eagles,  which,  witli  sharp 
eyes,  look  about  to  see  where  is  the 
richest  prey. 

The  Eighth  Commandment. 

Thou  shah   not   bear  false  icitness 
against  thy  neighbor. 

321.  "Ry  bearing  false  witness  against 
the  neighbor,  or  testifying  falsely,  in 

THE    NATURAL    SF.NSK,    is    first    of  all 

meant,  to  act  as  a  false  witness  before 
a  judge,  or  before  others  not  in  a  court 
of  justice,  against  any  one  wlio  is 
rashly  accused  of  any  evil,  and  to 
asseverate  this  by  the  name  of  God 
or  any  thing  holy,  or  by  himself,  and 
such  things  of  himself  as  are  of 
the  reputation  of  any   one's  name. 


By  this  commandment,  in  a  wider  nat- 
ural sense,  are  meant  lies  of  every 
kind,  and  politic  hypocrisies,  which 
look  to  a  bad  end;  and  also  to  tra- 
duce and  defame  the  neighbor,  so 
that  his  honor,  name  and  fame,  on 
which  the  character  of  the  whole  man 
depends,  are  injured.  In  the  widest 
natural  sense,  are  meant  unfaithfulness, 
stratagems,  and  evil  purposes  against 
any  one,  from  various  origins,  as  from 
enmity,  hatred,  revenge,  envy,  rival- 
ship,  &,c. ;  ibr  these  evils  conceal  within 
them  the  testifying  of  what  is  false. 

322.  In  THE  SPIRITUAL  SENSE,  by 
testifying  falsely,  is  meant,  to  per- 
suade that  the  false  of  faith  is  the  true 
of  faith,  and  that  the  evil  of  life  is  the 
good  of  life,  and  the  reverse  ;  but  to  do 
this  and  that  from  purpose,  and  not 
from  ignorance,  thus  to  do  them  after 
one  knows  what  is  true  and  good,  but 
not  before  ;  for  the  Lord  says,  If  ye  were 
blind,  ye  would  not  have  sin ;  but  now 
yc  say,  that  we  see;  therefore  your 
sin  7-tmainith,  John  ix.  41.  This 
false  is  meant  in  the  Word  by  a  lie, 
and  the  purpose  by  deceit,  in  these 
passages :  Tic  make  a  league  with 
death,  and  tcith  hell  ice  mahc  a  vision ; 
we  have  placed  our  trust  in  a  lie,  and 
have  betn  hid  in  falsity,  Isaiah  xxviii. 
15.  Thry  arc  people  of  rebellion,  ly- 
ing children  ;  they  are  not  willing  to 
hear  the  law  of  Jehovah,  xxx.  9.  Fro7n 
the  jjrophct  even  to  the  priest,  every  one 
niakffli  a  lie,  Jer.  viii.  10.  The  inhab- 
itants speak  a  lie,  and  as  to  the  tongue, 
deceit  is  in  their  /HO!/f^,  Micah.  vi.  12. 
Thou  wilt  destroy  those  who  speak  a 
lie;  Jehovah  abhors  a  man  of  deceit, 
Psalm  v.  G.  They  have  taught  their 
tongue  to  sjicak  a  lie ;  their  habitation 
is  in  the  7nidst  of  deceit,  Jer.  ix.  15. 
Because  by  a  lie,  is  meant  the  false, 
therefore  the  Lord  says,  that  the  devil 
speaktth  a  lie  from  his  own,  John  viii. 
14.  A  lie  signifies  what  is  false, 
and  false-speaking,  also,  in  these 
passages:  Jer.  ix.  4;  xxiii.  14,  32; 
Ezek.  xiii.  15  to  19;  xxi.  24;  Hosea 
vii.  1  ;  xii.  1 :  Nahum  iii.  1  ;  Psalm 
cxx.  2,  3. 

323.  In  THE  ielestiai.  sense,  by 
testifying  falsely,  is  meant,  to  bias- 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


227 


pheme  tlie  Lord  and  the  Word,  and 
thus  to  reject  the  Truth  itself  from  the 
church;  for  the  Lord  is  Truth  itself, 
and  also  the  Word.  On  the  other  hand, 
by  testifying,  in  this  sense,  is  meant, 
to  speak  the  truth  ;  and  by  testimony, 
truth  itself  Thence  also  it  is,  that 
the  decalogue  is  called  the  testimony, 
Exod.  xxiv.  16,  21,  22;  xxx.  7,  8; 
xxxii.  15,  IG ;  xl.  20 ;  Levit.  xvi.  13 ; 
Num.  xvii.  19,  22,  25.  And  because 
the  Lord  is  the  Truth  itself.  He  says 
concerning  Himself,  that  He  testifies. 
That  the  Lord  is  Truth  itself,  John 
xiv.  6 ;  Rev.  iii.  And  that  He  testi- 
fies and  is  witness  of  Himself,  John 
iii.  11;  viii.  13  to  19;  xv.  26;  xviii. 
37,  38. 

324.  Those  who  speak  falses  from 
deceit  or  purpose,  and  pronounce  them 
with  a  pretended  sound  of  spiritual 
affection,  and  especially  if  they  inter- 
mingle truths  from  the  Word,  which 
they  thus  falsify,  were  called  by  the  an- 
cients, enchanters ;  concerning  whom, 
see  Apocalypse  Revealed,  n.  462 ; 
and  also  pythons  and  serpents  of  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil.  These  falsifiers,  liars  and  de- 
ceivers may  be  likened  to  those  who 
speak  courteously  and  kindly  with  en- 
emies, and,  while  they  are  speaking, 
hold  behind  them  a  dagger,  with  which 
they  kill  them.  And  they  may  be 
compared  to  those  who  tinge  their 
swords  with  poison,  and  thus  attack 
their  enemies  ;  <ind  to  those  who  min- 
gle wolf's-bane  with  water,  and  viru- 
lent poison  with  wine  and  sweetmeats. 
They  may  be  compared,  also,  to  hand- 
some and  alluring  harlots,  infected 
with  a  malignant  disease  ;  and  also  to 
shrubs  full  of  prickles,  which,  applied 
to  the  nostrils,  hurt  the  smelling  fibrils ; 
as  also  to  sweetened  poison ;  and  also 
to  dung,  which,  being  dried  in  the 
time  of  autumn,  spreads  a  fragrant 
odor.  Such  are  in  the  Word  describ- 
ed by  leopards  ;  see  Apocalypse  Re- 
vealed, n.  572. 

The  Ninth  and  Tenth  Command- 
ments. 

T^ou  shaU  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 


house  ;  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy 
ndghbor's  wife,  nor  his  servant,  nor 
his  maid,  nor  his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor 
any  thing  that  is  thy  neighbor's. 

325.  In  the  Catechism  which  is  at 
this  day  in  use,  these  are  distin- 
guished into  two  commandments ;  into 
one,  which  makes  the  ninth,  which  is, 
Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
house;  and  into  another,  which  makes 
the  tenth,  which  is,  Thou  shalt  not 
covet  thy  neighbor's  wife,  nor  his  ser- 
vant, nor  his  maid,  nor  his  ox,  nor  his 
ass,  nor  any  thing  that  is  thy  neigh- 
bor's. Because  these  two  command- 
ments make  one  thing,  and  in  Exod. 
XX.  14,  and  Deut.  v.  18,  one  verse,  I 
have  undertaken  to  treat  of  them  both 
together  ;  but  not  because  I  wish  that 
they  may  be  joined  together  into  one 
commandment,  but  distinguished  into 
two,  as  before  ;  since  those  command- 
ments are  called  ten  words,  Exod. 
xxxiv.  28 ;  Deut.  iv.  13 ;  x.  4. 

326.  These  two  commandments 
look  to  those  commandments  which 
precede,  and  they  teach  and  enjoin 
that  evils  should  not  be  done,  as  also 
that  they  should  not  be  lusted  for ; 
consequently,  that  they  are  not  only 
of  the  external  man,  but  also  of  the 
internal;  for  he  who  does  not  do 
evils,  and  yet  lusts  to  do  them, 
still  does  them.  For  the  Lord  says, 
If  any  one  lusteth  after  another's 
wife,  he  hath  already  committed  adul- 
tery with  her  in  his  heart.  Matt.  v.  27, 
28.  And  the  external  man  does  not 
become  internal,  or  does  not  act  as 
one  with  the  internal,  until  lusts  are 
removed.  This  also  the  Lord  teaches, 
saying,  Wo  unto  you,  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  because  ye  cleanse  the  out- 
side of  the  cup  and  the  platter,  but 
the  insides  are  full  of  rapine  and 
intemperance.  Blind  Pharisee,  cleanse 
first  the  inside  of  the  cup  and  the  plat- 
ter, that  the  outside  may  be  clean  also. 
Matt,  xxiii.  25,  26 ;  and,  moreover,  in 
that  whole  chapter,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end.  The  internals,  which 
are  pharisaical,  are  lusts  for  those 
things  which  are  commanded  not  to 
be  done,  in  the  first,  second,  fifth, 


228 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  command- 
ments. It  is  known,  that  the  Lord, 
in  the  world,  taught  the  internal 
things  of  the  church  ;  and  the  internal 
things  of  the  church  are,  not  to  lust 
for  evils ;  and  thus  He  taught,  that  the 
internal  and  the  external  man  make 
one.  This  is  to  be  born  again,  con- 
cerning which  the  Lord  spoke  to  Nic- 
odemus,  John  iii. ;  and  no  one  can  be 
born  again,  or  be  regenerated,  except 
by  the  Lord.  That  these  two  com- 
mandments may  look  to  all  those 
which  precede,  that  they  should  not 
be  lusted  for,  therefore  house  is  first 
named,  afterwards  toife,  and  then  ser- 
vant, maid,  ox  and  ass;  and  lastly, 
all  that  is  the  neighbor's  ;  for  the  house 
involves  all  the  things  which  follow ; 
for  in  it  are  the  husband,  wife,  servant, 
maid,  ox  and  ass.  The  wife,  who  is 
afterwards  named,  then  involves  those 
things  which  follow ;  for  she  is  mis- 
tress, as  the  husband  is  master,  in  the 
house ;  the  servant  and  maid  are  under 
them,  and  the  oxen  and  asses  under 
these  :  and  lastly,  all  things  which  are 
below  or  without,  by  its  being  said, 
all  that  is  thy  neighbor's ;  from  which 
it  is  manifest,  that  all  the  preceding 
are  looked  to  in  these  two  conunand- 
ments,  in  general  and  in  particular,  in 
a  wide  and  in  a  strict  sense. 

327.  in  THE  spiritual  sense,  by 
these  commandments,  are  prohibited 
all  lusts  which  are  contrary  to  the 
spirit,  thus  which  are  contrary  to 
the  spiritual  things  of  the  church, 
which  refer  themselves,  principally,  to 
faith  and  charity ;  because,  unless 
lusts  were  subdued,  the  flesh  would 
ru.'^h,  according  to  its  liberty,  into  all 
t\  ickedness ;  for  it  is  known  from  Paul, 
that  the  jlesh  lustcth  against  the  spirit, 
and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh.  Gal.  v. 
17;  and  from  James:  Every  one  is 
tempted  by  his  own  lust,  inhrn  he  is  en- 
ticed ;  then  lust,  after  it  hath  conceiv- 
ed, bringcth  forth  sin,  and  sin,  when  it 
isflnishcd,  bringcth  forth  death,  James 
i.  14,  15 ;  and  also  from  Peter :  The 
Lord  resrrvefh  the  ttnrighteoiis  unto 
the  day  of  judgment,  to  be  punished; 
especially  those  who  inalk  after  the 
flesh  in  lust,  2  Pet.  ii.  9,  10.    In  fine, 


these  two  commandments,  understood 
in  the  spiritual  sense,  look  to  all  those 
things  which  have  been  before  ad- 
duced in  the  spiritual  sense,  that 
they  should  not  be  lusted  for ;  in  like 
manner,  to  all  the  things  which  have 
been  before  adduced  in  the  celestial 
SENSE  ;  but  to  repeat  them  is  unneces- 
sary. 

328.  The  lusts  of  the  flesh,  of  the 
eyes,  and  of  the  other  senses,  separate 
from  the  lusts,  that  is,  the  affections, 
desires  and  delights  of  the  spirit,  are 
altogether  similar  to  the  lusts  of  beasts ; 
wherefore  they  are  in  themselves  bes- 
tial ;  but  the  affections  of  the  spirit  are 
such  as  the  angels  have,  and  thence 
they  may  be  called  truly  human. 
Wherefore,  as  far  as  any  one  indulges 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  so  far  he  is  a 
beast  and  a  wild  beast  :  but  as  far  as 
he  sacrifices  to  the  desires  of  the  spir- 
it, so  far  he  is  a  man  and  an  angel. 
The  lusts  of  the  flesh  may  be  compar- 
ed with  dried  and  parched  grapes,  and 
with  wild  grapes ;  but  the  affections  of 
the  spirit,  with  juicy  and  delicious 
grapes,  and  also  with  the  taste  of  the 
wine  pressed  out  of  them.  The  lusts 
of  the  flesh  may  be  compared  with 
stables,  in  which  are  asses,  he-goats 
and  hogs;  and  the  affections  of  the 
spirit,  with  stables  in  which  are  noble 
horses,  and  also  sheep  and  lambs  :  they 
differ  also  like  an  ass  and  a  horse,  a 
he-goat  and  a  sheep,  and  a  hog  and  a 
lamb;  in  general,  like  dross  and  gold, 
like  lime  and  silver,  and  like  a  coral 
and  a  ruby,  &.c.  Lust  and  deed  co- 
here like  blood  and  flesh,  and  like 
flame  and  oil ;  for  the  lust  is  in  the 
deed,  like  the  air  from  the  lungs,  while 
one  is  breathing  and  speaking,  and 
like  wind  in  the  sail,  while  the  vessel 
continues  sailing,  and  like  water  in  a 
wheel,  from  whicli  are  the  motion  and 
action  of  a  machine. 

329.  That  the  Te.v  Pkecepts  of 

THE  DeCALOUUE  CONTAIN  ALL  ThINGS 
WHICH  ARE  OF  LoVE  TO  Goi),  AND  ALL 

Things  which  are  of  Love  toward 
THE  Nei(;hbor. 

In  eisht  precepts  of  the  decalogue, 
in  the  first,  second,  fifth,  sixth,  sev- 
enth, eighth,  ninth  and  tenth,  there 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


229 


is  not  any  thing  said  whicli  is  of  love  to 
God  and  of  iovo  towards  the  neighbor ; 
for  it  is  not  said  that  God  sliould  be 
loved,  nor  tliat  the  name  of  God  should 
be  hallowed,  nor  that  the  neighbor 
should  be  loved,  so  not  that  we  should 
deal  sincerely  and  uprightly  with  him ; 
but  only,  that  Thou  shalt  have  no  oth- 
er God  before  my  faces ;  Thou  shalt 
not  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain ; 
Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery ;  Thou  shalt  not  steal ; 
Thou  shalt  not  testify  falsely ;  Thou 
shalt  not  covet  those  things  whicli 
are  thy  neighbor's.  Thus,  in  gene- 
ral, that  evil  should  not  be  willed, 
thought  or  done  against  God,  nor 
against  the  neighbor.  But  the  reason, 
why  such  things  as  are  directly  of  love 
and  charity  are  not  commanded,  but 
only  such  things  as  are  opposite  to 
them,  that  they  should  not  be  done,  is, 
because  as  far  as  man  shuns  evils  as 
sins,  so  far  he  wills  the  goods  which 
are  of  love  and  charity.  That  the  first 
thing  of  love  to  God  and  of  love  towards 
the  neighbor,  is,  not  to  do  evil,  and 
that  the  second  thing  of  them  is,  to  do 
good,  will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  con- 
cerning Charity.  There  are  two 
loves  opposite  to  each  other,  the  love 
of  willing  and  doing  good,  and  the 
love  of  willing  and  doing  evil ;  the 
latter  love  is  infernal,  and  the  former 
heavenly  ;  for  all  hell  is  in  the  love 
of  doing  evil,  and  all  heaven  in  the 
love  of  doing  good.  Now,  because 
man  is  born  into  evils  of  every  kind, 
thence  from  birth  he  inclines  to  those 
things  which  are  of  hell,  and  because 
he  cannot  come  into  heaven,  unless 
he  be  born  again,  that  is,  regener- 
ated, it  is  necessary,  that  the  evils 
which  are  of  hell  should  first  be  remov- 
ed, before  he  can  will  the  goods  which 
are  of  heaven  ;  for  no  one  can  be 
adopted  by  the  Lord,  before  he  is  sep- 
arated from  tlie  devil.  But  how  evils 
are  removed,  and  man  brought  to  do 
goods,  will  be  demonstrated  in  the  two 
chapters,  one  concerning  Repentance, 
and  the  other  concerning  Reforma- 
tion and  Regeneration.  That  evils 
must  first  be  removed,  before  the  goods, 
which  man  does,  become  good  in  the 


sight  of  God,  the  Lord  teaches  in 
Isaiah  :  Wash  you,  purify  you,  remove 
the  tvickedness  of  your  works  from  be- 
fore my  eyes  ;  learn  to  do  good ;  then, 
if  your  sins  have  been  as  scarlet,  ttiey 
shall  bcroinc  white  as  snow ;  if  they 
have  been  red  like  crimson,  they  shall 
be  as  wool,  i.  10,  17,  18.  Similar  to 
this  is  this  in  Jeremiah :  Stand  in 
the  gate  of  the  house  of  Jehovah, 
and  proclaim  there  this  word:  Thus 
said  Jehovah  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, Blake  your  ways  and  your  works 
good;  trust  not  yourselves  upon  the 
words  of  a  lie,  by  saying.  The  temple 
of  Jehovah,  the  temple  of  Jehovah,  the 
temple  of  Jehovah  is  here  (that  is,  the 
church) ;  after  stealing,  killing,  com- 
mitting adultery,  and  swearing  by  a 
lie,  will  ye  come  and  stand  before  Me, 
in  this  house,  upon  which  my  name  is 
named,  and  say.  We  are  delivered, 
ichile  ye  do  cdl  these  abominations  ? 
Hath  this  house  become  a  den  of  rob- 
bers 1  Behold,  I  also  have  seen,  saith 
Jehovah,  vii.  2,  3,  4,  9,  10,  11.  That 
before  washing,  or  purification  from 
evils,  prayers  to  God  are  not  heard,  is 
also  taught  in  Isaiah  :  Jehovah  saith, 
Ah  sinful  nation,  a  people  heavy  with 
iniquity ;  they  have  turned  themselves 
away  backward.  Wherefore,  when  ye 
spread  out  your  hands,  I  hide  my  eyes 
from  you;  yea,  if  ye  multiply  prayer, 
I  do  not  hear,  i.  4,  15.  That  love  and 
charity  follow  him  who  does  the  com- 
mandments of  the  decalogue  by  shun* 
ning  evils,  is  evident  from  these  words 
of  the  Lord  in  John  :  Jesus  said.  He 
that  hath  my  commandments,  and  doeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  lovcth  31e;  and  he  that 
loveth  Me,  will  be  loved  by  my  Father, 
and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest 
Myself  to  him  ;  and  We  will  make  an 
abode  with  him,  xiv.  21,  23.  By  co?n- 
mandments,  there,  arc  meant,  particu- 
larly, the  commandments  of  the  deca- 
logue, which  are,  that  evils  should 
not  be  done,  nor  lusted  for ;  and 
that  thus  the  love  of  man  to  God, 
and  the  love  of  God  towards  man, 
follow  as  the  good  after  evil  is  re- 
moved. 

330.  It  was  said,  that  as  far  as  man 
shuns  evils,  so  far  he  wills  goods ;  the 


230 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


reason  is,  because  evils  and  goods  are 
opposites,  for  evils  are  from  hell,  and 
goods  from  heaven ;  wherefore,  as  far 
as  hell,  that  is,  evil,  is  removed,  so  far 
heaven  approaches,  and  man  looks  to 
good.  That  it  is  so,  is  very  manifest 
from  eight  commandments  of  the  dec- 
alogue, seen  thus  ;  as,  I.  As  far  as  any 
one  does  not  worship  other  gods,  so  far 
he  worships  the  true  God.  II.  As  far 
as  any  one  does  not  take  the  name  of 
God  in  vain,  so  far  he  loves  those 
things  which  are  from  God.  III.  As 
far  as  any  one  is  not  willing  to  kill, 
and  to  act  from  hatred  and  revenge,  so 
far  he  wishes  well  to  the  neighbor. 
IV.  As  far  as  any  one  is  not  willing  to 
commit  adultery,  so  far  he  is  willing  to 
live  chastely  with  a  wife.  V.  As  far 
as  any  one  is  not  willing  to  steal,  so 
far  he  practises  sincerity.  VI.  As  far 
as  any  one  is  not  willing  to  testify 
falsely,  so  far  he  is  willing  to  think 
and  speak  truth.  VII.  and  VIII.  As 
far  as  any  one  does  not  covet  those 
things  which  are  the  neighbor's,  so  far 
he  is  willing  that  the  neighbor  should 
enjoy  his  own.  Hence  it  is  evident, 
that  the  commandments  of  the  deca- 
logue contain  all  things  which  are  of 
love  to  God,  and  of  love  towards  the 
neighbor ;  wherefore  Paul  says,  Jle 
that  lovcth  another,  hath  fiiljilkd  the 
law ;  for  this,  Thoii  shalt  not  commit 
adulter)/,  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou 
shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  be  a 
false  witness,  Thou  shalt  not  covet, 
and  if  there  be  any  other  commandment, 
it  is  comprehended  in  this  word.  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
Charity  workcth  no  evil  to  the  neigh- 
bor;  therefore  charity  is  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  law,  Rom.  xiii.  8,  9, 
10.  To  these  should  be  added  two 
canons  for  the  use  of  the  New  Church. 
I.  Tiiat  no  one  can  shun  evils  as  sins, 
and  do  goods,  which  are  good  in  the 
sight  of  God,  from  iiimself;  but  that, 
as  far  as  any  one  shuns  evils  as  sins, 
so  far  he  does  good,  not  from  himself, 
but  from  the  Lord.  II.  That  man 
ought  to  slum  evils  as  sins,  and  to  fight 
against  them,  as  from  himself;  and 
that  if  any  one  shuns  evil  from  any 
other  cause  whatever,  than  because 


they  are  sins,  he  does  not  shun  them, 
but  only  causes  them  not  to  appear  be- 
fore the  world. 

331.  The  reason  that  evil  and  good 
cannot  be  together,  and  that  as  far  as 
evil  is  removed,  good  is  looked  to  and 
felt,  is  because,  in  the  spiritual  world, 
there  is  exhaled  from  every  one  the 
sphere  of  his  love,  which  spreads  itself 
round  about,  and  affects,  and  causes 
sympathies  and  antipathies ;  by  these 
spheres,  the  good  are  separated  from 
the  evil.  That  evil  must  be  removed, 
before  good  is  known,  perceived  and 
loved,  may  be  compared  with  many 
things  in  the  natural  world,  as  with 
these  :  No  one  can  go  to  another,  who 
keeps  a  leopard  and  a  panther  in  his 
chamber,  and  because  he  gives  them 
food  to  eat  lives  securely  with  them, 
unless  he  first  removes  those  wild 
beasts.  What  person,  invited  to  the 
table  of  a  king  and  a  queen,  would  not 
first  wash  his  face  and  hands,  before 
he  comes  to  them  .'  And  who  enters 
into  the  bed-chamber  with  his  bride, 
after  the  wedding,  unless  he  have  be- 
fore washed  himself  all  over,  and 
clothed  himself  with  the  wedding  gar- 
ment? Who  does  not  purify  metallic 
ores  by  fire,  and  separate  tiieni  from 
the  dross,  before  he  obtains  pure  gold 
and  silver  ?  Who  does  not  separate 
the  tares  from  the  wheat,  before  he 
carries  it  into  the  granary  ?  And  who 
does  not  thresh  his  barley  to  separate 
the  grain  from  the  bearded  ears,  be- 
fore he  gathers  it  into  the  house  ?  Who 
does  not  prepare  his  meat  by  boiling, 
before  it  becomes  eatable,  and  is  set 
upon  the  table  ?  Who  does  not  shake 
off  the  worms  from  the  leaves  of  the 
trees  in  the  garden,  lest  the  leaves 
should  be  consumed,  and  tiuis  the 
fruit  should  perish  ?  Who  does  not 
dislike  dirt  in  houses  and  in  courts, 
and  remove  it  from  them,  especially 
when  a  prince  is  expected,  or  a  bride, 
the  daugiiter  of  a  prince  ?  Who  loves 
a  virgin,  and  intends  marriage  with 
her,  who  is  infected  with  malign.int 
diseases,  or  covered  witii  |)iiuples  and 
blotches,  however  she  may  paint  her 
face,  dress  herself  splendidly,  and  en- 
deavor to  infuse  enticements  of  love  by 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


231 


the  charms  of  her  conversation  ?  That 
man  ought  to  purify  himself  from  evils, 
and  not  wait  that  the  Lord  may  do  this 
immediately,  is,  comparatively,  as  if  a 
servant,  whose  face  and  clothes  are 
daubed  with  soot  and  dung,  should 
come  up  to  his  master,  and  say, 
"  Wash  me,  sir."  Would  not  the  mas- 
ter say  to  him,  "  You  foolish  servant, 
what  do  you  say  ?  See,  there  is  wa- 
ter, soap  and  a  towel.  Have  you  not 
hands  and  power  to  use  them  ?  Wash 
yourself"  And  the  Lord  God  might 
say,  "  The  means  of  purification  are 
from  Me,  and  also  your  will  and  your 
power  are  from  Me ;  wherefore  use 
these  my  gifts  and  talents  as  your  own, 
and  you  will  be  purified,"  6lc.  That 
the  external  man  should  be  cleansed, 
but  by  the  internal,  the  Lord  teaches 
in  Matt,  xxiii.,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end. 


332.  To  the  above  shall  be  added 
Four  Relations.  First.  Once  I 
heard  vociferations,  which  bubbled 
up,  as  it  were,  from  below,  through 
the  waters;  one  at  the  left  hand,  "O 
HOW  JUST  !"  another  at  the  right  hand, 
"  O  HOW  LEARNED  !"  and  a  third  from 
behind,  "  O  now  wise  !"  And  be- 
cause it  fell  into  my  thought,  wiiether 
there  are  also  in  hell  those  who  are 
just,  learned  and  wise,  I  was  affected 
with  a  desire  of  seeing  whether  such  are 
there  ;  and  it  was  said  to  me  from  heav- 
en, "  You  shall  see  and  hear."  And  I 
went  out  of  the  house  in  spirit,  and  saw 
before  me  an  opening ;  thither  I  went, 
and  looked  down,  and  behold  a  lad- 
der ;  by  this  I  descended  ;  and  when  I 
was  below,  I  saw  a  champaign  country 
covered  over  with  shrubs,  with  thorns 
and  nettles  intermixed ;  and  I  asked 
whether  hell  was  here ;  they  said, 
"  It  is  the  lower  earth,  which  is  next 
above  hell."  And  then  I  proceeded 
according  to  the  exclamations,  in  or- 
der ;  to  the  first,  "  O  now  just  !" 
and  I  saw  a  company  of  those  who,  in 
the  world,  had  been  judges  of  friend- 
shij)  and  bribes ;  then  to  the  second 
exclamation,  "O  how  learned!"  and 
]  .-^Tw  a  company  of  those  who  in  the 


world  had  been  reasoners ;  and  to  the 
third  exclamation,  "O  how  wise!" 
and  I  saw  a  company  of  those  who  in 
the  world  had  been  confirmers.  But  I 
turned  from  these  to  the  first,  where 
were  the  judges  of  friendship  and 
bribes,  and  who  were  proclaimed  just. 
And  I  saw  at  the  side,  as  it  were,  an 
amphitheatre,  built  of  brick  and  cov- 
ered with  black  tiles ;  and  it  was  said 
to  me,  that  there  was  their  Tribunal. 
There  were  three  entrances  into  it  on 
the  north  side,  and  three  on  the  west 
side,  and  none  on  the  south  and  east 
sides — a  token  that  their  judgments 
were  not  judgments  of  justice,  but  judg- 
ments of  will.  In  the  midst  of  the  am- 
phitheatre, there  was  seen  a  fire-place, 
into  which  the  servants,  who  tended  the 
fire,  threw  torches  made  of  sulphur  and 
bitumen  ;  the  light  from  which,  darting 
forth  to  the  plastered  walls,  formed 
pictured  images  of  birds  of  the  evening 
and  of  night;  but  that  fire-place,  and 
the  vibrations  of  light  thence  into  the 
forms  of  those  images,  were  represen- 
tations of  their  judgments,  in  that  they 
could  disguise  the  things  of  every 
question,  and  induce  upon  them  appear- 
ances according  to  favor.  After  half 
an  hour,  I  saw  old  and  young  men  en- 
tering, in  gowns  and  robes,  who,  lay- 
ing aside  their  caps,  placed  themselves 
on  seats  at  the  tables  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment. And  I  heard  and  perceived 
how  dexterously  and  ingeniously,  from 
the  aspect  of  friendship,  they  warped 
and  changed  judgments  into  appear- 
ances of  justice,  and  this  so  far,  that 
they  themselves  did  not  see  what  was 
unjust  otherwise  than  as  just,  and,  re- 
ciprocally, what  was  just  otherwise  than 
as  unjust.  Such  persuasions  concern- 
ing them  appeared  from  their  faces, 
and  were  heard  from  the  sound  of  their 
speech.  Then  illustration  from  heav- 
en was  given  me,  from  which  I  per- 
ceived the  things  one  by  one,  whether 
they  were  of  right  or  not  of  right ;  and  I 
saw  how  industriously  they  covered 
what  w'as  unjust,  and  induced  upon  it 
the  appearance  of  what  was  just ;  and 
from  the  laws  they  selected  one  which 
favored,  to  which  they  bent  the  point  in 
question,  and  the  rest,  by  artful  reason- 


232  The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


ings,  they  removed  to  the  side.  After 
the  judgment,  the  sentences  were  car- 
ried out  to  their  clients,  friends  and  fa- 
vorers ;  and  these,  in  order  to  return  the 
favor  to  them,  for  a  long  way  exclaimed, 
"  O  HOW  JUST  !  O  HOW  JUST  !"  After 
this,  I  conversed  with  the  angels  of 
heaven  concerning  them,  and  told  them 
some  of  the  things  seen  and  heard ;  and 
the  angels  said,  that  "  such  judges  ap- 
pear to  others  as  if  endued  with  the  great- 
est acuteness  of  understanding,  when 
yet  they  do  not  see  any  thing  at  all  of 
what  is  just  and  equitable.  If  you  take 
away  friendship  for  any  one,  they  sit 
in  judgment  like  statues,  and  only  say, 
'  I  accede ;  I  agree  with  this  or  that 
man.'  The  reason  is,  because  all 
their  judgments  are  judgments  pre- 
viously formed,  and  a  judgment  pre- 
viously formed  with  favor  follows  the 
cause  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  it ;  hence  they  see  nothing  else  than 
what  is  of  their  friend ;  at  all  that 
which  is  against  him,  they  turn  aside 
their  eyes,  and  look  from  the  corners 
of  them  ;  and  if  they  take  it  up  again, 
tliey  involve  it  in  reasonings,  as  a  spi- 
der does  the  captives  in  her  web,  and 
consume  it.  Thence  it  is,  that  if  they 
do  not  follow  the  web  of  their  previous 
judgment,  they  see  nothing  of  right. 
They  have  been  explored  to  ascertain 
whether  they  were  able  to  see,  and 
they  were  found  to  be  unable.  The 
inhabitants  of  your  world  will  wonder 
that  it  is  so;  but  tell  them,  that  this  is 
a  truth  explored  by  the  angels  of  heav- 
en. Since  they  see  nothing  of  what  is 
just,  we  in  heaven  do  not  look  upon 
them  as  men,  but  as  monstrous  imtiges 
of  man,  of  which  those  things  which 
are  of  friendship  make  the  lieads, 
those  things  which  arc  of  injustice, 
the  brea.sts,  those  things  which  arc  of 
confirmation,  the  hands  and  feet,  and 
those  things  which  are  of  justice,  the 
.soles  of  the  feet,  which,  if  they  do  not 
favor  a  friend,  they  supplant  and  tram- 
ple under  feet.  But  you  shall  see  what 
they  are,  viewed  in  themselves,  for 
their  end  is  near  at  hand ;"  and  lo, 
then  suddenly  the  ground  opened,  and 
the  tables  fell  upon  tables,  and  they, 
together  with  the  whole  amphitheatre. 


were  swallowed  up  and  cast  into  cav- 
erns, and  imprisoned.  And  then  it  was 
said  to  me,  "  Do  you  wish  to  see  them 
there?"  And  lo,  they  were  seen,  as 
to  the  face,  as  if  from  polished  steel, 
and  as  to  the  body  from  the  neck  to 
the  loins,  like  graven  images  clothed 
with  leopards'  skins,  and  as  to  the  feet, 
like  serpents ;  and  I  saw  the  law-books, 
which  they  had  laid  up  on  the  ta- 
bles, turned  into  playing-cards ;  and 
now,  instead  of  sitting  as  judges,  the 
employment  given  to  them  is,  that  they 
should  make  vermilion  into  paint,  v.ith 
which  they  daub  the  faces  of  harlots, 
and  thus  turn  them  into  beauties.  Af- 
ter these  things  were  seen,  I  wished  to 
go  to  the  two  other  companies,  to  the 
one  where  were  merely  reasoners,  and 
to  the  other  where  were  merely  con- 
firmers.  But  it  was  said  to  me,  "  Rest 
a  little  while ;  angels  from  the  so- 
ciety next  above  them  shall  be  given 
you  as  companions ;  by  these,  light 
will  be  given  to  you  from  the  Lord, 
and  you  will  see  wonderful  things." 

333.  Second  Rel.\tio.\.  After  some 
time,  I  heard  again  from  the  lower  earth 
the  same  words  as  before,  O  now 
learned!  O  how  i,r.AHM-.i)l  And  I 
looked  around  to  sec  who  were  present ; 
and  lo,  there  were  angels,  who  were  in 
the  heaven  immediately  above  those 
who  cried,  O  how  i;K,ARNEn  !  And  I 
conversed  with  them  concerning  the 
cry,  and  they  said  that  "  those  were  the 
learned,  who  only  reason,  whether 
IT  HE  OR  he  not,  and  rarely  think 
THAT  IT  IS  so  :  wherefore  they  are  like 
winds  which  blow  and  pass  away  ;  and 
like  bark  around  trees,  which  are  with- 
out ])ith ;  and  like  shells  around  al- 
monds without  meat ;  and  like  the  rind 
around  fruit  without  the  pulp ;  for  their 
minds  are  without  interior  judgment, 
and  only  united  with  the  senses  of  the 
body ;  wherefore,  if  the  senses  them- 
selves do  not  judge,  they  are  able  to  con- 
clude nothing  ;  in  a  word,  they  are  mere- 
ly sensual,  and  by  us  they  are  called 
Reasoners.  They  are  called  reasoners 
because  they  never  conclude  anything, 
but  take  up  whatever  they  hear,  and  dis- 
pute whether  it  be,  by  continually  con- 
tradicting.    They  love  nothing  more 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


233 


than  to  attack  truths,  and  thus  to  pull 
them  to  pieces  hy  discussing  them. 
These  are  they,  who  believe  themselves 
to  be  learned  above  all  in  the  world. 
On  hearing  these  words,  I  requested 
the  angels  to  lead  me  to  them,  and 
they  led  me  to  a  cave,  from  which 
went  steps  to  the  lower  earth  ;  .and  we 
descended  and  followed  the  cry,  "O 
HOW  Li:.\RNED  !"  and  lo !  there  were 
several  hundreds  standing  in  one 
place,  beating  the  ground.  Wonder- 
ing at  this,  I  asked,  "  Why  do  they 
stand  thus,  and  beat  the  ground  with 
their  feet?"  and  added,  "They  can 
thus  excavate  the  ground  with  their 
feet."  At  this  the  angels  smiled,  and 
said,  "  It  appears  that  they  thus  stand, 
because  they  think  nothing  concerning 
any  thing,  that  it  is  so,  but  only,  wheth- 
er it  is  so,  and  dispute  ;  and  when  the 
thought  proceeds  no  farther,  they  ap- 
pear only  to  tread  and  stamp  upon  one 
spot,  and  not  to  proceed."  And  the 
angels  said,  "  Those  who  flow  out  of 
the  natural  world  into  this,  and  hear 
that  they  are  in  another  world,  gather 
themselves  into  companies,  in  many 
places,  and  ask,  '  Where  is  heaven, 
and  where  is  hell  V  as  also,  '  Where 
is  God  V  and  after  they  have  been  in- 
structed, they  still  begin  to  reason,  to 
dispute,  and  to  debate.  Whether 
THERE  IS  A  God.  They  do  this,  be- 
cause there  are,  at  this  day,  so  many 
naturalists  in  the  natural  world,  and 
these,  among  themselves  and  with  oth- 
ers, when  the  conversation  is  concern- 
ing religion,  propose  this  for  discus- 
sion, and  this  proposition  and  dis- 
cussion are  seldom  terminated  in  the 
affirmative  of  faith,  that  there  is  a  God ; 
and  these  afterwards  consociate  them- 
selves more  and  more  with  the  evil ; 
and  this  is  done,  because  no  one  can 
do  any  good  from  the  love  of  good,  ex- 
cept from  God."  Afterwards,  I  was  led 
down  to  the  assembly  ;  and  lo !  there  ap- 
peared to  me  men,  not  unhandsome  in 
the  face,  and  in  clothes  of  ornament ; 
and  the  angels  said,  "  They  appear 
such  in  their  own  light;  but  if  light 
out  of  heaven  flows  in,  the  faces  are 
changed,  and  also  the  clothes."  And 
it  was  done  so,  and  then  they  appear- 
30 


ed  with  dark  faces,  clothed  in  black 
sacks ;  but  this  light  being  withdrawn, 
they  were  seen  as  before.  Then  I 
spoke  with  some  of  the  assembly,  and 
said,  "  I  heard  the  cry  of  the  crowd 
around  you,  'O  how  learned!'  where- 
fore, let  us  converse  with  you  on  things 
which  are  of  the  deepest  learning." 
And  they  replied,  "  Say  whatever  you 
please,  and  we  will  satisfy  you."  And 
I  asked,  "  What  is  the  religion  by 
which  man  is  saved  1"  And  they 
said,  "  We  will  divide  this  question  in- 
to several;  and,  until  we  have  con- 
cluded these,  we  cannot  give  an  an- 
swer.   And  the  discussion  shall  be, 

1.  Whether  religion  be  any  thing. 

2.  Whether  salvation  be  or  not.  3. 
Whether  one  religion  effect  more 
than  another.  4.  Whether  there  be  a 
heaven  and  a  hell.  5.  Whether  there 
be  eternal  life  after  death ;  besides 
many  more."  And  I  asked  concern- 
ing the  first,  Wliether  religion  be  any 
thing.  And  they  began  to  canvass 
this  with  abundance  of  arguments; 
and  I  requested  that  they  would  refer 
it  to  the  assembly;  and  they  referred 
it ;  and  the  common  answer  was,  that 
"  This  proposition  needs  so  much  in- 
vestigation, that  it  cannot  be  finished 
in  an  evening."  And  I  asked,  "  Can 
it  be  finished  by  you  within  a  year?" 
And  one  said,  "  It  cannot  within  a 
hundred  years."  And  I  said,  "  In 
the  mean  time,  you  are  without  reli- 
gion ;  and  because  salvation  thence 
depends,  you  are  without  the  idea, 
faith  and  hope  of  salvation."  And  he 
replied,  "  Should  it  not  be  demonstrat- 
ed first,  whether  religion  is,  and  what 
it  is,  and  whether  it  is  any  thing  ?  If 
it  is,  it  will  be  also  for  the  wise ;  if  it  is 
not,  it  will  be  only  for  the  common 
people.  It  is  known,  that  religion  is 
called  a  bond  ;  but  it  is  asked,  for 
whom?  If  only  ibr  the  common 
people,  it  is  not  in  itself  any  thing ;  if 
also  for  the  wise,  it  is."  On  hear- 
ing these  words,  I  said,  "  You  are 
any  thing  rather  than  learned,  because 
you  cannot  think  any  thing  else,  than 
whether  it  be,  and  turn  this  both  ways. 
Can  any  one  be  learned,  unless  he 
know  something  for  certain,  and  pro- 


234 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained, 


ceed  into  it,  as  a  man  proceeds  from 
step  to  step,  and  successively  into  wis- 
dom? Otherwise,  you  do  not  touch 
truths,  even  with  the  finger-nail ;  but 
you  remove  them  more  and  more  out 
of  sight.  Wherefore,  to  reason  only 
whether  it  be,  is  to  reason  from  a  hat 
which  is  never  put  on,  or  from  a  shoe 
which  is  not  tried  on ;  what  thence 
follows,  but  that  you  know  not  whether 
any  thing  exist,  or  whether  it  be  any 
thing  but  an  idea ;  and  so  whether  salva- 
tion be  given,  whether  eternal  life  after 
death,  whether  one  religion  be  better 
than  another,  whether  there  be  a  heav- 
en and  a  hell.  You  cannot  think  any 
thing  concerning  these  things,  so  long 
as  you  halt  at  the  first  step,  and  beat 
the  sand  there,  and  do  not  set  one  foot 
before  the  other,  and  go  forward.  Take 
heed  to  yourselves,  lest  your  minds, 
while  they  stand  thus  on  the  outside, 
without  judgment,  should  inwardly 
grow  hard,  and  become  pillars  of  salt." 
On  saying  these  words,  I  departed,  and 
they  from  indignation  threw  stones 
after  me;  and  then  they  appeared  to 
me  like  graven  images,  in  which  there 
is  nothing  of  human  reason.  And  I 
asked  the  angels  concerning  their  lot ; 
and  they  said,  that  the  lowest  of  them 
are  let  down  into  the  deep,  and  tliere 
into  the  desert,  and  are  compelled  to 
carry  packs ;  and  then,  because  they 
cannot  produce  any  thing  from  reason, 
they  prate  and  speak  vain  things ;  and 
there,  at  a  distance,  they  appear  like 
asses  carrying  burdens. 

334.  Third  Relation.  After  this, 
one  of  the  angels  said,  "  Follow  me  to 
the  place  where  they  cried,  '  O  now 
WISE  !"'  And  he  said,  "  You  will  .see 
prodigies  of  men ;  you  will  see  faces 
and  bodies,  which  are  of  a  man, 
and  yet  they  are  not  men."  And  I 
said,  "  Are  they  beasts,  then  ?"  He 
replied,  "  They  are  not  beasts,  but 
men-beasts ;  for  they  are  such  as  can- 
not see  at  all,  whether  truth  be  truth 
or  not;  and  yet  they  can  make  what- 
ever they  please  appear  like  truth ; 
such  with  us  are  called  Conkiumers." 
And  we  followed  the  cry,  and  came  to 
the  place  ;  and  lo !  a  company  of  men, 
and   around  the  company  a  crowd, 


and  in  the  crowd  some  of  noble  de- 
scent, who,  when  they  heard  that  they 
confirmed  all  things  that  they  said, 
and  favored  them  with  so  manifest  con- 
sent, turned  themselves  about,  and 
said,  "  O  HOW  wise  !"  But  the  angel 
said  to  me,  "  Let  us  not  go  to  them, 
but  let  us  call  out  one  from  the  compa- 
ny ;  arid  we  called  one  out,  and  retired 
with  him,  and  spoke  various  things, 
and  he  confirmed  them  one  by  one,  so 
that  at  length  they  appeared  as  true. 
And  we  asked  him  whether  he  could 
also  confirm  the  contrary  ;  he  said  that 
he  could  as  well  as  the  former.  Then 
he  said,  openly  and  from  the  heart, 
"What  is  truth?  Is  there  any  truth 
given  in  the  nature  of  things,  but  what 
man  makes  true?  Say  whatever  you 
please,  and  I  will  make  it  to  be  true." 
And  I  said,  "  Make  this  true.  That  faith 
is  the  all  of  the  church."  And  he  did  it 
so  dexterously  and  ingeniously,  that  the 
learned, who  stood  around,  admired  and 
applauded  him.  Afterwards,  I  request- 
ed that  he  would  make  it  true  that  char- 
ity was  the  all  of  the  church ;  and  he 
did ;  and  afterwards,  that  charity  is 
nothing  of  the  church.  And  he  clothed 
and  adorned  both  with  appearances,  so 
that  the  by-standers  looked  at  each  oth- 
er, and  said,  "  Is  not  this  a  wise  man  ?" 
And  I  said,  "Do  you  not  know,  that 
charity  is  to  live  well,  and  that  faith  is 
to  believe  well  ?  Does  not  he  who  lives 
well,  also  believe  well  ?  And  thus, 
that  faith  is  of  charity,  and  cliarity  of 
faith?  Do  you  not  sec  that  this  is 
true  ?"  He  replied,  "  I  will  make  it 
true,  and  I  shall  see."  And  he  did, 
and  said,  "  Now  I  sec."  '  But  present- 
ly he  made  the  contrary  of  that  to  be 
true,  and  then  said,  "  I  see  also  that  this 
is  true."  At  this  wc  smiled,  and  said, 
"  Are  they  not  contraries  ?  How  can 
two  contraries  be  seen  true  ?"  Being 
indignant  at  this,  he  replied,  "  You 
err ;  they  are  both  true,  since  nothing 
else  is  true,  but  what  man  makes  true." 
There  stood  near  a  certain  one,  who, 
in  the  world,  had  been  an  ambassador 
of  the  first  rank.  He  wondered  at  this, 
and  said,  "I  acknowledge  that  there 
is  something  similar  in  the  world;  but 
still  you  are  insane    iMake  it  to  be  true, 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  SenoC. 


235 


if  you  can,  that  darkness  is  light,  and 
light,  darkness."  And  he  replied,  "  I 
shall  do  this  easily.  What  are  light 
and  darkness,  but  states  of  the  eye? 
Is  not  light  changed  into  shade,  when 
the  eye  comes  from  a  sunny  place,  as 
also  when  a  man  fixes  his  eye  intense- 
ly on  the  sun  ?  Who  does  not  know, 
that  the  state  of  the  eye  is  then  changed, 
and  that  thence  light  appears  like 
shade ;  and  on  the  other  hand ,  when  the 
state  of  the  eye  returns,  that  that  shade 
appears  like  light  ?  Does  not  an  owl 
see  the  darkness  of  night  as  the  light 
of  day,  and  the  light  of  day  as  the 
darkness  of  night,  and  then  the  sun  it- 
self altogether  as  an  opaque  and  dusky 
globe  ?  If  any  one  had  eyes  like  an  owl, 
what  would  he  call  light,  and  what 
darkness  ?  What  then  is  light,  but  a 
state  of  the  eye  ?  And  if  it  be  only  a 
state  of  the  eye,  is  not  light  darkness, 
and  darkness  light?  Wherefore  the  one 
is  true,  and  the  other  is  true."  But, 
because  this  confirmation  confounded 
some,  I  said,  "  I  perceive  that  that  con- 
firmer  does  not  know,  that  there  is  given 
true  light  and  fatuous  light :  and  that 
both  those  lights  appear  as  if  they  were 
lights,  but  still  fatuous  light  in  itself  is 
not  light ;  but,  in  respect  to  true  light, 
it  is  darkness.  An  owl  is  in  fatuous 
light,  for  there  is  within  its  eyes  the  de- 
sire of  pursuing  and  devouring  birds ; 
and  this  light  makes  its  ej'es  see  in  time 
of  night,  just  as  cats  do,  whose  eyes  in 
cellars  appear  like  candles ;  it  is  the  fat- 
laous  light,  arising  from  the  desire  of 
pursuing  and  devouring  mice,  which 
produces  that  within  in  their  eyes ; 
thence  it  is  manifest,  that  the  light  of 
the  sun  is  true  light,  and  that  the  light 
of  lust  is  fatuous  light."  After  this,  the 
ambassador  requested  the  confirmer, 
that  he  would  make  this  as  if  true : 
"  That  a  crow  is  white  and  not  black." 
And  he  replied,  "  This,  also,  I  shall  do 
easily."  And  he  said,  "  Take  a  needle 
or  a  knife,  and  open  the  quills  and  feath- 
ers of  a  crow ;  then  remove  the  quills 
and  feathers,  and  look  at  the  crow's 
skin  ;  is  it  not  white  ?  What  is  the 
black  which  is  around  but  a  shade, 
from  which  wc  should  not  judge  con- 
cerning the  color  of  the  crow  ?  That 


black  is  only  a  shade,  consult  those 
who  are  skilled  in  the  science  of  op- 
tics, and  thoy  will  say,  '  Grind  cither 
a  black  stone  or  glass  into  fine  powder, 
and  you  will  sec  that  the  powder  is 
white.'  "  But  the  ambassador  replied, 
"  Does  not  the  crow  appear  black  to 
the  sight  ?"  But  the  confirmer  replied, 
"  Will  you,  who  are  a  man,  think  any 
thing  fi-om  appearance  ?  You  may,  in- 
deed, speak  from  appearance,  that  a 
crow  is  black,  but  you  cannot  think 
that;  as,  for  example,  you  may  speak 
from  appearance,  that  the  sun  rises  and 
sets ;  but,  because  you  are  a  man,  you 
cannot  think  that,  because  the  sun 
stands  unmoved,  and  the  earth  goes 
forward.  It  is  similar  with  the 
crow.  Appearance  is  appearance.  Say 
what  )'ou  will,  a  crow  is  all  over  white  ; 
it  also  grows  white,  when  it  grows 
old ;  this  I  have  seen."  After  this, 
the  bystanders  looked  at  me ;  where- 
fore I  said,  that  it  is  true  that  the  quills 
and  feathers  of  a  crow  inwardly  par- 
take of  whiteness,  and  also  its  skin ; 
but  this  is  the  case  not  only  with 
crows,  but  also  with  all  the  birds  in 
the  universe ;  and  every  man  distin- 
guishes birds  by  the  appearance  of 
their  color ;  if  this  were  not  done,  we 
might  say  concerning  every  bird,  that 
it  is  white,  which  is  absurd  and  ridicu- 
lous. Afterwards,  the  ambassador  ask- 
ed, whether  he  could  make  it  true. 
That  you  are  insane.  And  he  said, 
"I  can,  but  I  will  not;  who  is  not 
insane?"  Then  they  requested  him, 
that  he  w'ould  say  from  the  heart, 
whether  he  was  jesting,  or  whether  he 
believed  that  there  is  not  any  thing 
true,  except  what  man  makes  true. 
And  he  said,  "  I  swear  that  I  believe 
it."  After  this,  that  universal  confirm- 
er was  sent  to  the  angels,  who  ex- 
plored him  as  to  his  quality  ;  and  after 
the  exploration,  they  said,  that  he 
did  not  possess  a  grain  of  under- 
standing, because  all  that  which  is 
above  the  rational,  with  him,  was  clos- 
ed ;  and  only  that  which  is  below  the 
rational,  was  open ;  above  the  rational 
is  spiritual  light,  and  below  the  ration- 
al is  natural  light,  and  this  light  with 
man  is  such,  that  he  can  confirm  what- 


236 


The  Catechism,  or  Decalogue  explained, 


ever  he  pleases ;  but  if  spiritual  light 
does  not  flow  into  natural  light,  man 
does  not  see  whether  any  truth  is  truth, 
nor  thence  that  any  thing  false  is  false ; 
to  see  this  and  that,  is  from  spiritual 
light  in  natural  light,  and  spiritual 
light  is  from  the  God  of  heaven,  who  is 
the  Lord ;  wherefore,  that  universal 
confirmer  is  not  a  man  nor  a  beast, 
but  a  man-beast.  I  asked  the  angels 
concerning  the  lot  of  such,  whether 
they  can  be  together  with  the  living, 
because  the  life  of  man  is  from  spirit- 
ual light,  and  from  this  is  his  under- 
standing. And  they  said,  that  "  Such, 
when  they  are  alone,  cannot  think 
any  thing,  and  thence  speak ;  but 
that  they  stand  mute  like  automatons, 
and,  as  it  were,  in  a  deep  sleep ;  but 
that  they  are  awaked  as  soon  as  they 
hear  any  thing;"  and  they  added, 
tliat  "  Those  become  such,  who  are  in- 
wardly evil ;  into  this,  spiritual  light 
cannot  flow  from  above,  but  only  some- 
tliing  spiritual  through  the  world, 
wlience  they  have  the  faculty  of  con- 
firming." These  things  being  said,  I 
heard  a  voice  from  the  angels  who  ex- 
plored him,  saying,  "  Make  a  univer- 
sal conclusion  from  what  has  been 
heard."  And  I  made  this,  Tliat  it  is 
not  the  part  of  an  intelligent  man  to  he 
able  to  conjirm  whatever  he  pleases ; 
hut  that  it  is  the  part  of  an  intelligent 
man  to  he  able  to  see  that  the  true  is 
true,  and  that  the  false  is  false,  and  to 
confirm  it.  After  this,  I  looked  at  the 
comp.iny  where  the  confirmers  were 
standing,  and  the  crowd  around  them 
were  crying,  "  O  now  wise  !"  and  lo ! 
a  dark  cloud  covered  them,  and,  in  the 
cloud,  owls  and  bats  were  flying.  And 
it  was  said  to  me,  "  The  owls  and 
bats,  flying  in  that  cloud,  are  corre- 
spondences, and  thence  appearances  of 
their  thoughts ;  since  confirmations  of 
falsities,  so  that  they  appear  like  truths, 
are  represented  in  this  world  under 
the  forms  of  birds  of  night,  whose  eyes 
are  ilhnninated  within  by  a  fatuous 
light,  from  which  they  see  objects  in 
darkness,  as  in  the  light :  such  fatuous 
spiritual  light  have  those,  who  confirm 
falses  until  they  appear  as  truths, 
and  afterwards  are   believed   to  be 


truths.  All  those  are  in  vision  from 
behind,  and  not  in  any  vision  from  be- 
fore. 

335.  Fourth  Relation.  Once,  at 
the  dawn  of  day,  when  I  awaked  from 
sleep,  I  saw  before  my  eyes,  as  it  were, 
spectres  in  various  shapes ;  and  after- 
wards, when  it  was  morning,  I  saw 
fatuous  lights,  in  divers  forms  ;  some 
like  sheets  of  paper  full  of  writing, 
which,  being  folded  together  again  and 
again,  at  length  appeared  like  falling 
stars,  which  in  their  descent  vanished 
in  the  air ;  and  some  like  open  books, 
some  of  which  shone  like  little  moons, 
and  some  burnt  like  candles ;  amongst 
these,  were  books  which  raised  them- 
selves up  on  high,  and  were  lost  in 
the  heiglit,  and  others  which  fell 
down  to  the  earth,  and  were  dis.solved 
there  into  dust.  From  these  appear- 
ances, I  conjectured,  that  below  those 
meteors  there  stood  those'  who  were 
disputing  about  imaginary  things, 
which  they  esteemed  of  great  moment ; 
for,  in  the  spiritual  world,  such  phe- 
nomena appear  in  the  atmospheres, 
from  the  reasonings  of  those  standing 
below ;  and  presently  the  sight  of  my 
spirit  was  opened  to  me,  and  I  observed 
a  number  of  spirits,  whose  heads  were 
encircled  with  leaves  of  laurel,  and 
who  were  clothed  in  gowns  adorned 
with  flowers,  which  signified  that  they 
were  spirits,  who,  in  the  natural  world, 
had  been  renowned  for  the  fame  of 
erudition ;  and  because  I  was  in  the 
spirit,  I  drew  near  and  mingled  myself 
with  the  company ,"  and  then  I  hoard 
that  they  were  disputing  sharply  and 
warmly  among  themselves,  concerning 
CONNATE  IDEAS ;  whether  there  are 
any  in  men  from  birth,  as  in  beasts. 
Those  who  denied,  turned  them- 
selves away  from  those  who  aflirm- 
ed,  and  at  length  they  stood  sepa- 
rated from  each  other,  like  the  pha- 
lanxes of  two  armies  about  to  fight  with 
swords ;  but  because  they  had  no 
swords,  they  fought  with  the  sharp 
points  of  words.  But  then,  on  a  sud- 
den, a  certain  angelic  spirit  stood  up 
in  the  midst  of  them,  and,  speaking 
with  a  loud  voice,  he  said,  "  I  heard 
at  a  distance,  not  far  from  you,  that 


as  to  its  External  and  Internal  Sense. 


237 


you  are  ardently  engaged,  on  both 
sides,  in  a  dispute  about  connate  ideas, 
whether  men  have  any,  like  the  beasts; 
but  I  tell  you.  That  men  have  not 

ANY  CONNATE  IDEAS,  AND  THAT  BEASTS 

HAVE  NOT  ANY  IDEAS  ;  wherefore,  you 
are  quarrelling  about  nothing,  or,  as  it 
is  said,  about  goat's  wool,  or  about  the 
beard  of  this  age."  On  hearing  these 
words,  they  were  very  angry,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  Cast  him  out;  he  talks  con- 
trary to  common  sense."  But  when 
they  were  in  the  effort  of  casting  him 
out,  they  saw  him  encircled  with  heav- 
enly light,  through  which  they  could 
not  rush ;  for  he  was  an  angelic  spirit ; 
wherefore  they  retired,  and  removed 
themselves  a  little  from  him.  And  after 
that  light  was  withdrawn,  he  said  to 
them,  "  Why  are  you  angry  ?  Hear 
first,  and  collect  the  reasons  which  I 
shall  offer,  and  make  a  conclusion  from 
them  yourselves ;  and  I  foresee,  that 
those  who  excel  in  judgment  will  ac- 
cede, and  will  calm  the  tempests  which 
have  arisen  in  your  minds."  To  these 
words,  they  said,  yet  with  an  indignant 
tone,  "  Speak,  then,  and  we  will  hear." 
And  then,  beginning  to  speak,  he  said, 
"  You  believe  that  beasts  have  con- 
nate ideas,  and  you  have  concluded 
it  from  this,  that  their  actions  appear 
as  if  from  thought;  and  yet  they 
have  no  thought  at  all,  and  ideas  are 
not  predicable,  except  of  tiiat ;  and 
it  is  the  character  of  thought  that 
they  do  so  or  so,  for  the  sake  of  this 
or  that.  Consider,  therefore,  whether 
the  spider,  which  weaves  her  web  most 
curiously,  thinks  in  her  little  head, 
'  I  will  extend  the  threads  in  this  or- 
der, and  will  tie  them  together  with 
transverse  threads,  lest  my  web  should 
be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  rude  vibra- 
tion of  the  air;  and  at  the  first  ter- 
minations of  the  threads,  which  will 
make  the  middle,  I  will  prepare  a  seat 
for  myself,  in  which  I  shall  perceive 
whatever  falls  in,  so  that  I  may  run 
thither ;  as,  if  a  fly  should  come,  that  it 
may  get  entangled,  and  I  will  quickly 
seize  it,  and  tie  it,  and  it  shall  serve  me 
for  food.'  Again,  does  the  bee  think 
in  its  little  head,  '  I  will  fly  abroad  ;  I 
know  where  the  flowery  fields  are; 


and  there  I  will  gather  wax  from  these 
flowers,  and  suck  honey  from  those ; 
and  of  the  wax  I  vvill  build  little  cells 
contiguous  in  a  series,  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  I  and  my  companions  may 
freely  go  in  and  out,  as  through  streets ; 
and  afterwards  we  will  lay  up  honey  in 
them  abundantly,  so  that  there  may  be 
enough,  also,  for  the  coming  winter, 
that  we  may  not  die ;'  besides  other 
wonderful  things,  in  which  they  not 
only  emulate,  but  in  some  cases  excel,' 
the  political  and  economical  prudence 
of  men.  (See  above,  n.  12.)  More- 
over, does  the  humble-bee  think  in  its 
little  head,  '  I  and  my  companions 
will  build  a  little  house  of  fine  papyrus, 
the  walls  of  which,  within,  we  will 
wind  about  in  the  form  of  a  labyrinth, 
and  in  the  centre  we  will  prepare,  as 
it  were,  a  forum,  into  which  there  shall 
be  an  entrance,  and  out  of  which  there 
shall  be  a  passage ;  and  tliis  of  such 
workmanship,  that  no  other  living 
creature,  except  what  is  of  our  family, 
shall  find  the  way  to  the  inmost  place, 
where  we  assemble.'  Again,  does  the 
silk-worm,  while  a  worm,  think  in  its 
little  head, '  Now  it  is  time  that  I  should 
prepare  myself  for  spinning  silk,  and 
for  the  end,  that,  when  it  is  spun,  I 
may  fly  abroad,  and  sport  with  my 
companions  in  the  air  into  which  I 
could  not  rise  before,  and  provide  for 
myself  a  progeny  V  Do  other  worms 
think,  in  like  manner,  when  they  crawl 
through  the  walls  of  houses,  and  be- 
come nymphs,  aurelias,  chrysalises  and 
at  last  butterflies?  Does  a  fly  have 
any  idea  of  meeting  with  another  fly, 
that  it  happens  here,  and  not  there? 
The  case  is  the  same  with  animals  of 
a  larger  body,  as  it  is  with  those  little 
animals,  as  with  birds  and  winged 
creatures  of  every  kind,  when  they 
come  together,  and  also  when  they  pre- 
pare ne.sts,  and  lay  eggs  in  them,  sit 
upon  them,  and  hatch  their  young,  pro- 
cure food  for  them,  take  care  of  them 
until  they  fly  abroad,  and  then  drive 
them  away  from  their  nests,  as  if  they 
were  not  their  offspring ;  besides  innu- 
merable other  things.  The  case  is 
similar,  also,  with  the  beasts  of  the 
earth,  with  serpents  and  with  fishes. 


238 


The  Catechism  or  Decalogue  explained- 


Which  of  you  cannot  see,  from  the 
things  above  mentioned,  that  their 
spontaneous  actions  do  not  flow  from 
any  thought,  of  which  alone  an  idea  is 
predicable?  The  error,  that  beasts 
have  ideas,  flows  from  no  other  source, 
than  from  the  persuasion,  that  they 
think,  as  well  as  men,  and  that  speech 
only  makes  the  distinction."  After 
this,  the  angelic  spirit  looked  around, 
and  because  he  saw  them  still  hesitat- 
ing, whether  beasts  have  thought  or 
not,  he  continued  the  discourse,  and 
said  ;  "  I  perceive,  that,  from  the  ac- 
tions of  brute  animals,  similar  to  those 
of  men,  there  still  clings  to  you  a  vis- 
ionary idea  concerning  their  thought ; 
wherefore  I  will  tell  whence  their  ac- 
tions are.  Every  beast,  every  bird,  every 
fish,  reptile  and  insect,  for  instance,  has 
its  own  natural,  sensual  and  corporeal 
love,  the  habitations  of  which  are  their 
heads,  and  in  them  the  brains ;  through 
these,  the  spiritual  world  flows  into  the 
senses  of  their  body  immediately,  and 
thereby  determines  the  actions ;  which 
is  the  reason  why  the  senses  of  their 
body  are  much  more  exquisite  than 
those  of  men.  That  influx  from  the 
spiritual  world,  is  what  is  called  in- 
stinct, and  it  is  called  instinct  because 
it  exists  without  the  medium  of  thought ; 
there  are  also  given  things  accessory  to 
instinct,  from  habit.  But  their  love,  by 
which,  from  the  spiritual  world,  is  pro- 
duced the  determination  to  actions,  is 
only  for  nutrition  and  propagation,  but 
not  for  any  science,  intelligence  and 
wisdom,  by  which  love  is  successively 
produced  witii  men. 

"That  neither  has  man  any  connate 
ideas,  may  evidently  appear  from  this, 
that  he  has  not  any  connate  thought ; 


and  where  there  is  no  thought,  there  is 
no  idea  ;  for  the  one  is  of  the  other,  re- 
ciprocally. This  may  be  concluded  from 
infants  newly  born,  in  that  they  cannot 
do  any  thing  but  suck  and  breathe ; 
that  they  can  suck,  is  not  from  any 
thing  connate,  but  from  continual  suc- 
tion in  the  mother's  womb;  and  that 
they  can  breathe,  is  because  they  live, 
for  this  is  a  universal  of  life.  The  very 
senses  of  their  body  are  in  the  greatest 
obscurity,  and  from  this  they  emerge 
successively  by  means  of  objects ;  in 
like  manner,  their  motions  are  acquir- 
ed by  habitual  exercise.  And  as  they 
learn  successively  to  lisp  out  words, 
and  to  sound  them,  at  first  without  any 
idea,  there  arises  something  obscure  of 
fantasy ;  and  as  this  becomes  clear, 
something  obscure  of  the  imagination 
arises,  and  thence  of  thought.  Accord- 
ing to  the  formation  of  this  state,  ideas 
exist,  which,  as  was  said  above,  make 
one  with  thought ;  and  thought  from 
none  grows  by  instructions.  Wherefore 
men  have  ideas,  yet  not  connate,  but 
formed ;  and  from  these  flow  their 
speech  and  actions."  That  no  other  is 
born  with  man,  than  a  faculty  for  know- 
ing, understanding  and  becoming  wise, 
as  also  an  inclination  to  love  not  only 
those  things,  but  also  the  neighbor 
and  God,  may  be  seen  in  a  Rel.\- 
TioN  above,  n.  48,  and  also  in  a  Re- 
LATio.v  below.  After  this,  I  looked 
around,  and  saw  near  me  Leibnitz 
and  Wolfius,  who  paid  close  atten- 
tion to  the  reasons  produced  by  the 
angelic  spirit ;  iind  then  Leibnitz  ac- 
ceded and  assented ;  but  Wolfius  de- 
parted, both  denying  and  aflirniing,  for 
he  h.id  not  so  strong  an  interior  judg- 
ment as  Leibnitz. 


Concerning  Faith. 


239 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CONCERNING  FAITH. 


336.  From  the  wisdom  of  the  an- 
cients flowed  forth  this  dogma,  That 
the  universe,  and  all  the  particular 
parts  of  it,  refer  themselves  to  the 
good  and  the  true ;  and  thus  all 
things  of  the  church,  to  love  or  char- 
ity and  faith,  since  all  that  is  called 
good,  which  flows  from  love  or  char- 
ity, and  all  that  is  called  truth,  which 
flows  from  faith.  Now,  because  char- 
ity and  faith  are  distinctly  two,  but 
still  make  one  in  man,  that  he  may  be 
a  man  of  the  church,  that  is,  that  the 
chxirch  may  be  in  man,  it  was  there- 
fore a  subject  of  controversy  and  dis- 
pute amongst  the  ancients,  which  of 
those  two  should  be  the  first,  and  thus 
which  by  right  is  to  be  called  the  first- 
born. Some  of  them  said  that  truth, 
consequently  that  faith,  should  have 
the  priority ;  and  some,  that  good, 
consequently  that  charity,  should  have 
it.  For  they  saw  that  man,  soon  after 
his  birth,  learns  to  speak  and  think, 
and  by  these  to  be  perfected  in  under- 
standing, which  is  done  by  sciences ; 
and  thus  that  he  begins  to  learn  and 
understand  what  is  true,  and  that  by 
these  means  he  afterwards  learns  and 
understands  what  is  good ;  consequent- 
ly, that  he  learns  first  what  faith  is, 
and  afterwards  what  charity  is.  Those 
who  thus  comprehended  this  thing, 
thought  that  tlie  truth  of  faith  was  the 
first-born,  and  that  the  good  of  charity 
was  born  afterwards  ;  wherefore  they 
also  attributed  to  faith  the  preeminence 
and  prerogative  of  primogeniture.  But 
these  overwhelmed  their  understanding 
with  such  a  multitude  of  arguments  in 
favor  of  faith,  that  they  did  not  see  that 
faith  is  not  faith  unless  it  be  conjoin- 
ed with  charity,  and  that  charity  is  not 


charity  unless  it  be  conjoined  with 
faith ;  and  thus  that  they  make  one, 
and  that  if  they  do  not,  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  is  any  thing  in  the 
church.  That  they  do  absolutely  make 
one,  will  be  demonstrated  in  what  fol- 
lows. But  in  this  preface  I  shall,  in  a 
few  words,  explain  how,  or  in  what 
manner,  they  make  one,  for  this  is  of 
importance,  that  the  things  which  fol- 
low may  be  in  some  light.  Faith,  by 
which  is  also  meant  truth,  is  first  in 
time,  but  charity,  by  which  is  also 
meant  good,  is  first  in  end ;  and  that 
which  is  first  in  the  end  is  actually 
first,  because  primary,  thus  also  first- 
born ;  but  that  which  is  first  in  time, 
is  not  first  actually,  but  apparently. 
But  that  this  may  be  comprehended,  it 
shall  be  illustrated  by  comparisons; 
as  with  the  building  of  a  temple,  as  al- 
so of  a  house,  and  with  the  making  of 
a  garden,  and  with  the  preparing  of  a 

field.  With  THE  BUILDING  OF  A  TEM- 
PLE ;  the  first  thing  in  time  is  to  lay 
the  foundation,  to  raise  the  walls,  to 
put  on  the  roof,  and  afterwards  to  put 
in  the  altar,  and  to  erect  the  pulpit ; 
but  the  first  thing  in  the  end  is  the 
worship  of  God  in  it,  for  the  sake  of 
which  those  things  are  done.  With 

THE  BUILDING   OF  A  HOUSE  ;    the  first 

thing  in  time  is  to  build  its  exterior 
parts,  and  also  to  furnish  it  with  various 
things  which  are  of  necessity ;  but  the 
first  thing  in  end  is  a  commodious 
habitation  for  himself  and  for  the  rest 
who  shall  be  in  the  house.  With  the 
MAKING  OF  A  GARDEN ;  the  first  thing 
in  time  is  to  level  the  ground,  and  pre- 
pare the  soil,  and  plant  trees,  and  sow 
such  things  as  will  .serve  for  use ;  but 
the  first  thing  in  end  is  the  enjoyment 


240 


Concerning  Faith. 


of  the  fruits  of  them.  With  the  pre- 
paring OF  A  FIELD ;  the  first  thing  in 
time  is  to  clear  the  land,  to  plough,  to 
harrow,  and  then  to  sow  the  seeds; 
but  the  first  thing  in  end  is  the  har- 
vest, thus  also  use.  From  these 
comparisons,  every  one  may  conclude 
which  in  itself  is  first ;  for  does  not 
every  one,  when  he  wishes  to  build 
a  temple  or  a  house,  as  also  to  make  a 
garden  and  to  cultivate  a  field,  first 
intend  use,  and  constantly  keep  and 
revolve  this  in  his  mind,  while  he 
procures  the  means  for  it.  We  con- 
clude, therefore,  that  the  truth  of 
faith  is  first  in  time,  but  that  the 
good  of  charity  is  first  in  end ;  and 
that  this,  because  it  is  primary,  is 
therefore  actually  the  first-begotten  in 
the  mind.  But  it  is  necessary  that  it 
should  be  known  what  faith  is,  and 
what  charity  is, each  in  its  essence ;  and 
this  cannot  be  known,  unless  faith  and 
charity  be  divided,  each  into  its  proper 
articles.  The  articles  of  faith,  there- 
fore, are  these  :  I.  'I'hnt  saving  Fnitli 
is  in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus 
Christ.  II.  That  Faith,  in  the  sum,  is, 
that  he,  tvho  lives  well  and  believes 
aright,  is  saved  by  the  Lord.  III. 
That  man  reeeives  Faith  by  going  to 
the  Lord,  learning  Truths  from  the 
Word,  and  living  according  to  them. 
IV.  That  abundance  of  Truths,  coher- 
ing as  in  a  bundle,  exalts  and  perfects 
Faith.  V.  That  Faith  icithont  Char- 
ity is  not  Faith,  and  thai  Charity  with- 
out Faith  is  not  Charity ;  and  that 
neither  lives,  except  from  the  Lord. 
VI.  That  the  I^ord,  Charity  and  Faith 
make  one,  like  Life,  Will  and  Undcr- 
standitig  in  tnan  ;  and  that,  f  they  are 
divided,  each  perishes,  like  a  pearl  re- 
duced to  powder.  VII.  That  the  I,ord 
is  Charity  and  Faith  in  man,  and  that 
man  is  Charity  and  Faith  in  the  Lord. 
VIII.  That  Charity  and  Faith  are 
together  in  good  Works.  IX.  That 
there  is  a  true  Faith,  a  spurious  Faith, 
and  a  hypocritical  Faith.  X.  That 
there  is  no  Faith  with  the  Kvil. 
These  are  now  to  be  exi)lained  one  by 
one. 

I.  That  saving  Faith  ks  in  tiif. 
Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ. 


337.  That  saving  faith  is  in  God 
the  Savior,  is,  because  He  is  God 
and  Man ;  and  He  in  the  Father  and 
the  Father  in  Him,  and  thus  one  ; 
wherefore,  they  who  go  to  Him,  go  to 
the  Father  also  at  the  same  time,  and 
thus  to  the  one  and  only  God,  and 
there  is  no  saving  faith  in  any  other. 
That  we  should  believe,  or  have  faith, 
in  the  Son  of  God,  the  Redeemer  and 
Savior,  conceived  from  Jehovah,  and 
born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  named  Jesus 
Christ,  is  evident  from  the  commands, 
frequently  repeated  by  Him,  and  after- 
wards by  the  apostles.  That  faith  in 
Him  was  commanded  by  Himself,  is 
very  manifest  from  these  passages : 
Jesus  said.  This  is  the  ivill  of  the  Fa- 
ther who  sent  Me,  that  every  one  who 
seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth  in  Him, 
should  have  eternal  life;  and  I  should 
resuscitate  him  at  the  last  day,  John  vi. 
40.  He  that  believeth  in  the  Son, 
hath  eternal  life ;  but  he  that  believeth 
not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life,  but  t/ie 
anger  of  God  abidcth  on  him,  iii. 
36.  That  every  one,  who  believeth 
in  the  Son,  should  not  perish,  bid  have 
eternal  life  ;for  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  He  gave  his  only-begotten  Son, 
that  EVERV  OiVE,  WHO  believeth  in 
Him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life,  iii.  \  '>,  16.  Jesus  said,  I  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life  ;  he  that  be- 
lieveth IN  Me,  shall  never  die,  ix.  25, 
26.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you. 
He  that  believeth  in  Me,  hath  eter- 
nal life.  I  am  the  bread  of  life,  vi. 
47  ,  48.  J  am  the  bread  of  life ;  he 
that  COMETH  TO  Me,  shall  never  hun- 
ger, and  HK  THAT  believeth  in  Me, 
shall  never  thirst,  vi.  35.  Jesus  cried, 
.mying.  If  any  one  thirst,  come  to  Me  and 
drink;  whosoever  believeth  in  Me, 
as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his 
belli/  shall  fow  rivers  of  living  water, 
vii.  37,  38.  They  said  to  Jesus, 
What  shall  we  do,  that  we  may  work 
the  iporks  of  God?  Jesus  answered, 
This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  be- 
lieve IN  Him,  WHOM  the  Father  hath 
SENT,  vi.  28,  29.  As  long  as  ye  have 
light,  believe  in  the  light,  that  ye  may 
be  .tons  of  the  light,  xii.  36.  He  that 
believeth  in  the  Son  of  God,  is  not 


Concerning  Faith. 


241 


judged;  but  he  that  believeth  not, 
IS  already  judged,  because  he  hath 
NOT  believed  in  the  name  of  the  onhj- 
hegotten  Son  of  God,  iii.  18.  These 
things  are  written,  that  ye  may  believe 
that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that 
believing,  ye  may  have  life  in  his  name, 
XX.  31.  Unless  ye  believe  that  I 
AM,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins,  viii.  24. 
Jesus  said,  When  the  Paraclete,  the 
Spirit  o  f  truth,  is  come,  he  will  convince 
the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness  and 
of  judgment;  of  sin,  because  they  be- 
lieve not  in  Me,  xvi.  8. 

338.  That  the  faith  of  the  apostles 
was  no  other  than  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  is  evident  from  many  passages 
in  their  epistles,  of  which  I  shall  ad- 
duce only  these :  /  live  no  more,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me ;  in  that,  indeed,  I 
now  live  in  the  jlesh,  I  live  in  the 

FAITH,  WHICH  IS  IN  THE  SoN  OF  GoD, 

Gal.  ii.  20.  Paul  testified  to  the  Jews 
and  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards 
God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  Acts  xx.  21.  He  who  brought 
Paul  out,  said.  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved?  He  said.  Believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  thus  thou  shall 
be  saved,  and  thy  house,  xvi.  30,  31. 
He  who  hath  the  Son,  hath  life ;  but 
he  who  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,  hath 
not  life.  These  things  I  have  written 
to  you,  toho  believe  in  the  name  of  the 
Son  of  God,  that  ye  may  know  that  ye 
have  eternal  life,  and  that  ye  may  believe 
in  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  1  John 
V.  12,  13.  We,  by  nature  Jetos,  and  not 
sinners  of  the  Gentiles,  since  we  knoio 
that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works 
of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ,  we  also  have  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ,  Gal.  ii.  15,  16.  Since 
their  faith  was  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  al- 
so is  from  Him,  therefore  they  called  it 
the  faith  o  f  Jesus  Christ,  as  just  above, 
Gal.  ii.  16,  and  in  the  following  pas- 
sages :  The  righteousness  of  God,  by 
the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  unto  all, 
and  upon  all,  who  believe,  that  He  may 
be  justifying  him  who  is  of  the  faith 
of  Jesus,  ""Rom.  iii.  22,  26.  That 
he  may  have  the  righteousness  which 
is  FROM  the  faith  OF  Christ,  the 
rigliteousness  which  is  from  the  God 
31 


OF  FAITH,  Phil.  iii.  9.  Who  keep  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  the  faith 
OF  Jesus  Christ,  Rev.  xiv.  12.  By 

THE  faith,  which  IS  IN  JeSUS  ChRIST, 

2  Tim.  iii.  15.    In  Jesus  Christ  is 

FAITH  which  WORKETH   BY  CHARITY, 

Gal.  v.  6.  From  these,  it  may  be  evi- 
dent, what  faith  was  meant  by  Paul,  in 
the  saying  at  this  day  common  in  the 
church.  We  conclude,  therefore, 

THAT  A  MAN  IS  JUSTIFIED  BY  FAITH, 
WITHOUT   THE    WORKS    OF   THE  LAW, 

Rom.  iii.  28 ;  that  it  was  not  in  God 
the  Father,  but  in  his  Son ;  still  less 
in  three  Gods  in  order,  in  one  from 
whom,  in  another  for  the  sake  of 
whom,  and  in  a  third  by  whom. 
The  reason  why  it  is  believed,  in  the 
church,  that  its  tri-personal  faith  was 
meant  by  Paul  in  that  saying,  is,  be- 
cause the  church,  for  fourteen  centu- 
ries, or  ever  since  the  Nicene  Coun- 
cil, has  acknowledged  no  other  faith, 
and  thence  has  known  no  other  ;  be- 
lieving thus,  that  this  was  the  only 
faith,  and  that  there  could  be  no  other. 
Wherefore,  wherever  faith  is  read,  in 
the  Word  of  the  New  Testament,  it 
has  been  believed,  that  it  was  that, 
and  to  that  they  have  applied  all 
the  things  there.  Thence  the  only 
saving  faith,  which  is  in  God  the  Sa- 
vior, has  been  lost ;  and  thence,  also, 
so  many  fallacies  have  crept  into  their 
doctrines,  and  so  many  paradoxes,  con- 
trary to  sound  reason  ;  for  all  the  doc- 
trine of  the  church,  which  teaches 
and  shows  the  way  to  heaven,  or  to  sal- 
vation, depends  on  faith ;  and  because 
so  many  fallacies  and  paradoxes  have 
crept  into  it,  as  was  said,  therefore  it 
was  necessary,  that  they  sliould  pro- 
claim the  dogma,  that  tlie  understand- 
ing should  be  kept  under  obedience  to 
faith.  Now,  since  in  the  saying  of 
Paul,  Rom.  iii.  28,  by  faith,  is  not 
meant  a  faith  in  God  the  Father,  but 
in  his  Son,  and  by  the  icorks  of  the  law 
there,  are  not  meant  the  works  of  the 
law  of  the  decalogue,  but  the  works  of 
the  Mosaic  law  for  the  Jews,  as  is  mani- 
fest from  what  follows  there,  and  also 
from  similar  passages  in  the  epistle  to 
the  Galatians,  ii.  14,  15,  the  founda- 
tion-stone of  the  faith,  at  this  day,  falls, 


242 


Concerning  Faith. 


and  moreover,  the  temple  built  upon  it, 
like  a  house  sinking  into  the  earth, 
the  top  of  whose  roof  only  appears. 

339.  The  reason  why  we  should 
believe,  that  is,  should  have  faith, 
in  God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  is, 
because  it  is  in  a  visible  God,  in 
whom  is  the  invisible ;  and  faith  in  a 
visible  God,  who  is  Man,  and  at  the 
same  time  God,  enters  into  man ;  for 
faith,  in  its  essence,  is  spiritual,  but 
in  its  form,  natural ;  wherefore,  with 
man,  it  becomes  spiritual-natural ;  for 
all  the  spiritual  is  received  in  the  nat- 
ural, that  it  may  be  something  with 
man.  The  bare  spiritual  enters,  in- 
deed, into  man,  but  it  is  not  received ; 
it  is  like  ether,  which  flows  in  and 
flows  out,  without  affecting ;  for,  in  or- 
der to  affect,  there  must  be  perception, 
and  thus  reception,  each  in  the  mind 
of  man ;  and  this  is  not  given  with 
man,  except  in  his  natural.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  merely  natural  faith, 
or  faith  destitute  of  spiritual  essence, 
is  not  faith,  but  only  persuasion,  or 
science  ;  persuasion  resembles  faith  in 
externals,  but,  because  in  its  internals 
there  is  nothing  spiritual,  therefore 
there  is  nothing  saving.  Such  is  the 
faith  with  all  those  who  deny  the  di- 
vinity of  the  Lord's  Human  ;  such  was 
the  Arian  faith,  and  such,  also,  is  the 
Socinian  faith,  because  both  reject  the 
Divinity  of  the  Lord.  What  is  faith, 
without  a  definite  object?  Is  it  not 
like  a  look  into  the  universe,  which 
falls,  as  it  were,  into  an  empty  void, 
and  perishes?  Or  it  is  like  a  bird, 
flying  above  the  atmosphere  into  the 
ether,  where  it  expires  as  in  a  vacuum. 
The  habitation  of  this  faith  in  the  mind 
of  man  may  be  compared  to  the  hab- 
itation of  the  winds  in  the  wings  of 
.^olus,  and  also  to  the  habitation  of 
light  in  a  falling  star ;  it  rises  like  a 
comet,  with  a  long  tail,  but  it  also 
passes  away  like  a  comet,  and  disap- 
pears. In  a  word,  faith  in  an  invisible 
God  is  actually  blind,  because  the  hu- 
man mind  does  not  see  its  God ;  and 
the  light  of  this  faith,  because  it  is  not 
spiritual-natural,  is  a  fatuous  light ;  and 
this  light  is  like  the  light  in  a  glow- 
worm, and  like  the  light  in  marshes, 


or  upon  sulphureous  earth,  in  the  time 
of  night,  and  like  the  light  in  rotten 
wood.  From  this  light  nothing  else 
exists  but  what  is  of  fantasy,  in 
which  what  appears  is  believed  to  be 
something,  and  yet  it  is  not.  Faith  in 
an  invisible  God,  shines  in  no  other 
light,  and,  especially,  when  it  is 
thought  that  God  is  a  spirit,  and  con- 
cerning spirit  it  is  thought  as  con- 
cerning ether ;  what  else  thence  fol- 
lows, but  that  man  looks  upon  God  as 
he  looks  upon  the  ether  ?  and  thus  he 
seeks  Ilim  in  the  universe,  and  when 
he  does  not  find  Him  tliere,  he  believes 
nature  to  be  the  God  of  the  universe. 
The  naturalism  reigning  at  this  day,  is 
from  this  origin.  Did  not  the  Lord 
say,  that  no  one  hath  tver  heard  the 
voice  of  the  Father,  or  seen  his  shape  ? 
John  V.  37 ;  and  also,  that  no  one  hath 
ever  seen  God,  and  that  the  only-begotten 
Son,  tcho  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
He  hath  revealed,  i.  18.  No  one  hath 
seen  the  Father,  but  He  tvho  is  with 
the  Father ;  He  hath  seen  the  Father,  vi. 
4l).  A1.S0,  that  no  one  cometh  to  the 
Father,  but  through  Him,  xiv.  G ;  and 
moreover,  that  the  man  seeth  and  know- 
eth  the  Father,  who  seeth  and  knoweth 
Him,  xiv.  7,  and  the  following  verses. 
But  different  is  the  faith  in  the  Lord 
God  the  Savior,  who,  because  He  is 
God  and  Man,  may  both  be  approach- 
ed and  seen  in  thought ;  it  is  not  an 
indeterminate  faitli,  but  it  lias  a  defi- 
nite object  [terininum  a  quo  et  adqutm), 
and  when  once  received,  it  remains ; 
as,  when  any  one  has  seen  an  em- 
peror or  a  king,  as  often  as  he  recol- 
lects him,  their  image  returns.  The 
sight  of  that  faith  is  as  if  any  one 
sees  a  bright  cloud,  and  an  angel  in 
the  midst  of  it,  wlio  invites  the  man  to 
him,  that  he  may  be  elevated  into  heav- 
en ;  thus  the  Lord  appears  to  those 
who  have  faith  in  Him,  aiul  approaches 
to  every  one,  as  he  knows  and  ac- 
knowledges Him ;  which  is  done, 
as  he  knows  and  does  his  command- 
ments, which  are,  to  sh\ni  evils  and  do 
goods;  and  at  length  He  comes  into 
his  house,  and  makes  his  abode  with 
him,  together  with  the  Father  who  is 
in  Him,  according  to  these  words  in 


Concerning  Faith. 


243 


John :  Jesus  said,  He  who  hath  my 
commandments,  and  doeth  them,  he  it  is 
that  iovrth  Me;  and  he  that  loveth  Ble, 
shall  be  loved  by  my  Father,  and  Iioill 
love  him,  and  will  manifest  Myself  to 
him ;  and  We  will  come  to  him,  and 
make  an  abode  ivith  him,  John  xiv.  21, 
23l  Tliese  things  were  written  in  the 
presence  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Lord,  who,  while  I  was  writing  them, 
were  seut  to  nie  by  the  Lord. 

340.  II.  That  Faith  in  the  Sum, 
IS,  that  he  who  lives  well,  and  be- 
lieves aright,  is  saved  by  the  Lord. 

That  man  was  created  for  eternal 
life,  and  that  every  man  may  inherit  it, 
provided  he  lives  according  to  the 
means  of  salvation  which  are  prescrib- 
ed in  the  Word,  every  Christian,  and 
every  heathen,  also,  who  has  religion 
and  sound  reason,  admits.  The  means 
of  salvation,  indeed,  are  many  ;  but  they 
all  and  each  of  them  refer  themselves 
to  living  well  and  believing  aright,  thus 
to  charity  and  faith,  for  charity  is  to 
live  well,  and  faith  is  to  believe  aright. 
These  two  general  means  of  salvation 
are  not  only  prescribed  to  man  in  the 
Word,  but  they  are  also  commanded; 
and  because  they  are  commanded,  it 
follows,  that  man  can  by  them  provide 
for  himself  eternal  life,  by  virtue  of  the 
power  put  in  him  and  given  to  him 
by  God  ;  and  that  as  far  as  man  uses  that 
power,  and  at  the  same  time  looks  to 
God,  so  far  God  corroborates  it,  and 
makes  all  that  which  is  of  natural  char- 
ity to  be  of  spiritual  charity,  and  all  that 
which  is  of  natural  faith  to  be  of  spirit- 
ual faith  ;  thus  God  makes  dead  chari- 
ty and  faith,  and  at  the  same  time  man, 
silive.  There  are  two  things  which 
must  be  together,  that  it  may  be  said, 
that  man  lives  well  and  believes  aright; 
these  two  things  are  called,  in  the 
church,  the  internal  man  and  the  exter- 
nal man.  When  the  internal  man 
wills  well,  and  the  external  acts  well, 
then  both  make  one,  the  external  from 
the  internal,  and  the  internal  through 
the  external ;  and  so  man  from  God  and 
God  through  man.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  internal  man  wills  evil,  and 
still  the  external  man  acts  well,  then, 
nevertheless,  both  act  from  hell ;  for  his 


willing  is  thence,  and  his  doing  is  hyp- 
ocritical ;  and  his  will,  which  is  infer- 
nal, lurks  inwardly  in  every  hypocriti- 
cal deed,  like  a  snake  in  the  grass,  or 
like  a  worm  in  a  flower.  The  man 
who  not  only  knows  that  there  is  an 
internal  and  an  external  man,  but  al- 
so what  they  are,  and  that  they  can 
act  as  one  actually,  and  also  act  as 
one  apparently,  and,  moreover,  that 
the  internal  man  lives  after  death,  and 
the  external  is  buried, — he  has  in  his 
power  the  arcana  of  heaven  and  also 
of  the  world,  in  abundance;  and  he 
who  conjoins  those  two  men  with  him- 
self, to  good,  becomes  happy  to  eter- 
nity ;  but  he  who  divides  them,  and 
still  more,  he  who  conjoins  them  to 
evil,  becomes  unhappy  to  eternity. 

341.  Suppose  that  the  man  who 
lives  well  and  believes  aright,  is  not 
saved,  and  that  God,  of  his  free  will  and 
pleasure,  can  save  and  condemn  whom- 
soever he  will,  the  man  who  perishes 
may  justly  accuse  God  of  unmerciful- 
ness  and  severity,  and  even  of  cruelty ; 
yea,  deny  God  to  be  God  ;  and  more- 
over that  He  has  spoken  in  his  Word 
vain  things,  and  commanded  such 
things  as  are  of  no  use,  or  such  as  are 
trifles ;  and  further,  if  the  man  who 
lives  well  and  believes  aright,  is  not 
saved,  he  may  also  accuse  God  of  vio- 
lating his  covenant,  which  he  made 
upon  mount  Sinai,  and  wrote  with  his 
finger  upon  the  two  tables.  That  God 
cannot  but  save  those  who  live  accord- 
ing to  his  commandments,  and  have 
faith  in  Him,  is  evident  from  the 
words  of  the  Lord  in  John,  xiv.  21  to 
24  :  and  every  one  who  has  religion 
and  sound  reason,  may  confirm  him- 
self in  this,  while  he  thinks  that 
God,  who  is  constantly  with  man,  and 
gives  him  life,  and  also  the  faculty  of 
understanding  and  of  loving,  cannot 
but  love  him,  and  by  love  conjoin  Him- 
self to  him  who  lives  well  and  believes 
aright.  Is  not  this  inscribed  by  God 
upon  every  man  and  every  creature? 
Can  a  father  and  a  mother  reject  their 
children,  or  a  bird  its  young,  or  a 
beast  its  cubs'?  Even  tigers,  pan- 
thers and  serpents  cannot  do  this. 
To  do  otherwise  would  be  contrary  to 


244 


Concerning  Faith. 


the  order  in  which  God  is,  and  accord- 
ing to  which  He  acts ;  and  also  contra- 
ry to  the  order  into  which  He  created 
man.  Now,  as  it  is  impossible  for  God 
to  condemn  any  one  who  lives  well 
and  believes  aright,  so,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  save 
any  one  who  lives  wickedly,  and 
thence  believes  falses.  This  other  also 
is  contrary  to  order,  and  of  course  con- 
trary to  his  omnipotence,  which  can- 
not proceed  otherwise  than  by  the  way 
of  justice;  and  the  laws  of  justice  are 
truths,  which  cannot  be  changed  ;  for 
the  Lord  says,  It  is  easier  for  heaven 
and  earth  to  pass  aicay,  than  for  one 
tittle  of  the  law  to  fail,  Luke  xvi.  17. 
Every  one  who  knows  any  thing  con- 
cerning the  essence  of  God,  and  con- 
cerning the  free  agency  of  man,  may 
perceive  this  ;  as  for  example,  Adam 
had  the  liberty  of  eating  from  the  tree 
of  life,  and  also  from  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil :  if  he  had 
eaten  only  from  the  tree  or  trees  of  life, 
would  it  have  been  possible  for  God  to 
drive  him  out  of  the  garden  ?  I  believe 
it  would  not.  But  after  he  ate  of  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  ^ood  and  evil, 
would  it  have  been  possible  for  God  to 
retain  him  in  the  garden  ?  I  believe 
again  that  it  would  not ;  and  likewise, 
that  God  cannot  cast  into  hell  any  angel 
who  has  been  received  into  heaven,  nor 
introduce  into  heaven  any  devil  who 
has  been  condemned.  That  He  can- 
not, from  his  divine  omnipotence, 
do  either  of  these,  may  be  seen  above 
in  what  was  said  concerning  the  Di- 
vine O.MXiPOTENCE,  n.  49  to  70. 

342.  In  the  preceding  lemma,  from 
n.  33(5  to  339,  it  was  shown,  that 
saving  faith  is  in  the  Lord  God  the 
Savior  Jesus  Christ.  But  it  is  asked. 
What  is  the  first  thing  of  faith  in 
Him?    And  it  is  answered.  That  it  is 

AN    ACKNOWLEIXiMENT,  THAT    He  IS 

THE  Son  of  God.  This  was  the  first 
thing  of  faith,  which  the  Lord,  when 
He  came  into  the  world,  revealed  and 
announced.  For  unless  they  had 
first  acknowledged,  that  He  was  the 
Son  ok  God,  and  thus  God  of  God, 
in  vain  would  He  liimself  and  the  apos- 
tles afterwards  have  preached  faith  in 


Him.  Now  because  there  is  something 
similar  at  this  day,  but  with  those  who 
think  from  the  proprium,  that  is,  from 
the  external  or  natural  man  only,  say- 
ing with  themselves,  "  How  can  Jeho- 
vah God  conceive  a  Son,  and  how 
can  man  be  God  ?"  it  is  necessary,  that 
this  first  thing  of  faith  be  confirmed 
and  established  from  the  Word ;  where- 
fore the  following  passages  shall  be  ad- 
duced thence  : — Tlic  angel  said  to  Ma- 
ry, Thou  shalt  conceive  in  the  womb, 
and  shalt  bring  forth,  and  shalt  call 
his  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great, 
and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the 
Most  High.  And  Mary  said  to  the 
angel,  How  shall  this  he  done,  since  1 
know  not  a  man  ?  TJie  angel  answered, 
Tlie  Holy  Spirit  shall  come  upon  thee, 
and  the  power  of  the  Most  High 
shall  overshadoic  thee;  wherefore  the 
Holy  Thing  that  is  born  of  thee  shall 
be  called  the  Son  of  God,  Luke  i.  31, 
3"2, 34, 35.  When  Jesus  was  baptized, 
a  voice  came  from  heaven,  saying. 
This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased,  Matt.  iii.  10, 17 ;  Mark 
i.  10,  11;  Luke  iii.  21,  22.  And 
again,  JMien  Jesus  was  transfigured, 
a  voice  also  came  from  heaven,  saying, 
This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  phased ;  hear  Him,  Matt.  xvii. 
5 ;  Mark  ix.  7  ;  Luke  ix.  35.  Jesus 
asked  his  disciples,  Mho  do  men  say 
that  I  am  ?  Peter  answered,  Tiiou 
ART  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
LIVING  God.  And  Jesus  said.  Blessed 
art  thou,  Simon,  son  of  Jonah.  I  say 
unto  thee,  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  church.  Matt.  xvi.  13,  16,  17,  18. 
The  Lord  said  that  He  would  build 
his  church  upon  this  rock,  namely, 
upon  the  truth  and  confession,  that  He 
is  the  Son  of  God ;  for  rock  signifies 
truth,  and  also  the  Lord  as  to  Divine 
Truth;  wherefore,  with  whomsoever 
there  is  not  a  confession  of  that  truth, 
that  he  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  church  is 
not ;  and  therefore  it  was  said  above, 
that  this  is  the  first  thing  of  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  thus  faith  in  its  origin. 
John  the  Baptist  saw  and  testified,  that 
He  is  the  Son  of  God,  John  i.  34.  Na- 
thanael  the  disciple  said  to  Jesus,  Thou 
ART  the  Son  of  God,  Thou  art  the 


Concerning  Faith. 


245 


King  of  Israel,  i.  50.  The  twelve 
disciples  said,  We  have  believed  that 

THOU   ART  THE   ChRIST,  THE  SoN  OF 

THE  LIVING  God,  vi.  69.  He  is  called, 
THE  Only-begotten  Son  of  God, 
THE  Only-begotten  of  the  Father, 
who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  i.  14, 
18  ;  iii.  16.  Jesus  himself  confessed, 
before  the  high  priest,  that  He  was 
the  Son  of  God,  Matt.  xxvi.  63,  64 ; 
xxvii.  43.  Mark  xiv.  41, 42.  Lukexxii. 
70.  Those  who  xoere  in  the  ship,  came 
and  worshipped  Jesus,  saying.  Truly 
Thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  Matt.  xiv. 
33.  The  eunuch,  who  wished  to  be 
baptized,  said  to  Philip,  I  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God,  Acts  viii.  37.  Paul,  when  he 
was  converted,  preached  Jesus,  that 
He  was  the  Son  of  God,  ix.  20.  Je- 
sus said.  The  hour  is  coming  when  the 
dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  .Son 
OF  God,  and  those  toho  hear,  shall  live, 
John  v.  25.  He  who  doth  not  believe, 
is  already  judged,  because  he  hath  not 
believed  in  the  name  of  the  Only- 
begotten  Son  of  God,  iii.  18.  These 
things  are  written,  that  ye  may  believe, 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son 
OP  God,  and  that  believing  ye  may 
have  life  in  his  name,  xx.  31.  These 
things  I  have  written  to  you  who  believe 
in  THE  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  that 
ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life ; 
and  that  ye  may  believe  in  the  name 
OF  THE  Son  of  God,  1  John  v.  13. 
We  know  that  the  Son  of  God  hath 
come,  and  given  us  that  we  may  knoio 
Ilim  who  is  true ;  and  toe  are  in  Him  who 
is  true,  m  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This 
is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life,  v.  20, 
21.  Whosoever  confesscth,  that  Susus 
IS  the  Son  of  God,  God abidrth  in  him, 
and  he  in  God,  v.  5.  And  also  in  other 
places,  as  Matt.  viii.  29 ;  xxvii.  40, 43, 
54  Mark  i.  1 ;  iii.  11 ;  xv.  39.  Luke 
viii.  23.  Johnix.  35;  x.36;  xi.4,27; 
xix.  7.  Rom.  i.  4.  2  Cor.  i.  19. 
Gal.  ii.  20.  Eph.  iv.  13.  Heb.  iv.  14 ; 
vi.  6;  vii.  3;  x.  29.  1  John  iii.  8;  v. 
10.  Rev.  ii.  18.  Besides  in  many 
places  where  He  is  called  by  Jeho- 
vah, Son,  and  where  He  himself  calls 
Jehovah  God,  his  Father ;  as  in  this ; 
Whatsoever  the  Father  doeth,  this 


the  Son  doeth ;  as  the  Father  rais- 
eth  the  dead,  and  quickencth  them,  so 
doth  THE  Son.  As  the  Father  hath 
life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  to 
the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself;  that 
all  may  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they 
honor  the  Father,  John  v.  19  to  27; 
and  in  many  other  places.  And  also 
in  David  ;  /  will  announce  concerning 
the  statute,  Jehovah  hath  said  to  me, 
Thou  art  my  Son  ;  this  day  I  have 
begotten  Thee.  Kiss  the  Son,  lest 
He  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  in  the  way, 
because  his  anger  will  shortly  kindle. 
Blessed  are  all  who  confide  in 
Him,  Psalm  ii.  7,  12.  Hence  now  this 
conclusion  is  made ;  That  every  one, 
who  wishes  to  be  truly  a  Christian,  and 
to  be  saved  by  Christ,  ought  to  believe, 
that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
He  who  does  not  believe  tiiis,  but  only 
that  he  is  the  Son  of  Mary,  implants 
in  himself  various  ideas  concerning 
.Him,  wliich  are  hurtful  and  destruc- 
tive of  his  salvation,  concerning  which, 
see  above,  n.  92,  94,  102;  concerning 
these  the  like  may  be  said,  as  concern-, 
ing  the  Jews,  that,  instead  of  a  royal 
crown,  they  put  upon  his  head  a  crown 
of  thorns ;  and  also  that  they  give 
Him  vinegar  to  drink,  and  cry,  Jf  thou 
be  the  Son  of  God,  comedown  f?-om  the 
cross ;  or  as  the  tempter,  the  devil,  said, 
If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  say  that 
these  stones  may  become  bread ;  or,  If 
thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  cast  thyself 
down.  Matt.  iv.  3,  6.  These  profane 
his  church  and  his  temple,  and  make 
it  a  den  of  robbers.  These  are  they 
who  make  the  worship  of  Him  like  the 
worship  of  Mahomet,  and  do  not  dis- 
tinguish between  true  Christianity, 
which  is  the  worship  of  the  Lord,  and 
naturalism.  They  may  be  compared 
with  those  who  arc  carried  in  a  char- 
iot or  a  coach  upon  thin  ice,  and  the 
ice  is  broken  under  them,  and  they 
are  drowned ;  and  both  they,  and  the 
horses,  and  the  chariot,  are  covered 
with  freezing  water.  They  may  also 
be  likened  to  those  who  make  a  little 
boat  of  reeds  and  canes,  and  glue  it 
together  with  pitch,  that  it  may  cohere, 
and  in  it  launch  out  into  the  deep ; 
but  there  the  pitchy  conglutination  is 


246 


Concerning  Faith. 


dissolved,  and  they,  being  suffocated 
Avitli  the  waters  of  the  deep,  are  swallow- 
ed up,  and  buried  at  the  bottom  of  it. 

343.  III.  That  Man  receives 
Faith  by  going  to  the  Lord,  learn- 
ing Truths  from  the  Word,  and 
living  according  to  them. 

Before  I  begin  to  demonstrate  the 
Origin  of  Faith,  which  is,  that  we 
should  go  to  the  Lord,  learn  truths  from 
the  Word,  and  live  according  to  them, 
it  is  necessary,  that  a  summary  of  faith 
be  premised,  from  which  may  be  had  a 
general  notion  of  faith,  in  the  particu- 
lar parts  ;  for  thus  may  be  more  clear- 
ly comprehended,  not  only  the  things 
which  are  said  in  this  chapter  con- 
cerning Faith,  but  also  those  which  are 
said  in  the  following  chapters  concern- 
ing Charity,  concerning  Free  Agency, 
concerning  Repentance,  concerning 
Reformation  and  Regeneration,  and 
concerning  Imputation.  For  faith  en- 
ters into  all  and  every  part  of  a  theo-  • 
logical  system,  as  blood  enters  into  the 
members  of  the  body,  and  vivifies 
them.  What  the  present  church  teach- 
es concerning  faith,  is  generally  known 
in  the  Christian  world,  and  particular- 
ly in  its  ecclesiastical  order  ;  for  books 
concerning  faith  only,  and  concerning 
faith  alone,  fill  the  libraries  of  the 
teachers  of  the  church ;  for  scarcely 
any  thing  besides  that  is  esteemed  at 
this  day  properly  theological.  But  be- 
fore those  things,  which  the  present 
church  teaches  concerning  its  faith, 
are  taken  up,  considered  and  examin- 
ed, which  will  be  done  in  an  Appen- 
dix, the  general  things,  which  the 
New  Church  teaches  concerning  its 
faith,  will  be  adduced,  which  are  the 
following : 

344.  The  Esse  of  the  Faith 
OF  THE  New  Church  is,  1.  Confi- 
dence in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior 
Jesus  Christ.  2.  Tru.st  that  he  who 
lives  well,  and  believes  aright,  is  saved 
by  Him. 

The  Essence  of  the  Faith  of 
THE  New  Church,  is  Truth  from 
the  Word. 

The  Existence  of  the  Faith 
of  the  New  Church,  is,  1.  Spirit- 


ual sight.   2.  Agreement  of  truths. 

3.  Conviction.  4.  Acknowledgment 
inscribed  upon  the  mind. 

The  States  of  the  Faith  of 
the  New  Church,  are,  1.  Infant 
faith,  adolescent  faith,  adult  faith.  2. 
Faith  of  genuine  truth  and  faith  of 
tlie  appearances  of  trudi.  3.  Faith  of 
memory,  faith  of  reason,  faidi  of  light. 

4.  Natural  faith,  spii-itual  faith,  celes- 
tial faith.  5.  Living  faith  and  miracu- 
lous faith.  6.  Free  faidi  and  forced  faith. 

The  form  itself  of  the  Faith 
OF  the  New  Church,  in  the  uni- 
versal, IDEA,  AND  in  THE  PAKTICULAR 

IDEA,  may  be  seen  above,  n.  2  and  3. 

345.  Since  there  have  been  adduced, 
in  a  summary,  diose  diings  which  are  of 
spiritual  faith,  there  shall  also  be  ad- 
duced, in  a  summary,  diose  things 
which  are  of  merely  natural  faith,which 
in  itself  is  a  persuasion  counterfeiting 
faith,  and  is  a  persuasion  of  the  false, 
and  is  called  heretical  faith.  Its  de- 
nominations are,  1 .  Spurious  faith,  in 
which  falses  are  mixed  together  with 
trudis.  2.  Meretricious  faith  from  falsi- 
fied ti'uths,  and  adulterous  faith  from 
adulterated  goods.  3.  Bigoted  or  blind 
faith,  which  is  that  of  mystical  things, 
which  are  believed,  ahhough  it  is  not 
known  whether  they  be  true  or  false  ;  or 
whether  they  be  above  reason  or  con- 
trary to  it.  4.  Wandering  faidi,  which 
is  a  faith  in  several  gods.  5.  Purblind 
faith,  which  is  a  faith  in  any  other 
God  than  in  the  true,  and  with 
Christians,  in  any  other  dian  the  Lord 
God  the  Savior.  6.  Hypocritical  or 
Pharisaical  faidi,  which  is  that  of  the 
mouth,  and  not  of  the  heart.  7.  Vis- 
ionary and  preposterous  faidi,  which 
is  an  appearance  of  what  is  false  as 
true,  from  ingenious  confirmation. 

346.  It  was  said  above,  tiiat  faith, 
as  to  its  existence  with  man,  is  spiritu- 
al sight.  Now,  because  spiritual  sight, 
which  is  that  of  the  understanding, 
and  thus  of  the  mind,  and  natural  sight, 
which  is  the  sight  of  the  eye,  and  thus 
of  the  body,  mutually  correspond  to 


Concerning  Faith. 


247 


each  other,  therefore,  every  state  of 
faith  may  be  compared  with  a  state  of 
the  eye  and  its  sight ;  a  state  of  the 
faith  of  trutii,  with  every  sound 
state  of  the  sight  of  the  eye,  and  a 
state  of  the  faith  of  the  false,  with 
every  perverted  state  of  the  sight  of 
the  eye.  But  we  will  compare  the 
correspondences  of  those  two  sights 
of  the  mind  and  of  the  body,  as  to 
the  perverted  states  of  each.  Spu- 
rious FAITH,  in  which  falses  are 
mixed  together  with  truths,  may  be 
compared  with  the  disease  of  the  eye 
and  thence  of  the  sight,  which  is  called 
a  white  spot  upon  the  cornea,  render- 
ing the  sight  obscure.  Meretricious 
FAiTJi,  which  is  from  falsified  truths, 
and  ADULTEROUS  FAITH,  which  is 
from  adulterated  goods,  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  disease  of  the  eye  and 
thence  of  the  sight,  which  is  called 
glaucoma,  and  is  a  drying  up  and  hard- 
ening of  the  crystalline  humor.  Big- 
oted   or   BUND  FAITH,   wluch    is  of 

mystical  things,  which  are  believed, 
although  it  is  not  known  whether  they 
be  true  or  false,  or  whether  they  be 
above  reason  or  contrary  to  it,  may  be 
compared  with  the  disease  of  the  eye 
which  is  called  gutta  screna  and  am- 
aurosis, which  is  a  loss  of  the  sight, 
and  yet  the  eye  appears  as  if  it  saw 
perfectly,  arising  from  an  obstruction 
of  the  optic  nerve.  Wandering 
faith,  which  is  in  several  gods,  may 
be  compared  with  the  disease  of  the 
eye  which  is  called  a  cataract,  which 
is  a  loss  of  the  sight,  arising  from  an 
obstipation  between  the  sclerotic  coat 
and  the  uvea.  Purblind  faith,  which 
is  a  faith  in  any  other  god  than  in 
the  true,  and  with  Christians  than  in 
the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  may  be 
compared  with  the  disease  of  the  eye 
which  is  called  strabism.  Hypocrit- 
ical or  PHARISAICAL   FAITH,  which  is 

of  the  mouth  and  not  of  the  heart, 
may  be  compared  with  an  atrophy  of 
the  eye,  and  thence  a  loss  of  the  sight. 
Visionary,  and  preposterous  faith, 
which  is  an  appearance  of  the  false 
as  if  it  were  true  from  ingenious  con- 
firmation, may  be  compared  with  the 
disease  of  the  eye  which  is  called 


nyctalopy,  which  is  seeing  in  dark- 
ness from  fatuous  light. 

347.  But  with  regard  to  the  for- 
mation of  faith  ;  it  is  formed  by 
man's  going  to  the  Lord,  learning 
truths  from  the  Word,  and  living  ac- 
cording to  them.  First,  That  faith 
is  formed  by  man's  going  to  the  Lord, 
is,  because  faith  which  is  faith,  thus 
which  is  the  faith  of  salvation,  is 
from  the  Lord  and  in  the  Lord.  That 
it  is  from  the  Lord,  is  evident  from  his 
words  to  the  disciples — Abide  in  Me 
and  I  in  you ;  because  without  Me.,  ye 
cannot  do  any  thing,  John  xv.  4,  5. 
That  faith  is  in  the  Lord,  is  manifest 
from  those  passages,  which  in  abun- 
dance were  adduced  above,  n.  337, 338, 
which  are.  That  we  should  believe  in 
the  Son.  Nov/,  because  faith  is  from 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  Lord,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  Lord  is  faith  itself ;  for 
the  life  and  essence  of  it  are  in  the 
Lord,  thus  from  the  Lord.  Second- 
ly, That  foith  is  formed  by  man's 
learning  truths  from  the  Word.  The 
reason  is,  because  faith  in  its  essence 
is  truth,  for  all  things  which  enter 
into  faith,  are  truths ;  wherefore,  faith 
is  no  other  than  a  complex  of  the  truths 
shining  in  the  mind  of  man  ;  for  truths 
teach,  not  only  that  we  should  believe, 
but  also  in  whom  we  should  believe, 
and  what  we  should  believe.  That 
truths  should  be  taken  from  the  Word, 
is,  because  all  truths  which  conduce  to 
salvation  are  there,  in  which  there  is 
efficacy,  because  they  were  given  by  the 
Lord,  and  thence  inscribed  upon  the 
whole  angelic  heaven:  wherefore,  when 
man  learns  truths  from  the  Word,  he 
comes  into  communion  and  consocia- 
tion with  the  angels,  without  knowing 
it.  Faith  without  truths  is  like  seed 
destitute  of  the  medullary  substance, 
which,  when  ground,  gives  only  chaff; 
but  faith  from  truths  is  like  good  grain, 
which,  when  ground,  gives  flour.  In  a 
word,  the  essentials  of  faith  are  truths  ; 
and  if  they  are  not  in  it  and  compose 
it,  faith  is  only  like  the  shrill  voice 
of  a  whistle  ;  but  when  they  are  in  it 
and  compose  it,  faith  is  like  the  voice 
of  something  healthful.  Thirdly, 
ITiat  foith  is  formed  by  man's  living 


24S 


Concerning  Faith. 


according  to  truths,  is,  because  spirit- 
ual life  is  a  life  according  to  truths, 
and  truths  do  not  actually  live,  before 
they  are  in  deeds ;  truths  abstracted 
from  deeds  are  of  the  thought  alone, 
which,  if  they  do  not  become  also  of 
the  will,  are  only  in  the  entrance  to 
man,  and  so  not  within  in  him ;  for  the 
will  is  the  man  himself,  and  the 
thought  is,  as  to  quantity  and  quality, 
so  far  the  man,  as  it  joins  to  itself  the 
will.  He  who  learns  truths  and  does 
not  do  them,  is  like  one  who  scatters 
seed  about  over  a  field,  and  does  not 
harrow  it  in  ;  thence  the  seeds  become 
swollen  by  the  rains  and  are  spoiled ; 
but  he  who  learns  truths  and  does  them, 
is  like  one  who  sows  his  seed  and 
ploughs  it  in  ;  whence  the  seed  is  by  the 
rain  caused  to  grow  into  a  harvest, 
and  becomes  of  use  for  food.  The 
Lord  says.  If  yc  know  these  things, 
happy  are  yc  if  ye  do  them,  John  xii. 
17.  And  in  another  place.  That 
which  was  sown  in  good  ground,  is  he 
who  hrareth  the  Word  and  attendcth, 
and  thence  hcarrth  fruit  and  doeth. 
Matt.  xiii.  23.  Again,  Every  one  who 
hrareth  my  words,  and  docth  them,  I 
will  compare  to  a  prudent  man,  who 
built  his  house  upon  a  rock.  But  every 
one  who  heareth  my  icords,  but  doeth 
them  not,  shall  be  compared  to  a  foolish 
man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand. 
Matt.  vii.  24,  2(5.  The  words  of  tlie 
Lord  are  all  truths. 

!{48.  From  tlio  tilings  said  above,  it 
is  manifest,  that  there  are  throe  tilings 
by  which  faith  with  man  is  formed ; 
wliicli  are,  first,  To  goto  the  Lord;  sec- 
ond, To  horn  truths  from  the  Word ; 
and  third,  To  live  according  to  them. 
Now,  because  tliere  arc  three  things, 
and  one  is  not  anotlier,  it  follows,  tliat 
they  can  be  separated ;  for  any  one 
can  go  to  the  Lord,  and  not  know 
truths  concerning  God  and  concprning 
the  Lord,  except  such  as  are  historical ; 
and  also  any  one  can  know  truths 
from  the  Word  in  abundance,  and  yet 
not  live  according  to  them.  But  with 
the  man  with  whom  those  three  things 
are  separated,  that  is,  one  without  the 
other,  there  is  not  the  faith  of  salva- 
tion ;  but  this  faith  arises,  when  those 


three  things  are  conjoined,  and  the 
faith  is  such  as  the  conjunction  is. 
Where  those  three  things  are  separated, 
there  faith  is  like  barren  seed,  which, 
being  cast  into  the  earth,  moulders  in- 
to dust :  but  where  those  three  things 
are  conjoined,  there  faith  is  like  seed  in 
the  earth,  which  grows  up  into  a  tree, 
the  fruit  of  which  is  according  to  the 
conjunction.  Where  those  three  things 
are  separated,  faith  is  like  an  egg 
in  which  there  is  not  any  thing  prolific  ; 
but  where  those  three  things  are  con- 
joined, that  faith  is  like  an  egg 
which  produces  a  beautiful  bird. 
Faith  with  those  with  whom  those 
three  things  are  separated,  may  be  li- 
kened to  the  eye  of  a  fish  or  a  crab 
when  boiled ;  but  faith  with  those 
with  whom  those  three  things  are  con- 
joined, may  be  likened  to  an  eye  trans- 
parent from  the  crystalline  humor, 
even  to  the  uvea  of  the  pupil  and 
through  it.  Faith  separated  is  like  a 
picture  of  dark  colors  upon  a  black 
stone  ;  but  faith  conjoined  is  like  a 
picture  of  beautiful  colors  upon  a  pel- 
lucid crystal.  The  light  of  faith  sep- 
arated may  be  compared  with  the  liglit 
of  a  firebrand  in  the  hand  of  a  travel- 
ler in  the  time  of  night ;  but  the  light 
of  faith  conjoined  may  be  compared 
to  the  light  of  a  torch,  which,  being 
vibrated,  makes  plain  every  step  of 
the  way.  Faith  without  truths  is  like 
a  vine  bearing  wild  grapes ;  but  faith 
from  truths  is  like  a  vine  bearing 
clusters  of  noble  wine.  Faith  in  the 
TiOrd,  destitute  of  truths,  may  be  com- 
pared with  a  new  star  appearing  in  the 
expanse  of  heaven,  which  in  time  is 
obscured  ;  but  faith  in  the  Lord,  with 
trutiis,  may  be  compared  with  a  fixed 
star,  which  remains  perpetually.  Truth 
is  the  essence  of  faith ;  wherefore, 
such  as  the  truth  is,  such  is  the  faith, 
which  without  truths  is  vague,  but 
with  them  is  fixed  ;  the  faith  of  truths 
also  in  heaven  shines  like  a  star. 

349.  IV.  That  a  copious  Store 
OF  Truths  cohering,  as  in  a  Bundle, 

EXALTS  AND  PERFECTS  FaITH. 

From  perception  concerning  the 
faith  which  exists  at  this  day,  it  can- 
not be  known,  that  faith,  in  its  com- 


Comerning  Faith. 


249 


prehensive  sense,  is  a  complex  of 
truths,  and  still  less,  that  man  can  do 
something  to  procure  faith  for  himself; 
when  yet  faith  in  its  essence  is  truth, 
for  it  is  truth  in  its  light ;  and  thus, 
as  truth  can  be  procured,  so  also 
can  faith.  Who  cannot,  if  he  will, 
go  to  the  Lord  ?  Who  cannot,  if  he 
will,  collect  truths  from  the  Word  1 
And  every  truth  in  the  Word  and  from 
the  Word  gives  light,  and  truth  in 
light  is  faith.  The  Lord,  who  is  Light 
itself,  flows  in  with  every  man,  and 
in  him,  in  whom  there  are  truths 
from  the  Word,  He  causes  them  to 
shine,  and  thus  to  become  of  faith ; 
and  this  is  what  the  Lord  says  in 
John  ;  That  they  should  abide  in  the 
Lord,  and  his  words  in  them,  xv.  7. 
The  words  of  the  Lord  are  truths. 
But  that  it  may  be  comprehended 
aright,  that  a  copious  store  of  truths 
cohering,  as  in  a  bundle,  exalts  and 
perfects  faith,  the  subject  should  be 
divided  into  these  propositions;  (L) 
That  the  truths  of  faith  are  multi- 
pUcable  to  infinity .  (2.)  That  there  is  a 
disposition  of  them  into  series,  thus,  as 
it  were,  into  bundles.  (3.)  That  faith  is 
perfected  according  to  their  abundance 
and  coherence.  (4.)  That  truths,  howev- 
er numerous  they  are,  and  however  dif- 
ferent they  appear,  make  one  from  the 
Lord,  who  is  the  Word,  the  God  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  God  of  all  flesh, 
the  God  of  the  vineyard  or  church, 
the  God  of  faith,  and  the  Light  itself, 
Truth  and  eternal  Life. 

350.  ( L)  That  the  Truths  of  Faith  are 
multiplicable  to  Infinity,  may  be  evident 
from  the  wisdom  of  the  angels  of  heav- 
en, in  that  it  increases  to  eternity  : 
the  angels  also  say,  that  there  is  no 
end  of  wisdom,  and  wisdom  is  from  no 
other  source  than  from  divine  truths, 
analytically  divided  into  forms,  by 
means  of  the  light  flowing  in  from  the 
Lord.  Human  intelligence,  which  is 
truly  intelligence,  is  also  from  no  oth- 
er source.  The  reason  why  Divine 
Truth  is  multiplicable  to  infinity,  is 
because  the  Lord  is  Divine  Truth  it- 
self, or  truth  in  its  infinity,  and  He  at- 
tracts all  to  Himself;  but  men  and 
angels  can  follow  the  vein  of  attrac- 
32 


tion  only  according  to  their  measure, 
because  they  are  finite,  the  effort  of 
attraction  to  infinity  still  continu- 
ing. The  Word  of  the  Lord  is  an 
abyss  of  truths,  from  which  is  all  angel- 
ic wisdom ;  although  to  a  man  who 
does  not  know  any  thing  concerning  its 
spiritual  and  celpstial  sense,  it  appears 
no  more  than  as  water  in  a  buck- 
et. The  multiplication  of  the  truths 
of  faith  to  infinity,  may  be  compared 
with  the  seed  of  men,  from  one  of 
which,  families  may  be  propagated  to 
ages  of  ages.  The  prolification  of  the 
truths  of  faith  may  also  be  compared 
with  the  prolification  of  the  seed  of  a 
field  or  a  garden,  which  may  be  prop- 
agated to  myriads  of  myriads,  and  for- 
ever. By  seed,  in  the  Word,  no  other 
is  meant,  than  truth ;  by  field,  doc- 
trine;  and  by  ^arrfert,  wisdom.  The 
human  mind  is  like  ground,  in  which 
spiritual  and  natural  truths  are  im- 
planted, as  seeds,  and  they  may  be  mul- 
tiplied without  end  ;  man  derives  this 
from  the  infinity  of  God,  who  with  his 
light  and  his  heat,  and  with  the  faculty 
of  generating,  is  in  him  perpetually. 

35L  (2.)  That  there  is  a  Disposition 
of  the  Truths  of  Faith  into  Series, 
thus,  as  it  were,  into  Bundles.  That  it 
is  so,  is  unknown  as  yet,  and  it  is  un- 
known, because  the  spiritual  truths,  of 
which  the  whole  Word  is  composed, 
on  account  of  the  mystical  and  enig- 
matical faith,  which  makes  every 
point  of  modern  theology,  could  not  ap- 
pear; and,  therefore,  like  storehouses, 
they  have  sunk  down  into  the  earth. 
That  it  may  be  known  what  is  meant 
by  series  and  bundles,  it  shall,  be  ex- 
plained. The  first  chapter  of  this  book, 
which  treats  concerning  God  the  Cre- 
ator, is  distinguished  into  series,  the 
first  of  which  is  concerning  the  Unity 
of  God ;  the  second,  concerning  the 
Esse  of  God  or  Jehovah  ;  the  third,  con- 
cerning the  Infinity  of  God ;  the  fourth, 
concerning  the  Essence  of  God,  which 
is  Divine  Love  and  Divine  Wisdom ; 
the  fifth,  concerning  the  Omnipotence 
of  God ;  and  the  sixth,  concerning 
Creation ;  and  the  articulations  of 
each  make  the  series ;  they  bind  togeth- 
er those  things  which  are  therein,  as 


250 


Concerning  Faith. 


it  were  into  bundles.  These  series, 
in  general  and  in  particular,  thus  con- 
jointly and  separately,  contain  truths, 
which,  according  to  their  abundance 
and  coherence,  exalt  and  perfect  faith. 
He  who  does  not  know  that  the  human 
mind  is  organized,  or  that  it  is  a  spir- 
itual organism,  terminating  in  a  natu- 
ral organism,  in  which,  and  according 
to  which,  the  mind  produces  its  ideas, 
or  thinks,  cannot  think  otherwise  than 
that  perceptions,  thoughts  and  ideas  are 
no  other  than  radiations  and  variations 
of  light,  flowing  into  the  head,  and 
exhibiting  forms,  which  man  sees  and 
acknowledges  as  reasons.  But  this 
is  delirious ;  for  every  one  knows,  that 
the  head  is  full  of  brains,  and  that  the 
brains  are  organized,  and  that  the 
mind  dwells  in  them,  and  that  its  ideas 
are  fixed  therein,  and  remain  as  they 
have  been  received  and  confirmed.  Is 
it  asked,  then.  What  is  that  organiza- 
tion? It  is  answered,  that  it  is  an  ar- 
rangement of  all  things  into  series,  as 
it  were  into  bundles,  and  that  the 
truths,  which  are  of  faith,  are  so  ar- 
ranged in  the  human  mind.  That  it 
is  so,  may  be  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing things  :  That  the  brain  consists  of 
two  substances,  one  of  which  is  glan- 
dular, and  is  called  cortical  and  cin- 
eritious,  and  the  other  is  fibrillary, 
and  is  called  medullary.  The  first 
substance,  which  is  the  glandular, 
is  disposed  into  clusters,  like  grapes 
on  a  vine ;  those  clusters  are  its 
series.  The  other  substance,  which 
is  called  medullary,  consists  of  per- 
petual collections  of  little  bundles 
of  fibrils,  proceeding  from  the  little 
glands  of  the  former  substance ; 
these  collections  of  little  bundles 
are  its  series.  All  the  nerves  which 
proceed  thence,  and  descend  in- 
to the  body  to  perform  various  func- 
tions, are  only  collections  and  bundles 
of  fibres  ;  and  so  are  all  the  muscles, 
and,  in  general,  all  the  viscera  and  or- 
gans of  the  body.  The  former  and 
the  latter  are  such,  because  they  cor- 
respond to  the  series,  into  which  the 
organism  of  the  mind  is  disposed. 
Moreover,  throughout  all  nature,  there 
is  aot  any  thing  which  is  not  bundled 


together  into  series ;  every  tree,  every 
shrub,  herb  and  plant,  yea,  every  ear 
of  corn  and  blade  of  grass,  in  whole 
and  in  part,  is  so.  The  universal 
cause  is,  because  divine  truths  have 
such  a  conformation ;  for  it  is  read. 
That  all  things  were  created  by  the 
Word,  that  is,  by  the  Divine  Truth,  and 
that  the  world,  also,  was  made  by  it, 
John  i.  1,  and  the  following  verses. 
Hence  it  may  be  seen,  that,  unless 
there  were  such  an  arrangement  of 
substances  in  the  human  mind,  man 
would  not  have  any  analytical  faculty 
of  reason,  which  every  one  has,  ac- 
cording to  the  arrangement,  thus  ac- 
cording to  the  abundance  of  truths 
cohering,  as  it  were,  in  a  bundle ;  and 
the  arrangement  is  according  to  the 
use  of  reason  from  a  free  principle. 

352.  (3.)  That  Faith  is  perfected 
according  to  the  Abundance  and  Cohe- 
rence of  Truths,  follows  from  the  things 
said  above,  and  manifests  itself  to 
every  one  who  collects  reasons,  and 
sees  what  multiplied  series  effect, 
when  they  cohere  as  one,  for  then  one 
thing  strengthens  and  confirms  anoth- 
er, and  they  together  make  a  form, 
and,  when  in  action,  they  present  one 
act.  Now,  because  faith  in  its  es- 
sence is  truth,  it  follows  that  it  be- 
comes, according  to  the  abundance 
and  coherence  of  truths,  more  and 
more  perfectly  spiritual,  thus  less 
and  less  sensual-natural ;  for  it  is 
exalted  into  a  higher  region  of  the 
mind,  whence  it  sees  under  it  numer- 
ous confirmations  of  itself  in  the  nature 
of  the  world.  True  faith,  by  a  copious 
store  of  truths  cohering  as  it  were 
in  a  bundle,  aLso  becomes  more  lu- 
minous, more  perceptible,  more  evi- 
dent, and  more  clear ;  it  also  becomes 
more  ca])able  of  being  conjoined  with 
the  goods  of  charity,  and  thence  of  be- 
ing alienated  from  evils ;  and  succes- 
sively more  removed  from  the  allure- 
ments of  the  eye,  and  from  the  concu- 
piscences of  the  flesh  ;  consequently, 
more  happy  in  itself;  it  becomes,  es- 
pecially, more  powerful  against  evils 
and  falses,  and  thence  more  and  more 
living  and  saving. 

353.  It  was  said  above,  that  all 


Concerning  Faith. 


251 


truth  in  heaven  shines,  and  thence  that 
truth  shining  is  faith  in  essence ; 
wherefore,  the  beauty  and  symmetry 
of  faith,  from  that  illustration,  when  its 
truths  are  multiplied,  may  be  compared 
with  various  forms,  objects  and  pic- 
tures, formed  of  different  colors  fitly 
arranged  according  to  agreements ; 
consequently,  with  the  precious  stones 
of  diverse  colors  in  the  breastplate  of 
Aaron,  which  together  were  called 
Urim  and  Thummim;  likewise  with 
the  precious  stones  of  which  the 
foundations  of  the  wall  of  the  New  Je- 
rusalem are  to  be  built,  concerning 
which,  see  Rev.  xxi.  It  may  also  be 
compared  with  the  precious  stones,  of 
divers  colors,  in  the  crown  of  a  king  : 
precious  stones  also  signify  truths 
of  faith.  A  comparison  may  be  made, 
also,  with  the  beauty  of  the  rainbow, 
and  with  the  beauty  of  a  flowery  field, 
and  also  of  a  garden  blossoming  at  the 
commencement  of  spring.  The  light 
and  glory  of  faith,  from  a  copious  store 
of  truths  composing  and  adorning  it, 
may  be  compared  with  the  illumination 
of  temples  by  multiplied  chandeliers, 
of  houses  by  candles,  and  of  streets 
by  larnps.  The  exaltation  of  faith,  by 
a  copious  store  of  truths,  may  be  illus- 
trated by  comparison  with  the  exalta- 
tion of  sound,  and  likewise  of  mel- 
ody, from  many  musical  instruments 
in  a  concert ;  and  also  with  the  exal- 
tation of  fragrance,  from  a  collection 
of  sweet-smelling  flowers  ;  and  also 
with  other  things.  The  power  of  faith, 
composed  of  many  truths,  against  evils 
and  fcJses,  may  be  compared  with  the 
firmness  of  a  temple,  in  consequence 
of  the  stones  being  well  cemented  to- 
gether, and  its  walls  being  strength- 
ened by  pilasters,  and  its  roof  support- 
ed by  pillars.  It  may  also  be  compar- 
ed with  an  army  drawn  up  in  a  square 
column,  in  which  the  soldiers  stand 
closely  side  by  side,  and  thus  form 
one  force  and  act.  It  may  also  be 
compared  with  the  muscles,  of  which 
the  whole  body  is  composed,  which, 
although  they  are  numerous  and  situ- 
ated in  different  places,  still  make  one 
power  in  actions ;  and  also  with  oth- 
er things. 


354.  (4.)  That  the  Truths  of 
Faith,  however  numerous  they  arc,  and 
however  different  they  appear,  make 
one  from,  the  Lord,  who  is  the  Word, 
the  God  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  the 
God  of  all  Flesh,  the  God  of  the  Vine- 
yard or  the  Church,  the  God  of  Faith, 
the  Light  itself.  Truth  and  eternal  Life. 

The  truths  of  faith  are  various,  and 
to  man  they  appear  different ;  as,  for 
example,  some  are  concerning  God  the 
Creator,  some  concerning  the  Lord  the 
Redeemer,  some  concerning  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  Divine  Operation,  some 
concerning  Faith  and  concerning 
Charity,  and  others  concerning  Free 
Agency,  Repentance,  Reformation  and 
Regeneration,  Imputation,  and  so  forth. 
Still  they  make  one  in  the  Lord,  and 
with  man,  from  the  Lord,  like  many 
branches  ip  one  vine,  John  xv.  1,  and 
the  following  verses ;  for  the  Lord  joins 
scattered  and  divided  truths  together, 
as  into  one  form,  in  which  they  present 
one  view,  and  exhibit  one  act.  This 
may  be  illustrated  by  comparison  with 
the  members,  viscera  and  organs,  in 
one  body,  which,  although  they  are 
various,  and  to  the  sight  of  man  differ- 
ent, yet  still  a  man,  who  is  the  com- 
mon form  of  them,  perceives  them  on- 
ly as  one ;  and  when  he  acts  from  all, 
he  acts,  as  it  were,  from  one.  It  is 
similar  with  heaven,  which,  although 
it  is  distinguished  into  innumerable  so- 
cieties, still  appears  before  the  Lord 
as  one ;  and,  as  was  shown  above,  as 
one  man.  The  case  is  similar  also 
as  with  a  kingdom ;  which,  although 
It  is  divided  into  many  governments, 
provinces  and  cities,  yet  still,  under  a 
king,  who  has  justice  and  judgment,  it 
makes  one.  The  reason  why  it  is 
similar  with  the  truths  of  faith,  from 
which  the  church  is  a  church  from  the 
Lord,  is,  because  the  Lord  is  the  Word, 
the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  God 
of  all  flesh,  the  God  of  the  vineyard  or 
the  church,  the  God  of  faith,  and  the 
Light  itself.  Truth,  and  eternal  Life. 
That  the  Lord  is  the  Word,  and  thus 
all  the  truth  of  heaven  and  the  church, 
is  evident  in  John :  The  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God; 
and  the  Word  became  flesh,  i.  1,  14. 


252 


Concerning  Faith. 


That  the  Lord  is  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth,  is  evident  in  Matthew  :  Jesus 
said,  Unto  Me  is  given  all  power  in 
heaven  and  in  earth,  xxviii.  18.  That 
the  Lord  is  the  God  of  all  flesh,  in 
John :  The  Father  hath  given  to  the 
Son  power  over  all  flesh,  xvii.  2.  That 
the  Lord  is  the  God  of  the  vineyard  or 
the  church,  in  Isaiah  :  My  beloved  had 
a  vineyard,  v.  1,2;  and  in  John  :  I 
am  the  Vine,  and  ye  are  the  branches, 
XV.  5.  That  the  Lord  is  the  God  of 
faith,  in  Paul :  Thou  hast  the  right- 
eousness of  the  faith  of  Christ,  from 
the  God  of  faith,  Philip,  iii.  9.  That 
the  Lord  is  the  Light  itself,  in  John : 
He  was  the  true  Light,  which  enlighten- 
eth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world,  i.  9 ;  and  in  another  place,  Je- 
sus said,  I  have  come  a  Light  into  the 
world,  that  every  one,  that  believeth  in 
Me,  may  not  abide  in  darkness,  xii.  46. 
That  the  Lord  is  the  Truth  itself,  in 
John :  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  Way,  the 
Truth,  and  the  JJfe,  xiv.  6.  That  the 
Lord  is  eternal  Life,  in  1  John  :  Wt 
knotc  that  the  Son  of  God  hath  come 
into  the  world,  that  toe  may  know  the 
Truth,  and  toe  are  in  the  Truth 
in  Jesus  Christ;  this  is  the  true 
God  arid  eternal  Life,  v.  20,  21. 
To  the  above  it  should  be  added,  that 
man,  on  account  of  his  business  in  the 
world,  can  procure  for  himself  only  a 
few  truths  of  faith  ;  but  still,  if  he  goes 
to  the  Lord,  and  worships  Him  alone, 
he  comes  into  the  power  of  knowing 
all  truths ;  wherefore,  every  true  wor- 
shipper of  the  Lord,  as  soon  as  he  hears 
any  truth  of  faith,  which  he  did  not 
know  before,  immediately  sees,  ac- 
knowledges and  receives  it.  The  rea- 
son is,  because  the  Lord  is  in  him,  and 
he  in  the  Lord  ;  consequently,  the  light 
of  truth  is  in  him,  and  he  in  the  light 
of  truth ;  for,  as  was  said  above,  the 
Lord  is  Light  itself,  and  Truth  itself 
This  may  be  confirmed  by  this  expe- 
rience. A  spirit  was  seen  by  me,  who, 
in  the  company  of  others,  appeared 
simple,  because  he  acknowledged  the 
Lord  alone  as  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  confirmed  this  his  faith  by 
some  truths  from  the  Word.  He  was 
taken  up  into  heaven,  among  the  wiser 


angels ;  and  it  was  told  me,  that  there 
he  was  as  wise  as  they ;  yea,  that  he 
spoke  truths  in  abundance,  altogether 
as  from  himself,  concerning  which  he 
did  not  know  any  thing  before.  Simi- 
lar will  be  the  state  of  those  who  are 
about  to  come  into  the  Lord's  New 
Church.  This  is  the  same  state  that 
is  described  in  Jeremiah :  This  shall 
be  the  covenant  which  I  will  make  with 
the  house  of  Israel,  after  these  days ;  I 
will  give  my  law  in  the  midst  of  them, 
and  I  will  ivrite  it  upon  their  heart; 
and  they  shall  not  teach  any  more  every 
man  his  companion,  and  every  man  his 
brother,  saying.  Know  the  Lord;  for 
all  shall  know  Me,  from  the  least  of 
them  even  to  the  greatest  of  them,  xxxi. 
33,  34.  That  state  will  also  be  such 
as  is  described  in  Isaiah  :  A  Rod  shall 
go  forth  from  the  tmnh  of  Jesse  ;  truth 
shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins.  Then 
the  wolf  shall  dtcell  with  the  lamb,  the 
leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  the 
sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  o  f 
the  viper,  and  the  weaned  child  shall 
put  its  hand  on  the  den  of  the  basilisk, 
because  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knotcledge  of  Jehovah,  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea.  Li  that  day,  the  nations 
shall  seek  the  Root  of  Jesse,  and  his 
rest  shall  be  glory,  xi.  6  to  10. 

355.  V.  That  Faith  without  Char- 
ity IS  NOT  Faith,  and  that  Charity 
WITHOUT  Faith   is  not  Charity  ; 

AND  THAT   NEITHER  LIVES  BUT  FROM 

THE  Lord. 

That  the  church,  at  this  day, 
should  separate  faith  from  charity, 
by  saying  that  faith  alone,  without  the 
works  of  the  law,  justifies  and  saves, 
and  that  thus  charity  cannot  be  con- 
joined with  faith,  since  faith  is  from 
God,  and  charity,  so  far  as  it  is  actual 
in  works,  from  man,  never  came  into 
the  mind  of  any  apostle,  as  is  very 
manifest  from  their  epistles ;  but  this 
separation  and  division  was  introduced 
into  the  Christian  church,  when  they 
divided  the  one  God  into  three  persons, 
and  ascribed  to  each  equal  divinity. 
But  that  there  is  no  faith  without  char- 
ity, nor  any  charity  without  faith,  arid 
that  neither  has  any  life,  except  from 
the  Lord,  will  be  illustrated  in  the  fol- 


Concerning  Faith. 


253 


lowing  lemma ;  here,  to  prepare  the 
way,  it  shall  be  demonstrated,  1.  That 
man  can  procure  faith  for  himself.  2. 
That  he  can  procure  charity  also.  3. 
And  likewise  the  life  of  both.  4.  But 
that  still,  nothing  of  faith,  nothing  of 
charity,  and  nothing  of  the  life  of  either, 
is  front  man,  but  from  the  Lord  alone. 

350.  (1.)  That  man  can  procure 
Faith  for  himself,  was  shown  in  the 
third  lemma  above,  from  n.  343  to  n. 
348,  by  this.  That  faith,  in  its  es- 
sence, is  truth ;  and  truths,  from  the 
Word,  can  be  procured  by  any  one  ; 
and  that  so  far  as  any  one  procures 
them  for  himself  and  loves  them,  so  far 
he  procures  for  himself  the  elements  of 
faith.  To  the  above  this  should  be 
added,  that  unless  man  could  procure 
faith  for  himself,  all  the  things  that  are 
commanded  in  the  Word  concern- 
ing faith,  would  be  vain ;  for  it  is 
read  there.  That  it  is  the  will  of 
the  Father,  that  men  should  believe  in 
the  Son ;  and  that  he  that  helieveth  in 
Him,  should  have  eternal  life ;  and  that 
he  that  doth  not  believe,  should  not  see 
life.  It  is  also  read,  that  Jesus  would 
send  the  Paraclete,  who  should  convince 
the  tnorld  of  sin,  because  they  believe 
not  in  Me ;  besides  many  other  pas- 
sages, which  were  adduced  above,  n. 
337,  338.  Moreover,  that  all  the  apos- 
tles preached  faith,  and  this  in  the  Lord 
God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  What 
would  all  these  and  those  things  avail,  if 
man  should  stand  with  his  hands  hang- 
ing down,  like  a  graven  image  with  mov- 
able joints,  and  wait  for  influx ;  and  then 
the  joints,  without  being  able  to  apply 
themselves  to  receive  it,  should  be  ex- 
cited, from  some  extrinsic  cause,  to 
something  not  of  faith  ?  For  modern 
orthodoxy,  in  the  Christian  world  sep- 
arate from  the  Roman  Catholics,  teaches 
thus :  That  man,  as  to  what  is  good, 
is  utterly  corrupt  and  dead;  so  that,  in 
the  natJire  of  man,  since  the  fall,  before 
regeneration,  there  remains,  or  is  left, 
not  even  a  spark  of  spiritual  strength, 
by  which  he  can,  of  himself,  be  prepar- 
ed for  the  grace  of  God,  or  apprehend 
it,  when  offered,  or,  of  and  by  himself, 
be  capable  of  retaining  that  grace ;  or, 
in  spiritual  things,  understand,  believe. 


embrace,  think,  will,  begin,  fnish,  act, 
operate,  cooperate,  or  apply,  or  accom- 
modate himself  to  grace,  or  do  any 
thing  towards  conversion,  wholly  or  by 
halves,  or  in  the  least  degree.  And 
that  man,  in  spiritual  things,  which  re- 
spect the  salvation  of  the  soul,  is  like 
the  pillar  of  salt  of  Lot's  wife,  and 
like  a  stock  or  a  stone  without  life, 
which  has  not  the  use  of  eyes,  mouth, 
or  any  of  the  senses.  That  still  he  has 
the  poiver  of  moving  from  place  to 
place,  or  he  can  direct  his  erternal 
memhers,  come  to  public  assemblies,  and 
hear  the  Word  and  the  Gospel.  These 
words  are  in  the  book  of  the  church  of 
the  Evangelical,  called  Formula  Con- 
cordia, in  the  edition  of  Leipsic, 
1756,  pp.  656,  658,  661,  662,  663, 
671,672,673;  to  which  book,  and 
thus  to  which  faith,  the  priests,  when 
they  are  inaugurated,  take  oath.  The 
faith  of  the  Reformed  is  similar.  But 
who,  that  possesses  reason  and  religion, 
would  not  hiss  at  those  things,  as  ab- 
surd and  ridiculous?  For  he  might 
say  with  himself,  "If  it  were  so,  for 
what  purpose,  then,  is  the  Word,  for 
what  purpose  is  religion,  for  what  pur- 
pose is  the  priesthood,  and  for  what 
purpose  is  preaching,  but  something 
vain,  or  sound  without  sense?  Say 
such  things  to  any  judicious  pagan, 
whom  you  wish  to  convert,  that  he  is 
such,  as  to  conversion  and  faith ;  would 
he  not  look  upon  Christianity  as  one 
looks  upon  an  empty  vessel  ?  For, 
take  away  from  man  all  power  of  be- 
lieving, as  of  himself,  and  then  what 
else  is  he  ?"  But  these  things  will  be 
exhibited  in  a  clearer  light,  in  the 
chapter  concerning  Free  Agency. 

357.  (2.)  That  Man  can  procure 
Charity  for  himself. 

The  case  is  the  same  with  charity  as 
with  faith ;  for  what  else  does  the 
Word  teach,  but  faith  and  charity,  be- 
cause these  are  the  two  essentials  of 
salvation?  For  it  is  read.  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord,  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul;  and  the  neighbor  as 
thyself.  Matt.  xxii.  34  to  39 ;  and  Je- 
sus said,  A  commandment  I  give  to 
you,  that  ye  love  one  another ;  by  this 
ye  shall  be  known,  that  ye  are  my  disci- 


254 


Concerning  Faith. 


pies,  that  ye  love  one  another,  John 
xiii.  34,  35 ;  see  also  xv.  9 ;  xvi. 
27.  Also,  that  man  should  bear 
fruit,  like  a  good  tree;  and  that  he 
who  does  good,  shall  be  recompensed 
at  the  resurrection ;  besides  many  sim- 
ilar things.  To  what  purpose  are 
these  things,  unless  man  can  of 
himself  exercise  charity,  and  in  some 
way  procure  it  for  himself?  Can  he 
not  give  alms,  help  the  needy,  and  do 
good  in  his  house  and  in  his  office? 
Can  he  not  live  according  to  the  com- 
mandments of  the  decalogue  ?  Has 
he  not  a  soul,  from  which  he  can  do 
them,  and  also  a  rational  mind,  from 
which  he  can  lead  himself  to  act, 
for  this  or  that  end?  Can  he  not 
think  that  he  should  do  them,  because 
they  are  commanded  in  the  Word,  and 
thus  by  God?  This  power  is  not 
wanting  to  any  man ;  and  it  is  not 
wanting,  because  the  Lord  gives  it  to 
every  one ;  and  He  gives  it  as  a 
certain  property  or  possession ;  for 
who  knows  otiierwise,  when  he  does 
charity,  than  that  he  does  it  of  him- 
self? 

358.  (3.)  That  Man  can  also  pro- 
cure for  himself  the  Life  of  Faith  and 
Charity,  is  also  a  similar  thing ;  for 
he  procures  it  for  himself,  when  he 
goes  to  the  Lord,  who  is  Life  itself; 
and  access  to  Him  is  not  prohibited  to 
any  man,  for  He  continually  invites 
every  man  to  come  to  Him  ;  for  He 
said,  He  who  comcth  to  Me  shall  nciur 
hunger,  and  he  who  believcth  in  Me 
shall  never  thirst ;  and  him  that  romrth 
to  Me,  I  will  not  cast  out,  Jolui  vi.  35, 
37.  Jesus  stood  and  cried,  If  any  one 
thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me  and  drink, 
vii.  37.  And  in  another  place :  The 
kingdom  of  the  heavens  is  like  one  who 
wade  a  wedding  for  his  son,  and  sent 
his  servants  to  call  those  who  were  in- 
vited; and  at  last  he  said.  Go  to  the 
ends  of  the  streets,  and  whomsoever  ye 
shall  find,  call  to  the  Wedding,  Matt, 
xxii.  2  to  9.  Who  does  not  know, 
tiiat  the  invitation  or  call  is  universal, 
as  also  the  grace  of  reception  ?  The 
reason  why  man  obtains  life  by  going 
to  the  Lord,  is,  because  the  Lord  is 
Life  itself;  not  only  the  life  of  faith,  but 


also  the  life  of  charity.  That  the 
Lord  is  that,  and  that  man  has  it  from 
the  Lord,  is  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages :  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word; 
in  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men,  John  i.  1,4.  As  the  Fa- 
ther raiseth  the  dead,  and  quickeneth, 
so  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will, 
V.  2L  As  the  Father  hath  life  in 
Himself,  so  hath  He  given  to  the  Son 
TO  HAVE  life  IN  HiMSELF,  V.  26.  The 
bread  of  God  is  He  who  came  dozen 
from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  to  the 
world,  vi.  3L  The  words  which  I  speak 
unto  you  are  spirit  and  life,  vi.  63. 
Jesus  said.  He  that  followeth  Me,  shall 
have  THE  LIGHT  OF  LIFE,  viii.  12.  / 
have  come,  that  they  may  have  life, 
and  may  have  abundance,  x.  10.  He 
who  bclieveth  in  Me,  although  he  die, 
shall  live,  xi.  25.  /  am  the  Way,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life,  xiv.  6.  Because 

I  LIVF,  YE  shall  LIVE   ALSO,   xiv.  9. 

These  thitigs  are  written,  that  ye  may 
have  LIFE  in  his  name,  xx.  31.  That 
He  is  ETERNAL  LiFE,  1  John  V.  21.  By 
life  in  faith  and  charity,  is  meant  spir- 
itual life,  which  is  given  by  the  Lord 
to  man  in  his  natural  life. 

359.  (4.)  That  yet  still  Nothing 
of  Faith,  and  Nothing  of  Charity, 
and  Nothing  of  the  Life  of  either, 
is  from  Man,  but  from  the  Lord 
alone. 

For  it  is  read,  that  A  man  cannot 
take  any  thing,  unless  it  be  given  to 
him  from  heaven,  John  iii.  27.  And 
Jesus  said,  He  that  abideth  in  Me,  and 
I  in  him,  beareth  much  fruit;  because 
without  Mc  ye  cannot  do  any  thing,  xv. 
5.  But  this  should  be  thus  under- 
stood; that  man,  of  himself,  cannot 
procure  for  himself  any  other  faith  than 
natural,  which  is  persuasion  that  it  is 
so,  since  a  man  of  authority  said  so ; 
nor  any  other  charity  than  natural, 
which  is  working  for  favor,  for  the 
sake  of  some  remunoratinn  ;  in  which 
two  there  is  the  proprium  of  man,  and 
not  yet  life  from  tiie  Lord.  But  stiU, 
man  by  botli  of  them  prepares  himself, 
that  he  may  be  a  receptacle  of  the 
Lord ;  and  as  he  prepares  himself,  so 
the  Lord  enters  and  causes  his  natural 
faith  to  become  spiritual  faith,  and  so 


Concerning  Faith. 


likewise  his  charity,  and  thus  both  to 
be  living ;  and  these  things  are  done, 
when  man  goes  to  the  Lord,  as  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earth.  Man,  because 
he  was  created  an  image  of  God,  was 
created  a  habitation  of  God ;  wherefore 
the  Lord  says.  He  loho  hath  my  com- 
mandments and  doeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  Me;  and  I  will  love  him,  and 
will  come  to  him,  and  make  an  abode 
with  him,  John  xiv.  21,23.  And  also, 
Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock ; 
if  any  one  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the 
door,  I  will  go  in  to  him,  and  will  sup 
with  him,  and  he  toith  Me,  Rev.  iii.  20. 
Hence  follows  this  conclusion ;  That 
as  man  prepares  himself,  naturally,  for 
receiving  the  Lord,  so  the  Lord  enters, 
and  makes  all  the  things  with  him 
inwardly  spiritual,  and  thus  living ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  as  far  as  man 
does  not  prepare  himself,  so  far  he  re- 
moves the  Lord  from  him,  and  he  does 
all  things  from  himself,  and  that  which 
man  himself  does  from  himself,  has  not 
any  thing  of  life  in  it.  But  these  things 
cannot  yet  be  set  forth  to  be  seen  in 
any  light,  before  it  is  treated  concern- 
ing Charity  and  concerning  Free 
Agency  ;  and  they  will  be  seen  after- 
wards in  the  chapter  concerning  Re- 
formation and  Regeneration. 

360.  In  the  foregoing,  it  was  said, 
that  faith  in  the  beginning  with  man,  is 
natural,  and  that  as  man  comes  to  the 
Lord  it  becomes  spiritual ;  likewise 
charity ;  but  no  one  has  yet  known  the 
distinction,  which  there  is  between 
natural  faith  and  charity,  and  spiritual ; 
wherefore  this  great  secret  is  to  be 
disclosed.  There  are  two  worlds,  the 
natural  and  the  spiritual,  and  in  each 
world  there  is  a  sun,  and  from  each  sun 
proceed  heat  and  light ;  but  the  heat 
and  light,  from  the  sun  of  the  spiritual 
world,  have  life  in  them  :  their  life  is 
from  the  Lord,  who  is  in  the  midst  of 
that  sun ;  but  the  heat  and  light,  from 
the  sun  of  the  natural  world,  have 
nothing  of  life  in  them,  but  they  serve 
the  two  former  for  receptacles,  as  in- 
strumental causes  serve  their  princi- 
pals, to  convey  them  to  men.  It  should, 
therefore,  be  known,  that  the  heat  and 
light  from  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world, 


being  those  from  which  all  spiritual 
things  are,  are  also  spiritual,  because 
there  is  spirit  and  life  in  them  ;  but  the 
heat  and  light  from  the  sun  of  the  nat- 
ural world  are  those  from  which  are 
all  natural  things,  which,  viewed  in 
themselves,  are  without  spirit  and  life. 
Now,  because  faith  is  of  light,  and 
charity  is  of  heat,  it  is  manifest,  that  as 
far  as  man  is  in  the  light  and  heat 
proceeding  from  the  sun  of  the  spirit- 
ual world,  so  far  he  is  in  spiritual  faith 
and  charity  ;  but  that  as  far  as  he  is  in 
the  light  and  heat  proceeding  from  the 
sun  of  the  natural  world,  so  far  he  is 
in  natural  faith  and  charity.  Hence  it 
is  evident,  that,  as  spiritual  light  is  in- 
wardly in  natural  light,  as  in  its  recep- 
tacle, or  in  its  repository,  and  in  like 
maimer,  spiritual  heat  inwardly  in 
natural  heat ;  so  also  spiritual  faith  is 
inwardly,  in  natural  faith,  and  in  like 
manner,  spiritual  charity  inwardly  in 
natural  charity  :  and  this  is  effected, 
in  the  degree  in  which  man  advances 
from  the  natural  world  into  the  spiritual 
world ;  and  he  advances,  as  he  believes 
in  the  Lord,  who  is  the  Light  itself, 
the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life,  as 
He  himself  teaches.  Since  it  is  so,  it 
is  manifest,  that,  when  man  is  in  spir* 
itual  faith,  then  he  is  also  in  natural 
faith ;  for,  as  was  said,  spiritual  faith  is 
inwardly  in  natural  faith.  Because 
faith  is  of  light,  it  follows  that,  by  that 
insertion,  the  natural  of  man  becomes, 
as  it  were,  transparent,  and  that,  as  it 
is  conjoined  with  charity,  it  becomes 
beautifully  colored  ;  the  reason  is,  be- 
cause charity  is  red,  and  faith  is  white ; 
charity  is  red  from  the  flame  of  spiritual 
fire,  and  faith  is  white  or  bright  from  the 
splendor  of  the  light  thence.  The  con- 
trary happens,  if  the  spiritual  be  not  in- 
wardly in  the  natural,  but  the  natural 
inwardly  in  the  spiritual ;  this  is  the 
case  with  men  who  reject  faith  and 
charity.  With  these,  the  internal  of 
their  mind  in  which  they  are  when 
they  think,  left  to  themselves,  is  infer- 
nal, and  also  they  think  from  hell,  al- 
though they  do  not  know  it ;  but  the 
external  of  their  mind,  from  which  they 
speak  with  their  consociates  in  the 
world,  is,  as  it  were,  spiritual,  but  this 


256 


Concerning  Faith. 


is  filled  with  such  unclean  things  as 
are  in  hell ;  wherefore  these  are  in 
hell,  for  they  are  in  an  inverted  state 
with  respect  to  the  former. 

861.  When,  therefore,  it  is  known, 
that  the  spiritual  is  inwardly  in  the 
natural,  with  those  who  are  in  faith  in 
the  Lord,  and  at  the  same  time  in 
charity  towards  the  neighbor,  and  that 
thence  the  natural  with  them  is  transpa- 
rent, it  follows,  that  man  is  so  far  wise 
in  spiritual  things,  and  thence  also  so 
far  in  natural  things ;  for  he  sees  in- 
wardly in  himself,  whenever  he  thinks, 
or  reads,  or  hears  any  thing,  whether  it 
be  a  truth  or  not ;  he  perceives  this 
from  the  Lord,  from  whom  spiritual  light 
and  heat  flow  into  the  higher  sphere  of 
his  understanding.  As  far  as  faith  and 
charity  with  man  become  spiritual,  so 
far  he  is  withdrawn  from  the  proprium, 
and  does  not  regard  himself,  reward 
and  recompense,  but  only  the  delight 
of  perceiving  the  truths  of  faith,  and  of 
doing  the  goods  of  love  ;  and  as  far  as 
that  spirituality  is  increased,  so  far  that 
delight  becomes  blessed  ;  from  this  is 
his  salvation,  which  is  called  eternal 
life.  This  state  of  man  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  most  beautiful  and  de- 
lightful things  in  the  world,  and  also  it 
is  compared  with  them  in  the  Word  ; 
as  with  fruitful  trees,  and  also  with  the 
gardens  in  which  tiiey  grow ;  with 
flowery  fields  :  with  precious  stones ; 
and  with  delicious  food  ;  and  also  witli 
weddings  and  nuptial  festivities  and 
rejoicings.  But  when  it  is  inverted, 
that  is,  when  the  natural  is  inwardly 
in  the  spiritual,  and  thence  man  in  his 
internals  is  a  devil,  and  in  his  externals 
like  an  angel,  he  may  then  be  compar- 
ed with  a  dead  person  in  a  coffin  made 
of  costly  wood  and  covered  with  gold  ; 
he  may  also  be  compared  with  a  skel- 
eton dressed  in  handsome  clothes, 
like  a  man,  and  carried  in  a  magnifi- 
cent chariot ;  and  also  with  a  corpse  in 
a  sepulchre  built  like  the  temple  of 
Diana :  yea,  his  internal  may  be  repre- 
sented by  a  nest  of  serpents  in  a  cav- 
ern, but  his  external  by  butterflies, 
whose  wings  are  tinged  with  colors  of 
every  kind,  but  which,  nevertheless, 
glue  their  filthy  eggs  to  the  leaves  of 


useful  trees,  by  which  their  fruit  is  con- 
sumed :  yea,  their  internal  may  be 
compared  with  a  hawk,  and  their  ex- 
ternal with  a  dove  ;  and  their  faith  and 
charity,  with  the  flying  of  a  hawk  over 
a  dove  endeavoring  to  escape,  which  at 
length  he  wearies  out,  and  then  flies 
upon  her  and  devours  her. 

362.  VL  That  the  Lord,  Chari- 
ty AND  Faith,  make  one,  like  Life, 
Will,  and  Understanding  in  Man  ; 

AND  that  if  they  ARE  DIVIDED,  EACH 
PERISHES,  LIKE  A  PeARL  REDUCED  TO 

Powder. 

In  the  first  place,  some  things  will 
be  mentioned,  which  have  been  hither- 
to unknown  in  the  learned  world,  and 
thence  in  the  ecclesiastical  order ; 
as  much  unknown  as  things  which 
have  been  buried  in  the  ground;  when 
yet  they  are  treasures  of  wisdom,  and 
unless  they  are  dug  up  and  given  to 
the  public,  man  strives  in  vain  to  come 
into  any  just  knowledge  concerning 
God,  concerning  faith,  concerning 
charity,  and  concerning  the  state  of 
his  life,  how  he  should  regulate  and 
prepare  it  for  a  state  of  eternal  life. 
Those  unknown  things  are  these  ; — 
That  man  is  a  mere  organ  of  life  : 
That  life,  with  all  the  things  of  it,  flows 
in  from  the  God  of  heaven,  who  is  the 
Lord  :  That  there  are  two  faculties  of 
life  in  man,  which  are  called  the  will 
and  the  understanding,  and  that  the 
will  is  the  receptacle  of  love,  and  the 
understanding  the  receptacle  of  wis- 
dom ;  and  thus,  also,  that  the  will  is 
the  receptacle  of  charity,  and  the  un- 
derstanding the  receptacle  of  faith  : 
That  all  the  things  which  man  wills, 
and  air  the  things  which  he  under- 
stands, flow  in  from  without ;  the 
goods  which  are  of  love  and  charity, 
and  the  truths  which  arc  of  wisdom 
and  faith,  from  the  Lord  ;  but  all  the 
things  contrary  to  those,  from  hell : 
That  it  is  provided  by  the  Lord,  that  man 
may  sensibly  perceive  in  himself  as  his, 
those  things  which  flow  in  from  with- 
out, and  thence  produce  them  of  him- 
self as  his  own,  although  nothing  of 
them  is  his  :  That,  nevertheless,  those 
things  are  imputed  to  him  as  his,  on 
account  of  the  freedom  in  which  he  is,  to 


Concerning  Faith. 


257 


will  and  to  think,  and  on  account  of 
the  knowledges  of  good  and  truth 
which  are  given  him,  from  which  he 
can  freely  ciioose  whatever  conduces  to 
his  temporal  life  and  to  his  eternal  life. 
A  man  who  looks  at  these  things  which 
have  been  advanced,  with  an  oblique 
eye,  or  from  the  corners  of  his  eyes, 
may  conclude  from  them  many  things 
which  are  of  insanity  ;  but  a  man  who 
looks  at  them  with  a  direct  eye,  or 
with  the  pupil,  may  conclude  from 
them  many  things,  which  are  of  wis- 
dom ;  and  that  this  may  be  done,  and 
not  that,  it  was  necessary  to  premise  the 
decisions  and  tenets  concerning  God 
and  concerning  the  Divine  Trinity, 
and  after  them  to  establish  the  decis- 
ions and  tenets  concerning  Faith  and 
Charity,  concerning  Free  Agency,  and 
concerning  Reformation  and  Regen- 
eration, as  also  concerning  Imputa- 
tion ;  and  likewise  concerning  Repent- 
ance, concerning  Baptism,  and  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Supper,  as  means. 

363.  But  that  this  article  of  faith, 
which  is,  that  the  Lord,  charity  and 
faith  make  one,  like  life,  will  and  un- 
derstanding in  man,  and  that  if  they 
are  divided,  each  perishes,  like  a  pearl 
reduced  to  powder,  may  be  seen  and 
acknowledged  as  a  truth,  it  is  ex- 
pedient that  it  be  considered  in  this 
order:  (1.)  That  the  Lord,  with  all 
his  divine  love,  with  all  his  divine 
wisdom,  thus  with  all  his  divine  life, 
Jlows  in  with  every  man.  (2.)  There- 
fore, with  all  the  essence  of  faith  and 
charity.  (3.)  But  that  they  are  re- 
ceived by  man  according  to  his  form. 
(4.)  And  that  the  man  who  divides  the 
Lord,  charity  and  faith,  is  not  a 
form  receiving  but  a  form  destroying 
them. 

364.  (1.)  That  the  Lord,  with  all 
his  Divine  Love,  loith  all  his  Divine 
Wisdom,  thus  loith  all  his  Divine  Life, 
flows  in  icith  every  Man. 

In  the  book  of  Creation  it  is  read. 
That  man  was  created  an  image  of 
God ;  and  that  God  breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  lives,  Gen.  i.  27; 
ii.  7 ;  by  which  it  is  described,  that 
man  is  an  organ  of  life,  and  not  life  ; 
for  God  could  not  create  another  like 
33 


Himself ;   if  he  could  have  done  this, 
there  might  have  been  as  many  gods 
as  men.     Neither  could  He  create 
life,  as  light  cannot  be  created  ;  but  He 
could  create  man  a  form  of  life,  as  He 
created  the  eye  a  form  of  light.  God 
never  could  and  never  can  divide  his 
essence,  for  this  is  one  and  indivisible. 
Since,  therefore,  God  alone  is  life,  it 
follows,  indubitably,  that  God,  from  his 
life,  vivifies  every  man  ;  and  that  man, 
without  that  vivification,  would  be,  as 
to  flesh,  a  mere  sponge,  and  as  to 
bones,  a  mere  skeleton,  in  whom  there 
would  be  no  more  of  life  than  there  is 
in  a  clock,  which  is  movable  from  the 
pendulum,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
weight  or  spring.    Since  such  is  the 
case,  it  follows  also,  that  God  flows  in 
with  every  man,  with  all  his  divine 
life,  that  is,  with  all  his  divine  love 
and  his  divine  wisdom  ;   these  two 
make  his  divine  life,  as  may  be  seen 
above,  n.  39,  40 ;  for  the  Divine  can- 
not be  divided.     But  how  God,  with 
all  his  divine  life,  flows  in,  may  be 
perceived  by  an  idea  somewhat  like 
that  by  which  it  is  perceived  that  the 
sun  of  the  world,  with  all  its  essence, 
which  is  heat  and  light,  flows  into  eve- 
ry tree,  ^and  into  every  shrub  and  flow- 
er, and  uito  every  stone,  mean  as  well 
as  precious ;    and  that  every  object 
takes  its  portion  from  this  common  in- 
flux, and  that  the  sun  does  not  divide 
its  light  and  its  heat,  and  dispense  a 
part  to  this  and  a  part  to  that.    It  is 
similar  with  the  sun  of  heaven,  from 
which  the  divine  love  proceeds  as  heat, 
and  the  divine  wisdom  as  light ;  these 
two  flow  into  human  minds,  as  the  heat 
and  light  of  the  sun  of  the  world  into 
bodies,  and  vivify  them  according  to 
the  quality  of  the  form,  each  of  which 
takes  from  the  cominon  influx  as  much 
as  is  necessary.    To  this  is  applicable 
what  the  Lord  says  :  Your  Father  mak- 
eth  his  sun  rise  upon  the  evil  and  the 
good,  and  sendcth  rain  upon  the  just 
and  the  unjust.   Matt.  v.  45.  The 
Lord  also  is  omnipresent ;  and  where 
He  is  present,  there  He  is  with  his 
whole  essence,  and  it  is  impossible  for 
Him  to  take  some  of  it  away,  and 
thence  to  give  a  part  to  one,  and  a  part 


258 


Concerning  Faith, 


to  another  ;  but  He  gives  it  whole,  and 
affords  man  an  opportunity  to  take  lit- 
tle or  much.  He  says  also,  that  He 
has  an  abode  with  those  who  do  his 
commandments ;  and  also  that  the 
faithful  are  in  him,  and  He  in  them. 
In  a  word,  all  things  are  full  of  God, 
and  every  one  takes  his  portion  from 
that  fulness.  It  is  similar  with  every 
thing  common,  as  with  the  atmospheres 
and  oceans ;  the  atmosphere  is  such  in 
the  least  parts  as  in  the  greatest ;  it 
does  not  dispense  a  part  of  itself  for 
the  respiration  of  man,  and  for  the 
flying  of  a  bird,  nor  for  the  sails  of  a 
ship,  and  for  the  wings  of  a  mill ;  but 
each  one  takes  thence  its  portion,  and 
applies  to  itself  as  much  as  is  suffi- 
cient. The  case  is  also  the  same  as 
with  a  granary  full  of  corn  :  the  owner 
takes  from  this  his  provision  every  day, 
and  the  granary  does  not  distribute  it. 

365.  (2.)  Therefore,  that  the  Lord, 
with  all  the  Essence  o  f  Faith  and  Char- 
ity, fioics  in  toith  every  Man. 

This  follows  from  the  former  the- 
orem, since  the  life  of  divine  wisdom 
is  the  essence  of  faith,  and  the  life  of 
divine  love  is  the  essence  of  charity  ; 
wherefore,  since  the  Lord  is  present 
witl?  those  things  which  are  properly 
his,  which  are  divine  wisdom  and 
divine  love,  He  is  also  present  with  all 
the  truths  which  are  of  faith,  and  with 
all  the  goods  which  are  of  charity  ; 
for  by  faith  is  meant  all  the  truth 
which  man  from  the  Lord  perceives, 
thinks  and  speaks,  and  by  charity  is 
meant  all  the  good  with  which  he  is 
affected  by  the  Lord,  and  which  he 
thence  wills  and  does.  It  was  said 
above,  that  the  divine  love,  which 
proceeds  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun,  is 
perceived  by  the  angels  as  heat,  and 
that  the  divine  wisdom  thence,  is  per- 
ceived as  light ;  but  he  who  does  not 
think  beyond  appearance,  may  imagine 
that  that  heat  is  bare  heat,  and  that 
that  light  is  bare  light,  such  as  are  the 
heat  and  light  proceeding  from  the  sun 
of  our  world.  But  the  heat  and  light 
proceeding  from  the  Lord,  as  a  sun, 
contain  in  their  bosom  all  the  infinities 
that  are  in  the  Lord ;  the  heat,  all  the 
infinities  of  his  love,  and  the  light,  all 


the  infinities  of  his  wisdom,  and  thus 
also  in  infinity,  all  the  good  which  is 
of  charity,  and  all  the  truth  which  is  of 
faith.  The  reason  is,  because  that  sun 
itself  is  present  every  where,  in  its 
heat  and  in  its  light,  and  that  sun  is 
the  nearest  circle  encompassing  the 
Lord,  emanating  from  his  divine  love, 
and  at  the  same  time  from  his  divine 
wisdom  ;  for,  as  has  been  several  times 
said  above,  the  Lord  is  in  the  midst 
of  that  sun.  Hence  now  it  is  mani- 
fest, that  nothing  can  be  wanting,  but 
that  man  may  take  from  the  Lord,  be- 
cause He  is  omnipresent,  all  the  good 
which  is  of  charity,  and  all  the  truth 
which  is  of  faith.  That  there  are  not 
any  of  those  things  wanting,  is  evident 
from  the  love  and  wisdom  of  the  angels 
of  heaven,  which  they  have  from  the 
Lord,  in  that  they  are  ineffable  and  in- 
comprehensible to  the  natural  man, 
and  al.so  multiplicable  to  eternity. 
That  there  are  infinite  things  in  the 
light  and  heat  which  proceed  from  the 
Lord,  altiiough  they  arc  perceived  as 
simply  heat  and  light,  may  be  illustrat- 
ed by  various  things  in  the  natural 
world,  as  by  these  :  The  sound  of  man's 
voice  and  speech  is  heard  only  as  sim- 
ple sound,  and  yet  the  angels,  when 
they  hear  it,  perceive  in  it  all  the  affec- 
tions of  his  love,  and  they  also  manifest 
what  and  of  what  sort  they  are.  That 
those  things  are  inwardly  concealed  in 
sound,  man  also  may,  in  some  measure, 
perceive  from  the  sound  of  one  speaking 
with  him,  as  whetiier  there  be  in  it 
contempt,  or  ridicule,  or  hatred ;  and 
also  whether  there  be  in  it  charity,  be- 
nevolence, or  joy,  or  other  affections. 
Similar  things  arc  concealed  in  the  ra- 
diance of  the  eye,  when  it  looks  at  any 
one.  It  may  also  be  illustrated  by  the 
fragrancies  from  a  large  garden,  or  by 
the  fragrancies  from  extensive  fields  of 
flowers ;  the  fragrant  odor,  breathed 
forth  from  them,  consists  of  thousands, 
and  myriads  of  various  things,  and 
still  they  are  sensibly  perceived  as 
one.  It  is  similar  with  many  other 
thintrs,  which,  although  they  outward- 
ly appear  uniform,  still  inwardly  they 
are  manifold ;  sympathies  and  antipa- 
thies are  nothing  else  than  exhalations 


Concerning  Faith. 


259 


of  affections  from  minds  which  af- 
fect anotiier  according  to  similitudes, 
and  excite  aversion  according  to  dis- 
simiUtudes.  These,  althougii  they  are 
innumerable,  and  are  not  sensibly  per- 
ceived by  any  sense  of  the  body,  are 
yet  perceived  by  the  sense  of  the  .soul 
as  one;  and  according  to  them  all  con- 
junctions and  consociations  in  the  spir- 
itual world  are  made.  These  things 
have  been  adduced,  that  those  things 
may  be  illustrated,  which  were  said 
above,  concerning  spiritual  light  which 
proceeds  from  the  Lord,  that  all  things 
of  wisdom,  and  thence  all  things  of 
faith,  are  therein ;  and  that  it  is  thai 
light  from  which  the  understanding 
sees  and  perceives  rational  things 
analytically,  as  the  eye  sees  and 
perceives  natural  things  symmetri- 
cally. 

366.  (3.)  That  those  Things  ichich 
Jlowinfrotn  the  Lord,  are  received  by 
Man  according  to  his  Form. 

By  form,  here,  is  meant  the  state  of 
man,  as  to  his  love  and  wisdom  togeth- 
er ;  hence  also  as  to  the  affections  of  the 
goods  of  his  charity,  and  at  the  same 
time,  as  to  the  perceptions  of  the  truths 
of  his  faith.  That  God  is  one,  indivisi- 
ble, and  the  same  from  eternity  to  eter- 
nity, not  the  same  simple,  but  infinite, 
and  that  all  variableness  is  in  the  sub- 
ject in  which  He  is,  was  shown  above. 
That  the  form  or  state  receiving,  in- 
duces variations,  may  be  evident  from 
the  life  of  infants,  of  children,  of  youths, 
of  adults,  and  of  old  people.  The  same 
life,  because  the  same  soul,  is  in  each 
one  from  infancy  to  old  age ;  but  as 
his  state  is  varied  according  to  ages 
and  accommodations,  so  also  life  is 
perceived.  The  life  of  God,  in  all  its 
fulness,  is  not  only  with  good  and  pi- 
ous men,  but  also  with  bad  and  impious 
men;  in  like  manner,  with  the  angels 
of  heaven  and  with  the  spirits  of  hell ; 
the  difference  is,  that  the  bad  stop  up 
the  way  and  shut  the  door,  that  God 
may  not  enter  into  the  lower  parts  of 
their  mind  ;  but  the  good  clear  out  the 
way  and  open  the  door,  and  also  invite 
God  to  enter  into  the  lower  parts  of 
their  mind,  as  He  dwells  in  the  highest 
parts  of  it ;  and  thus  they  form  the  state 


of  the  will  for  the  influx  of  love  and 
charity,  and  the  state  of  the  under- 
standing for  the  influx  of  wisdom  and 
faith,  con.scquently  for  the  reception 
of  God  ;  but  the  bad  obstruct  that  in- 
flux, by  various  lusts  of  the  flesh  and 
spiritual  defilements,  which  hinder  and 
stop  the  passage  :  but  still  God  resides 
in  the  highest  parts  of  them,  with  all 
his  divine  essence,  and  gives  them  the 
faculty  of  willing  good  and  of  under- 
standing truth,  which  faculty  every 
man  has,  but  which  he  would  not  have, 
unless  life  from  God  were  in  his  soul. 
That  the  bad  also  have  this  faculty, 
has  been  given  me  to  know,  by  much 
experience.  That  every  one  receives 
life  from  God,  according  to  his  form, 
may  be  illustrated  by  comparisons  with 
vegetables  of  every  kind.  Every  tree, 
every  shrub,  every  herb,  and  every 
blade  of  grass,  receives  the  influx  of 
heat  and  light,  according  to  its  form  ; 
thus  not  only  those  which  are  of  good 
use,  but  also  those  which  are  of  evil 
use ;  and  the  sun,  with  its  heat,  does 
not  change  their  forms,  but  the  forms 
change  its  effects  in  themselves.  It  is 
similar  with  the  subjects  of  the  mineral 
kingdom ;  each  of  them,  as  well  the 
excellent  as  the  mean,  receives  influx 
according  to  the  form  of  the  contexture 
of  the  parts  among  themselves ;  and  so 
one  stone  receives  it  differently  from 
another  stone,  one  mineral  differently 
from  another  mineral,  and  one  metal 
differently  from  another  metal.  Some 
of  them  variegate  themselves  with  most 
beautiful  colors,  some  transmit  the  light 
without  variegation,  and  some  confuse 
and  suffocate  the  light  in  themselves. 
From  these  few  cases,  it  may  be  evi- 
dent, that,  as  the  sun  of  the  world,  with 
its  heat  and  with  its  light,  is  equally 
present  in  one  object  as  in  another, 
but  that  the  recipient  forms  vary  its  op- 
erations ;  so  the  Lord,  from  the  sun  of 
heaven,  in  the  midst  of  which  He  is, 
is  universally  present,  with  its  heat, 
which  in  its  essence  is  love,  and  with  its 
light,  which  in  its  essence  is  wisdom ; 
but  that  the  form  of  man,  which  is  in- 
duced by  the  states  of  his  life,  varies 
the  operations  ;  consequently,  that  the 
Lord  is  not  the  cause  why  man  is  not 


260 


Concerning  Faith. 


regenerated  and  saved,  but  man  him- 
self. 

367.  (4.)  But  that  the  Man  who 
divides  the  Lord,  Charity  and  Faith, 
is  not  a  Form  receiving  but  a  Form  de- 
stroying them. 

For  he  who  separates  the  Lord  from 
charity  and  faith,  separates  life  from 
them,  which  being  separated,  charity 
and  faith  either  do  not  exist,  or  they 
are  abortions.  That  the  Lord  is  life 
itself,  may  be  seen  above,  n.  358.  He 
who  acknowledges  the  Lord,  and  sepa- 
rates charity,  acknowledges  Him  only 
with  the  lips :  his  acknowledgment 
and  confession  are  only  cold,  in  which 
there  is  no  faith  ;  for  they  are  desti- 
tute of  spiritual  essence,  for  charity  is 
the  essence  of  faith.  But  he  who 
does  charity,  and  does  not  acknowl- 
edge the  Lord,  that  He  is  the  God  of 
heaven  and  earth,  one  with  the  Father, 
as  He  himself  teaches,  does  no  other 
charity  than  merely  natural,  in  which 
there  is  not  eternal  life.  The  man  of 
the  church  knows,  that  all  good,  which 
in  itself  is  good,  is  from  God  ;  conse- 
quently, from  the  Lord,  who  is  the  true 
God  and  eternal  Life,  1  John  v.  20. 
In  like  manner,  charity,  because  good 
and  charity  are  one.  Tliat  faith,  sep- 
arate from  charity,  is  not  faith,  is  be- 
cause faith  is  the  light  of  man's  life, 
and  charity  is  the  heat  of  his  life ; 
wherefore,  if  charity  is  separated  from 
faith,  it  is  as  when  heat  is  separated 
from  light ;  thence  the  state  of  -man 
becomes  such  as  the  state  of  the  world 
is,  in  the  time  of  winter,  when  all  the 
things  upon  the  earth  die.  Charity 
and  faith,  that  chivrity  may  be  charity, 
and  faith  may  be  faith,  can  no  more  be 
separated,  than  the  will  and  the  under- 
standing; and  if  these  are  separated, 
the  understanding  becomes  nothing, 
and  presently  also  the  will :  the  reason 
why  it  is  similar  with  charity  and  faith, 
is,  because  charity  resides  in  the  will, 
and  faith  in  the  understanding.  To 
separate  charity  from  faith,  is  like  sep- 
arating essence  from  form  :  it  is  known, 
in  the  learned  world,  tliat  essence  with- 
out form  and  form  witliout  essence  is  not 
any  thing ;  for  essence  has  no  quality 
except  from  form,  nor  is  form  any  sub- 


sisting entity,  except  from  essence ;  con- 
sequently, there  is  not  any  predication 
concerning  either,  when  separated  from 
the  other.  Charity  also  is  tire  essence 
of  faith,  and  faith  is  the  form  of  chari- 
ty ;  just  as  it  was  said  above,  that  good 
is  the  essence  of  truth,  and  truth  the 
form  of  good.  These  two,  namely, 
good  and  truth,  are  in  each  and  every 
thing  that  exists  essentially;  where- 
fore charity,  because  it  is  of  good,  and 
faith,  because  it  is  of  truth,  may  be 
illustrated  by  comparisons  with  many 
things  in  the  human  body,  and  with 
many  things  upon  the  earth.  It  agrees 
by  comparison  with  the  respiration  of 
the  lungs  and  the  systolic  motion  of 
the  heart ;  for  charity  can  no  more  be 
separated  from  faith,  than  the  heart 
can  from  the  lungs  ;  for,  on  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  pulsation  of  the  heart,  the 
respiration  of  the  lungs,  immediately 
ceases;  and  on  the  cessation  of  the 
respiration  of  the  lungs,  there  takes 
place  a  failure  of  all  the  senses,  and 
also  a  privation  of  tlie  motion  of  all 
the  muscles,  and  sliortly  afterwards  the 
heart  also  ceases,  and  the  all  of  life  is 
dissipated.  This  comparison  agrees, 
since  the  heart  corresponds  to  the  will, 
and  thence  also  to  charity,  and  the 
respiration  of  the  lungs  to  the  under- 
standing, and  thence  also  to  faith  ; 
for,  as  was  said  above,  charity  resides 
in  the  will,  and  faith  in  the  under- 
standing ;  nor  is  any  thing  else  meant 
in  the  Word  by  heart  and  breath  (or 
spirit).  The  separation  of  charity  and 
faith  also  coincides  with  the  separa- 
tion of  the  blood  and  flesh  ;  for  the 
blood  separated  from  the  flesh  is  gore, 
and  becomes  corruption  ;  and  the  flesh 
separated  from  the  blood  gradually 
putrifies,  and  worms  are  bred  in  it. 
Blood  also,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  signi- 
fies the  truth  of  wisdom  and  faith,  and 
flesh  the  good  of  love  and  charity  : 
that  blood  signifies  this,  is  shown 
in  TUE  Apocalypse  Revealed,  n. 
379,  and  that  flesh  does,  n.  832. 
Charity  and  faith,  that  the  one  and 
the  other  may  be  any  thing,  can  no 
more  be  separated  than  meat  and 
water,  or  than  bread  and  wine,  with 
man ;  for  meat  and  bread,  taken  with- 


Concerning  Faith. 


261 


out  water  and  wine,  only  distend  tiie 
stomacli,  and,  like  undigested  masses, 
destroy  it,  and  become  as  putrid  mire  ; 
water  and  wine,  without  meat  and 
bread,  also  distend  the  stomach,  and 
likewise  the  vessels  and  pores,  which, 
thus  destitute  of  nutrition,  emaciate  the 
body  even  to  death.  This  comparison 
also  coincides,  since  meat  and  bread, 
in  the  spiritual  sense,  signify  the  good 
of  love  and  charity,  and  water  and 
wine  the  truth  of  wisdom  and  faith ; 
see  THE  Apocalypse  Revealed,  n. 
50,  316,  778,  932.  Charity  conjoined 
to  faith,  and  faith  conjoined  to  charity, 
may  be  likened  to  the  face  of  a  hand- 
some virgin,  beautiful  from  the  red 
and  white  mixed  with  each  other ; 
which  similitude  also  agrees,  since 
love  and  thence  charity,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  is  red  from  the  fire  of  the  sun 
there,  and  truth  and  thence  faith  is 
white  from  the  light  of  that  sun ; 
wherefore  charity  separated  from  faith 
may  be  likened  to  a  face  inflamed 
with  pimples,  and  faith  separated  from 
charity  may  be  likened  to  the  pallid 
face  of  a  corpse.  Faith  separated  from 
charity  may  also  be  likened  to  a  palsy 
in  one  side,  which  is  called  a  hemi- 
plegy,  of  which,  as  it  increases,  man 
dies.  It  may  also  be  likened  to  the 
St.  Vitus's  dance,  which  befalls  man 
from  the  bite  of  the  tarantula  :  like  to 
this  the  rational  faculty  becomes  ;  like 
this  it  dances  with  fury,  and  believes 
itself  to  be  then  alive  ;  and  yet  it  can 
no  more  collect  reasons  into  one,  and 
think  concerning  spiritual  truths,  than 
one  lying  in  bed  oppressed  with  the 
nightmare.  These  are  sufficient  for 
the  demonstration  of  the  two  theorems 
of  this  chapter ; — the  first,  That  faith 
without  charity  is  tiot  faith,  and  that 
charity  toithout  faith  is  not  charity, 
and  that  neither  lives,  except  from  the 
Lord ;  and  the  second,  That  the  Lord, 
charity  and  faith  make  one,  like  life, 
will,  and  understanding  in  man ;  and 
that,  if  they  are  divided,,  each  per- 
ishes like  a  pearl  reduced  to  powder. 

368.  VII.  That  the  Lord  ts 
Charity  and  Faith  in  Man,  and 
THAT  Man  is  Charity  and  Faith  in 
THE  Lord. 


That  the  man  of  the  church  is 
in  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  in  him,  is 
evident  from  these  passages  in  the 
Word ;  Jesus  said.  Abide  in  Me  and 
I  IN  YOU ;  /  am  the  Vine,  and  ye  the 
branches.  He  that  abidetii  in  Me, 
AND  I  IN  him,  bearcth  much  fruit, 
John  XV.  4,  5.  He  that  eateth  my 
fesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  abideth 
IN  Me  and  I  IN  him,  vi.  56.  In  that 
day  ye  shall  know,  that  I  am  in  my 
Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you, 
xiv.  20.  WJiosoever  confcsseth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  God  abideth 
in  him  and  he  in  God,  1  John  iv.  15. 
But  man  himself  cannot  be  in  the 
Lord,  but  charity  and  faith,  which  are 
with  man  from  the  Lord,  from  which 
two  man  is  essentially  man.  But  in 
order  that  this  arcanum  may  appear  in 
some  light  before  the  understanding, 
it  is  to  be  examined  in  this  series  :  (1.) 
That  conjunction  with  God  is  that  by 
which  man  has  salvation  and  eternal 
life.  (2.)  That  conjunction  toith  God 
the  Father  is  not  possible,  but  with  the 
Lord,  and  through  Him  with  God  the 
Father.  (3.)  That  conjunction  with  the 
Lord  is  reciprocal,  which  is,  that  the 
luord  is  in  man,  and  man  in  the  Lord. 
(4.)  That  this  reciprocal  conjunction 
is  effected  by  means  of  charity  and 
faith.  That  these  things  are  so,  will  be 
manifest  from  the  following  explanation. 

369.  (1.)  That  Conjunction  with 
God  is  that  by  which  Man  has  Salva- 
tion and  eternal  Life. 

Man  was  created  that  he  might  be 
conjoined  to  God  ;  for  he  was  created 
a  native  of  heaven,  and  also  a  native 
of  the  world  ;  and  so  far  as  he  is  a 
native  of  heaven,  he  is  spiritual,  but 
so  far  as  he  is  a  native  of  the  world,  he 
is  natural  ;  and  the  spiritual  man  can 
think  concerning  God,  and  perceive 
such  things  as  are  of  God,  and  also  can 
love  God,  and  be  affected  with  those 
things  which  are  from  God ;  from 
which  it  follows,  that  he  can  be  con- 
joined to  God.  That  man  can  think 
concerning  God,  and  perceive  such 
things  as  are  of  God,  is  beyond  all 
chance  of  doubt ;  for  he  can  think 
concerning  the  Unity  of  God,  concern- 
ing the  Esse  of  God,  which  is  Jehovah, 


262 


Concerning  Faith. 


concerning  the  Immensity  and  Eter- 
nity of  God,  concerning  the  Divine 
Love  and  Divine  Wisdom  which  make 
the  essence  of  God,  concerning  the 
Omnipotence,  the  Omniscience,  and 
the  Omnipresence  of  God,  concerning 
the  Lord  the  Savior  his  Son,  and  con- 
cerning Redemption  and  Mediation ; 
and  also  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  finally  concerning  the  Divine 
Trinity ;  all  which  are  of  God,  yea, 
are  God ;  and  moreover,  concerning 
the  operations  of  God,  which  are  prin- 
cipally faith  and  charity ;  besides 
other  things  which  proceed  from  these 
two.  That  man  can  not  only  think 
concerning  God,  but  also  love  God,  is 
evident  from  the  two  commandments 
of  God  himself,  which  run  thus :  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  thy 
whole  heart,  and  with  thy  xohole  soul; 
this  is  the  first  and  great  command- 
ment. T7ie  second  is  like  it;  Thoii 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
Matt.  xxii.  37  to  39 ;  Deut.  vi.  5.  That 
man  can  do  the  commandments  of 
God,  and  that  this  is  to  love  God,  and 
to  be  loved  by  God,  is  evident  from 
these  words ;  Jesus  said,  He  that  hath 
my  commandments,  and  docth  them,  he 
it  is  that  loveth  Me ;  and  he  that  loveth 
Me,  shall  be  loved  by  my  Father,  and 
I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  My- 
self to  him,  John  xiv.  2L  Besides, 
what  else  is  faith,  but  conjunction  with 
God  by  truths  which  are  of  the  under- 
standing and  thence  of  the  thought  ? 
and  what  is  love,  but  conjunction  with 
God  by  goods  which  are  of  the  will 
and  thence  of  the  affection  ?  The  con- 
junction of  God  with  man  is  spiritual 
conjunction  in  the  natural,  and  the 
conjunction  of  man  with  God  is  nat- 
ural conjunction  from  the  spiritual. 
For  the  sake  of  this  conjunction  as 
an  end,  man  was  created  a  native  of 
heaven,  and  at  the  same  time  of  the 
world ;  as  a  native  of  heaven  he  is 
spiritual,  and  as  a  native  of  the  world 
he  is  natural.  If  therefore  man  be- 
comes rational-spiritual,  and  at  the 
same  time  moral-spiritual,  he  is  con- 
joined to  God,  and  by  conjunction  has 
salvation  and  eternal  life.  But  if  man 
is  only  rational-natural,  and  likewise 


moral-natural,  there  is  indeed  a  con- 
junction of  God  with  him,  but  not  a 
conjunction  of  him  with  God ;  thence 
he  has  spiritual  death,  which,  viewed 
in  itself,  is  natural  life  without  spirit- 
ual ;  for  the  spiritual,  in  which  is  the 
life  of  God,  is  extinct  with  him. 

370.  (2. )  That  Conjunction  with  God 
the  Father  is  not  possible,  but  with  the 
Lord,  and  through  Him  with  God  the 
Father. 

This  the  Scripture  teaches,  and 
reason  sees.  The  Scripture  teaches, 
that  God  the  Father  was  never  seen  nor 
heard,  and  that  He  cannot  be  seen 
or  heard  ;  consequently  from  Himself, 
such  as  He  is  in  his  esse,  and  in  his 
essence.  He  cannot  operate  any  thing 
with  man  ;  for  the  Lord  says.  No  one 
hath  seen  God,  except  He  that  is  with 
the  Father,  He  hath  seen  the  Father, 
John  vi.  46.  JVo  one  knoweth  the  Fa- 
ther, except  the  Son,  and  he  to  whom  the 
Son  icilleth  to  reveal  Him,  Matt.  xi.  27. 
Yc  have  never  heard  the  voice  of  the 
Father,  nor  seen  his  shaj)e,  John  v.  37. 
The  reason  is,  because  He  is  in  the 
firsts  and  the  principles  of  all  things, 
thus  most  eminently  above  all  the 
sphere  of  the  human  mind  ;  for  He 
is  in  the  firsts  and  the  principles  of 
all  things  of  wisdom  and  all  things  of 
love,  with  which  man  has  no  possible 
conjunction.  Wherefore,  if  He  should 
come  to  man,  or  man  to  Him,  man 
would  be  consumed  and  dissolved,  like 
wood  in  the  focus  of  a  large  burning- 
glass  ;  or,  rather,  like  an  image  cast 
into  the  sun  itself ;  wherefore  it  was 
said  to  Moses,  who  desired  to  see  God, 
that  man  cannot  see  Him  and  live. 
Exod.  xxxiii.  20.  But  that  God  the 
Father  is  conjoined  through  the  Lord, 
is  evident  from  the  passages  just  ad- 
duced;  that  not  the  Father,  but  the 
only-begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father,  and  has  seen 
the  Father,  has  set  forth  and  reveal- 
ed the  things  whicli  are  of  God  and 
from  God.  And  moreover  from  these ; 
In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I 
am  in  my  Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and 
Jin  you,  John  xiv.  20.  /  have  given 
to  them  the  glory  which  Thou  gavcst 
to  Me,  that  they  may  be  one,  as  We  are 


Concerning  Faith. 


263 


one ;  I  in  them,  and  Thou  in  Me,  xvii. 
22,  2;1,  2(5.  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  Way, 
the  Truth,  and  the  Life ;  no  one  cometh 
to  the  Father,  but  through  Mt.  And 
then  Philip  wished  to  see  the  Father  ; 
to  whom  the  Lord  answered,  He  that 
seeth  Me,  secth  the  Father  also ;  and  he 
that  knoweth  Me,  knoweth  the  Father 
also;  xiv.  6,  7,  and  following  verses. 
And  in  another  place.  He  that  seeth 
Me,  seeth  Him  who  sent  Me,  xii.  45. 
And  moreover  He  says,  that  He  is  the 
Door,  and  that  he  that  entereth  through 
Him,  is  saved ;  and  that  he  that  climb- 
eth  up  any  other  way,  is  a  thief  and  a 
robber,  x.  1,  9.  And  also  He  says, 
that  He  that  abideth  not  in  Me  is  cast 
out,  and,  like  a  dried  branch,  is  thrown 
into  the  fire,  xv.  6.  The  reason  is, 
because  the  Lord  our  Savior  is  Jehovah 
the  Father  himself  in  the  human  form  ; 
for  Jehovah  descended  and  became 
Man,  that  He  might  be  able  to  come 
to  man,  and  man  to  Him,  and  thus 
conjunction  might  be  made,  and  by 
conjunction  man  might  have  salvation 
and  eternal  life.  For  when  God  be- 
came Man,  and  thus  also  became  God- 
Man,  being  then  accommodated  to 
man.  He  could  come  to  him,  and  be 
conjoined  to  him,  as  Man-God,  and 
God-Man.  There  are  three  things 
which  follow  in  order,  Accommod.4- 
TioN,  Application,  and  Conjunction. 
There  must  be  accommodation,  be- 
fore there  can  be  application,  and 
accommodation  and  application  to- 
gether, before  there  can  be  conjunc- 
tion. Accommodation  on  the  part  of 
God  was,  that  He  became  Man.  Ap- 
plication on  the  part  of  God  is  per- 
petual, so  far  as  man  applies  himself 
in  turn ;  and  as  this  is  done,  conjunc- 
tion also  is  effected.  These  three  fol- 
low and  proceed  in  their  order,  in  all 
and  each  of  the  things,  which  become 
one  and  coexist. 

371.  (3.)  That  Conjunction  tcith  the 
Lord  is  reciprocal,  which  is,  that  the 
Lord  is  in  Man,  and  Man  in  the  Lord. 

That  conjunction  is  reciprocal,  the 
Scripture  teaches,  and  reason  also  sees. 
The  Lord,  concerning  his  conjunction 
with  his  Father,  teaches  that  it  is  re- 
ciprocal ;  for  He  says  to  Philip,  Be- 


lievest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father, 
and  the  Father  in  Me.  Believe  Me, 
that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father 
in  Me,  John  xiv.  10,  11.  That  ye 
may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father 
is  in  Mc,  and  I  in  the  Father,  x.  38. 
Jesus  said,  Father,  the  hour  hath  come; 
glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  Thee,  xvii.  1.  Father, 
all  mine  are  thine,  and  all  thine  are 
mine,  xvii.  10.  The  Lord  says  the 
same  concerning  his  conjunction  with 
man,  namely,  that  it  is  reciprocal ;  for 
He  says.  Abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  you ; 
He  that  abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in 
him,  beareth  much  fruit,  John  xv.  4, 
5.  He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drink- 
eth  my  blood,  abideth  in  Me  and  I 
in  Him,  vi.  56.  In  that  day  ye  shall 
know  that  I  am  in  my  Father,  and  ye 
IN  Me,  and  I  in  you,  xiv.  20.  He 
that  docth  the  commandments  of  Christ 

ABIDETH  IN  HiM,  AND   He    IN  HIM,  1 

John  iii.  24  ;  iv.  13.  WJiosoever  con- 
fesseth  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God, 
God  abideth  in  him,  and  he  in  God, 
iv.  15.  Whosoever  heareth  my  voice, 
and  openeth  the  door,  I  will  go  in  to 
him,  and  I  will  sup  with  him,  and 
HE  WITH  Me,  Rev.  iii.  20.  From 
these  plain  declarations,  it  is  evident, 
that  the  conjunction  of  the  Lord  and 
man  is  reciprocal ;  and  because  it  is 
reciprocal,  it  follows  of  course  that 
man  ought  to  conjoin  himself  with  the 
Lord,  that  the  Lord  may  conjoin  him- 
self with  him  ;  and  that,  otherwise,  a 
conjunction  would  not  be  effected,  but 
a  recession,  and  thence  a  separation  ; 
yet  this  not  on  the  part  of  the  Lord, 
but  on  the  part  of  man.  That  there 
may  be  this  reciprocal  conjunction, 
free  choice  is  given  toman,  from  which 
he  can  enter  the  way  to  heaven  or  the 
way  to  hell.  From  this  freedom,  given 
to  man,  flows  his  reciprocal  faculty, 
which  can  conjoin  itself  with  the  Lord, 
and  which  can  conjoin  itself  with 
the  devil.  But  that  liberty,  its  qual- 
ity, and  the  reason  why  it  is  given  to 
man,  will  be  illustrated  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters,  where  we  shall  treat  con- 
cerning Free  Agency,  concerning  Re- 
pentance, concerning  Reformation  and 
Regeneration,  and  concerning  Impu- 


264 


Concerning  Faith. 


tation.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  that  the 
reciprocal  conjunction  of  the  Lord  and 
man,  although  it  stands  forth  so  clearly 
in  the  Word,  is  still  unknown  in  the 
Christian  church.  That  it  is  unknown, 
is  on  account  of  hypothetical  things 
concerning  faith  and  concerning  free 
agency.  The  hypothetical  things  con- 
cerning faith,  are,  that  faith  is  be- 
stowed without  man's  contributing  any 
thing  to  procure  it,  or  accommodating 
and  applying  inmself  to  receive  it,  any 
more  than  a  stock.  The  hypothetical 
things  concerning  free  agency,  are, that 
man  lias  not  even  a  grain  of  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things.  But  that  the  re- 
ciprocal conjunction  of  the  Lord  and 
man,  on  which  the  salvation  of  the 
human  race  depends,  may  be  no  longer 
concealed  and  unknown,  necessity 
itself  enjoins  that  it  be  disclosed,  which 
cannot  be  done  better,  tlian  by  exan;- 
plcs,  because  these  illustrate. 

There  are  two  reciprocations  by 
which  conjunction  is  elfected ;  one  is 
ALTERNATE,  and  the  other  is  MUTt  Ai.. 
The  alternate  reciprocation  by  whicli 
conjunction  is  effected,  may  be  illus- 
trated by  the  respiration  of  the  lungs. 
Man  draws  in  the  air,  and  thereby 
dilates  the  thorax ;  and  afterwards  he 
emits  the  air,  which  was  drawn  in,  and 
thereby  compresses  the  thorax.  That 
attraction  and  thence  dilatation  is  eft'ect- 
ed  by  means  of  the  incumbency  of  the 
air,  according  to  its  colunm ;  but  that 
emission  and  conseciuent  compression 
is  effected  by  means  of  the  ribs,  from  the 
strength  of  the  muscles.  Such  is  the 
reciprocal  conjunction  of  the  air  and 
the  lungs,  on  which  depends  the  life 
of  the  sen.ses  and  motions  of  the  whole 
body ;  for,  when  respiration  ceases, 
sensation  and  motion  also  cease.  The 
reciprocal  conjunction,  which  is  ef- 
fected by  alternate  things,  may  be 
illustrated  also  by  the  conjunction  of 
the  heart  with  the  lungs,  and  of  tiie 
lungs  with  tlie  heart.  The  heart,  fioni 
its  right  ventricle,  pours  the  blood  into 
the  lungs,  and  the  lungs  pour  it  back 
into  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart ;  thus 
this  reciprocal  conjunction  is  effected, 
on  which  the  life  of  the  whole  body 
entirely  depends.    Similar  is  the  con- 


junction of  the  blood  with  the  neart, 
and  of  the  heart  with  the  blood ;  the 
blood  of  the  whole  body  flows  through 
the  veins  into  the  heart,  and  it  flows 
out  from  the  heart  through  the  arteries 
into  the  whole  body ;  action  and  re- 
action make  this  conjunction.  There 
is  a  similar  action  and  reaction,  by 
which  conjunction  continues,  between 
the  embryo  and  the  womb  of  the  mother. 
But  such  is  not  the  reciprocal  con- 
junction of  the  Lord  and  man,  but  it 
•is  a  mutual  conjunction,  which  is  not 
effected  by  action  and  reaction,  but  by 
cooperations ;  for  the  Lord  acts,  raid 
man  receives  action  from  the  Lord,  and 
operates  as  from  himself;  yea,  of  him- 
self, from  the  Lord.    This  operation  of 
man  from  the  Lord,  is  imputed  to  l:im 
as  his,  since  he  is,  from  the  Lord,  con- 
tinually kept  in  free  agency.   The  free 
agency  resulting  thence  is,  that  he 
can  will  and  that  he  can  think  from 
the  Lord,  that  is,  from  the  Word ;  and 
also  that  he  can  will  and  think  from 
tlie  devil,  that  is,  against  the  Lord  and 
the  Word.    The  Lord  gives  to  man 
tins  freedom,  that  he  may  be  able  to 
conjoin  himself  reciprocally,  and  by 
conjunction  be  gifted  with  eternal  life 
and  happiness ;  for  this,  without  re- 
ciprocal conjunction,  is  not  j)ossible. 
This  reciprocal  conjunction,  which  is 
nmtual,  may  also  be  illustrated  by 
various  things   in  man,  and  in  the 
v.  orld.    Such  is  the  conjunction  of  the 
soul  and  body  with  every  man ;  such 
is  the  conjunction  of  the  will  and  ac- 
tion, and  such  is  that  of  the  thought 
and  speech;  such  also  is  that  of  the 
two  eyes  with  each  other,  of  the  two 
ears  with  each  other,  and  of  the  two 
nostrils  with  each  other.     That  the 
conjunction  of  the  two  eyes  is  in  its 
own  way  reciprocal,  is  manifest  from 
the  optic  nerve,  in  which  the  fibres 
from   both  hemispheres  of  the  brain 
arc  folded  together  among  themselves, 
and,  thus  folded  together,  tiiey  extend 
to  both  the  eyes;  it  is  similar  with  the 
ears  and  nostrils.    Similar  is  the  mu- 
tual reciprocal  conjunction  of  light  and 
the  eye,  of  sound  and  the  ear,  of  smell 
and  the  nostril,  of  ta.'ste  and  the  tongue, 
of  touch  and  the  body  •,  for  tiie  eye  is 


Concerning  Faith. 


265 


in  the  light  and  the  light  is  in  the  eye, 
sound  is  in  the  ear  and  the  ear  is  in 
the  sound,  smell  is  in  the  nostril  and 
the  nostril  is  in  the  smell,  taste  is  in  the 
tongue  and  the  tongue  is  in  the  taste, 
and  touch  is  in  the  body  and  the  body 
is  in  the  touch.  This  reciprocal  con- 
junction may  also  be  compared  with 
the  conjunction  of  a  horse  and  a  char- 
iot, of  an  ox  and  a  plough,  of  a  wheel 
and  a  machinejof  a  sail  and  the  wind, 
of  a  flute  and  the  air ;  in  short,  such  is 
the  reciprocal  conjunction  of  the  end 
and  the  cause,  and  such  is  that  of  the 
cause  and  the  effect;  but  to  explain 
each  of  these  cases  particularly,  I 
have  not  leisure,  because  it  is  a  work 
of  many  pages. 

372.  (4.)  That  this  reciprocal  Con- 
junction of  the  Lord  and  Man  is  ef- 
fected by  Means  of  Charity  and  Faith. 

It  is  known,  at  this  day,  that  the 
church  makes  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
that  every  one  in  whom  the  church  is, 
is  in  some  member  of  that  body,  ac- 
cording to  Paul,  Eph.  i.  24;  1  Cor.  xii. 
27 ;  Rom.  xii.  4,  5.  But  what  is  the 
body  of  Christ,  but  divine  good  and 
divine  truth?  This  is  meant  by  the 
words  of  the  Lord  in  John,  He  that 
eateth  my  fiesh  and  drinketh  my  blood, 
abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  vi.  56. 
By  the  flesh  of  the  Lord,  as  also  by 
bread,  is  meant  the  divine  good,  and 
by  his  blood,  as  also  by  wine,  is  meant 
the  divine  truth  ;  that  these  things  are 
meant  will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Supper.  Thence 
it  follows,  that,  as  far  as  man  is  in  the 
goods  of  charity,  and  in  the  truths  of 
faith,  so  far  he  is  in  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  in  him  ;  for  conjunction  with  the 
Lord  is  spiritual  conjunction,  and  spir- 
itual conjunction  is  effected  solely  by 
means  of  charity  and  faith.  That 
there  is  a  conjunction  of  the  Lord  and 
the  church,  and  thence  of  the  good  and 
the  true,  in  all  and  every  part  of  the 
Word,  was  shown  in  the  chapter  con- 
cerning THE  Sacred  Scripture,  n. 
248  to  2-53  ;  and  because  charity  is 
good,  and  faith  is  truth,  there  is  every 
where  in  the  Word  a  conjunction  of 
charity  and  faith.  Hence,  now,  it  fol- 
34 


lows,  THAT  THE  LoRD  IS  CHARITY  AND 
FAITH  IN  MAN,  AND  THAT  MAN  IS 
CHARITY    AND    FAITH    IN  THE   LoRD  ; 

for  the  Lord  is  spiritual  charity  and 
faith  in  the  natural  charity  and  faith 
of  man,  and  man  is  natural  charity  and 
faith  from  the  spiritual  of  the  Lord, 
which,  conjoined,  make  spiritual-natu- 
ral charity  and  faith. 

373.  Vni.  That  Charity  and 
Faith  are  together  in  good  Works. 

In  every  work  which  proceeds  from 
man,  the  whole  man  is,  such  as  he  is 
as  to  the  mind,  or  such  as  he  is  essen- 
tially. By  the  mind  is  meant  the 
affection  of  his  love  and  the  thought 
thence  ;  these  form  his  nature,  in  gen- 
eral his  life.  If  we  contemplate  works 
thus,  they  are,  as  it  were,  mirrors  of 
the  man.  This  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  like  in  the  case  of  beasts  and  wild 
beasts ;  a  beast  is  a  beast,  and  a  wild 
beast  is  a  wild  beast,  in  all  their  acts. 
A  wolf  is  a  wolf  in  all  his,  and  a  tiger 
is  a  tiger  in  all  his ;  a  fox  is  a  fox  in  all 
his,  and  a  lion  is  a  lion  in  all  his;  in 
like  manner,  a  sheep  and  a  kid  in  all 
theirs.  And  so  likewise  is  man,  but 
he  is  such  as  he  is  in  his  internal  man ; 
if  in  this  he  is  like  a  wolf  or  like  a 
fox,  all  his  works  are  internally  those 
of  a  wolf  or  a  fox;  and  so  also,  if  he 
is  like  a  sheep  or  a  lamb.  But  that 
he  is  such  in  all  his  works,  is  not  mani- 
fest in  his  external  man,  because  this 
is  easily  turned  about  the  internal; 
but  still  it  is  inwardly  concealed  in 
this.  The  Lord  says,  A  good  man, 
from  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart, 
bring eth  forth  good;  and  an  evil  man, 
from  the  evil  treasure  of  his  heart, 
bringeth  forth  evil,  Luke  vi.  45.  And 
also.  Every  tree  is  knoicn  from  its  own 
fruit ;  from  thorns  they  do  not  gather 
fgs,  nor  from  a  bramble-bush  do  they 
gather  grapes,  vi.  44.  That  man,  in 
each  and  every  thing  that  proceeds 
from  him,  is  such  as  he  is  in  his  inter- 
nal man,  manifests  itself  to  the  life 
with  him  after  death  ;  since  he  then 
lives  an  internal  man,  and  no  longer 
an  external.  That  good  is  in  man, 
and  that  every  work  which  proceeds 
from  him  is  good,  when  the  Lord 


266 


Concerning  Faith. 


charity  and  faith  reside  in  his  internal 
man,  will  be  demonstrated  in  this  series: 
(1.)  That  charity  is  to  will  icell,  and 
that  good  works  arc  to  do  well  from 
toilling  well.  (2.)  That  charity  and 
faith  arc  only  mental  and  perishable 
things,  unless,  when  it  can  be  done,  they 
are  determined  to  works,  and  coexist 
in  than.  (3.)  That  charity  alone  does 
not  produce  good  works,  and  still  less 
faith  alone;  but  that  tliey  are  pro- 
duced by  charity  and  faith  together. 
But  of  these,  one  by  one. 

374.  (1.)  That  Charity  is  to  will 
well,  and  that  good  Works  are  to  do 
well  from  icilling  well. 

Charity  and  works  are  distinct  from 
each  other,  like  will  and  action,  and 
like  an  affection  of  the  mind  and  an 
operation  of  the  body ;  consequently, 
also,  like  the  internal  man  and  the  ex- 
ternal ;  and  these  are  distinct  from 
each  other  like  cause  and  effect,  since 
the  causes  of  all  things  are  formed  in 
the  internal  man,  and  all  effects  are 
produced  thence  in  the  external ;  where- 
fore charity,  because  it  is  of  the  inter- 
nal man,  is  to  will  well,  and  works, 
because  tiiey  are  of  the  external  man, 
are  to  do  well  from  willing  well.  But 
still  there  is  an  infinite  diversity  be- 
tween the  good  will  of  one  and  of 
another ;  for  all  that  is  believed  or 
appears  to  flow  froni  good  will  or  be- 
nevolence, which  is  done  by  any  one 
iu  favor  of  another ;  but  still  it  is  not 
known  whether  the  good  deeds  arc 
from  charity,  still  less  from  what  char- 
ity, genuine  or  spurious.  That  infinite 
diversity  between  the  good  will  of  one 
and  another,  derives  its  origin  from  the 
end,  intention,  and  consequent  pur- 
pose ;  these  are  inwardly  concealed  in 
the  will  of  acting  well ;  the  quality  of 
every  one's  will  is  thence.  And  the 
will  seeks  ways  and  means  of  arriving 
at  its  ends,  which  are  effects,  in  the  un- 
derstanding, and  therein  it  puts  itself 
into  the  ligiit,  that  it  may  not  only  see 
the  reasons,  but  also  the  occasions, 
when  and  how  it  is  to  determine  itself 
to  acts,  and  thus  produce  its  effects, 
which  are  works ;  and  at  the  same 
time,  in  the   understanding,  it  puts 


itself  into  the  power  of  acting ;  whence 
it  follows,  that  works  are  essentially  of 
the  will,  formally  of  the  understanding, 
and  actually  of  the  body.  Thus  char- 
ity descends  into  good  works.  This 
may  be  illustrated  by  comparison  with 
a  tree.  Man  himself,  as  to  all  the 
things  of  him,  is  like  a  tree.  In  the 
seed  of  this  there  is  concealed,  as  it 
were,  the  end,  intention,  and  purpose 
of  producing  fruits ;  in  these  the  seed 
corresponds  to  the  will  with  man,  in 
which,  as  was  said,  are  those  three 
things.  Then  the  seed,  from  its  interi- 
ors, springs  out  of  the  earth,  and  clothes 
itself  with  branches,  twigs  and  leaves, 
and  thus  prepares  for  itself  means  to 
the  ends,  which  are  fruits ;  in  these 
the  tree  corresponds  to  the  under- 
standing with  man.  And,  finally, 
when  the  time  approaches,  and  oppor- 
tunity of  determination  is  given,  it 
blosf'oms  and  produces  fruits ;  in  these 
the  tree  corresponds  to  good  works 
with  man;  and  it  is  manifest,  that  the 
fruit  is  essentially  of  the  seed,  formally 
of  the  twigs  and  leaves,  and  actually 
of  the  wood  of  the  tree.  This  may 
also  be  illustrated  by  comparison  with 
a  temple.  Man  is  a  temple  of  God, 
according  to  Paul ;  1  Cor.  iii.  16,  17 ; 
2  Cor.  vi.  16;  Ephes.  ii.  21,22.  As  a 
temple  of  God,  man  has  for  his  end, 
intention  and  purpose,  salvation  and 
etcrnd  life;  in  these  there  is  a  cor- 
respondence v.'itli  tlic  will,  in  which 
are  those  three  things.  Afterwards, 
he  derives  the  doctrinals  of  faith  and 
charity  from  parents,  masters,  and 
preachers,  and,  when  he  becomes  ca- 
pable of  judging  for  himself,  from  the 
Word  and  from  doctrinal  books,  all 
which  are  means  to  the  end;  in  these 
there  is  a  correspondence  with  the  un- 
den-^tanding.  Finally,  tlicre  is  made  a 
determination  to  uses  according  to  the 
doctrinals  as  means,  which  is  done 
by  acts  of  the  body,  which  are  called 
good  works.  Thus  the  end,  by  me- 
diate causes,  produces  effects,  which, 
essentially,  are  of  the  end,  formally, 
of  the  doctrinals  of  the  church,  and 
actually,  of  uses.  Thus  man  becomes 
a  temple  of  God. 


Concerning  Faith. 


267 


375.  (2.)  Tha(  Charity  and  Faith 
are  only  mental  and  perishable  Things, 
unless,  when  it  can  be  dune,  they  arc 
determined  to  Works,  and  coexist  in 
them. 

Has  not  man  a  head  and  a  body, 
which  are  joined  together  by  the  neck  ? 
Is  there  not  a  mind  in  the  head,  whicli 
wills  and  tliinks,  and  power  in  the 
body,  which  performs  and  executes  ? 
If,  therefore,  man  should  only  will 
well,  or  think  from  charity,  and  should 
not  do  well  and  perform  uses  thence, 
would  not  man  be  like  a  head  alone, 
and  thus  like  a  mind  alone,  which 
alone  without  a  body  cannot  subsist  ? 
Who  does  not  see,  thence,  that  charity 
and  faith  are  not  charity  and  faitii, 
when  they  are  only  in  the  liead  and  its 
mind,  and  not  in  the  body  ?  For  they 
are  then  like  birds  flying  in  the  air, 
without  any  rest  upon  the  earth  ;  and, 
also,  like  birds  impregnated  with  eggs, 
without  nests,  from  which  the  eggs 
would  drop  into  the  air  or  upon  the 
branch  of  some  tree,  and  fall  down  to 
the  ground  and  be  broicen.  There  is 
not  any  thing  in  the  mind,  to  which 
something  in  the  body  does  not  corres- 
pond ;  and  this,  which  corresponds, 
may  be  called  the  embodying  of  that ; 
wherefore  charity  and  faith,  whilst 
they  are  only  in  the  mind,  are  not  in- 
corporated in  man,  and  then  they  may 
be  likened  to  an  aerial  man,  who  is 
called  a  spectre,  such  as  Fame  was 
painted  by  the  ancients,  with  a  laurel 
around  the  head,  and  a  cornucopia  in 
the  hand.  Those  persons,  because 
they  are  such  spectres,  and  still  are  able 
to  think,  cannot  but  be  disturbed  by 
fantasies,  which  also  is  done  by  rea- 
sonings from  various  sophistical  things, 
scarcely  otherwise  than  fenny  bulrushes 
are  disturbed  by  the  wind,  under  which 
shells  lie  at  the  bottom,  and  frogs 
croak  on  the  surface.  Who  cannot 
see  that  such  things  take  place,  when 
they  only  know  some  things  from  the 
Word  concerning  charity "  and  faith, 
and  do  not  do  them  ?  The  Lord  also 
says.  Every  one  who  heareth  my 

WORDS  AND  DOETH  THEM,  /  wHl  COm- 

pare  to  a  prudent  man,  who  built  his 
house  upon  a  7-OQk.    But  every  one 


WHO  heareth  my  words  and  DOETH 

them  NOT,  shaWbe  compared  to  a  fool- 
ish man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the 
sand,  or  upon  the  ground  without  a 
foundation.  Matt.  vii.  24,  2G ;  Luke 
vi.  47,  48,  49.  Charity  and  faith,  with 
the  factitious  ideas  of  them,  while  man 
does  not  practise  them,  may  be  com- 
pared also  with  butterflies  in  the  air, 
at  which,  when  seen,  a  sparrow  flies 
and  devours  them.  The  Lord  also 
says,  A  sower  went  forth  to  sow ;  and 
some  fell  upon  the  hard'  road,  and  the 
birds  came  and  ate  it  up.  Matt.  xiii. 
3,  4. 

376.  That  charity  and  faith  conduce 
nothing  to  man,  while  they  inhere  only 
in  one  hemispliere  of  his  body,  that  is, 
in  his  head,  and  are  not  grounded  in 
works,  is  evident  from  a  thousand 
passages  in  the  Word,  of  which  I  shall 
adduce  only  these  :  .Every  tree  which 

DOTH    NOT   bear   GOOD    FRUIT,    is  CUt 

doion,  and  cast  into  the  fire.  Matt.  vii. 
19,  20,  2L  That  which  was  sown  into 
good  ground,  is  he  that  heareth  the 
Word  and  attendeth,  and  bearcth  fruit 
and  doeth.  When  Jesus  said  these 
things.  He  cried  aloud,  saying.  He  that 
hath  cars  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  Matt, 
xiii.  9  to  23.  Jesus  said.  My  mother 
and  my  brethren  are  these  who  hear 
the  Word  of  God  and  do  it,  Luke  viii. 
2L  We  know  that  God  heareth  not 
sinners,  but  if  any  one  icorshippctli  God, 
and  DOETH  His  will.  He  heareth  him, 
John  ix.  3L  If  ye  know  these  things, 
happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them,  xiii.  17. 
He  that  hath  my  commandments,  and 
DOETH  THEM,  hc  it  is  that  loveth  Me, 
and  I  roill  love  him,  and  loill  manifest 
Myself  to  him ;  and  I  will  come  to  him 
and  make  an  abode  icith  him,  xiv.  15 
to  21.    By  this  is  my  Father  glorified, 

that  YE  bear  MUCH  fruit,  XV.  15,  16. 

Not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  justifed 
by  God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law,  Rom. 
ii.  13  ;  James  i.  22.  God,  in  the  day 
of  anger  and  just  judgment,  will  render 
to  every  one  according  to  his  works, 
Rom.  ii.  5,  8.  We  all  must  appear 
before  the  judgment-scat  of  Christ,  that 
every  one  may  receive  the  things  done 
in  the  body  according  to  what  he 
hath  done,  whether  good  or  bad,  2  Cor. 


268 


Concerning  Faith. 


V.  10.  The  Son  of  Man  is  about  to  come 
in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  and  then 
He  will  render  to  every  one  ac- 
cording to  HIS  deeds,  Matt.  xvi.  27.  / 
heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying, 
Blessed  are  the  dead,  who  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors, 

THEIR  WORKS  FOLLOW     WITH  THEM, 

Rev.  xiv.  13.  A  book  was  opened, 
which  is  the  book  of  life,  and  the  dead 
were  judged  according  to  those  things 
ivhich  were  written  in  the  book,  all  ac- 
cording TO  THEIR  WORKS,  XX.  12,  13. 

Behold,  I  come  quickly,  and  my  retoard 
is  loith  Me,  that  I  may  give  to  every 

one  ACCORDING   TO    HIS   WORKS,  RcV. 

xxii.  12.  Jehovah,  whose  eyes  are  open 
upon  (dl  the  ways  of  men,  to  give  to 
every  one  according  to  his  ways,  and 

according  TO  THE  FRUIT  OF  HIS  WORKS, 

Jerem.  xxxi.  19.  /  ivill  visit  accord- 
ing to  his  loays,  and  I  icill  render  to 
HIM  HIS  WORKS,  Hosca  iv.  9.  Jeho- 
vah dealcth  with  us  according  to  our 

lOayS,  AND  according  to  our  WORKS, 

Zech.  i.  G :  besides  in  a  thousand 
other  passages.  Whence  it  may  be 
evident,  that  charity  and  faith  are  not 
charity  and  faith,  before  they  are  in 
work.s,  and  that,  if  they  are  only  above 
worivs,  in  the  expanse,  or  in  tlie  mind, 
they  are  hke  nnages  of  a  tabernacle  or 
of  a  temple  in  the  air,  which  are  nothing 
but  meteors,  and  disappear  of  them- 
selves ;  and  that  they  are  like  pictures 
upon  paper,  which  moth.s  consume ; 
as  also  that  they  are  like  habitations 
upon  the  house  top  where  there  is  no 
bed,  and  not  in  the  house.  Hence, 
now,  it  may  be  seen,  that  charity  and 
faith  are  perishable  things,  while  they 
are  only  mental,  unless,  when  it  can 
be  done,  they  are  determined  to  works, 
and  coexist  in  them. 

377.  (3.)  That  Charity  alone  does 
not  produce  good  Works,  still  less  Faith 
alone,  but  Charity  and  Faith  together. 

The  reason  is,  because  charity  with- 
out faith  is  not  charity,  neither  is  faith 
without  charity  faith,  as  was  shown 
above,  n.  355  to  358 ;  wherefore,  ciiar- 
ity  alone  is  not  given,  nor  faith  alone ; 
thence  it  cannot  be  said,  that  charity 
by  itself  produces  any  good  works,  nor 


that  faith  by  itself  does.  The  case 
here  is  similar  to  that  of  the  will  and 
the  understanding.  A  solitary  will 
does  not  exist,  wherefore  it  does  not 
produce  any  thing ;  neither,  does  a 
solitary  understanding  exist,  and  hence 
does  not  produce  any  thing ;  but  all 
production  is  effected  by  both  together, 
and  it  is  effected  by  the  understanding 
from  the  will.  That  it  is  similar,  is, 
because  the  will  is  the  habitation  of 
charity,  and  the  understanding  is  the 
habitation  of  faith.  It  is  said.  Still 
less  does  faith  alone;  it  is  because 
faith  is  truth,  and  the  operation  of  it  is 
to  do  truths,  and  these  illuminate  char- 
ity and  its  exercises.  That  they  illu- 
minate, the  Lord  teaches  by  saying, 
He  who  doeth  the  truth,  comcth  to  the 
light,  that  his  works  may  be  manifested, 
since  they  are  done  in  God,  John  iii. 
Wherefore,  when  man  does  good  works 
according  to  truths,  he  does  them  in 
the  light,  that  is,  intelligently  and 
wisely.  The  conjunction  of  charity 
and  faith  is  like  the  marriage  of  hus- 
band and  wife.  All  natural  offspring 
are  born  from  the  husband  as  father, 
and  from  the  wife  as  mother;  in  like 
manner,  all  spiritual  offspring,  which 
are  the  knowledges  of  good  and  truth, 
are  born  from  charity  as  father,  and 
from  faith  as  mother.  From  this  the 
generation  of  spiritual  families  may  be 
known.  In  the  Word,  also,  in  the 
spiritual  sense,  by  husband  and  father 
is  signified  the  good  of  cliarity,  and  l)y 
w'ife  and  mother  the  truth  of  faith. 
Hence  also  it  is  manifest,  that  not 
charity  alone  nor  faith  alone  can  pro- 
duce good  works,  as  neither  a  husband 
alone,  nor  a  wife  alone,  can  produce 
any  offspring.  The  truths  of  faith  not 
only  illuminate  charity,  but  they  also 
qualify  it,  and,  moreover,  nourish  it; 
wherefore,  a  man  who  has  charity  and 
not  the  truths  of  faith,  is  like  one  walk- 
ing in  a  garden  in  the  time  of  night, 
who  plucks  fruit  from  the  trees,  and 
knows  not  whether  it  be  of  good  use, 
or  of  bad  use.  Since  the  truths  of 
faith  not  only  illuminate  charity,  but 
also  qualify  it,  as  was  said,  it  follows, 
that  charity,  without  the  truths  of 
faith,  is  like  fruit  without  juice,  like  a 


Concerning  Faith. 


269 


parched  fig,  and  like  a  grape  after  the 
wine  is  pressed  out  of  it ;  since  truths 
nourish  faith,  as  was  also  said,  it  fol- 
lows, tliat,  if  charity  is  without  the 
truths  of  faith,  it  has  no  other  nourish- 
ment than  man  has  from  eating  burnt 
bread,  and  at  the  same  time  drinking 
dirty  water  from  some  pond. 

378.  IX.  That  there  is  a  true 
Faith,  a  spurious  Faith,  and  a  hypo- 
critical Faith. 

The  Christian  church,  in  its  infan- 
cy, began  to  be  infested  and  rent 
asunder  by  schisms  and  heresies,  and 
in  process  of  time  to  be  lacerated  and 
mangled,  scarcely  otherwise  than  as  it 
is  read  concerning  the  man  who  went 
down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  and 
was  surrounded  by  robbers,  who,  after 
they  had  stripped  him  and  beaten  him, 
left  him  half  dead,  Luke  x.  30.  Whence 
it  has  come  to  pass,  as  it  is  read  con- 
cerning that  church  in  Daniel;  At 
length  upon  the  bird  of  abominations 
shall  be  desolation,  and  even  to  con- 
summation and  decision,  it  shall  drop 
upon  the  devastation,  ix.  27.  And  ac- 
cording to  these  words  of  the  Lord ; 
Then  shall  the  end  come,  when  ye  shall 
see  the  abomination  of  desolation  fore- 
told by  the  prophet  Daniel,  Matt.  xxiv. 
14,  15.  Its  condition  may  be  com- 
pared with  a  ship  laden  with  merchan- 
dise of  the  greatest  value,  which,  as 
soon  as  it  had  got  out  of  the  harbor, 
was  immediately  tossed  about  by  tem- 
pests, and  presently,  being  wrecked  in 
the  sea,  sunk  to  the  bottom,  and  then 
its  merchandise  is  partly  corrupted  by 
the  water,  and  partly  torn  to  pieces  by 
fishes.  That  the  Christian  church, 
from  its  infancy,  was  so  vexed  and  torn, 
is  evident  from  ecclesiastical  history  ; 
e.  g.,  in  the  very  time  of  the  apostles, 
by  Si.MON,  who  was  by  birth  a  Samari- 
tan, and  by  trade  a  sorcerer,  of  whom 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  viii.  9, 
and  following  verses ;  and  also  by  Hy- 
MENEus  and  Philetus,  who  are  men- 
tioned by  Paul  in  the  epistle  to  Timo- 
thy ;  as  also  by  Nicolaus,  from  whom 
the  Nicolaitans  were  so  called,  who 
are  mentioned  in  Rev.  ii.  6,  and  Acts 
vi.  5 ;  besides  by  Cerinthus.  After 
the  times  of  the  apostles,  many  others 


rose  up,  as  the  Marcionites,  Noe- 

TIANS,    VaLENTINIANS,  ENCR.VriTES, 

Cataphrygians,  Quarto-decimans, 
Alogians,  Catharians,  Origenists 
or  Adamites,  Sabellians,  Samosa- 
tenes,  ManichjEans,  Meletians,  and 
lastly  Arians.  After  the  times  of 
these,  also,  troops  of  heresiarchs  in- 
vaded the  church,  as  the  Dona- 
TisTS,  Photinians,  Acatians  or  Se- 
miarians,  eunomians,  macedonians, 
Nestorians,   Predestinarians,  Pa- 

PAEI,       ZuiNGLIANS,  An.\BAPTISTS, 

Schwenckfeldians,  Synergists,  So- 
cinians,  Antitrinitawans,  Quak- 
ers, Moravians,  besides  many  others; 
and  at  length  over  these  have  prevail- 
ed Luther,  Melancthon  and  Cal- 
vin, whose  dogmas  reign  at  this  day. 
The  causes  of  so  many  divisions  and 
seditions  in  the  church  are  principally 
three  ;  First,  That  the  Divine  Trinity 
was  not  understood ;  Second,  That 
there  was  no  just  knowledge  of  the 
Lord;  Third,  That  the  passion  of  the 
cross  was  taken  for  redemption  itself. 
When  these  three  things  are  unknown, 
which  yet  are  the  very  essentials  of  the 
faith  from  which  the  church  is  and  is 
called  a  church,  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise than  that  all  the  things  of  the 
church  should  be  diverted  into  the 
wrong  course;  and  at  length  into  the 
opposite,  and  when  there,  should  still 
believe  that  it  is  in  the  true  faith  in 
God,  and  in  the  faith  of  all  the  truths 
of  God.  It  is  similar  with  these,  as 
with  those  who  cover  their  eyes  with  a 
handkerchief,  and  thus  in  their  own 
fancy  walk  in  a  straight  line,  and  yet, 
step  after  step,  they  deviate  from  it, 
and  at  length  turn  into  the  opposite 
direction,  where  there  is  a  cavern,  into 
which  they  fall.  But  the  man  of  the 
church  cannot  be  led  back  from  his 
wandering,  into  the  way  of  truth,  ex- 
cept by  knowing  what  is  true  faith, 
what  is  spurious  faith,  and  what  is 
hypocritical  faith;  wherefore  it  shall 
be  demonstrated,  (1.)  That  there  is  only 
one  true  faith,  and  that  it  is  in  the 
Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  it  is  with  those  icho  believe  Him 
to  be  the  Son  of  God,  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  one  with  the  Father. 


270 


Concerning  Faith. 


(2.)  Tliat  spurious  faith  is  every  faith 
which  recedes  from  the  true,  which  is 
the  only  one,  and  that  it  is  with  those 
who  climb  up  some  other  way,  and  re- 
gard the  Lord  not  as  God,  but  only  as 
a  Man.  (3.)  That  hypocritical  faith 
is  no  faith. 

379.  (1.)  That  there  is  only  one 
true  faith,  and  that  it  is  in  the  Lord 
God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  and  that 
it  is  with  those  who  believe  Him  to  be 
the  Son  of  God,  the  God  of  Heaven 
and  Earth,  and  one  with  the  Father. 

That  there  is  only  one  true  faith,  is, 
because  faith  is  truth,  and  truth  can- 
not be  broken  and  bisected  so  that  a 
part  of  it  may  look  to  the  left  hand, 
and  a  part  to  the  right,  and  remain  its 
truth.  Faith,  in  a  general  sense,  con- 
sists of  innumerable  truths,  for  it  is 
the  complex  of  them  ;  but  those  innu- 
merable truths  make,  as  it  were,  one 
body,  and  in  that  body  are  the  truths 
which  make  its  members  ;  some  make 
the  members  which  depend  on  the 
breast,  as  the  arms  and  hands;  some, 
those  which  depend  on  the  loins,  as 
the  feet  and  the  soles  of  the  feet;  but 
interior  truths  make  the  head,  and  the 
truths  proximately  proceeding  thence 
make  the  sensories,  which  are  in  the 
face.  The  reason  why  interior  truths 
make  the  head,  is,  because,  when  in- 
terior is  named,  superior  also  is  under- 
stood ;  for  in  the  spiritual  world,  all 
interior  things  are  also  superior  ;  it  is 
so  with  the  three  heavens  there.  The 
soul  and  life  of  this  body  and  of  all  its 
members,  is  the  Lord  God  the  Savior ; 
thence  it  is,  that  the  church  is  called 
by  Paul  the  body  of  Christ,  and  that 
he  men  of  the  church,  according  to 
,he  states  of  charity  and  faith  with 
them,  make  its  members.  That  there 
is  only  one  true  faith,  Paul  also  teaches 
thus ;  There  is  one  body  and  one  spirit, 
one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one 
God.  He  gave  the  work  of  the  7ninis- 
try  for  the  cdif  cation  of  the  body  of 
CnmsT,  nntilweaU  come  into  the  unity 
OF  THE  FAITH,  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  into  a  life  perfected 
according  to  the  measure  of  the  age  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ,  Ephes.  iv.  4,  5, 
G,  12,  13.    That  the  true  faith,  which 


is  the  only  one,  is  in  the  Lord  God 
the  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  was  fully 
shown  above,  n.  337,  338,  339.  But 
the  reason  why  the  true  faith  is  with 
those  who  believe  the  Lord  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  is,  because  they  also  be- 
lieve that  He  is  God  ;  and  faith  is  not 
faith  unless  it  be  in  God.  That  this 
article  of  faith  is  the  primary  thing  of 
all  the  truths  which  enter  into  faith 
and  form  it,  is  evident  from  the  words 
of  the  Lord  to  Peter,  when  he  said, 
Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
THE  LIVING  God  ;  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon.  I  say  unto  thee,  upon  this  rock 
I  will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it, 
Matt.  xvi.  16,  17.  By  rock,  here,  as 
elsewhere  in  the  Word,  is  meant  the 
Lord  as  to  Divine  Truth,  and  also 
divine  truth  from  the  Lord.  That  this 
truth  is  the  primary  thing,  and  like  a 
diadem  upon  the  head,  and  like  a 
sceptre  in  the  hand  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  is  evident  from  the  words  of 
the  Lord,  That  upon  that  rock  He 
would  build  his  church,  and  that  the 
gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against 
it.  That  this  article  of  faith  is  such, 
is  evident,  also,  from  these  words  in 
John  :  Whosoever  con  fcsscth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God,  God  abideth  in  him, 
and  he  in  God,  1  John  iv.  15.  Besides 
this  characteristic  of  their  being  in  the 
true  faith,  which  is  the  only  faith, 
there  is  also  another,  That  they  believe 
the  Lord  to  be  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth.  This  follows  from  the  former, 
That  He  is  the  Son  of  God:  and  from 
these  declarations,  That  in  Him  is  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead,  Colos.  ii. 
9.  That  He  is  the  God  o  f  heaven  and 
earth,  Matt,  xxviii.  18.  That  all  things 
(f  the  Father  are  His,  John  iii.  3o  ; 
xvi.  15.  The  third  sign,  that  those 
who  believe  in  the  Lord  are  interiorly 
in  faith  in  Him,  thus  in  the  true  faith, 
which  is  the  only  one,  is,  that  they 
believe,  That  the  Lord  is  one  tcith  the 
Father.  That  He  is  one  with  the  Fa- 
ther, and  that  He  is  the  Father  himself 
in  the  Human,  was  fully  shown  in  the 
chapter  concerning  the  Lord  and  Re- 
demption, and  is  very  evident  from  the 
words  of  the  Lord  himself;  That  t lie 


Concerning  Faith. 


271 


Father  and  He  arc  one,  John  x.  30. 
That  the  Fat/ur  is  in  Him,  and  He  in 
the  Father,  x.  38;  xiv.  10,  11.  Tliat 
He  said  to  the  disciples,  That  hence- 
forth they  have  seen  and  known  the 
Father ;  aud  that  he  looked  at  Philip 
and  said,  That  now  he  secth  and  know- 
eth  the  Father,  John  xiv.  7,  and  fol- 
lowing verses.  Tlie  reason  why  these 
three  are  cliaracteristic  testimonies 
that  they  are  in  faith  in  the  Lord,  thus 
in  the  true  faith,  which  is  the  only 
one,  is,  because  all  those  who  go  to 
the  Lord,  are  in  faith  in  Him  ;  for  true 
faitli  is  internal,  and  at  the  same  time 
external.  Those  with  whom  those 
three  precious  characteristics  of  faith 
are,  are  in  the  internals  of  that  faith, 
as  well  as  in  its  externals  ;  thus  it  is 
not  only  a  treasure  in  their  heart,  but 
also  a  jewel  in  their  mouth.  But  it  is 
otherwise  with  those  who  do  not  ac- 
knowledge Him  tlie  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  not  one  with  the  Father ; 
these  interiorly  look  also  to  other  Gods, 
who  have  like  power,  but  that  it  is  to 
be  exercised  by  the  Son,  either  as  a 
Vicar,  or  as  one  who,  on  account  of 
redemption,  deserved  to  reign  over 
those  whom  He  redeemed.  But  these 
break  the  true  faith  to  pieces,  by  a  di- 
vision of  the  unity  of  God,  and  when 
it  is  broken  to  pieces,  it  is  no  longer 
faith,  but  only  the  spectre  of  faith, 
which,  being  seen  naturally,  appears 
like  a  certain  image  of  it,  but  being 
seen  spiritually,  it  becomes  a  chimera. 
Who  can  deny  but  that  true  faith  is  in 
one  God,  who  is  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth  ;  consequently,  iu  God  the 
Father  in  the  human  form,  thus  in  the 
Lord  ?  These  three  characters,  evi- 
dences apd  marks,  that  faith  in  the 
Lord  is  faith  itself,  are  like  touch- 
stones, by  which  gold  and  silver  are 
known.  They  are,  also,  like  stones 
and  hands  in  the  highways,  which  show 
the  way  to  the  temple,  where  the  one 
and  the  true  God  is  worshipped.  And 
they  are  like  lamps  upon  rocks  in  the 
sea,  from  which  those  who  sail  in  the 
night  know  where  they  are,  and  by 
what  wind  to  direct  the  ships.  The 
first  character  of  faith,  which  is,  that 
the  Lord  is  the  Son  of  the  living  God, 


is  like  the  morning  star,  to  all  who  en- 
ter into  His  church. 

380.  (2.)  That  spurious  Faith  is 
every  Faith  which  recedes  from  the 
true,  which  is  the  only  one,  and  that  it 
is  with  those  who  climb  xip  some  other 
way,  and  regard  the  Lord  not  as  God, 
but  only  as  a  3Ian. 

That  sj)urious  faith  is  every  faith 
which  recedes  from  the  true,  which  is 
the  only  one,  is  manifest  of  itself;  for 
when  one  only  is  true,  it  follows  that 
that  which  recedes  is  not  true.  All 
the  good  and  truth  of  the  church  are 
propagated  from  the  marriage  of  the 
Lord  and  the  church ;  thus  all  that  is 
essentially  charity  and  essentially  faith, 
is  from  that  marriage  ;  but  whatever  of 
those  two  is  not  from  that,  is  not  from 
a  legitimate,  but  from  an  illegitimate 
bed  ;  thus  either  from  a  polygamical 
bed  or  marriage,  or  from  adultery. 
Every  faith  which  acknowledges  the 
Lord,  and  adopts  the  falses  of  heresies, 
is  from  a  polygamical  marriage ;  and 
the  faith  is  from  adultery,  which  ac- 
knowledges three  Lords  of  one  church, 
for  it  is  either  like  a  female  who  is  a 
harlot,  or  like  a  woman  who  is  mar- 
ried to  one  man  and  passes  nights  with 
two  others,  and  when  she  lies  with 
them,  she  calls  each  of  them  her  hus- 
band. Thence  it  is,  that  such  faith  is 
called  spurious.  These  the  Lord,  in 
many  places,  calls  adulterers  ;  and  also 
He  means  these  by  thieves  and  rob- 
bers in  John ;  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
fie  that  gocth  not  in  through  the  door 
into  the  sheep-fold,  hut  climbeth  up  some 
other  way,  is  a  thief  and  a  robber.  J 
am  the  Door ;  if  any  one  enter  through 
Me,  he  shall  be  saved,  x.  1,9.  To  en- 
ter into  the  sheep-fold  is  to  enter  into 
the  church,  and  also  into  heaven  ;  that 
it  is  also  into  heaven,  is,  because  they 
make  one,  and  nothing  else  makes 
heaven  but  the  church  there  ;  where- 
fore, as  the  Lord  is  the  Bridegroom 
and  Husband  of  the  church,  so  also  He 
is  the  Bridegroom  and  Husband  of 
heaven.  It  may  be  discovered  and 
known,  whether  faith  be  a  legitimate 
offspring,  or  whether  it  be  a  spurious 
offspring,  from  the  three  marks  of  it, 
mentioned  above,  which  are,  The  acr 


272 


Conceitiing  Faith. 


knovvledgment  of  the  Lord  as  the 
Son  of  God  ;  The  acknowledgment  of 
Him  as  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth  ; 
and  The  acknowledgment,  that  He  is 
one  with  the  Father.  As  far,  therefore, 
as  any  faith  recedes  from  these  its  es- 
sentials, so  far  it  is  spurious.  A  spu- 
rious and  at  the  same  time  an  adul- 
terous faith  is  with  those  who  regard 
the  Lord  not  as  God,  but  only  as  a 
man.  That  it  is  so,  is  very  manifest 
from  the  two  abominable  heresies,  the 
Arian  and  Socinian,  which  were 
anathematized  in  the  Christian  church, 
and  excommunicated  from  it ;  and 
that,  because  they  deny  the  divinity  of 
the  Lord,  and  climb  up  some  other 
way.  But  I  fear  that  those  abomina- 
tions lie  concealed  in  the  general  spirit 
of  the  men  of  the  church  at  this  day. 
This  is  wonderful,  that  the  more  any 
one  thinks  himself  superior  to  others 
in  learning  and  judgment,  the  more 
readily  he  embraces  and  appropriates 
to  himself  ideas  concerning  the  Lord, 
that  He  is  a  man,  and  not  God;  and 
that,  because  He  is  a  man,  He  cannot 
l)e  God  ;  and  he  who  appropriates  to 
himself  those  ideas,  introduces  himself 
into  the  company  of  Arians  and  So- 
cinians,  who  in  tlie  spiritual  world  arc 
in  hell.  The  reason  why  the  general 
spirit  of  the  men  of  the  church  at  this 
day  is  such,  is,  because  there  is  with 
every  man  an  associate  spirit ;  for  man 
without  tiiat  cannot  think  analytically, 
rationally  and  spiritually ;  thus  he 
would  not  be  a  man,  but  a  brute ;  and 
every  man  attaches  to  himself  a  spirit 
similar  to  the  affection  of  his  will,  and 
thence  the  perccj)tion  •  of  his  under- 
standing. He  wlio  brings  himself  into 
good  affections,  by  truths  from  the 
Word,  and  by  a  life  according  to  them, 
has  joined  to  him  an  angel  from  heaven ; 
but  he  who  brings  himself  into  evil  af- 
fections, by  confirmations  of  falsities, 
and  by  an  evil  life,  has  joined  to  him  a 
spirit  from  hell ;  and  when  the  spirit  is 
joined,  man  enters  more  and  more  into 
a  fraternity,  as  it  were,  with  satans, 
and  then  confirms  himself,  more  and 
more,  in  falses  against  tiie  truths  in 
the  Word,  and  in  the  Arian  and  So- 
cinian  abomination  against  the  Lord. 


The  reason  is,  because  no  satan  can 
bear  to  hear  any  truth  from  the  Word, 
nor  Jesus  named ;  and,  if  they  do  hear 
these  things,  they  become  like  furies, 
and  run  hither  and  thither,  and  blas- 
pheme. And  then,  if  light  from  heaven 
flows  in,  they  cast  themselves  headlong 
into  caverns  and  into  their  thick  dark- 
ness, in  which  they  have  such  light  as 
owls  have  in  the  dark,  and  such  as  cats 
have  in  cellars,  when  they  are  hunting 
after  mice.  All  become  such  after 
death,  who  in  heart  and  faith  deny 
the  divinity  of  the  Lord,  and  the  holi- 
ness of  the  Word  ;  their  internal  man 
is  such,  howsoever  the  external  may 
act  the  hypocrite,  and  pretend  to  be  a 
Christian.  That  it  is  so,  I  know,  be- 
cause I  have  seen  and  heard.  All 
who  honor  the  Lord,  as  a  Redeemer 
and  Savior,  only  with  the  mouth  and 
lips,  but  in  heart  and  spirit  look  upon 
Him  as  a  mere  man,  while  they  speak 
and  teach  those  things,  their  cheek  is 
like  a  bladder  of  honey,  but  their  heart 
is  like  a  bladder  of  gall ;  their  words 
are  like  cakes  of  sugar,  but  their 
thoughts  are  like  emulsions  of  poison  ; 
and  they  are  like  cakes  in  the  hollow 
of  which  are  serpents.  If  they  arc 
priests,  they  arc  like  pirates  at  sea, 
who  hung  out  the  flag  of  a  kingdom  of 
peace,  but  when  a  sliip  approaches 
them  as  friends,  they  raise  a  piratical 
flag,  in  the  place  of  the  former,  and 
carry  away  the  ship  with  its  crew  into 
captivity.  They  arc  also  like  serpents 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  which  come  up  Hke  angels  of 
light,  holding  in  their  hand  apples 
thence,  painted  with  yellow  colors,  as 
if  they  were  plucked  from  the  tree  of 
life  ;  and  they  reach  them  out  and  say, 
God  (loth  know,  in  the  day  that  ye 
cat  of  thnn,  your  eyes  trill  be  opened, 
and  ye  will  be  like  God,  knowing  good 
and  evil.  Gen.  iii.  5.  And  when  they 
have  eaten,  they  follow  the  serpent  into 
hell,  and  dwell  with  him  ;  around  that 
hell  are  the  satans  wlio  have  eaten  of 
the  apples  of  Arius  and  Socinus.  They 
are  also  meant  by  him  who  entered 
having  not  on  a  wedding  garment, 
who  was  cast  into  outer  darkness.  Matt, 
xxvi.  11,12, 13.  The  wedding  garment 


Concerning  Faith. 


273 


is  faith  in  tlic  Lord,  as  the  Son  of  Gofl, 
the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  one 
witli  tlie  Father.  Those  wlio  honor 
the  Lord  only  witli  the  mouth  and  lips, 
but  in  iieart  and  spirit  look  upon  Him 
as  a  mere  man,  if  they  open  their 
thoughts  and  persuade  others,  are  spir- 
itual murderers,  and  the  worst  of  them 
spiritual  cannibals ;  for  man  has  life 
from  love  and  faith  towards  the  Lord ; 
and  if  this  essential  of  faith  and  love, 
that  the  Lord  is  God-Man  and  Man- 
God,  be  removed,  his  life  becomes 
death  ;  thus,  therefore,  the  man  is  kill- 
ed and  devoured,  as  a  Iamb  by  a  wolf 

381.  (3.)  That  hypocritical  Faith 
is  no  Faith. 

Man  becomes  a  hypocrite,  whilst  he 
thinks  much  about  himself,  and  prefers 
himself  to  others ;  for  thus  he  deter- 
mines and  infuses  the  thoughts  and 
affections  of  his  mind  into  his  body, 
and  conjoins  them  with  its  senses ; 
thence  he  becomes  a  natural,  sensual 
and  corporeal  man,  and  then  his  mind 
cannot  be  withdrawn  from  the  flesh, 
with  which  it  coheres,  and  elevated  to 
God,  and  see  any  thing  of  God  in  the 
light  of  heaven,  that  is,  not  any  thing 
spiritual ;  and  because  he  is  a  carnal 
man,  the  spiritual  things  which  enter, 
which  is  done  through  the  hearing  into 
the  understanding,  appear  to  him  no 
otherwise  than  spectres,  or  motes  in 
the  air,  yea,  like  flies  about  the  head 
of  a  horse  running  and  sweating  ; 
wherefore  in  heart  he  ridicules  them  ; 
for  it  is  known,  that  the  natural  man 
regards  the  things  of  the  spirit,  or  spir- 
itual things,  as  foolishness.  A  hypo- 
crite, among  natural  men,  is  to  the 
lowest  degree  natural,  for  he  is  sen- 
sual ;  for  his  mind  is  closely  connect- 
ed with  the  senses  of  his  body,  and 
thence  he  does  not  love  to  think  any 
thing  else  than  what  his  senses  sug- 
gest ;  and  the  senses,  because  they  are 
in  nature,  compel  the  mind  to  think 
concerning  every  thing  from  nature, 
thus  also  concerning  all  the  things  of 
faith.  If  that  hypocrite  becomes  a 
preacher,  he  retains  in  his  memory 
such  things  as  are  said  concerning 
faith,  in  the  age  of  childhood  and  youth ; 
but  because  there  is  inwardly  in  them 
35 


nothing  spiritual,  but  only  what  is 
merely  natural,  when  he  produces  them 
in  public,  they  are  only  inanimate  ex- 
pressions ;  that  they  sound  as  if  ani- 
mated, is  from  the  delights  of  the  love 
of  self  and  the  world,  from  which  they 
are  trumpeted  forth  according  to  his 
eloquence,  and  sootlie  the  ears,  much 
like  the  harmonies  of  music.  A  hypo- 
critical preacher,  after  the  sermon, 
when  he  returns  home,  laughs  at  all  the 
things  which  are  concerning  faith,  and 
which  he  had  brought  forth  from  the 
Word  before  the  congregation,  and 
perhaps  says  with  himself,  "  I  have  cast 
a  net  into  the  lake,  and  have  caught 
turbots  and  shell-fish  ;"  for  as  such,  in 
his  imagination,  appear  all  who  are  in 
true  faith.  A  hypocrite  is  like  a  carv- 
ed image  having  a  double  head,  one 
within  the  other  ;  the  inner  head  co- 
heres with  the  trunk  or  body,  and  the 
outer  one,  which  is  movable  about  the 
inner,  is  painted  in  front  with  proper 
colors  like  a  human  face,  not  unlike 
the  wooden  heads  which  are  exposed 
to  view  at  barbers'  shops.  He  is  also 
like  a  boat,  which  a  sailor,  by  applica- 
tion of  the  sail,  can  direct  at  pleasure, 
either  with  the  wind  or  against  the 
wind  ;  his  trimming  in  favor  of  every 
one  who  indulges  the  delights  of  the 
flesh  and  its  senses  is  such  a  managing 
of  the  sail.  Ministers  who  are  hypo- 
crites, are  perfect  comedians,  buffoons 
and  stage-players,  who  can  represent 
the  persons  of  kings,  dukes,  primates 
and  bishops ;  and  presently,  when  they 
put  off"  their  theatrical  garments,  go 
into  brothels  and  cohabit  with  harlots. 
They  are  also  like  doors  hanging  on 
round  .hinges,  which  can  be  turned  both 
ways;  such  is  their  mind, for  it  can  be 
opened  towards  liell  and  towards  heav- 
en, and  when  it  is  opened  towards  the 
one,  it  is  shut  towards  the  other  ;  for, 
what  is  wonderful,  when  they  are  min- 
istering holy  things,  and  teaching  from 
the  Word,  they  know  no  other  than 
that  they  believe  those  things,  for  the 
door  towards  hell  is  then  shut ;  but 
presently,  when  they  return  home,  they 
do  not  believe  any  thing,  for  then  the 
door  towards  heaven  is  shut.  With 
consummate  hypocrites  there  is  intes- 


274 


Concerning  Faith. 


tine  enmity  against  truly  spiritual  men, 
for  it  is  such  as  that  of  satans  against 
th^  angels  of  heaven.  That  it  is  so  is 
not  sensibly  perceived  by  them  whilst 
they  live  in  the  world,  but  it  manifests 
itself  after  death,  when  their  external, 
by  which  they  counterfeited  the  spir- 
itual man,  is  taken  away ;  since  it  is 
their  internal  man  which  is  such  a 
satan.  But  I  will  tell  how  spiritual 
hypocrites,  who  are  those  ?pho  go  in 
sheep's  clothing,  and  inwardly  are  rav- 
ening iDolves,  Matt.  vii.  15,  appear  to 
the  angels  of  heaven  ;  they  appear  like 
soothsayers,  walking  on  the  palms  of 
their  hands  and  praying,  who  with  the 
mouth  from  the  heart  cry  to  demons 
and  kiss  them ;  but  strike  their  shoes 
together  in  the  air,  and  thus  sound  to 
God;  but  when  they  stand  upon  their 
feet,  they  appear  as  to  the  eyes  like 
leopards,  as  to  the  gait  like  wolves,  as 
to  the  mouth  like  a  fox,  as  to  the  teeth 
like  crocodiles,  and  as  to  faith  like 
vultures. 

;382.  X.  That  there  is  no  Faith 
WITH  THK  Evil. 

All  those  are  evil  who  deny  the  cre- 
ation of  the  world  by  God,  and  thus 
God ;  for  they  are  atlieistical  natural- 
ists. The  reason  why  all  tliose  are 
evil,  is,  because  all  good,  which  is  not 
only  naturally  but  also  spiritually  good, 
is  from  God ;  wherefore,  those  who 
deny  God  are  not  willing,  and  there- 
fore are  not  able,  to  receive  any  good 
from  any  other  source  than  from  their 
proprium,  and  tiie  propriuin  of  man  is 
the  lust  of  his  flesh ;  and  whatever 
proceeds  from  this  is  spiritually  evil, 
however  naturally  good  it  appears. 
These  are  theoretically  evil ;  but  those 
are  practically  evil  who  despise  the  di- 
vine commandments,  which  are  sum- 
marily cxpres.sod  in  the  decalogue,  and 
live  like  lawless  people.  These  also 
in  heart  deny  God,  although  many  of 
them  confess  God  with  the  mouth,  be- 
cause God  an!  his  commandments 
make  one ;  wherefore  the  ten  com- 
mandments of  the  decalogue  were  call- 
ed Jehovah  there,  Num.  x.  85, 
Psalm  cxxxii.  7,  8.  But  that  it  may 
be  more  manifest  that  the  evil  h.ave  no 
faith,  a  conclusion  will  be  made  from 


these  two  problems  :  (1.)  That  the  evil 
have  no  faith,  because  evil  is  of  hell, 
and  faith  is  of  heaven.  (2.)  That  all 
those  in  Christendom  have  no  faith  who 
reprobate  the  Lord  and  the  Word, 
although  they  live  morally,  and  speak, 
teach  and  write  rationally,  even  eoncern- 
ing  faith.    But  of  these  one  by  one. 

383.  (1.)  That  the  Evil  have  no 
Faith,  because  Evil  is  of  Hell,  and 
Faith  is  of  Heave?). 

That  evil  is  of  hell,  is,  because  all 
evil  is  thence  ;  that  faith  is  of  heaven, 
is,  because  all  the  truth  which  is  of 
faith  is  from  heaven.  Man,  whilst  he 
lives  in  the  world,  is  held  and  walks  in 
the  middle  between  heaven  and  hell, 
and  is  there  in  spiritual  equilibrium, 
which  is  his  free  agency  ;  hell  is  under 
his  feet,  and  heaven  is  over  his  head ; 
and  whatever  ascends  from  hell  is  evil 
and  false,  but  whatever  descends  from 
heaven  is  good  and  true.  Man,  since 
he  is  in  the  middle  between  those  two 
opposifes,  and  at  the  same  time  in 
spiritual  equilibrium,  can  choose,  adopt 
and  appropriate  to  himself  one  or  tiie 
other,  treely  ;  if  the  evil  and  false,  ho 
conjoins  himself  with  hell,  but  if  the 
good  and  true,  he  conjoins  himself 
with  heaven.  Hence  it  is  manifest, 
not  only  that  evil  is  of  hell,  and  faith 
of  heaven,  but  iilso  that  those  two  can- 
not be  together  in  one  subject  or  man; 
for  if  they  were  together,  man  would 
be  distracted,  as  if  he  were  bound 
around  with  two  ropes,  and  drawn  by 
one  upwards,  and  by  the  other  down- 
wards, and  thus  he  would  become,  as 
it  were,  dangling  in  the  air.  Aiul  it 
would  be  as  if  he  should  fly,  like  a 
blackbird,  now  upwards,  and  now 
downwards  ;  and  when  upwards,  should 
worship  God,  and  when  downwards, 
should  worship  the  devil ;  that  this  is 
profane,  every  one  sees.  That  no  one 
can  serve  two  nia.itcrs,  but  mu.<f  hate 
one  and  love  the  other,  the  Lord  teaches 
in  Matthew  vi.  24.  That  w  here  evil 
is  there  is  no  faith,  may  be  illustrated 
by  various  comparisons,  as  by  these  : 
Evil  is  like  fire  (infernal  fire  is  nothing 
else  than  the  love  of  evil),  and  con- 
sumes faith  like  stubble,  and  reduces 
it  and  all  that  belongs  tn  it  to  ashes. 


« 


Concerning  Faith. 


275 


Evil  dwells  in  darkness,  and  faitli  in 
light;  and  evil  extinguishes  faitii  by 
^ses,  as  darkness  extingiiisiics  the 
fight.  Evil  is  black,  like  ink,  and  faith 
is  white,  like  snow,  and  clear,  like 
water ;  and  evil  blackens  faith,  as  ink 
does  snow  and  water.  Moreover,  evil 
and  the  truth  of  faith  cannot  be  con- 
joined otherwise  than  as  a  stinking 
with  .in  aromatic  substance,  as  urine 
with  delicious  wine  ;  and  they  cannot 
be  together  any  more  than  a  putrid 
carcass  with  a  living  man  in  one  bed  ; 
and  they  cannot  dwell  together  any 
more  than  a  wolf  in  a  sheep-fold,  and 
a  hawk  in  a  dove-cote,  and  a  fox  in 
a  hen-coop. 

384.  (2.)  That  all  those  in  Chris- 
tendom have  no  faith, who  reprobate  the 
Lord  and  the  Wot-d,  although  they  live 
morally,  and  speak,  teach  and  ivrite 
rationally ,  even  concerning'  Faith. 

This  follows  as  a  conclusion  from  all 
that  precedes ;  for  it  has  been  shown, 
that  the  faith  which  is  the  true  and 
only  one,  is  in  the  Lord  and  from  the 
Lord,  and  that  a  faith  which  is  not  in 
Him  and  from  Him,  is  not  spiritual 
faith  but  natural ;  and  merely  natural 
faith  has  not  in  it  the  essence  of  faith. 
Moreover,  faith  is  from  the  Word ;  it 
is  not  from  any  other  source,  because 
the  Word  is  from  the  Lord,  and  thence 
the  Lord  himself  is  in  the  Word ;  where- 
fore He  says,  that  He  is  the  Word, 
John  i.  1,  2.  Thence  it  follows,  that 
those  who  reprobate  the  Word  also 
reprobate  the  Lord,  for  they  cohere  as 
one ;  and  also  that  those  who  reprobate 
the  one  or  the  otlier,  likewise  reprobate 
the  church,  because  the  church  is  from 
the  Lord  through  the  Word  ;  and  fur- 
ther, that  those  who  reprobate  the 
church  are  out  of  heaven,  for  the  church 
introduces  into  heaven,  and  those  who 
are  out  of  heaven  are  among  the  dam- 
ned, and  these  have  no  faith.  The  rea- 
son why  those  who  reprobate  the  Lord 
and  the  Word  have  no  faith,  although 
they  live  morally,  and  speak,  teach  and 
write  rationally,  even  concerning  faith, 
is,  because  their  moral  life  is  not  spir- 
itual, but  natural,  and  also  their  ration- 
al mind  is  not  spiritual,  but  natural ; 


and  merely  natural  morality  and  ra- 
tionality are  in  themselves  dead ;  where- 
fore they,  like  the  dead,  have  no  faith. 
A  man  who  is  merely  natural  and  dead, 
as  to  faith,  can  indeed  speak  and  teach 
concerning  faith,  concerning  charity, 
and  concerning  God,  but  not  from  faith, 
from  charity,  and  from  God.  That 
those  alone  have  faith  who  believe  in 
the  Lord,  and  that  others  have  not 
faith,  is  evident  from  these  passages  ; 
He  that  helieveth  in  the  Son,  is  not 
judged,  hut  he  that  helieveth  not  the 
Son,  is  now  judged,  because  he  hath  not 
believed  in  the  name  of  the  only-begotten 
Son  of  God,  John  iii.  18.  He  that 
helieveth  in  the  Son,  hath  eternal  life, 
but  he  that  helieveth  not  the  Son,  shall 
nut  see  life,  but  the  anger  of  God  abid- 
eth  on  him,  iii.  36.  Jesus  said.  When 
the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  it  will  re- 
prove the  world  of  sin,  because  they  be- 
lieve not  in  Me,  xvi.  8,  9 ;  and  to  the 
Jews,  Unless  ye  believe  that  I  am,  ye- 
shall  die  in  your  sins,  viii.  24.  Where- 
fore David  says,  /  will  announce  con- 
cerning the  statute ;  Jehovah  said,  Thou 
art  my  Son  ;  this  day  I  have  begotten 
Thee.  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry, 
and  ye  perish  in  the  way.  Blessed  are 
all  who  confide  in  Him,  Psalm  ii.  7, 
12.  That  in  the  consummation  of  the 
age,  which  is  the  last  time  of  the 
church,  there  would  be  no  faith,  be- 
cause none  in  the  Lord  as  the  Son  of 
God,  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  and 
one  with  the  Father,  the  Lord  foretold 
in  the  Evangelists,  saying,  That  there 
would  be  the  abomination  of  desolation 
and  afHiction,  such  as  hath  not  been, 
and  ivill  not  be.  And  that  the  sun  will 
be  darkened,  and  the  moon  will  not  give 
her  light,  and  the  stars  will  fall  from 
heaven.  Matt.  xxiv.  15,  21,  29.  And 
in  the  Revelation,  That  Satan,  being 
loosed  from  his  prison,  loill  go  forth  to 
seduce  the  nations,  lohich  arc  in  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth,  whose  num- 
ber is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  xx.  8. 
And  because  the  Lord  foresaw  this. 
He  also  said,  Nevertheless,  when 
THE  Son  of  Man  cometh,  will  He 

FIND    FAITH    UPON  THE  EARTH,  LukO 

xviii.  8. 


276 


Concerning  Faith. 


385.  To  the  above  will  be  adjoined 
these  Relations.  First.  Once,  a 
certain  angel  said  to  me,  "  You  wish 
to  see  clearly  what  faith  and  charity 
are ;  thus,  what  faith  separate  from 
charity  is,  and  what  faith  conjoined  to 
charity  is;  and  I  will  demonstrate 
them  to  the  eye."  I  replied,  "  Do  so." 
And  he  said,  "  Instead  of  faith  and 
charity,  think  of  light  and  heat,  and 
you  will  see  clearly.  Faith  in  its  es- 
sence is  the  truth  which  is  of  wisdom, 
and  charity  in  its  essence  is  the  affec- 
tion of  love ;  and  the  truth  of  wisdom 
in  heaven  is  light,  and  the  affection  of 
love  in  heaven  is  heat.  The  light  and 
heat  in  which  the  angels  are,  are  in 
their  essence  nothing  else.  Thence 
you  can  see  clearly  what  faith  separate 
from  charity  is,  and  what  faith  con- 
joined to  charity  is.  Faith  separate 
from  charity  is  like  the  light  in  winter, 
and  faith  conjoined  to  charity  is  like 
the  light  in  spring.  The  light  of  win- 
ter, which  is  light  separate  from  heat, 
because  it  is  conjoined  to  cold,  strips 
tlie  trees  entirely  naked,  even  of  leaves, 
kills  the  grass,  hardens  the  earth,  and 
congeals  the  water ;  but  the  light  of 
spring,  which  is  light  conjoined  to  heat, 
causes  the  trees  to  vegetate,  first  into 
leaves,  then  into  blossoms,  and  at  last 
into  fruits ;  it  opens  and  sof\ens  the 
earth,  that  it  may  produce  grass,  herbs, 
flowers  and  shrubs ;  and  also  it  melts 
the  ice,  that  waters  may  flow  from  the 
fountains.  Just  so  it  is  with  faith  and 
cliarity.  Faith  separate  from  charity 
mortifies  or  deadens  all  things,  and 
faith  conjoined  to  charity  vivifies  or 
enlivens  all  things.  This  vivijiration 
and  that  mortijication  may  be  seen 
to  the  life  in  our  spiritual  world,  be- 
cause here  faith  is  light,  and  cliarity 
heat;  for  where  faith  is  conjoined  to 
charity,  there  are  paradisiacal  gardens, 
flower-beds  and  gras.s-plots,  in  their 
beauty  according  to  conjunction;  but 
where  faith  separate  from  charity  is, 
there  is  not  even  a  blade  of  grass,  and 
whore  there  is  any  thing  green,  it  is 
from  briers  and  brambles."  There  were 
then  not  far  off  some  of  the  clergy, 
whom  the  angel  called  justifiers  and 


sanctifiers  of  men  by  faith  alone,  and 
also,  dealers  in  mysteries.  We  said 
these  same  things  to  them,  and  also 
demonstrated  them,  so  that  they  might 
see  that  it  is  so ;  and  when  we  asked 
whether  it  was  not  so,  they  turned 
themselves  away,  and  said,  "  We  did 
not  hear."  But  we  cried  to  them,  say- 
ing, "  Hear  now,  then."  But  then  they 
put  both  hands  before  their  ears  and 
exclaimed,  "  We  do  not  wish  to  hear." 

After  hearing  these  things,  I  spoke 
with  the  angel  concerning  solitary  faith, 
and  said,  that  by  lively  experience  it 
was  given  me  to  know,  that  that  faith 
is  like  the  light  of  winter ;  and  I  told 
him,  that,  for  several  years,  spirits  of 
various  kinds  of  faith  had  passed  by 
me,  and  that  as  often  as  those  who 
separated  faith  from  charity  came 
near,  such  a  cold  seized  my  feet,  and 
afterwards  my  loins,  and  at  last  my 
breast,  that  1  scarcely  knew  but  that 
all  the  vital  principle  of  my  body  was 
about  to  be  extinguished,  which  also 
would  have  happened,  unless  the  Lord 
had  driven  away  those  spirits  and  liber- 
ated me.  This  seemed  to  me  wonder- 
ful, that  those  spirits  did  not  feel  any 
cold  in  themselves;  this  they  con- 
fessed ;  wherefore  T  compared  them 
with  fishes  under  the  ice,  which  also 
do  not  feel  any  cold,  since  their  life,  and 
thence  their  nature,  is  in  itself  cold.  I 
perceived,  then,  that  that  cold  emanated 
from  the  fatuous  light  of  their  faith,  in 
like  manner  as  is  done  from  marshy 
and  sulphureous  places  at  times  in  the 
middle  of  winter,  after  the  sun  has  set: 
such  fatuous  and  cold  light  travellers 
often  see.  They  may  be  compared  to 
mountains  of  mere  ice,  torn  from  their 
places  in  northern  climates,  which  are 
wafted  in  the  ocean  here  and  there,  con- 
cerning which  1  have  heard  it  related, 
that,  on  their  ajjproach,  all  who  are 
on  board  begin  to  shiver  from  the  cold. 
Wherefore,  companies  of  those  who 
are  in  faith  separate  from  charity,  may 
be  likened  to  those  mountains,  and,  if 
you  please,  may  also  be  called  so.  It 
is  known,  from  the  Word,  that  faith 
without  charity  is  dead  ;  but  I  will  tell 
whence  the  death  of  it  is :  its  death  is 


Concerning  Faith. 


277 


from  cold,  from  which  that  faith  ex- 
pires, like  a  bird'  in  a  severe  frost, 
whicli  first  dies  as  to  seeing,  then  at 
tiie  same  time  as  to  flying,  and  at  last 
as  to  breathing ;  and  then  it  falls  down 
headlong  from  the  branch  into  the 
snow,  and  is  there  buried. 

38(5.  Second  Relation.  One  morn- 
ing, being  awaked  from  sleep,  I  saw 
two  angels  descending  from  heaven, 
one  from  the  south  of  heaven,  and  the 
other  from  the  east  of  heaven,  both  in 
chariots,  to  which  were  attached  white 
horses.  The  chariot  in  which  the 
angel  from  the  south  of  heaven  was 
carried,  shone  as  from  silver,  and  the 
chariot  in  which  the  angel  from  the 
east  of  heaven  was  carried,  shone  as 
from  gold,  and  the  reins  which  they 
held  in  their  hands,  glittered  as  from 
the  flamy  light  of  the  morning.  Thus 
those  two  angels  seemed  to  me,  at  a 
distance ;  but  when  they  came  near, 
they  did  not  appear  in  a  chariot,  but  in 
their  angelic  form,  which  is  human. 
He  who  came  from  the  east  of  heaven, 
was  dressed  in  garments  of  shining 
purple,  and  he  who  came  from  the  south 
of  heaven,  in  garments  of  violet  blue. 
When  they  were  under  the  heavens,  in 
the  lower  regions,  they  ran  one  to  the 
other,  as  if  they  were  striving  to  see 
which  would  be  first,  and  mutually 
embraced  and  kissed  each  other.  I 
heard  that  those  two  angels,  while  they 
lived  in  the  world,- were  joined  together 
in  an  interior  friendship ;  but  now,  one 
was  in  the  eastern  heaven,  and  the 
.other  in  the  southern  heaven:  in  the 
eastern  heaven  are  those  who  are  in 
love  from  the  Lord,  but  in  the  southern 
heaven  are  those  who  are  in  wisdom 
from  the  Lord.  When  they  had  con- 
versed together  for  some  time  concern- 
ing the  magnificent  things  in  their 
heavens,  this  came  into  their  discourse, 
"  Whether  heaven  in  its  essence  be 
love,  or  whether  it  be  wisdom."  They 
agreed  immediately  that  one  is  of  the 
other ;  but  the  question,  which  was  the 
original,  they  discussed.  The  angel 
who  was  from  the  heaven  of  wisdom, 
asked  the  other,  "  What  is  love  1"  And 
.he  replied,  "  That  love  originating  from 
the  Lord,  as  a  sun,  is  the  heat  of  the 


life  of  angels  and  men,  thus  the  esse 
of  their  life;  and  that  the  derivations 
of  love  are  called  affections,  and  that 
by  these  arc  produced  perceptions, 
and  thus  thoughts ;  whence  it  flows, 
that  wisdom  in  its  origin  is  love ;  con- 
sequently, that  thought  in  its  origin  is 
the  affection  of  that  love  ;  and  that  it 
may  be  seen  from  the  derivations 
viewed  in  their  order,  that  thought  is 
nothing  else  than  the  form  of  affection ; 
and  that  this  is  not  known,  because 
thoughts  are  in  light,  but  affections  in 
heat;  and  that,  therefore,  one  reflects 
upon  thoughts,  but  not  upon  affections. 
That  thought  is  nothing  else  than  the 
form  of  the  affection  of  some  love,  may 
also  be  illustrated  by  sj)eech,  in  that 
this  is  nothing  else  than  the  form  of 
sound  ;  it  is  also  similar,  because  sound 
corresponds  to  affection,  and  speech  to 
thought;  wherefore  affection  sounds, 
and  thought  speaks.  This  also  may 
be  made  perspicuous,  when  it  is  said. 
Take  away  sound  from  speech,  and  is 
any  thing  of  speech  given  ?  In  like 
manner,  take  away  affection  from 
thought,  and  is  any  thing  of  thought 
given  ?  Thence,  now,  it  is  manifest, 
that  love  is  the  all  of  wisdom  ;  hence, 
that  the  essence  of  the  heavens  is  love, 
and  that  their  existence  is  wisdom ;  or-, 
what  is  the  same,  that  the  heavens  are 
from  the  divine  love,  and  that  they 
exist  from  the  divine  love  by  the  divine 
wisdom.  Wherefore,  as  was  said  be- 
fore, one  is  of  the  other."  There  was 
with  me  a  novitiate  spirit,  who,  hearing 
this,  asked,  whether  it  is  similar  with 
charity  and  faith,  because  charity  is  of 
affection,  and  faith  is  of  thought.  And 
the  angel  replied,  "  It  is  altogether 
similar ;  faith  is  no  other  than  the  form 
of  charity,  just  as  speech  is  the  form 
of  sound ;  faith  also  is  formed  by 
charity,  as  speech  is  formed  by  sound. 
We  in  heaven  know  also  the  mode 
of  formation,  but  there  is  not  leisure  to 
explain  it  here."  He  added,  "By  faith 
I  understand  spiritual  faith,  in  which 
alone  there  is  life  and  spirit  from  the 
Lord  by  charity;  for  this  is  spiritual, 
and  by  it  faith  becomes  so.  Where- 
fore faith  without  charity  is  merely 
natural  faith,  and  this  faith  is  dead  ;  it 


278 


Concerning  Faith. 


also  conjoins  itself  with  merely  natural 
affection,  which  is  no  other  than  con- 
cupiscence. The  angels  spoke  con- 
cerning these  things  spiritually ;  and 
spiritual  speech  embraces  thousands  of 
things  which  natural  speech  cannot 
express ;  and,  what  is  wonderful,  which 
cannot  even  fall  into  the  ideas  of  nat- 
ural thought."  After  the  angels  had 
conversed  on  this  and  that,  they  de- 
parted; and  when  they  returned  each 
to  his  own  heaven,  there  appeared  stars 
around  their  heads;  and  when  they 
were  removed  to  a  distance  from  me, 
they  seemed  again  in  chariots,  as  before. 

387.  Third  Relation.  After  those 
two  angels  were  out  of  my  sight,  I  saw 
at  the  right  side  a  garden,  where  were 
olives,  fig-trees,  laurels,  and  palms, 
placed  in  order  according  to  corre- 
spondences. I  looked  thither,  and  saw 
angels  and  spirits  walking  and  talking 
together  among  the  trees.  And  then 
one  of  the  angelic  spirits  looked  at  me, 
(those  are  called  angelic  spirits,  who 
are  in  the  world  of  spirits  preparing  for 
heaven) ;  he  came  from  that  garden 
to  me,  and  said,  "  Will  you  come  with 
me  into  our  paradise,  and  you  shall 
hear  and  see  wonderful  things  ?"  And 
I  went  with  him.  And  then  he  said 
to  me,  "  These,  whom  you  see  (for 
there  were  many),  are  all  in  the  love  of 
truth,  and  thence  in  the  light  of  wis- 
dom. There  is  also  a  palace  here, 
which  we  call  the  Temple  of  Wis- 
dom ;  but  no  one  can  see  it,  who  be- 
lieves himself  to  be  very  wise,  still  less 
can  he  who  believes  himself  to  be  wise 
enough,  and,  least  of  all,  he  who  be- 
lieves himself  to  be  wise  from  himself; 
the  rea.son  is,  because  those  are  not  in 
the  reception  of  the  light  of  heaven, 
from  the  love  of  genuine  wisdom. 
Genuine  wisdom  is,  that  a  man  sees, 
from  the  light  of  heaven,  that  what  he 
knows,  understands  and  comprehends 
(sapit),  is  as  little,  compared  with  what 
he  does  not  know,  understand  and 
comprehend,  as  a  drop  of  water  is  to 
the  ocean  ;  consequently,  scarcely  any 
thing.  Every  one  who  is  in  this  para- 
disiacal garden,  and,  from  perception 
and  sight  in  himself,  acknowledges  that 
he  has  respectively  so  little  wisdom. 


sees  that  Temple  of  Wisdom;  for 
interior  light  in  the  mind  of  man  en- 
ables him  to  see  it,  but  not  his  e.xterior 
light  without  that.  Now,  because  I 
have  often  thought  that,  and  from  sci- 
ence, and  then  from  perception,  and 
at  last  from  interior  light,  have  ac- 
knowledged that  man  has  so  little  wis- 
dom, lo,  it  was  given  me  to  see  that 
temple.  It  was,  as  to  form,  admirable ; 
it  was  very  elevated  above  the  ground, 
quadrangular,  the  walls  were  of  crystal, 
the  roof  of  transparent  jasper,  elegantly 
arched ;  the  foundation  of  various  pre- 
cious stones ;  the  steps  by  which  they 
ascended  into  it  were  of  polished  ala- 
baster ;  at  the  sides  of  the  steps  there 
appeared,  as  it  were,  lions  with  whelps. 
And  then  I  asked  whether  I  might 
enter,  and  it  was  said  that  I  might ; 
wherefore  I  ascended,  and  when  I 
entered  I  saw,  as  it  were,  cherubs 
flying  under  the  roof,  but  presently 
vanishing.  The  floor  upon  which  we 
walked  was  of  cedar,  and  the  whole 
temple,  from  the  transparence  of  the 
roof  and  walls,  was  built  to  a  form  of 
light.  The  angelic  spirit  entered  with 
me,  and  I  related  to  him  what  I  had 
lieard  from  the  two  angels  concerning 
LOVE  and  wisdom,  and  concerning 
charity  and  faith  ;  and  then  he  said, 
"  Did  they  not  speak  also  concerning 
a  third?"  And  I  said,  "  What  third  ?" 
He  replied,  "  It  is  the  good  of  i  se. 
Love  and  wisdom,  without  the  good  of 
use,  aro  not  any  thing ;  they  are  only 
ideal  entities,  nor  do  they  become  real, 
before  they  are  in  use  :  for  love,  wisdom 
and  use  are  three  things  which  caimot 
be  separated ;  if  they  are  separated, 
nehher  is  any  thing.  Love  is  not  any 
thing  without  wisdom,  but  in  wisdom 
it  is  formed  to  sometliing ;  this  some- 
thing, to  which  it  is  formed,  is  use  ; 
wherefore,  when  love  by  wisdom  is  in 
use,  then  it  really  is,  because  it  actually 
exists.  They  arc  just  like  end,  cause 
and  effect ;  the  end  is  not  any  tiling 
unless  by  the  cause  it  be  in  tiie  eflcct ; 
if  one  be  loosed  from  tho.<e  three,  the 
whole  is  loosed,  and  becomes  as  noth- 
ing. It  is  similar  with  charity,  faith 
and  works.  Charity  without  faith  is 
not  any  thing,  neither  is  faith  without 


Concerning  Faith. 


279 


charity,  nor  charity  and  faith  without 
works ;  but  in  works  tiiey  are  some- 
thing; and  such  a  something  as  the 
use  of  the  works  is.    It  is  similar  with 
artcction,  thought,  and  operation,  and 
it  is  similar  with  will,  understanding, 
and  action ;  for  the  will  without  the 
understanding  is  like  the  eye  without 
sight;  and  both  without  action  are  like  a 
mind  without  a  body  ;  that  it  is  so,  may 
be  clearly  seen  in  this  temple,  because 
the  light  in  which  we  are  here  is  a 
light  enlightening  the  interiors  of  the 
mind.     Geometry  also   teaches  that 
there  is  nothing  complete  and  perfect, 
unless  it  be  a  trine ;  for  a  line  is  not 
any  thing,  unless  it  become  an  area, 
nor  is  an  area  any  thing,  unless  it  be- 
come a  body ;  wherefore  one  must  be 
drawn  into  another,  that  they  may 
exist,  and  they  coexist  in  the  third. 
As  it  is  in  this,  it  is  also  in  all  created 
things,  each  of  which  is  terminated  in 
a  third.    Thence  now  it  is,  that  in  the 
Word  the  number  three  signifies  what 
is  complete  and  perfect.    Since  it  is  so, 
I  could  not  but  wonder  that  some  pro- 
fess faith  alone,  some  charity  alone, 
and  some  works  alone,  when  yet  one 
without  another,  or  any  two  together, 
without  the  third,  is  not  any  thing." 
But  then  I  asked,  "  Cannot  a  man 
have  charity  and  faith,  and  still  not 
works?    Cannot  a  man  be  in  affection 
and  thought  concerning  something,  and 
yet  not  in  the  operation  of  it  ?"  And 
the  angel  answered  me,  "  He  can  only 
ideally,  but  not  really  ;  he  will  still  be 
in  the  endeavor  or  will  to  operate,  and 
will  or  endeavor  is  in  itself  an  act,  be- 
cause it  is  a  continual  striving  to  act, 
which  becomes,  by  determination,  an 
•act  in  externals:  wherefore,  endeavor 
and  will,  as  an  internal  act,  is  accepted 
by  every  wise  man,  because  it  is  ac- 
cepted by  God,  altogether  as  an  exter- 
nal act,  provided  it  do  not  fail  when 
opportunity  is  given." 

388.  Fourth  Relatio?;.  I  spoke 
with  some  who,  in  the  Revelation,  are 
meant  by  the  dragon  ;  and  one  of  them 
said,  "  Come  with  me,  and  I  will  show 
you  the  delights  of  our  eyes  and  hearts." 
And  he  led  me  through  a  dark  woods 
to  the  top  of  a  hill,  from  which  I  could 


see  the  delights  of  the  dragons ;  and  I 
saw  an  amphitheatre  built  in  the  form 
of  a  circus,  with  rows  of  benches  round 
about,  raised  one  above  another,  upon 
which  the  spectators  sat.    Those  who 
sat  upon  the  lowest  benches,  appeared 
to  me  at  a  distance  like  satyrs  and 
priapuses,  some  with  a  covering  over 
the  parts  which  should  be  concealed, 
and  some  naked  without  that.   On  the 
benches  above  them  sat  whoremongers 
and  harlots ;  such  they  appeared  to  me 
from  their  gestures.     And  then  the 
dragon  said  to  me,  "  Now  you  will  see 
our  sport."    And  I  saw  let  into  the 
area  of  the  circus,  as  it  were,  bullocks, 
rams,  sheep,  kids  and  lambs  ;  and  after 
those  were  let  in,  the  gate  was  opened, 
and  there  rushed  in,  as  it  were,  young 
lions,  panthers,  tigers  and  wolves,  and 
with  fury  they  attacked  the  flock,  tore 
them  in  pieces  and  killed  them.  But 
the  satyrs,  after  that  bloody  slaughter, 
scattered  sand  upon  the  place  where 
the  slaughter  was  made.    Then  said 
the  dragon  to  me,  "  These  are  our 
sports,  which  delight  our  minds."  And 
I  replied,  "Begone,  demon;  after  some 
time  you  will  see  this  amphitheatre 
converted  into  a  lake  of  fire  and  sul- 
phur."   At  these  words,  he  laughed 
and  went  away.    And  afterwards  I 
thought  with  myself,  why  such  things 
are  permitted  by  the  Lord ;  and  I  re- 
ceived an  answer  in  my  heart,  that 
they  are  permitted  as  long  as  they  are 
in  the  world  of  spirits,  but  when  their 
time  in  that  world  has  passed,  such 
theatrical  scenes  are  turned  into  infer- 
nal horrors.    All  those  things  which 
were  seen  were  induced  by  the  dragon 
by  fantasies ;   wherefore  there  were 
no  bullocks,  rams,  sheep,  kids  and 
lambs,  but   they  made  the  genuine 
goods  and  truths  of  the  church,  which 
they  hated,  appear  so.     The  lions, 
panthers,  tigers  and  wolves  were  ap- 
pearances of  the  lusts  with  those  who 
seemed   like   satyrs    and  priapuses. 
Those  without  a  covering  about  the 
parts  which  should  be  concealed  were 
those  who  believed  that  evils  do  not 
appear  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and  those 
with  a  covering  were  those  who  be- 
lieved that  they  do  appear,  but  do  not 


280 


Concerning  Faith. 


condemn,  provided  they  are  in  faith. 
The  whoremongers  and  harlots  were 
falsifiers  of  the  truths  of  the  Word  ; 
for  whoredom  signifies  falsification  of 
the  truth.  In  the  spiritual  world,  all 
things  appear  at  a  distance,  according 
to  correspondences;  which,  when  they 
appear  in  forms,  are  called  representa- 
tions of  spiritual  things  in  objects  simi- 
lar to  natural. 

Afterwards,  I  saw  them  going  out  of 
the  woods  ,•  the  dragon  in  the  midst  of 
the  satyrs  and  priapuses,  and  the  wait- 
ers and  drudges,  who  were  whore- 
mongers and  harlots,  behind  them. 
Their  number  was  increased  on  the 
way,  and  then  I  heard  what  they  spoke 
one  to  another.  They  said,  that  they 
saw  in  a  meadow  a  flock  of  sheep  with 
lambs,  and  that  this  was  a  sign  that 
one  of  the  Jerusalem  cities,  where 
charity  is  the  primary  thing,  was  near. 
And  they  said,  "Let  us  go  and  take 
that  city,  and  cast  out  the  inhabitants, 
and  plunder  their  goods."  They  came 
to  it,  but  there  was  a  wall  around  it, 
and  guardian  angels  upon  the  wall. 
And  thou  they  said,  "Let  us  take  it  by 
stratagem;  let  us  send  some  one  skilled 
in  muttering,  who  can  make  black 
white,  and  white  black,  and  disgui.^o 
the  reality  of  every  object.  And  there 
was  found  one  skilled  in  the  art  of 
metaphysics,  who  could  turn  the  ideas 
of  things  into  ideas  of  terms,  and  con- 
ceal the  things  themselves  under  for- 
mulas, and  thus  fly  away  like  a  hawk 
with  the  prey  under  his  wings,  lie 
was  instructed  how  he  should  .speak 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  "That 
they  were  consociates  with  them  in  re- 
ligion, and  should  be  admitted."  So, 
coming  to  the  gate,  he  knocked  ;  and 
when  it  was  opened,  he  said  that  lie 
wished  to  speak  with  tlie  wise.st  man 
of  that  city ;  and  he  entered,  and  was 
led  to  a  certain  one,  and  then  he  spoke 
to  him,  saying,  "My  brethren  are  out 
of  the  city,  and  they  request  that  tliey 
may  be  received.  They  are  consociates 
with  you  in  religion.  You  and  we 
make  faith  and  charity  the  two  es.'sen- 
tials  of  religion  ;  the  oifly  difference  is, 
that  you  say  that  charity  is  the  jirimary 
one,  and  faith  is  thence;  and  we  snv 


that  faith  is  the  primary  one,  and  char- 
ity is  thence.  Of  what  consequence  is 
it,  if  one  or  the  other  be  called  the 
primary,  when"  both  are  believed?" 
The  wise  man  of  the  city  replied,  "Let 
us  not  talk  on  this  subject  alone,  but 
in  the  presence  of  several,  who  may  be 
witnesses  and  judges ;  or  else  no  de- 
cision is  made."  And  presently  they 
were  sent  for,  to  whom  the  dragonist 
spoke  the  same  things  as  before.  And 
then  the  wise  man  of  the  city  replied, 
"  You  said,  that  it  is  the  same  thing 
whether  charity  or  faith  be  taken  as 
the  primary  thing  of  the  church,  pro- 
vided they  both  make  the  church  and 
its  religion ;  and  yet  the  difference  be- 
tween them  is  like  that  between  prior 
and  posterior,  between  cause  and  effect, 
between  the  principal  and  the  instru- 
mental, and  between  the  essential  and 
the  formal ;  I  say  such  things,  because 
I  perceive  that  you  are  expert  in  the 
art  of  metaphysics,  which  art  we  call 
muttering,  and  some  call  it  incantation. 
But  let  us  leave  those  terms;  the  differ- 
ence is  as  between  that  which  is  above, 
and  tliat  which  is  below  ;  yea,  if  you 
will  believe  it,  the  difference  is  as  be- 
tween the  minds  of  those  who  dwell  in 
the  higher  regions,  and  the  minds  of 
those  who  dwell  in  the  lower  regions, 
in  tliis  world  ;  for  that  which  is  pri- 
mary makes  the  head  and  the  breast, 
and  that  which  is  thence  makes  the  feet 
and  the  soles  of  the  feet.  But  let  us 
agree,  in  the  first  place,  what  charity 
is,  and  what  faith  is;  that  charity  is 
the  affection  of  the  love  of  doing  good 
to  tlie  neighbor  for  the  sake  of  God. 
salvation  and  eternal  life,  and  that  faith 
is  thought  from  trust  concerning  God, 
salvation  and  eternal  life.  But  the 
emissary  said,  "I  grant  that  this  is 
faith,  and  also  I  grant  that  charity  is 
that  affection  for  the  sake  of  God,  be- 
cause for  the  sake  of  his  command, 
but  not  for  the  sake  of  salvation  and 
eternal  life."  After  this  agreement 
and  disacrreement,  tlie  wise  man  of  the 
city  said,  "Is  not  affection  or  dilection 
the  primary,  and  thought  thence  ?"  But 
the  emissary  of  the  dragon  said,  "I 
deny  this."  But  he  received  for  answer, 
"  You  cannot  deny  it.    Does  not  man 


Concerning  Faith, 


281 


think  from  some  dilection  ?  Take  away 
dilection,  can  he  tliiiik  any  thing?  It 
is  just  as  if  you  should  take  away 
sound  from  speecli.  If  you  should  take 
away  sound,  could  you  speak  any  thing? 
Sound  also  is  of  some  aflection  of  love, 
and  speech  is  of  thought,  for  love 
sounds  and  thought  speaks.  It  is  also 
like  flame  and  light;  if  you  take  away 
flame,  does  not  the  light  perish  ?  It  is 
similar  with  charity,  because  this  is  of 
love,  and  with  faith,  because  this  is  of 
thought.  Can  you  not  thus  conceive 
that  the  primary  is  all  in  the  secondary, 
just  like  flame  and  light?  Whence  it 
is  manifest,  that  if  you  do  not  make 
that  primary  whicli  is  the  primary,  you 
are  not  in  the  otiier ;  wherefore,  if  you 
put  faith,  which  is  in  the  second  place, 
in  the  first,  you  would  not  appear  other- 
wise in  heaven  than  like  an  inverted 
man,  whose  feet  stand  upwards  and 
his  head  downwards ;  or  like  a  sooth- 
sayer, who,  with  his  body  inverted, 
walks  upon  the  palms  of  his  hands. 
Since  you  appear  so  in  heaven,  what 
then  are  your  good  works,  which  are 
charity  in  act,  but  such  as  that  sooth- 
sayer would  do  with  his  feet,  because 
lie  cannot  with  his  hands  ?  Thence  it 
is  that  your  charity  is  natural  and  not 
spiritual,  because  it  is  inverted."  The 
emissary  understood  this,  for  every 
devil  can  understand  what  is  true  when 
he  hears  it,  but  he  cannot  retain  it, 
because  the  affection  of  evil,  which  in 
itself  is  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  when  it 
returns,  casts  out  the  thought  of  truth. 
And  afterwards  the  wise  man  of  the 
city  showed  at  large  what  faith  is, 
when  it  is  received  as  the  primary 
thing ;  that  it  is  merely  natural,  and 
that  it  is  persuasion  without  any  spir- 
itual life ;  consequently,  that  it  is  not 
faith.  And  "  I  can  almost  say  that  in 
your  faith  there  is  no  more  spirituality 
than  in  thought  concerning  the  mogul's 
kingdom,  concerning  the  diamond 
mines  there,  and  concerning  the  treas- 
ure and  palace  of  that  emperor."  On 
hearing  these  words,  the  dragonist 
went  away  angry,  and  related  them  to 
his  companions  out  of  the  city ;  and 
when  they  heard  that  it  was  said  that 
charity  is  the  affection  of  the  love  of 
36 


doing  good  to  the  neighbor  for  the  sake 
of  salvation  and  eternal  life,  they  all 
exclaimed,  "This  is  a  lie!"  and  the 
dragon  himself,  "Oh,  horrible!  are 
not  all  the  works  which  are  works  of 
charity  for  the  sake  of  salvation,  meri- 
torious?" Then  they  said  to  each  oth- 
er, "  Let  us  call  together  still  more  of 
our  companions,  and  let  us  besiege 
this  city,  and  cast  out  those  charities." 
But  when  they  attempted  to  do  this, 
behold,  there  appeared,  as  it  were,  fire 
from  heaven,  which  consumed  them ; 
but  the  fire  from  heaven  was  the  ap- 
pearance of  anger  and  hatred  against 
those  who  were  in  the  city,  since  they 
cast  down  faith  from  the  first  place  to 
the  second,  yea,  to  the  lowest  under 
charity,  because  they  said  that  it  was 
not  faith.  The  reason  why  they  ap- 
peared to  be  consumed,  as  by  fire,  was 
because  hell  was  opened  under  their 
feet,  and  they  were  swallowed  up. 
Things  similar  to  these  happened  in 
many  places  on  the  day  of  the  last 
judgment,  which  also  is  meant  by  this 
in  the  Revelation  ;  The  dragon  loill  go 
forth  to  seduce  the  nations  which  arc 
in  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  that 
he  may  gather  them  together  for  war; 
and  they  went  up  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  encompassed  the  camp  of  the 
saints  and  the  helmed  city;  but  fire 
came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven 
and  consumed  them,  xx.  8,  9. 

389.  Fifth  Relation.  Onoe  a  pa- 
per was  seen  sent  down  from  heaven 
to  a  society  in  the  world  of  spirits, 
where  were  two  prelates  of  the  church, 
with  canons  and  presbyters  under  them. 
In  that  paper  there  was  an  exhortation 
that  they  should  acknowledge  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  as  He  himself  taught.  Matt, 
xxviii.  18 ;  and  that  they  should  recede 
from  the  doctrine  concerning  faith  justi- 
fying without  the  works  of  the  law, 
because  it  is  erroneous.  That  paper 
was  read  and  copied  by  many,  and 
concerning  those  things  which  were  in 
it,  many  thouglit  and  spoke  from  judg- 
ment. But  after  they  received  it, 
they  said  among  themselves,  "  Let  us 
hear  the  prelates."  And  they  were 
heard,  but  they  spoke  against  it  and 


282 


Concerning  Faith. 


disapproved  of  it.  The  prelates  of  that 
society  were  hard  in  heart,  from  the 
falses  imbued  in  the  former  world ; 
wherefore,  after  a  short  consultation 
among  themselves,  they  sent  the  paper 
back  to  heaven,  whence  it  came ; 
whereupon,  after  some  murmuring, 
most  of  the  laity  receded  from  their 
former  opinion,  and  then  the  light  of 
their  judgment  in  spiritual  things, 
which  before  shone  bright,  was  sud- 
denly extinguished.  After  they  were 
admonished  again,  but  in  vain,  I  saw 
that  society  sinking  down,  but  how 
deep  I  did  not  see  ;  so  it  was  removed 
from  the  sight  of  those  who  worship 
only  the  Lord,  and  hold  in  aversion 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
alone.  But  after  some  days,  I  saw  al- 
most a  hundred  ascending  from  the 
lower  earth,  to  which  that  little  society 
sunk  down,  who  came  to  me,  and  one 
of  them  spoke  and  said,  "  Hear  a  won- 
derful thing.  When  we  had  sunk 
down,  the  place  appeared  to  us  like  a 
pond,  but  presently  like  dry  land,  and 
afterwards  like  a  little  city,  in  wliich 
many  had  each  his  own  house.  The 
next  day  we  consulted  among  ourselves 
what  should  be  done ;  many  said  that 
it  was  best  to  go  to  those  two  prelates 
of  the  church  and  reprove  them  mildly, 
because  they  had  sent  the  paper  back 
to  heaven,  from  which  it  was  sent 
down,  and  on  account  of  that  this  had 
happened  to  us.  They  also  chose  some, 
who  went  to  the  prelates  (and  he  who 
spoke  with  mc  said  that  he  was  one  of 
them),  and  then  one  among  us,  who 
excelled  in  wisdom,  spoke  to  the  pre- 
lates thus  :  '  We  believed  that  we, 
above  others,  had  the  church  among 
us  and  religion,  because  we  heard  it 
said  that  we  were  in  the  greatest  light 
of  the  gospel ;  but  there  was  given  to 
some  of  us  illustration  from  heaven, 
and  in  the  illustration  a  perception  that 
at  this  day  there  is  no  longer  any 
church  in  the  Christian  world,  because 
there  is  no  religion.'  The  prelates 
said,  'What  do  you  say?  Is  not  the 
church  where  the  Word  is,  where 
Christ  the  Savior  is  known,  and  where 
the  sacraments  are?'  To  this  our 
speaker  replied,  '  Those  things  are  of 


the  church,  for  they  make  the  church; 
but  they  do  not  make  it  without  man, 
but  within  him,'  Moreover,  he  said, 
'  Can  the  church  be,  where  three  Gods 
are  worshipped  ?  Can  the  church  be, 
where  its  whole  doctrine  is  founded 
upon  one  single  saying  of  Paul,  falsely 
understood,  and  thence  not  upon  the 
Word  ?  Can  the  church  be,  whilst  the 
Savior  of  the  world,  who  is  the  very 
God  of  the  church,  is  not  approached 
or  addressed  ?  Who  can  deny  that  re- 
ligion is  to  shun  evil  and  do  good  ?  Is 
it  any  religion,  that  faith  alone  saves, 
and  not  charity  at  the  same  time  ?  Is 
there  religion  where  it  is  taught  that 
the  charity  proceeding  from  man  is 
nothing  but  moral  and  civil  charity  ? 
Who  does  not  see  that  in  that  charity 
there  is  not  any  thing  of  religion  ?  Is 
there  in  faith  alone  any  thing  of  deed 
or  work,  when  yet  religion  consists  in 
doing?  Is  there  a  nation  in  all  the 
world  which  excludes  every  thing  sav- 
ing from  the  goods  of  charity,  which 
are  good  works,  when  yet  all  of  reli- 
gion consists  in  good,  and  all  of  the 
church  in  doctrine,  which  teaches 
truths,  and  by  truths  goods  ?  What 
glory  we  should  have  had,  if  we  had 
accepted  those  things  which  the  paper 
sent  down  from  heaven  brought  in  its 
bosom !'  Then  the  prelates  said, 
'  You  speak  too  loftily.  Is  not  faith 
in  act,  which  is  faith  fully  justifying 
and  saving,  the  church?  And  is  not 
faith  in  state,  which  is  faith  proceed- 
ing and  perfecting,  religion  ?  Appre- 
hend this,  children.'  But  then  our 
wise  companion  said,  '  Hear,  O  fa- 
thers ;  does  not  man  conceive  faith  in 
act  as  a  log,  according  to  your  dogma  ? 
Can  a  log  be  vivified  into  a  church  ? 
Is  not  faith  in  state,  according  to  your 
idea,  a  continuation  and  progression 
oi  faith  in  art?  And  since,  according 
to  your  dogma,  every  thing  saving  is 
in  faith,  and  not  any  tiling  in  the  good 
of  charity  from  man,  whore  then  i.s  re- 
ligion?' Then  the  prelates  said,  'You 
speak  so,  friend,  because  you  do  not 
know  the  mysteries  of  justification  by 
faith  alone ;  and  he  who  does  not  know 
them,  does  not  know  the  way  of  salva- 
tion internally  :  your  way  is  external 


Concerning  Faith. 


283 


and  plebeian.  Go  in  that  way,  if  you 
will,  but  only  know  that  all  good  is 
from  God,  and  nothing  from  man,  and 
that  thus  man  can  do  nothing,  in  spir- 
itual things,  from  himself  How,  then, 
can  man  do  the  good,  which  is  spirit- 
ual good,  from  himself?'  To  this  our 
speaker,  being  very  indignant,  replied, 
'  I  know  your  mysteries  of  justification 
better  than  you  do,  and  I  plainly  tell 
you,  that  inwardly  in  your  mysteries  I 
have  seen  nothing  but  spectres.  Is 
not  religion  to  acknowledge  God,  and 
to  hate  and  shun  the  devil  ?  Is  not  God 
good  itself,  and  the  devil  evil  itself? 
Who,  in  the  whole  world,  that  has  any 
religion,  does  not  know  this  ?  And  is 
not  doing  good  acknowledging  and 
loving  God,  because  this  is  of  God  and 
from  God  ?  And  is  not  shunning  and 
hating  the  devil,  not  to  do  evil,  because 
this  is  of  the  devil  and  from  the  devil  ? 
Does  your  faith  in  art,  which  you  call 
fully  justifying  and  saving  faith,  or, 
what  is  the  same,  your  act  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone,  teach  you  to  do  any 
good,  which  is  of  God  and  from  God  ? 
And  does  it  teach  you  to  slmn  any 
evil,  which  is  of  the  devil  and  from  the 
devil  ?  No,  not  at  all ;  because  you 
maintain  that  there  is  nothing  of  salva- 
tion in  either.  What  is  your  faith  in 
state,  which  you  call  faith  proceeding 
and  perfecting,  but  the  same  with  faith 
in  act?  How  can  this  be  perfected, 
since  you  exclude  all  good  from  man, 
as  from  himself,  by  saying,  in  your 
mysteries.  How  can  man  be  saved 
by  any  good  from  himself,  when  salva- 
tion is  a  free  gift?  And  what  good 
comes  from  man,  but  that  which  is 
meritorious  ?  and  yet  all  merit  belongs 
to  Christ.  Wherefore,  to  do  good  for 
the  sake  of  salvation,  would  be  to  at- 
tribute to  one's  self  what  belongs  to 
Christ  alone ;  thus  also  it  would  be  to 
wish  to  justify  and  save  one's  self 
Again,  how  can  any  one  perform  what 
is  good,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  performs 
all,  without  any  help  of  man  ?  What 
need,  then,  is  there  of  any  accessory 
good  from  man,  since  all  the  good  from 
man,  in  itself,  is  not  good  ?  besides 
many  other  things.  Are  not  these 
your  mysteries  1  But,  in  my  eyes,  they 


are  mere  subtleties  and  artifices,  con- 
trived for  the  purpose  of  removing  good 
works,  which  are  the  goods  of  charity, 
in  order  to  establish  your  faith  alone ; 
and  because  you  do  this,  you  regard 
man,  as  to  that,  and  in  general,  as  to 
all  spiritual  things,  which  are  those  of 
the  church  and  religion,  as  a  log,  or  as 
a  lifeless  image,  and  not  as  a  man, 
created  in  the  image  of  God,  to  whom 
was  given,  and  continually  is  given, 
the  faculty  of  understanding  and  will- 
ing, of  believing  and  loving,  and  of 
speaking  and  doing,  altogether  as  from 
himself,  especially  in  spiritual  things, 
because  man  is  man  from  them.  If 
man,  in  spiritual  things,  did  not  think 
and  operate  as  from  himself,  what  then 
is  the  Word  ;  what  then  is  the  church 
and  religion,  and  what  then  is  worship  ? 
You  know  that  to  do  good  to  the  neigh- 
bor from  love  is  charity,  but  you  do  not 
know  what  charity  is,  when  yet  charity 
is  the  soul  and  essence  of  faith  ;  and 
because  charity  is  both  of  those,  what 
then  is  faith,  removed  from  charity, 
but  dead  ?  and  dead  faith  is  nothing 
but  a  spectre.  I  call  it  a  spectre,  since 
James  calls  faith,  without  good  works, 
not  only  dead,  but  also  devilish.  ' 
Then  one  of  those  prelates,  when  he 
heard  his  faith  called  dead,  devilish, 
and  a  spectre,  became  so  angry,  that 
he  pulled  off  the  cap  from  his  head, 
and  threw  it  upon  the  table,  saying, 
'  I  will  not  take  that  up  again  until  I 
have  punished  the  enemies  of  the  faith 
of  our  church ;'  and  he  shook  his  head, 
muttering  and  saying,  "th.\t  James! 
THAT  James  !"  On  the  front  of  the 
cap  there  was  a  thin  plate,  on  which 
was  engraved.  Faith  alone  justify- 
ing. And  suddenly  there  appeared  a 
monster  rising  out  of  the  earth,  with 
seven  heads,  which  had  feet  like  a 
bear,  a  body  like  a  leopard,  and  a 
mouth  like  a  lion,  altogether  similar  to 
the  beast  which  is  described  Rev. 
xiii.  1,2,  an  image  of  which  was  made 
and  worshipped,  verses  14,  15.  This 
spectre  took  the  cap  from  the  table,  and 
made  it  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  put  it 
on  his  seven  heads ;  which  being  done, 
the  earth  opened  under  his  feet,  and  he 
sunk  down.  On  seeing  this,  the  prelate 


284 


Concerning  Faith. 


exclaimed,  '  Violence  !  Violence  ! ' 
Then  we  went  away  from  them  ;  and 
lo,  there  were  steps  before  our  eyes, 
by  which  we  ascended  and  returned 
above  the  earth  and  into  the  sight  of 
heaven,  where  we  were  before."  These 
things  were  related  to  me  by  that 
spirit,  who,  with  a  hundred  others,  had 
ascended  from  the  lower  earth. 

390.  Sixth  Relation.  In  the  north- 
ern region  of  the  spiritual  world,  I 
heard,  as  it  were,  a  roaring  of  waters ; 
wherefore  I  went  up  thither,  and  when 
I  was  near,  the  roaring  ceased,  and  I 
heard  a  noise  as  from  an  assembled 
multitude,  and  then  there  was  seen  a 
house  full  of  holes,  surrounded  with  a 
mound,  from  which  that  noise  was 
heard.  I  went  to  it,  and  there  was  a 
doorkeeper  there,  whom  I  asked  who 
were  there.  He  said,  "  That  they  were 
the  wise  of  the  wise,  who  among  them- 
selves conclude  supernatural  things." 
(He  spoke  thus  from  his  simple  faith.) 
And  I  said,  "  May  I  go  in  ?"  He  said, 
"You  may,  only  you  must  not  talk  any, 
since  I  have  leave  to  admit  gentiles, 
who  stand  with  me  at  the  door." 
Wherefore  I  entered;  and, behold, there 
was  a  circus,  and  in  the  middle  of  it  a 
pulpit,  and  a  company  of  wise  men,  so 
called,  were  canvassing  the  mysteries 
of  their  faith ;  and  then  the  question  or 
proposition  subjected  to  discussion  was, 
"Whether  the  good  wiiich  a  man  does 

in    THE    STATE    OF   JUSTIFICATION  by 

faith,  or  in  its  progression  after  the 
ACT,  be  the  good  of  religion  or  not." 
They  said,  unanimously,  that,  by  the 
good  of  religion,  is  meant  the  good 
which  contributes  to  salvation.  The 
discussion  was  vehement,  but  those 
prevailed  who  said  that  the  goods 
which  a  man  does  in  the  state  or  pro- 
gression of  faith  are  only  moral  goods, 
which  conduce  to  prosperity  in  the 
world,  but  contribute  nothing  to  salva- 
tion ;  to  this  faith  only  contributes,  and 
they  confirmed  it  thus  :  "  How  can  any 
voluntary  good  of  man  be  conjoined 
witli  free  grace?  Is  not  salvation  of 
free  grace  ?  How  can  any  good  from 
man  be  conjoined  with  the  merit  of 
Christ?  Is  not  salvation  solely  by  that? 
And  how  can  the  operation  of  man  be 


conjoined  with  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  ?  Does  He  not  do  all  with- 
out the  help  of  man  ?  Are  not  those 
three  things  alone  conducive  to  salva- 
tion in  the  act  of  justification  by  faith, 
and  do  not  those  three  continue  alone 
conducive  to  salvation  in  the  state  or 
progression  of  it  ?  Wherefore  the  ac- 
cessory good  from  man  can  in  no  wise 
be  called  the  good  of  religion,  which, 
as  was  said,  contributes  to  salvation; 
but,  if  any  one  does  it  for  the  sake  of 
salvation,  since  the  will  of  man  is  in  it, 
and  this  cannot  but  regard  it  as  merit, 
it  should  rather  be  called  the  evil  of 
religion.  There  were  two  gentiles 
standing  by  the  doorkeeper  in  the 
porch ;  and  they  heard  these  things, 
and  said  one  to  the  other,  "  These  peo- 
ple have  not  any  religion.  Who  does 
not  see,  that  to  do  good  to  the  neighbor 
for  the  sake  of  God,  thus  with  God  and 
from  God,  is  what  is  called  religion?" 
And  the  other  said,  "Their  faith  has 
infatuated  them."  And  then  they  asked 
the  doorkeeper,  "Who  are  those?" 
The  doorkeeper  said,  "They  are  wise 
Christians."  And  they  replied,  "  You 
prate,  you  lie ;  they  are  puppet-players, 
they  talk  so."  And  I  went  away.  It 
was  from  the  divine  auspices  of  the 
Lord  that  I  went  to  that  house,  and 
that  they  then  deliberated  concerning 
those  things,  and  that  it  happened  as  it 
is  described. 

391.  Seventh  Relation.  What  a 
desolation  of  truth  and  theological  lean- 
ness there  are  at  this  day  in  the  Chris- 
tian world,  was  made  known  to  me 
from  conversing  with  many  of  the  laity 
and  with  many  of  the  clergy  in  the 
spiritual  world.  With  the  latter  there 
is  such  a  s]>iritual  indigence,  that  they 
scarcely  know  any  thing  else  than  that 
there  is  a  trinity — the  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Spirit ;  and  that  faith  alone  saves; 
and  concerning  the  Lord  Christ,  only 
the  historical  things  concerning  Him 
in  the  Evangelists ;  but  as  to  the  other 
things  which  the  Word  of  both  Testa- 
ments teaches  concerning  Him,  as  that 
the  Father  and  He  are  one ;  that  He 
is  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  Him ; 
that  He  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  in 
earth;  that  it  is  the  will  of  the  Father 


Concerning  Faith. 


285 


that  they  should  believe  in  the  Son, 
and  that  lie  that  believeth  in  Him  hath 
eternal  life ;  besides  many  other  things ; 
these  are  as  unknown  and  as  hidden 
from  them  as  those  things  which  are  at 
the  bottom  of  the  ocean ;  yea,  as  those 
which  lie  in  the  centre  of  the  earth; 
and  when  those  things  are  produced 
from  the  Word  and  read,  they  stand 
as  if  they  heard  and  did  not  hear  ;  and 
they  enter  into  their  ears  no  deeper 
than  the  whistling  of  the  wind,  or  the 
beating  of  a  drum.  The  angels,  who 
are  at  times  sent  forth  by  the  Lord  to 
visit  the  Christian  societies  which  are 
in  the  world  of  spirits,  thus  under  heav- 
en, lament  exceedingly,  saying,  "That 
there  is  almost  as  much  dulness,  and 
thence  darkness,  in  the  things  of  sal- 
vation, as  in  a  speaking  parrot;  they 
say  also  that  the  learned  among  them 
understand,  in  spiritual  and  divine 
things,  no  more  than  statues.  An  angel 
once  related  to  me  the  conversation 
which  he  had  with  two  of  the  clergy, 
one  who  was  in  faith  separate  from 
charity,  another  who  was  in  faith  not 
separate.  With  the  one  who  was  in 
faith  separate  from  charity  he  spoke 
thus :  "  Friend,  who  are  you  1"  He  re- 
plied, "  I  am  a  Reformed  Christian." 
"  What  is  your  doctrine,  and  thence 
religion?"  He  replied,  "It  is  faith." 
He  said,  "What  is  your  faith?"  He 
replied,  "  My  faith  is,  that  God  the 
Father  sent  the  Son  to  take  upon  Him 
the  damnation  of  the  human  race,  and 
that  we  are  saved  by  that."  He  then 
questioned  him,  by  saying,  "What 
more  do  you  know  concerning  salva- 
tion V  He  replied,  "  Salvation  is  effect- 
ed by  faith  alone."  He  said,  further, 
"  What  do  you  know  concerning  re- 
demption ?"  He  replied,  "  It  was  made 
by  the  passion  of  the  cross,  and  the 
merit  of  it  is  imputed  by  means  of  that 
faith."  Again,  "What  do  you  know 
concerning  regeneration  ?"  He  answer- 


ed, "It  is  effected  by  that  faith."  "Tell 
what  you  know  concerning  love  and 
charity."  He  replied,  "  They  are  that 
faith."  "Tell  what  you  think  con- 
cerning the  precepts  of  the  decalogue, 
and  concerning  the  other  things  in 
the  Word."  He  replied,  "  They  are  in 
that  faith."  Then  he  said,  "  You  will 
therefore  do  nothing."  He  replied, 
"What  shall  I  do?  I  cannot  do  good, 
which  is  good,  from  myself"  He  said, 
"Can  you  have  faith  from  yourself?" 
He  replied,  "  I  do  not  inquire  into  this, 
I  shall  have  faith."  At  length  he  said, 
"Do  you  know  any  thing  at  all  more 
concerning  salvation?"  He  replied, 
"What  more,  since  salvation  is  by  that 
faith  alone?"  But  then  the  angel  said, 
"You  answer  like  one  who  plays  with 
one  note  of  a  harp  ;  I  hear  nothing  but 
faith  ;  if  you  know  that,  and  do  not 
know  any  thing  besides,  you  know 
nothing.  Go  and  see  your  comi)anions." 
He  went  and  found  them  in  a  desert, 
where  there  was  no  grass,  and  he  ask- 
ed why  it  was  so  ;  and  it  was  said, 
"  Because  they  have  nothing  of  the 
church." 

With  him.who  was  in  faith  conjoin- 
ed to  charity,  the  angel  spoke  thus : 
"Friend,  who  are  you?"  He  replied, 
"  I  am  a  Reformed  Christian."  "  What 
is  your  doctrine,  and  thence  religion  ?" 
He  replied,  "  Faith  and  charity."  He 
said,  "These  are  two  things."  He  re- 
plied, "They  cannot  be  separated." 
He  said,  "  What  is  faith  ?"  He  replied, 
"To  believe  what  the  Word  teaches." 
He  said,  "What  is  charity?"  He  an- 
swered, "To  do  what  the  Word  teach- 
es." He  said,  "Have  you  only  be- 
lieved those  things,  or  have  you  also 
done  them  ?"  He  replied,  "  I  have  also 
done  them."  The  angel  of  heaven 
then  looked  at  him  and  said,  "My 
friend,  come  with  me  and  dwell  with 


286 


Concerning  Charity, 


CHAPTER  VII. 


CONCERNING  CHARITY,  OR  LOVE  TOWARDS  THE  NEIGHBOR, 
AND  CONCERNING  GOOD  WORKS. 


392.  Having  treated  concerning 
Faith,  we  now  proceed  to  treat  con- 
cerning Charity,  because  faith  and 
charity  are  conjoined  like  truth  and 
good,  and  these  two  like  light  and 
heat  in  the  time  of  spring.  This  is 
said,  because  spiritual  light,  which  is 
the  light  which  proceeds  from  the  sun 
of  the  spiritual  world,  in  its  essence  is 
truth ;  wherefore  truth,  in  that  world, 
wheresoever  it  appears,  shines  with 
splendor  according  to  its  purity ;  and 
spiritual  heat,  which  also  proceeds  from 
that  sun,  in  its  essence  is  good.  These 
things  are  said,  since  it  is  similar  with 
charity  and  faith  as  it  is  with  the  good 
and  the  true ;  for  charity  ,is  the  com- 
plex of  all  things  of  good  which  a  man 
does  to  the  neighbor,  and  faith  is  the 
complex  of  all  things  of  truth  which  a 
man  thinks  concerning  God  and  con- 
cerning things  divine.  Since,  therefore, 
the  truth  of  faith  is  spiritual  light,  and 
the  good  of  charity  is  spiritual  heat,  it 
follows  that  it  is  similar  with  these  two 
as  it  is  with  the  two  things  of  the  same 
name  in  the  natural  world ;  namely, 
that  from  their  conjunction  all  things 
upon  the  earth  flourish,  so  likewise 
from  their  conjunction  all  things  in  the 
human  mind  flourish  ;  but  with  this 
distinction,  that  natural  heat  and  light 
cause  the  things  upon  the  earth  to 
flourish,  but  that  spiritual  heat  and 
light  cau.sc  the  things  in  the  human 
mind  to  flourish,  and  that  this  flourish- 
ing, because  it  is  spiritual,  is  wisdom 
and  intelligence.  There  is  also  a  cor- 
respondence between  them ;  wherefore 
the  human  mind,  in  which  charity  is 
conjoined  to  faith,  and  faith  to  charity, 
is  in  the  Word  likened  to  a  garden, 
and  is  also  meant  by  the  garden  of 


Eden ;  that  it  is  so,  has  been  fully 
shown  in  the  Arc.\na  Ccelestia,  pub- 
lished at  London.  Moreover,  it  is  to 
be  known,  that  unless  charity  should 
be  treated  of,  after  faith  has  been  treat- 
ed of,  it  could  not  be  comprehended 
what  faith  is;  since,  as  it  was  said  and 
shown  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Faith 
without  charity  is  not  faith,  and  char- 
ity without  faith  is  not  charity ;  and 
neither  of  them  lives  except  from  the 
Lord,  n.  355  to  3GI.  And  also,  That 
the  Lord,  charity  and  faith  make  one, 
like  life,  will  and  understanding ;  and 
that  if  they  are  divided,  each  perishes, 
like  a  pearl  reduced  to  powder,  n.  362 
to  367.  And  moreover.  That  charity 
and  faith  are  together  in  good  toorks, 
n.  373  and  the  following. 

393.  It  is  a  constant  truth,  that  char- 
ity and  faith  cannot  be  separated,  and 
still  man  have  spiritual  life,  and  thence 
salvation.  That  it  is  so,  falls  of  itself 
into  the  understanding  of  every  man, 
even  when  not  cultivated  and  enriched 
with  the  treasures  of  learning.  Wlio 
does  not  see,  from  some  interior  per- 
ception, and  thence  assent  from  the 
understanding,  when  he  hears  any  one 
say,  That  whosoever  lives  tcell  and  be- 
lieves aright,  is  saved?  And  who  does 
not  reject  it  from  the  understanding, 
as  a  lump  of  dirt  falling  into  the  eye, 
when  he  hears.  That  whosoever  believes 
aright,  and  docs  not  live  well,  is  also 
saved?  Since,  from  an  interior  percep- 
tion, it  then  falls  immediately  into  the 
thought,  how  can  any  one  believe 
aright,  when  he  does  not  live  well? 
And  what,  then,  is  believing  but  a  paint- 
ed figure  of  faith,  and  not  a  living 
image  of  it?  In  like  manner,  if  any 
one  should  hear,  IViat  whosoever  lives 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


287 


well,  although  he  docs  not  believe,  is 
saved,  docs  not  the  understanding, 
while  it  revolves  this,  or  turns  it  over 
and  over,  see,  perceive  and  think,  that 
this  does  not  cohere,  since  to  live  well 
is  from  God ;  for  all  good,  which  in  it- 
self is  good,  is  from  God?  What,  then, 
is  it  to  live  well,  and  not  to  believe,  but 
like  clay  in  the  hand  of  the  potter, 
which  is  not  capable  of  being  formed 
into  any  vessel  of  use  in  the  spiritual 
kingdom,  but  only  in  a  natural  king- 
dom ?  And  besides,  who  does  not  see 
a  contradiction  in  those  two  things, 
namely,  in  this.  That  he  is  saved  who 
believes,  and  does  not  live  loell ;  and  in 
this,  That  he  is  saved  who  lives  loell, 
and  does  not  believe  ?  Now,  because 
to  live  well,  which  is  of  charity,  is  at 
this  day  known,  and  is  not  known  (it 
is  known  what  it  is  to  live  well  nat- 
urally, and  it  is  not  known  what  it  is 
to  live  well  spiritually) ;  therefore  we 
shall  treat  concerning  this,  because  it 
is  of  charity ;  which  will  be  done  dis- 
tinctly in  a  series  by  articles. 

394.  I.  That  there  are  three 
UNIVERSAL  Loves,  the  Love  of 
Heaven,  the  Love  of  the  World, 
AND  the  Love  of  Self. 

An  exordium  is  made  from  these 
three  loves,  because  they  are  the  uni- 
versal and  fundamental  of  all,  and 
because  charity  has  something  in  com- 
mon with  each  of  them ;  for  by  the 
Love  of  Heaven  is  meant  love  to  the 
Lord,  and  also  love  towards  the  neigh- 
bor; and  because  each  of  these  regards 
use  as  the  end,  it  may  be  called  the 
love  of  uses.  The  Love  of  the 
World  is  not  only  the  love  of  wealth 
and  possessions,  but  also  the  love  of  all 
the  things  which  the  world  affords,  and 
which  delight  the  senses  of  the  body  ; 
as  beauty  the  eyes,  harmony  the  ears, 
fragrance  the  nostrils,  delicacies  the 
tongue,  softness  the  skin ;  and,  more- 
over, decent  clothes,  commodious  hab- 
itations and  social  parties,  thus  all 
the  delights  from  these  and  from  many 
other  objects.  The  Love  of  Self  is 
not  only  the  love  of  honor,  glory,  fame 
and  eminence,  but  also  the  love  of 
meriting  and  procuring  offices,  and 
thus  of  reigning  over  others.  The 


reason  why  charity  has  something  in 
common  with  each  of  those  three  loves, 
is,  because  charity,  viewed  in  itself,  is 
the  love  of  uses ;  for  charity  wills  to  do 
good  to  the  neighbor,  and  good  is  the 
same  with  use,  and  each  of  those  loves 
regards  uses  as  its  ends ;  the  love  of 
heaven  spiritual  uses;  the  love  of  the 
world  natural  uses,  which  may  be  call- 
ed civil  uses ;  and  the  love  of  self  cor- 
poreal uses,  which  also  may  be  called 
domestic  uses,  for  one's  self  and  his 
own. 

395.  That  those  three  loves  are  in 
every  man,  from  creation,  and  thence 
by  nativity,  and  that  when  they  are 
rightly  subordinated  they  perfect  man, 
and  when  not  rightly  subordinated  they 
pervert  him,  will  be  demonstrated  in 
the  following  article  ;  here  it  is  proper 
only  to  observe,  that  those  three  loves 
are  then  rightly  subordinated,  when  the 
love  of  heaven  makes  the  head,  the 
love  of  the  world  the  breast  and  belly, 
and  the  love  of  self  the  feet  and  soles 
of  the  feet.  The  human  mind  is  dis- 
tinguished into  three  regions,  as  has 
been  several  times  said  above;  from 
the  highest  region  man  regards  God, 
from  the  second  or  middle,  the  world, 
and  from  the  third  or  lowest,  himself 
The  mind,  because  it  is  such,  can  be 
elevated  and  can  elevate  itself  upwards, 
because  to  God  and  heaven ;  it  can  be 
diffused  and  can  diffuse  itself  to  the 
sides  in  all  directions,  because  into  the 
world  and  its  nature ;  and  it  can  be 
lowered  and  can  lower  itself  down- 
wards, because  to  the  earth  and  to 
hell.  In  these  respects  the  sight  of 
the  body  emulates  the  sight  of  the 
mind ;  that  also  is  capable  of  looking 
upwards,  of  looking  around,  and  of 
looking  downwards.  The  human  mind 
is  like  a  house  of  three  stories,  between 
which  there  is  a  communication  by 
means  of  stairs,  in  the  highest  of  which 
dwell  angels  from  heaven,  in  the  mid- 
dle, men  from  the  world,  and  in  the 
lowest,  ge7iii  or  evil  spirits.  The  man 
in  whom  those  three  loves  are  rightly 
subordinated  can  ascend  and  descend 
at  pleasure ;  and  when  he  ascends  to 
the  highest  story,  he  is  there  in  compa- 
ny with  the  angels,  as  an  angel ;  and 


288 


Concerning  Charity, 


when  he  descends  thence  to  the  mid- 
dle, he  is  there  in  company  with  men, 
as  a  man-angel ;  and  when  from  this 
he  descends  farther,  he  is  in  company 
with  genii,  as  a  man  of  the  world,  and 
instructs,  reproves  and  tames  them. 
In  the  man  in  whom  those  three  loves 
are  rightly  subordinated,  they  are  also 
arranged  together  in  such  a  manner, 
that  the  highest  love,  which  is  the  love 
of  heaven,  is  inwardly  in  the  second, 
which  is  the  love  of  the  world,  and  by 
this  in  the  third  or  lowest,  which  is  the 
love  of  self ;  and  the  love  which  is 
within  directs  that  which  is  without, 
at  its  pleasure  ;  wherefore,  if  the  love 
of  heaven  is  inwardly  in  the  love  of  the 
world,  and  by  this  in  the  love  of  self, 
man  does  uses  in  eacli,  from  the  God 
of  heaven.  Those  three  loves  in  opera- 
ting are  like  will,  understanding  and 
action.  The  will  flows  into  the  un- 
derstanding, and  there  provides  for  it- 
self means  by  which  it  ])roduces  action. 
But  more  will  be  seen  concerning 
these  in  the  following  article,  where  it 
will  be  demon.strated,  that  those  three 
loves,  if  they  arc  rightly  subordinated, 
perfect  man  ;  but  if  they  are  not  right- 
ly subordinated,  they  pervert  and  in- 
vert him. 

896.  But  in  order  that  those  things 
which  follow  in  this  chapter,  and  in 
the  succeeding  ones,  concerning  Free- 
Agency,  and  concerning  Reformation 
and  Regeneration,  6ic.,  may  be  set 
forth  in  the  light  of  reason,  to  be  clear- 
ly seen,  it  is  necessary  that  some  things 
be  premised  concerning  the  Wii.i, 
ANJ)  THE  Understanding;  concern- 
ing Good  and  Truth  ;  concerning 
Love  in  general;  concerning  the 
Love  of  the  Would,  and  the  Love 
OF  Self  in  particular  ;  concerning 
THE  External  and  the  Internal 
Man  ;  and  concerning  the  merely 
Natural  and  Sensual  Man.  These 
things  shall  be  laid  open,  lest  tlie  ra- 
tional sight  of  man,  in  contemplating 
those  things  which  follow  licreafter, 
should  be,  as  it  were,  in  a  thick  cloud, 
and  in  that  should,  as  it  were,  run 
through  the  streets  of  a  city,  until  he 
knows  not  the  way  home.  For  what 
is  theological  science  without  under- 


standing, and  this  illustrated  when  the 
Word  is  read,  but  as  a  lamp  in  the 
hand  without  a  lighted  candle,  such  as 
there  was  in  the  hands  of  the  five  fool- 
ish virgins,  who  had  no  oil.  Concern- 
ing each,  therefore,  in  its  order. 

397.  (1.)  Concerning  the  Will  and 
the  Understanding. 

1.  Man  has  two  faculties  which  make 
his  life ;  one  is  called  the  will,  and 
the  other  the  understanding ;  they  are 
distinct  from  each  other,  but  so  cre- 
ated that  they  may  be  one,  and  when 
they  are  one,  they  are  called  the  mind. 
Wherefore  they  are  the  human  mind, 
and  all  the  life  of  man  is  there,  in  its 
principles,  and  thence  in  the  body. 

2.  As  all  things  in  the  universe,  which 
are  according  to  order,  refer  them- 
selves to  good  and  truth,  so  all  the 
things  with  man  to  the  will  and  the  un- 
derstanding ;  for  the  good  with  man  is 
of  his  will,  and  the  truth  with  him  is  of 
his  understanding ;  for  these  two  facul- 
ties, or  these  two  lives  of  man,  are  their 
receptacles  and  subjects ;  the  will  is  the 
receptacle  and  subject  of  all  of  the 
good,  and  the  understanding  is  the  re- 
ceptacle and  subject  of  all  of  the  true. 
The  good  and  the  truth  with  man  are 
not  any  where  else;  and  because  the 
good  and  the  truth  with  man  are  not 
any  where  else,  thence  also  love  and 
faith  are  not  any  where  else,  since  love 
is  of  good,  and  good  is  of  love,  and 
faith  is  of  truth,  and  truth  is  of  faith. 

3.  The  will  and  the  understanding 
also  make  the  spirit  of  man ;  for  his 
wisdom  and  intelligence,  and  likewise 
his  love  and  charity,  reside  there,  and 
in  general  his  life ;  the  body  is  only 
obedience.  4.  There  is  nothing  which 
it  is  more  important  to  know,  than  how 
the  will  and  tiie  understanding  make 
one  mind  ;  they  make  one  mind  as 
good  and  truth  make  one,  for  there 
is  a  similar  marriage  between  the  will 
and  the  understanding  as  there  is 
between  good  and  truth :  what  that 
marriage  is,  will  be  evident  from 
those  tilings  which  will  presently  be 
adduced  concerning  the  good  and  the 
true;  namely,  that  as  good  is  the 
very  esse  of  a  tiling,  and  truth  is  the 
rristere  of  «  thing  thence,  so  llie  will 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


289 


with  man  is  the  very  esse  of  his  life, 
and  the  understanding  the  existcre  of 
life  thence ;  for  the  good  which  is  of 
the  will,  forms  itself  in  the  under- 
standing, and  exhibits  itself  to  be 
seen. 

398.  (2.)  Concerning  Good  and 
Truth. 

1.  All  tilings  in  the  universe  which 
are  in  divine  order,  refer  themselves 
to  good  and  truth.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  heaven,  and  nothing  in  the 
World,  which  does  not  refer  itself  to 
those  two ;  the  reason  is,  because 
they  both,  good  as  well  as  truth, 
proceed  from  God,  from  whom  are  all 
things.  2.  Thence  it  is  manifest,  that 
it  is  necessary  for  man  to  know  what 
good  is,  and  what  truth  is,  and  how 
the  one  has  respect  to  the  other, 
and  how  one  is  con  joined  to  the  other. 
But  it  is  especially  necessary  for  the 
man  of  the  church ;  for,  as  all  the 
things  of  heaven  refer  themselves  to 
good  and  truth,  so  likewise  do  all 
the  things  of  the  church,  because 
the  good  and  the  truth  of  heaven  are 
also  the  good  and  the  truth  of  the 
church.  3.  It  is  according  to  divine 
order,  that  good  and  truth  should 
be  conjoined,  and  not  separated,  so 
that  they  may  be  one  and  not  two,  for 
they  proceed  together  from  God,  and 
they  are  conjoined  in  heaven,  and 
therefore  they  will  be  conjoined  in  the 
church.  The  conjunction  of  good 
and  truth  is  called  in  heaven  the 
heavenly  marriage,  for  all  who  are 
there  are  in  this  marriage.  Thence  it 
is  that  in  the  Word  heaven  is  com- 
pared to  a  marriage,  and  that  the  Lord 
is  called  a  Bridegroom  and  Husband, 
and  heaven  and  likewise  the  church, 
the  bride  and  wife.  The  reason  why 
heaven  and  the  church  are  so  called, 
is,  because  all  who  are  there  receive 
the  divine  good  in  the  truth.  4.  All 
the  intelligence  and  wisdom,  which  the 
angels  have,  is  from  that  marriage, 
and  not  any  from  the  good  separate 
from  the  truth,  nor  from  the  truth 
separate  from  the  good ;  the  case  is 
similar  with  the  men  of  the  church.  5. 
Since  the  conjunction  of  good  and 
truth  is  like  a  marriage,  it  is  manifest 
37 


that  good  loves  the  truth,  and,  re- 
ciprocally, the  truth  loves  good,  and 
that  one  desires  to  be  conjoined  with 
the  other.  The  man  of  the  church, 
who  has  no  such  love  and  such  desire, 
is  not  in  the  heavenly  marriage  ;  con- 
sequently, the  church  is  not  as  ySt  in 
him,  since  the  conjunction  of  good 
and  the  truth  makes  the  church.  6. 
There  are  many  kinds  of  good ;  in 
general,  there  is  spiritual  good  and 
natural  good,  and  both  are  conjoined  in 
genuine  moral  good.  As  goods  are, 
so  are  truths;  because  truths  are  of 
good  and  are  the  forms  of  good.  7. 
As  it  is  with  good  and  the  truth, 
so  it  is,  as  an  opposite,  with  evil 
and  the  false ;  for,  as  all  things  in 
the  universe  which  are  according  to 
divine  order  refer  themselves  to  good 
and  the  true,  so  all  the  things  which 
are  contrary  to  divine  order  refer 
themselves  to  evil  and  the  false.  And 
as  good  loves  to  be  conjoined  to  the 
truth  and  the  truth  to  good,  so  evil 
loves  to  be  conjoined  to  the  false  and 
the  false  to  evil.  And,  also,  as  all 
intelligence  and  wisdom  are  born  from 
the  conjunction  of  good  and  the  truth, 
so  all  insanity  and  folly  are  from  the 
conjunction  of  evil  and  the  false. 
The  conjunction  of  evil  and  the  false, 
viewed  interiorly,  is  not  a  marriage, 
but  adultery.  8.  From  this,  that  evil 
and  the  false  are  opposite  to  good  and 
the  truth,  it  is  manifest  that  the  truth 
cannot  be  conjoined  to  evil,  nor  good 
to  the  false  of  evil ;  if  the  truth  be 
adjoined  to  evil,  it  becomes  no  longer 
true,  but  false,  because  it  is  falsified ; 
and  if  good  be  adjoined  to  tlie  false 
of  evil,  it  becomes  no  longer  good,  but 
evil,  because  it  is  adulterated.  But  the 
false,  not  of  evil,  may  be  conjoined  to 
good.  9.  No  one  who  is  in  evil  and  the 
false  thence  from  confirmation  and  life, 
can  know  what  are  good  and  truth, 
since  he  believes  his  evil  to  be  good, 
and  thence  he  believes  his  false  to  be 
true ;  but  every  one  ;vho  is  in  good  and 
the  truth  thence,  from  confirmation 
and  life,  may  know  what  is  evil  and 
false;  the  reason  is,  because  all  the 
good  and  its  truth  are,  in  their  essence, 
heavenly;  but  all  evil  and  the  false 


290 


Concerning  Charity, 


thence  are,  in  their  essence,  infernal ; 
and  every  thing  heavenly  is  in  the 
light,  and  every  thing  infernal,  in 
darkness. 

399.  (3.)  Concerning  Love  in  gen- 
eral. 

1.  The  very  life  of  man  is  his  love; 
and  as  the  love  is,  such  is  the  life,  yea, 
such  is  the  whole  man ;  but  it  is  the 
ruling  or  reigning  love  which  makes 
the  man.  This  love  has  several  loves 
subordinate  to  it,  which  are  deriva- 
tions. These  appear  in  various  forms, 
but  still  they  are  every  one  of  them  in 
the  ruling  love,  and  with  that  they  make 
one  kingdom.  The  ruling  love  is,  as 
it  were,  their  king  and  head  ;  it  directs 
them,  and  by  them,  as  by  mediate  ends, 
it  regards  and  intends  its  own  end, 
which  is  the  primary  and  last  of  all ; 
and  this  both  directly  and  indirectly. 
2.  That  which  is  of  the  ruling  love  is 
what  is  loved  above  all  things.  That 
which  a  man  loves  above  all  things,  is 
continually  present  in  his  thought, 
because  in  his  will,  and  makes  liis 
veriest  life.  As,  for  example,  he  who 
loves  riches,  whether  money  or  posses- 
sions, above  all  things,  continually  re- 
volves in  his  mind  how  he  may  procure 
them  for  himself ;  he  inwardly  rejoices 
when  he  gains ;  he  inwardly  grieves 
when  he  loses  ;  his  heart  is  in  them. 
He  who  loves  himself  above  all  things, 
roinombers  himself  in  every  thing ;  lie 
thinks  of  himself,  he  speaks  of  himself, 
ho  acts  for  the  sake  of  himself,  for  his 
life  is  the  life  of  self  3.  A  man  has  for 
an  end  what  he  loves  above  all  things ; 
that  he  regards  in  each  and  every 
thing;  it  is  in  his  will,  like  the  latent 
current  of  a  river,  which  draws  and 
carries  him  away,  even  when  he  is 
doing  something  else,  for  it  is  that 
which  animates  him.  Such  is  that 
which  one  explores  in  another,  and 
also  sees,  and  by  it  he  either  leads  him, 
or  acts  with  hitn.  4.  A  man  is  alto- 
gether such  as  the  ruling  principle  of 
his  life  is  ;  by  this  he  is  distinguished 
from  others ;  according  to  this,  his 
heaven  is  made,  if  he  is  good,  and  his 
hell,  if  he  is  evil ;  it  is  his  very  will, 
his  proprium,  and  his  nature  ;  for  it  is 
the  very  esse  of  his  life.    This,  after 


death,  cannot  be  changed,  because  it 
is  the  man  himself  5.  All  the  de- 
light, pleasure  and  happiness  of  every 
one,  are  from  his  ruling  love,  and  ac- 
cording to  it ;  for  that  which  a  man 
loves,  he  calls  delightful,  because  he 
feels  it ;  but  that  which  he  thinks  and 
does  not  love,  he  may  also  call  delight- 
ful, but  it  is  not  the  delight  of  his  life. 
The  delight  of  the  love  is  what  is  good 
to  a  man,  and  the  opposite  is  what  is 
evil  to  him.  6.  There  are  two  loves, 
from  which,  as  from  their  very  foun- 
tains, all  goods  and  truths  exist ;  and 
there  are  two  loves  from  which  all  evils 
and  falses  exist.  The  two  loves  from 
which  are  all  goods  and  truths,  are 
love  to  the  Lord,  and  love  towards  the 
neighbor ;  but  the  two  loves  from  which 
are  all  evils  and  falses,  are  the  love  of 
self,  and  the  love  of  the  world.  These 
two  loves,  when  they  rule,  are  entirely 
opposite  to  those  two  loves.  7.  The 
two  loves,  which,  as  was  said,  are  love 
to  the  Lord  and  love  towards  the  neigh- 
bor, make  heaven  with  man,  for  those 
reign  in  heaven;  and  because  they 
make  heaven  with  man,  they  also  make 
the  church  with  him.  The  two  loves 
from  which  are  all  evils  and  falses, 
which,  as  was  said,  are  the  love  of  self 
and  the  love  of  the  world,  make  hell 
with  man ;  for  those  reign  in  hell ;  con- 
sequently, they  also  destroy  the  church 
with  liim.  8.  The  two  loves  from 
which  arc  all  goods  and  truths,  which, 
as  was  said,  arc  the  loves  of  heaven, 
open  and  form  the  internal  spiritual 
man,  for  they  reside  there;  but  the 
two  loves  from  which  are  all  evils  and 
falses,  wliich,  as  was  said,  are  the  loves 
of  hell,  when  they  rule,  shut  up  and 
destroy  the  internal  spiritual  man,  and 
make  man  natural  and  sensual,  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  and  quality  of 
their  dominion. 

40(».  (4.)  Concerning  the  Iawc  of 
Self,  and  the  Love  of  the  World  in 
particular. 

\.  The  love  of  self  is,  to  wish  well 
to  one's  self  alone,  and  not  to  others 
except  for  the  sake  of  self,  not  even  to 
the  church,  to  one's  country,  to  any 
human  society,  or  to  a  follow  citizen; 
as  also  to  do  good  to  them  only  for  the 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


291 


sake  of  one's  own  fame,  honor  and 
glory ;  and  unless  it  sees  these  in  the 
good  which  it  does  them,  it  says  in 
heart,  "  What  matters  it  f  Why  should 
I  do  this?  What  good  will  it  be  to 
me?"  And  thus  he  omits  it.  Whence 
it  is  manifest  that  he  who  is  in  the  love 
of  self  does  not  love  the  church,  nor  his 
country,  nor  society,  nor  his  fellow  citi- 
zen, nor  any  thing  truly  good,  but  only 
himself  and  his  own.  2.  A  man  is  in  the 
love  of  self,  when,  in  those  things  whicli 
he  thinks  and  does,  he  does  not  regard 
the  neighbor,  thus  not  the  public,  still 
less  the  Lord,  but  only  himself  and  his 
own ;  consequently,  when  he  does  all 
things  for  the  sake  of  himself  and  his 
own,  and  if  for  the  sake  of  the  public,  it 
is  only  that  it  may  appear,  and  if  for  the 
neighbor,  it  is  only  that  he  may  favor 
him.  3.  It  is  said,  for  the  sake  of 
himself  and  his  own;  for  he  who  loves 
himself,  also  loves  his  own,  which  are, 
in  particular,  his  children  and  grand- 
children, and,  in  general,  all  who  make 
one  with  him,  whom  he  calls  his  own  ; 
to  love  these  and  those  is  also  to  love 
himself,  for  he  regards  them,  as  it  were, 
in  himself,  and  himself  in  them.  Among 
those  whom  he  calls  his  own,  are  like- 
wise all  who  praise,  honor  and  worship 
him ;  others,  indeed,  he  looks  upon 
with  the  eyes  of  his  body,  as  men,  but 
with  the  eyes  of  his  spirit,  scarcely 
otherwise  than  as  phantoms.  4.  That 
man  is  in  the  love  of  self,  who  despises 
his  neighbor  in  comparison  with  him- 
self, who  esteems  him  an  enemy  if 
he  does  not  favor  him,  if  he  does  not 
venerate  and  worship  him.  He  is  still 
more  in  the  love  of  self,  who,  for  that 
reason,  hates  and  persecutes  his  neigh- 
bor ;  and  still  more,  who,  for  that  rea- 
son, burns  with  revenge  against  him, 
and  desires  his  destruction.  Such  at 
length  love  to  exercise  cruelty.  5. 
From  a  comparison  with  heavenly  love, 
it  may  be  evident  what  the  love  of  self 
is.  Heavenly  love  is  to  love  the  uses 
for  the  sake  of  uses,  or  the  goods  for 
the  sake  of  goods,  which  a  man  per- 
forms for  the  church,  for  his  country, 
for  human  society,  and  for  a  fellow  cit- 
izen ;  but  he  who  loves  those  things 
for  the  sake  of  himself,  loves  them  only 


as  he  loves  domestics,  because  they 
serve  him.  Thence  it  follows,  that  he 
who  is  in  the  love  of  self,  wishes  that 
the  church,  his  country,  human  socie- 
ties, and  his  fellow  citizens  should 
serve  him,  and  not  he  them ;  he  places 
himself  above  them,  and  them  below 
himself  6.  Further,  as  far  as  any  one 
is  in  heavenly  love,  which  is  to  love 
uses  and  goods,  and  to  be  affected  with 
delight  of  heart  in  the  performance  of 
them,  so  far  he  is  led  by  the  Lord  ;  be- 
cause that  is  the  love  in  which  He  is, 
and  which  is  from  Him ;  but  as  far  as 
any  one  is  in  the  love  of  self,  so  far  he 
is  led  by  himself,  and  so  far  he  is  led 
by  his  proprium,  and  the  proprium  of 
man  is  nothing  but  evil ;  for  it  is  his 
hereditary  evil,  which  is  to  love  him- 
self in  preference  to  God,  and  the 
world  in  preference  to  heaven.  7.  The 
love  of  self  also  is  such  that,  as  far  as 
the  reins  are  given  to  it,  that  is,  as  far 
as  external  bonds,  which  are  fears  for 
the  law  and  its  penalties,  and  for  the 
loss  of  fame,  honor,  gain,  office,  and  life, 
are  removed,  so  far  it  rages,  even  to  such 
a  degree  that  it  wishes  to  rule  not  only 
over  all  the  world,  but  also  over  heaven, 
yea,  over  God  himself ;  it  has  nowhere 
any  bound  or  end.  This  lurks  in  every 
one  who  is  in  the  love  of  self,  although 
it  is  not  manifest  to  the  world,  where 
the  said  reins  and  bonds  restrain  it; 
and  every  such  one,  where  an  insupera- 
ble obstacle  occurs,  stops  there  until  it 
becomes  superable ;  hence  it  is,  that 
a  man  who  is  in  such  love,  does  not 
know  that  such  a  vast,  unbounded  de- 
sire lurks  within  him.  That  it  is  so, 
however,  every  one  may  see  in  poten- 
tates and  kings,  who,  not  being  subject 
to  such  reins,  bonds  and  insuperable 
obstacles,  rush  forth  and  subjugate  prov- 
inces and  kingdoms,  as  far  as  they 
succeed,  and  aspire  after  unlimited 
power  and  glory ;  and  still  more  in 
those  who  extend  their  dominion  to 
heaven,  and  transfer  to  themselves  all 
the  divine  power  of  the  Lord  ;  these 
continually  desire  more.  8.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  dominion,  one  of  love  to- 
wards the  neighbor,  and  the  other  of 
the  love  of  self  These  two  dominions 
are  opposite  to  each  other.    He  who 


292 


Concerning  Chanty, 


exercises  dominion  from  love  towards 
the  neighbor,  wills  good  to  all,  and 
loves  nothing  more  than  to  perform 
uses,  thus  to  serve  others,  for  to  serve 
others,  is  to  do  good  to  others  from 
good  will,  and  to  perform  uses;  this  is 
his  love,  and  this  is  the  delight  of  his 
heart ;  he,  also,  the  more  he  is  exalted 
to  dignities,  is  the  more  delighted,  not 
on  account  of  the  dignities,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  uses  which  he  is  then  able 
to  perform  in  greater  abundance,  and 
in  a  larger  sphere  ;  such  is  the  domin- 
ion in  the  heavens.  But  he  who  exer- 
cises dominion  from  the  love  of  self, 
wills  good  to  none,  but  only  to  himself 
and  his  own ;  the  uses  which  he  per- 
forms are  for  the  sake  of  his  own  honor 
and  glory,  which  are  to  him  the  only 
uses ;  his  end  in  serving  others  is,  that 
he  may  be  served,  honored,  and  exer- 
cise dominion  ;  he  seeks  dignities,  not 
for  the  sake  of  the  good  which  he  may 
perform,  but  that  he  may  be  in  emi- 
nence and  glory,  and  thence  in  the 
delight  of  his  heart.  9.  The  love  of 
dominion  or  of  ruling  remains  also  with 
every  one  after  the  life  in  the  world ; 
but  those  who  have  ruled  from  love 
towards  the  neighbor,  are  also  intrusted 
with  theotlice  of  ruling  in  the  heavens, 
and  then  they  do  not  rule,  but  the  uses 
and  goods  which  they  love,  and  when 
uses  and  goods  rule,  the  Lord  rules. 
But  those  who,  in  the  world,  ruled  from 
the  love  of  self,  after  the  life  in  the 
world,  are  deprived  of  authority,  and 
are  reduced  to  servitude.  Hence  now 
it  is  known  who  are  in  the  love  of  self ; 
it  matters  not  how  they  ap|)ear  in  the 
external  form,  whether  elated  or  sub- 
missive, for  such  things  are  in  tlic  in- 
ternal man,  and  the  internal  man  is 
by  most  people  concealed,  and  the  ex- 
ternal is  taught  to  counterfeit  those 
things  which  are  of  the  love  of  the 
public  and  of  the  neighbor,  thus  con- 
trary things ;  and  this  also  for  the  sake 
of  self,  for  they  know  that  the  love  of 
the  public  and  of  the  neighbor  interi- 
orly affects  all,  and  that  they  arc  so 
far  esteemed ;  that  it  does  affect,  is 
because  heaven  flows  into  that  love. 
10.  The  evils  which  are  with  those 
who  are  in  the  love  of  self,  are,  in  gen- 


eral, contempt  of  others,  envy,  enmity 
against  those  who  do  not  favor  them, 
hostility  thence,  hatred  of  various  kinds, 
revenge,  cunning,  deceit,  unmerciful- 
ness  and  cruelty  ;  and  where  such  evils 
are,  there  is  also  a  contempt  of  God 
and  of  divine  things,  which  are  the 
truths  and  goods  of  the  church ;  if  they 
honor  these,  it  is  only  with  the  mouth, 
and  not  with  the  heart.  And  because 
such  evils  are  thence,  there  are  also 
similar  falses,  for  falses  are  from  evils. 

11.  But  THE  LOVE   OF  THE   WORLD  is, 

to  wish  to  appropriate  to  one's  self,  by 
any  arts  whatever,  the  wealth  of  others, 
and  to  set  the  heart  upon  riches,  and 
to  suffer  the  world  to  draw  it  back  and 
lead  it  away  from  spiritual  love,  which 
is  love  towards  the  neighbor,  thus  from 
heaven.  Those  are  in  the  love  of  the 
world  who  desire  to  appropriate  to 
themselves  the  goods  of  others  by  vari- 
ous arts,  especially  by  cunning  and 
deceit,  esteeming  the  good  of  the  neigh- 
bor of  no  account.  Those  who  are  in 
that  love  covet  the  goods  of  others,  and, 
so  far  as  they  do  not  fear  the  laws,  and 
the  loss  of  fame  on  account  of  gain,  they 
deprive  them,  yea,  rob  them,  of  their 
goods.  12.  But  the  love  of  the  world 
is  not  opposed  to  heavenly  love  to 
such  a  degree  as  the  love  of  self  is, 
since  there  are  not  so  great  evils  con- 
cealed in  it.  13.  That  love  is  mani- 
fold ;  it  is  the  love  of  wealth,  that  tliey 
may  be  exalted  to  honors  ;  it  is  tiie  love 
of  honors  and  dignities,  that  they  may 
gain  wealth ;  it  is  the  love  of  wealth 
for  the  sake  of  various  uses  by  which 
they  are  delighted  in  the  world ;  it  is 
the  love  of  wealth  for  the  sake  of  wealth 
alone ;  such  is  the  love  of  misers ;  and 
thus  in  other  instances.  The  end  for 
which  wealth  is  desired  is  called  use, 
and  the  end  or  use  is  that  from  which 
the  love  derives  its  quality ;  for  the 
love  is  such  as  the  end  in  view  is; 
other  things  serve  it  as  means.  14. 
In  a  word,  the  love  of  self  and  the  love 
of  the  world  are  altogether  opposite 
to  love  to  the  Lord  and  love  towards 
the  neighbor ;  wherefore  the  love  of 
self  and  the  love  of  the  world,  as  they 
have  been  described  above,  are  infernal 
loves;  they  also  reign  in  hell,  and  like- 


and  concerning  Good  fVorJcs. 


293 


wise  make  hell  with  man ;  but  love  to  the 
Lord  and  love  towards  the  neighbor  are 
heavenly  loves ;  they  also  reign  in  heav- 
en, and  likewise  make  heaven  with  man. 

401.  (5.)  Concerning  the  Internal 
and  the  External  Man. 

Man  is  so  created,  that  he  is  at  the 
same  time  in  the  spiritual  world  and  in 
the  natural  world.  The  spiritual  world 
is  where  angels  are,  and  the  natural 
world  where  men  are.  And  because 
man  is  so  created,  therefore  there  is 
given  to  him  an  internal  and  an  ex- 
ternal; an  internal,  by  which  he  is  in 
the  spiritual  world,  and  an  external,  by 
which  he  is  in  the  natural  world.  His 
internal  is  what  is  called  the  internal 
man,  and  his  external  what  is  called 
the  external  man.  2.  Every  man  has 
an  internal  and  an  external,  but  it  is 
different  with  the  good  from  what  it  is 
with  the  evil.  The  internal  with  the 
good  is  in  heaven  and  its  light,  and  the 
external  in  the  world  and  its  light,  and 
this  light  with  them  is  illuminated  by 
the  light  of  heaven ;  and  thus,  with 
them,  the  internal  and  the  external 
act  as  one,  like  cause  and  effect,  or 
like  prior  and  posterior.  But  with  the 
evil  the  internal  is  in  hell  and  in  its 
light,  which  light,  with  respect  to  the 
light  of  heaven,  is  thick  darkness,  and 
their  external  may  be  in  light  similar 
to  that  in  which  the  good  are ;  where- 
fore it  is  inverted.  Thence  it  is  that 
the  evil  can  speak  and  teach  concern- 
ing faith,  concerning  charity,  and  con- 
cerning God,  but  not  like  the  good, 
from  faith,  charity  and  God.  3.  The 
internal  man  is  what  is  called  the  spir- 
itual man,  because  it  is  in  the  light  of 
heaven,  which  light  is  spiritual;  and 
the  external  man  is  what  is  called  the 
natural  man,  because  it  is  in  the  light 
of  the  world,  which  light  is  natural. 
The  man  whose  internal  is  in  the  light 
of  heaven,  and  whose  external  is  in  the 
light  of  the  world,  is  a  spiritual  man  as 
to  both,  for  spiritual  light  from  within 
illuminates  the  natural  light  and  makes 
it  as  its  own ;  but  the  case  is  reversed 
with  the  evil.  4.  The  internal  spirit- 
ual man,  viewed  in  itself,  is  an  angel 
of  heaven,  and  also,  while  it  lives  in  the 
body,  is  in  society  with  angels,  although 


it  does  not  know  it,  and  after  its  sepa- 
ration from  the  body,  it  comes  among 
the  angels.  But  the  internal  man, 
with  the  evil,  is  a  satan,  and  also  while 
it  lives  in  the  body,  it  is  in  society  with 
them,  and  likewise  after  its  separation 
from  the  body  it  comes  among  them. 
5.  The  interiors  of  the  mind  with  those 
who  are  spiritual  men  are  actually  ele- 
vated towards  heaven,  for  they  regard 
that  first  of  all ;  but  the  interiors  of  the 
mind  with  those  who  are  merely  natural 
are  turned  away  from  heaven,  and 
turned  to  the  world,  because  they  re- 
gard this  first  of  all.  6.  Those  who 
entertain  only  a  general  idea  concern- 
ing the  internal  and  the  external  man, 
believe  that  the  internal  man  is  that 
which  thinks  and  which  wills,  and  the 
external  that  which  speaks  and  which 
acts ;  since  to  think  and  to  will  are  in- 
ternal, and  to  speak  and  to  act  are  ex- 
ternal. But  it  should  be  known  that 
when  a  man  thinks  and  wills  well  con- 
cerning the  Lord,  and  concerning  those 
things  which  are  of  the  Lord,  and  like- 
wise concerning  the  neighbor,  and  con- 
cerning those  things  wliich  are  of  the 
neighbor,  he  then  thinks  and  wills 
from  a  s])iritual  internal,  because  from 
the  faith  of  truth  and  from  the  love  of 
good ;  but  that  when  a  man  thinks  ill 
concerning  them,  and  wills  evil  to 
them,  he  then  thinks  and  wills  from 
an  infernal  internal,  because  from  the 
faith  of  the  false,  and  from  the  love  of 
evil.  In  a  word,  as  far  as  a  man  is  in 
love  to  the  Lord  and  in  love  to  the 
neighbor,  so  far  he  is  in  a  spiritual  in- 
ternal, and  from  it  he  thinks  and  wills, 
and  likewise  from  it  he  speaks  and 
acts ;  but  as  far  as  a  man  is  in  the  love 
of  self  and  in  the  love  of  the  world,  so 
far  he  thinks  and  wills  from  hell,  al- 
though he  speaks  and  acts  otherwise. 
7.  It  is  so  provided  and  ordered  by 
the  Lord,  that,  as  far  as  a  man  thinks 
and  wills  from  heaven,  so  far  the  spir- 
itual man  is  opened  and  formed ;  the 
opening  is  into  heaven,  even  to  the 
Lord,  and  the  forming  is  to  those  things 
Avhich  are  of  heaven.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  far  as  a  man  thinks  and  wills, 
not  from  heaven,  but  from  the  world, 
so  far  the  internal  spiritual  man  is 


294 


Concerning  Charity, 


closed,  and  the  external  is  opened  and 
formed  ;  the  opening  is  into  the  world, 
and  the  forming  is  to  those  things  which 
are  of  hell.  8.  Those  with  whom  the 
internal  spiritual  man  is  opened  into 
heaven  to  the  Lord,  are  in  the  light  of 
heaven  and  in  illumination  from  the 
Lord,  and  thence  intelligence  and  wis- 
dom ;  these  see  truth  from  the  light  of 
truth,  and  perceive  good  from  the  love 
of  good.  But  those  with  whom  the  in- 
ternal spiritual  man  is  closed,  do  not 
know  what  the  internal  man  is,  neither 
do  they  believe  the  Word,  nor  a  life 
after  death,  nor  those  things  which  are 
of  heaven  and  the  church ;  and  be- 
cause they  are  only  in  natural  light, 
they  believe  nature  to  be  from  itself 
and  not  from  God ;  they  see  the  false 
as  true,  and  perceive  evil  as  good.  9. 
Tiie  internal  and  external  of  which  we 
have  treated  are  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal of  the  spirit  of  man  ;  his  body  is 
only  an  external  superadded,  witiiin 
which  they  exist ;  for  the  body  does 
nothing  of  itself,  but  from  the  spirit 
which  is  in  it.  It  should  be  known 
tiiat  the  spirit  of  man,  after  its  separa- 
tion from  the  body,  equally  thinks  and 
wills,  and  speaks  and  acts;  to  think 
and  will  are  its  internal,  and  to  speak 
and  do  arc  then  its  external. 

402.  (().)  Cimcvrnhig  the  merely 
Natural  and  Sensual  Man. 

Since  few  know  who  are  meant  by 
sensual  men,  and  what  they  are,  and 
yet  it  is  important  to  'know,  they  will 
therefore  1)0 described.  \.  Heiscalled 
a  sensual  man  who  judges  all  things  by 
the  senses  of  tile  body,  and  wlio  believes 
nothing  but  what  he  can  see  with  tlie 
eyes  and  touch  witli  the  hands,  saying, 
These  tilings  are  something,  and  re- 
jecting tiie  rest.  Wherefore,  a  sensual 
man  is,  in  the  lowest  degree,  a  natural 
man.  2.  That  the  interiors  of  iiis 
mind,  which  see  from  the  light  of 
heaven,  are  closed,  so  that  he  sees 
there  nothing  of  tb.e  truth  which  is  of 
heaven  and  the  church,  since  he  thinks 
in  the  outermost  things,  and  not  interi- 
orly from  any  spiritual  light.  3.  And 
since  he  is  in  gross  natural  light,  he  is 
inwardly  against  those  things  which 
are  of  heaven  and  the  church,  and  yet 


outwardly  he  can  speak  in  favor  of 
them  ardently,  according  to  the  domin- 
ion attainable  by  means  of  them.  4. 
That  sensual  men  reason  keenly  and 
shrewdly,  because  their  thought  is  so 
near  the  speech  that  it  is  almost  in  it, 
and,  as  it  were,  in  the  lips;  and  be- 
cause they  place  all  intelligence  in  the 
speech  from  memory  alone.  5.  That 
some  of  them  can  confirm  whatever 
they  please,  and  falses  dexterously ;  and 
that  after  confirmation  they  believe 
them  to  be  true ;  but  that  they  reason 
and  confirm  from  the  fallacies  of  the 
senses,  by  which  the  common  people  are 
captivated  and  persuaded.  6.  That 
sensual  men  are  cunning  and  malicious 
above  all  others.  7.  That  the  interiors 
of  their  mind  are  foul  and  filthy,  since 
by  them  they  communicate  with  the 
hells.  8.  That  those  who  are  in  the 
hells  are  sensual;  and  the  more  sensual 
they  are,  the  deeper  they  are  in  hell ; 
and  that  the  sphere  of  infernal  spirits 
conjoins  itself  with  the  sensual  things 
of  man  from  behind.  9.  Since  sensual 
men  do  not  see  any  genuine  truth  in 
the  light,  but  reason  and  dispute  about 
every  thing  whether  it  be  so,  and  these 
disputations  are  heard  at  a  distance 
from  them  like  gnashings  of  the  teeth, 
which,  viewed  in  themselves,  are  col- 
lisions of  falses  among  themselves,  and 
also  of  the  false  and  the  true,  it  is 
manifest  what  is  signified  by  gnashing 
OK  THE  TEETH  in  the  Word ;  the  rea- 
son is,  because  reasoning  from  the  fal- 
lacies of  the  senses  corresponds  to  the 
teeth.  10.  That  men  of  science  and 
erudition,  who  have  deeply  confirmed 
themselves  in  falses,  and  especially 
against  the  truths  of  the  Word,  are 
sensual  above  all  others,  although  to 
the  world  they  do  not  appear  such. 
That  heretical  things  have  flowed 
chiefly  from  such  as  were  sensual. 
IL  That  the  hyi)ocritic:il,  the  deceit- 
ful, the  voluptuous,  the  adulterous  and 
the  covetous  are,  for  the  most  part, 
sensual.  12.  That  those  who  reasoned 
from  sensual  things  alone,  and  against 
the  genuine  truths  of  the  Word,  and 
thence  of  the  church,  were  called  by 
the  ancients,  serpents  of  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


295 


Since  by  sensual  things  are  meant 
the  things  presented  to  the  senses  of 
the  body,  and  imbibed  tlirough  those 
senses,  it  follows,  13.  That  man,  by 
sensual  things,  comnmnicates  with  the 
world,  and  by  the  rational  things  above 
them,  with  heaven.  14.  That  sensual 
things  furnish  such  things  from  the 
natural  world  as  serve  for  the  interiors 
of  the  mind  in  the  spiritual  world. 
15.  That  there  are  sensual  things 
which  furnish  the  understanding,  and 
that  these  are  the  various  things  which 
are  called  physical ;  and  that  there  are 
sensual  things  which  furnish  the  will, 
and  that  these  are  the  delights  of  the 
senses  and  of  the  body.  IG.  That  un- 
less the  thought  be  elevated  above  sen- 
sual things,  man  has  little  wisdom  ; 
that  a  wise  man  thinks  above  sensual 
things ;  and  that  wlien  the  thought  is 
elevated  above  sensual  things,  he  comes 
into  clearer  light,  and  at  length  into 
the  light  of  heaven ;  thence  man  has 
perception  of  truth,  which  is  properly 
intelligence.  17.  That  elevation  of 
the  mind  above  sensual  things,  and 
abstraction  from  them,  was  known  to 
the  ancients.  18.  That  if  sensual 
things  are  in  the  last  place,  a  way  is 
opened  by  them  for  the  understanding, 
and  truths  are  polished  by  the  mode  of 
extraction ;  but  that  if  sensual  things 
are  in  the  first  place,  that  way  is  closed 
by  them,  and  man  does  not  see  truths 
except  as  in  a  thick  cloud,  or  as  in  the 
night.  19.  That  sensual  things,  with 
a  wise  man,  are  in  the  last  place,  and 
subject  to  the  interiors ;  but  that,  with 
a  foolish  man,  they  are  in  the  first 
place,  and  have  dominion.  These  are 
they  who  are  properly  called  sensual. 
20.  That  with  man  tiiere  are  sensual 
things  in  common  with  beasts,  and 
that  there  are  sensual  things  not  in 
common  with  them.  That  as  far  as 
any  one  thinks  above  sensual  things, 
so  far  he  is  a  man ;  but  that  no  one  can 
think  above  sensual  things,  and  see  the 
truths  of  the  church,  unless  he  ac- 
knowledge God  and  live  according  to 
his  commandments  ;  for  God  elevates 
and  illustrates. 

403.  II.  That  those  three  Loves, 

WHEN    they    are    RIGHTLY  SUBORDI- 


NATED, PERFECT  Man  ;    but  when 

THEY  ARE  NOT  RIGHTLY  SUBORDINAT- 
ED, THEY  PERVERT  AND  INVERT  HIM. 

In  the  first  place,  something  will 
be  said  concerning  the  subordina- 
tion of  those  three  universal  loves, 
which  are  the  love  of  heaven,  the  love 
of  the  world,  and  the  love  of  self;  and 
afterwards  concerning  the  influx  and 
insertion  of  one  into  the  other;  and 
lastly,  concerning  the  state  of  man  ac- 
cording to  subordination.  Those  three 
loves,  in  relation  to  each  other,  are 
like  the  three  regions  of  the  body,  the 
highest  of  which  is  the  head;  the  mid- 
dle is  the  breast  with  the  belly ;  and  the 
knees,  the  feet,  and  the  soles  of  the  feet, 
make  the  third.  When  the  love  of 
heaven  makes  the  head,  the  love  of  the 
world  the  breast  with  the  belly,  and 
the  love  of  self  the  feet  with  the  soles 
of  the  feet,  then  man  is  in  a  perfect 
state,  according  to  creation ;  since 
then  the  two  inferior  loves  are  subser- 
vient to  the  highest,  as  the  body  and 
all  its  parts  to  the  head.  When,  there- 
fore, the  love  of  heaven  makes  the 
head,  it  then  flows  into  the  love  of  the 
world,  which  is  principally  the  love  of 
riches,  and  by  these  it  does  uses,  and 
mediately  through  this  into  the  love 
of  self,  which  is  principally  the  love 
of  dignities,  and  by  these  it  does  uses ; 
so  those  three  loves  breathe  uses  from 
the  influx  of  one  into  the  other.  Who 
does  not  comprehend,  that  when  man, 
from  spiritual  love,  which  is  from  the 
Lord,  and  is  what  is  meant  by  the  love 
of  heaven,  wills  to  do  uses,  the  natural 
man  does  them  by  his  riches  and  by 
his  other  goods,  and  the  sensual  man 
in  his  own  function,  and  that  it  is  his 
honor  to  produce  them  ?  Who  also 
does  not  comprehend,  that  all  the  works 
which  a  man  does  with  his  body,  are 
done  according  to  the  state  of  his  mind 
in  the  head,  and  that,  if  the  mind  is  in 
the  love  of  uses,  the  body,  by  means  of 
its  members,  effects  them  ?  And  this 
is  done,  because  the  will  and  the  un- 
derstanding, in  their  principles,  are  in 
the  head,  and  in  their  derivatives,  in 
the  body,  like  will  in  deeds,  and  thought 
in  speech  ;  and,  comparatively,  as  the 
prolific  principle  of  the  seed  is  in  the 


296 


Concerning  Charity, 


whole  and  every  part  of  a  tree,  by 
which  it  produces  fruits,  which  are  its 
uses  ;  and  it  is  like  fire  and  light  with- 
in a  crystal  vessel,  which  from  them 
becomes  hot  and  transparent.  And 
also  the  spiritual  sight  in  the  mind, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  natural  sight 
in  the  body,  with  him  in  whom  those 
three  loves  are  justly  and  rightly  sub- 
ordinated, from  the  light  which  flows 
in  through  heaven  from  the  Lord,  may 
be  likened  to  an  African  apple,  which 
is  transparent  even  to  the  middle, 
where  is  the  repository  of  the  seeds. 
Something  similar  is  meant  by  these 
words  of  the  Lord :  The  light  of  the 
body  is  the  eye;  if  the  eye  be  single 
(that  is,  good),  the  whole  body  is  lucid, 
Matt.  vi.  22;  Luke  xi.  34.  No  man 
of  sound  reason  can  condemn  riches, 
for  they  are  in  the  body  of  the  commu- 
nity, like  the  blood  in  man  ;  nor  can 
he  condemn  the  honors  annexed  to 
offices  or  functions,  for  they  are  the 
hands  of  the  king  and  the  pillars  of 
society,  provided  their  natural  and  sen- 
sual loves  are  subordinate  to  spiritual 
love.  There  are  also  administrations 
in  heaven,  and  dignities  annexed  to 
them  ;  but  those  who  are  employed  in 
them  love  notiiing  more  than  to  do 
uses,  because  they  are  spiritual. 

404.  But  a  man  puts  on  an  entirely 
different  state,  if  the  love  of  the  world 
or  of  riches  makes  the  head,  that  is, 
if  that  is  the  reigning  love ;  for  the 
love  of  heaven  is  banished  from  the 
head  and  removed  to  the  body.  The 
man  who  is  in  this  state  prefers  the 
world  to  heaven;  he  wor.sliips  God, 
indeed,  but  from  merely  natural  love, 
which  places  merit  in  all  worsiiip ; 
and  also  he  does  good  to  the  neighbor, 
but  for  the  sake  of  rewards.  Tiie 
things  which  are  of  heaven  are  to 
them  as  coverings,  in  which  they  go 
shining  before  the  eyes  of  men,  hut 
dusky  before  the  eyes  of  angels ;  for 
when  tlie  love  of  the  world  posscst^es 
the  internal  man,  and  the  love  of  heaven 
the  external,  then  the  former  darkens 
all  the  things  of  the  church,  and  hides 
them  as  under  a  veil.  But  this  love  is 
in  much  variety ;  more  pernicious  in 
the  degree  in  which  it  inclines  (o  av.i- 


rice ;  in  this  the  love  of  heaven  grows 
black ;  in  like  manner,  if  it  inclines  to 
pride  and  eminence  above  others,  from 
the  love  of  self;  but  it  is  otherwise  if 
it  inclines  to  prodigality ;  it  is  less 
noxious  if  for  an  end  it  regards  the 
splendid  things  of  the  world,  as  pal- 
aces, decorations,  fine  clothes,  domes- 
tics, horses  and  chariots  in  high  style, 
besides  other  such  thmgs ;  the  quality 
of  every  love  is  predicated  from  the 
end  which  it  regards  and  intends. 
This  love  may  be  likened  to  a  crystal 
of  a  blackish  hue,  which  suffocates  the 
light,  and  variegates  it  only  into  dark 
and  faint  colors.  And  it  is  like  a  mist 
and  a  cloud,  which  intercept  the  rays 
of  the  sun.  It  is  also  like  new,  unfer- 
mented  wine,  which  tastes  sweet,  but 
troubles  the  stomach.  Such  a  man, 
viewed  from  heaven,  appears  like  a 
hunch-backed  man,  walking  with  his 
head  bowed  down  looking  to  the  earth  ; 
and  when  he  raises  it  to  heaven,  he 
writhes  back  the  muscles,  and  soon 
afterwards  relapses  into  his  stooping 
posture.  These  were  called,  by  the 
ancients  in  the  church,  Manmons,  and 
by  the  Greeks, 

40o.  But  if  the  love  of  self,  or  the 
love  of  ruling,  makes  the  head,  then 
the  love  of  heaven  passes  through  the 
body  to  the  feet ;  and  as  far  as  that  love 
increases,  so  far  the  love  of  heaven  de- 
scends through  the  ankles  to  the  soles 
of  the  feet ;  and  if  it  still  increases,  it 
passes  through  the  shoes,  and  is  tram- 
pled under  loot.  There  is  a  love  of 
ruling  from  the  love  of  the  neighbor, 
and  there  is  a  love  of  ruling  from  the 
love  of  self  Those  who  are  in  the 
love  of  ruling  from  the  love  of  the 
neighbor,  seek  after  dominion,  for  the 
purpose  of  performing  uses  to  the  pub- 
lic and  to  individuals ;  and  to  these  the 
office  of  ruling  is  intrusted  also  in  the 
heavens.  Emperors,  kings  and  dukes, 
who  are  born  and  educated  tor  ruling, 
if  they  liumble  themselves  before  God, 
are  sometimes  less  in  that  love  than 
those  who  arc  of  mean  extraction,  and 
from  pride  seek  after  eminent  stations 
above  others.  But  to  those  who  are  in 
the  love  of  ruling  from  the  love  of  self, 
the  love  of  lieaven  is  as  a  seat,  upon 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


297 


which,  for  the  sake  of  the  common 
people,  they  place  their  feet,  which  yet, 
when  the  common  people  do  not  ap- 
pear, they  throw  into  a  corner  or  out 
of  doors ;  the  reason  is,  because  they 
love  themselves  alone,  and  thence  im- 
merse their  wills  and  the  thoughts  of 
their  mind  into  the  proprium,  which, 
viewed  in  itself,  is  hereditary  evil ;  and 
this  is  diametrically  opposite  to  the 
love  of  heaven.  The  evils  appertain- 
ins;  to  those  who  are  in  the  love  of 
ruling  from  the  love  of  self,  are  in  gen- 
eral these  :  contempt  of  others,  envy, 
enmity  against  those  who  do  not  favor 
them,  hostility  thence,  hatred,  revenge, 
unmercifulness,  tyranny,  and  cruelty  ; 
and  where  such  evils  are,  there  also  is 
contempt  of  God  and  of  divine  things, 
which  are  the  truths  and  goods  of  the 
church ;  which  if  they  honor,  it  is  only 
with  the  mouth,  that  they  may  not  be 
defamed  by  the  ecclesiastical  order, 
and  censured  by  others.  But  this  love 
assumes  one  form  with  the  clergy,  and 
another  with  the  laity  ;  with  the  clergy 
this  love  mounts  aloft,  when  the  reins 
are  given  to  it,  until  they  wish  to  be 
gods,  but  with  the  laity,  until  they 
wish  to  be  kings ;  the  fantasy  of  that 
love  raises  their  minds  to  such  an  ex- 
travagant pitch.  Since  the  love  of 
heaven,  with  a  perfect  man,  holds  the 
highest  place,  and  makes,  as  it  were, 
the  head  of  the  rest  which  succeed, 
and  the  love  of  the  world  is  below  that, 
and  is  as  the  breast  is  under  the  head, 
and  the  love  of  self  is  below  this,  as  the 
feet  are,  it  follows  that,  if  this  should 
make  the  head,  it  would  entirely  invert 
the  man ;  and  then  he  would  appear 
to  the  angels  like  one  lying  with  the 
head  bowed  to  the  earth,  and  the  back 
to  heaven  ;  when  he  is  in  worship,  he 
would  appear  to  dance  upon  his  hands 
and  feet,  like  the  cub  of  a  panther. 
And,  moreover,  they  appear  under  va- 
rious forms  of  beasts  with  two  heads, 
one  above,  having  a  bestial  face,  an- 
other below,  having  a  human  face, 
which  bv  the  higher  one  would  be  con- 
tinually thrust  forwards  and  compelled 
to  kiss  the  earth.  All  these  are  sen- 
sual men,  and  such  as  were  described 
above,  n.  402. 

38 


406.  III.  That  every  Man,  indi- 
vidually, IS  THE  Neighbor,  that  is 

TO  BE  loved,  but  ACCORDING  TO  THE 

Q,uality  OF  HIS  Good. 

Man  is  not  born  for  the  sake  of  him- 
self, but  for  the  sake  of  others,  that 
is,  that  he  may  not  live  for  himself 
alone,  but  for  others ;  otherwise  there 
would  not  be  any  coherent  society,  and 
in  it  any  good.  It  is  a  common  saying, 
that  every  one  is  neighbor  to  himself; 
but  the  doctrine  of  charity  teaches  how 
this  is  to  be  understood,  namely  ;  every 
one  should  procure  for  himself  the 
necessaries  of  life,  as  food,  clothing,  a 
habitation,  and  other  things,  which,  in 
the  civil  life  in  which  he  is,  are  neces- 
sarily required ;  and  these  not  only  for 
himself,  but  also  for  his  family,  and  not 
only  for  the  present  time,  but  also  for 
the  future  ;  for  unless  one  procures  the 
necessaries  of  life,  he  is  not  in  a  state 
of  e.xercising  charity,  for  he  is  in  want 
of  all  things.  But  how  every  one  ought 
to  be  neighbor  to  himself,  may  be  evi- 
dent from  this  similitude.  Every  one 
ought  to  provide  his  body  with  food ; 
this  will  be  the  first  thing ;  but  to  the 
end  that  there  may  be  a  sound  mind 
in  a  sound  body.  And  every  one  ought 
to  provide  his  mind  with  its  food,  name- 
ly, with  such  things  as  are  of  intelli- 
gence and  judgment ;  but  to  the  end 
that  he  may  thence  be  in  a  state  to 
serve  his  fellow  citizen,  society,  coun- 
try, the  church,  and  thus  the  Lord. 
He  who  does  this,  provides  well  for 
himself  to  eternity.  Thence  it  is  man- 
ifest, what  is  first  in  time,  and  what  is 
first  in  end,  and  tliat  that  wliicli  is  first 
in  end,  is  that  to  which  all  have  re- 
spect. This  also  is  like  the  case  of 
one  who  builds  a  house  ;  he  first  lays 
the  foundation,  but  the  foundation  will 
be  for  the  house,  and  the  iiouse  for  a 
habitation.  He  who  believes  that  he 
is  neighbor  to  himself,  in  the  first  place, 
or  primarily,  is  like  him  who  regards 
the  foundation  as  the  end,  not  a  habi- 
tation ;  when  yet  a  habitation  is  itself 
the  first  and  last  end,  and  the  house 
with  the  foundation  is  only  a  means  to 
the  end. 

407.  It  shall  be  told  what  it  is  to 
love  the  neighbor.   To  love  the  neigh- 


298 


Concerning  Charity, 


bor,  is  not  only  to  will  and  do  good  to 
a  relation,  a  friend,  and  a  good  man, 
but  also  to  a  stranger,  an  enemy,  and 
a  bad  man.  But  charity  is  exercised 
towards  these  and  those  in  different 
ways ;  towards  a  relation  and  friend, 
by  direct  acts  of  kindness,  but  towards 
an  enemy  and  a  bad  man,  by  indirect 
acts  of  kindness,  which  are  done  by 
exhortations,  discipline  and  punish- 
ments, and  thus  corrections.  This 
may  be  illustrated  thus  :  A  judge  who, 
according  to  law  and  justice,  punishes 
a  malefactor,  loves  the  neighbor ;  for 
thus  he  corrects  him,  and  consults  for 
the  citizens,  that  he  may  not  do  mis- 
chief to  them.  Every  one  knows  that 
a  father,  who  chastises  his  children 
when  they  do  amiss,  loves  them ;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  he  who  does 
not  chastise  them  for  so  doing,  loves 
their  evils;  of  which  charity  cannot  be 
predicated.  Further,  if  any  one  repels 
an  insulting  enemy,  and  for  protection 
whips  him,  or  delivers  him  to  the  judge, 
that  thus  he  may  avert  harm  fi-om  him- 
self, yet  with  a  disposition  to  become 
his  friend,  he  acts  from  a  principle  of 
charity.  Wars  which  have  for  their 
end  the  protection  of  one's  country  or 
the  church,  are  not  contrary  to  charity  ; 
the  end  for  which  they  are  undertaken 
shows  whether  they  are  charity  or  not. 

408.  Since,  therefore,  charity,  in  its 
origin,  is  good  will,  and  good  will  re- 
sides in  the  internal  man,  it  is  mani- 
fest, that  when  any  one,  who  has  char- 
ity, resists  an  enemy,  punishes  a  crim- 
inal, or  chastises  the  evil,  he  does  this 
by  means  of  the  external  man  ;  where- 
fore, after  he  has  done  it,  he  returns 
into  charity,  which  is  in  the  internal 
man,  and  then,  as  far  as  it  is  possible 
and  profitable,  he  wishes  him  well,  and 
from  wishing  well,  does  him  good. 
Those  who  have  genuine  charity,  have 
a  zeal  for  what  is  good,  and  that  zeal 
in  the  external  man  may  be  seen  like 
anger  and  flaming  fire,  but  it  is  extin- 
guished and  appeased  as  soon  as  the 
adversary  repents.  It  is  otherwise  with 
those  who  have  no  charity ;  their  zeal 
is  anger  and  hatred,  for  from  these 
their  internal  is  heated  and  inflamed. 

409.  Before  the  Lord  came  into  the 


world,  scarcely  any  one  knew  what  the 
internal  man  was,  or  what  charity  was ; 
wherefore,  in  so  many  places.  He  taught 
dilection,  that  is,  charity;  and  this 
makes  the  distinction  between  the  Old 
and  New  Testament  or  Covenant. 
That  we  should,  from  charity,  do  good 
to  an  adversary  and  an  enemy,  the 
Lord  taught  in  Matthew :  Ye  have 
heard  that  it  jcas  said  to  the  ancients, 
Thou  shah  love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate 
thine  enemy.  But  I  say  unto  you. 
Love  your  enemies,  bless  those  who 
curse  you,  do  good  to  those  who  hate 
you,  and  pray  for  those  who  injure 
and  persecute  you  ;  that  ye  may  be  sons 
of  your  Father  who  is  in  the  heavens, 
V.  48,  44,  45.  And  when  Peter  asked 
hoiD  often  he  should  forgive  one  sinning 
against  him,  tohcthcr  till  seven  times. 
He  answered,  I  say  not  unto  thee  till 
seven  times,  but  even  till  seventy  times 
seven  times,  xviii.  21,  22.  And  I  have 
heard  from  heaven,  that  the  Lord  re- 
mits to  every  one  his  sins,  and  never 
avenges,  and  docs  not  even  impute 
them,  because  He  is  Love  itself  and 
Good  itself,  but  that  still  sins  are  not 
thereby  wiped  away,  ibr  -they  are  not 
wiped  away  except  by  repentance ;  for, 
when  He  said  to  Peter  that  he  should 
forgive  even  to  seventy  times  seven 
times,  why  should  not  the  Lord? 

410.  Since  charity  itself  resides  in 
the  internal  man,  in  whicii  it  is  to  will 
well,  and  thence  in  the  external  man, 
in  which  it  is  to  do  good,  it  follows 
that  the  internal  man  should  be  loved, 
and  thence  the  external ;  consequently, 
that  a  man  should  be  loved  according 
to  the  quality  of  the  good  which  is  in 
him ;  wherefore,  good  itself  is  essen- 
tially the  neighbor.  This  may  be  illus- 
trated by  these  considerations  :  when 
any  one  chooses  for  himself  a  steward 
or  a  servant  out  of  three  or  four,  does 
he  not  find  out  his  internal  man,  and 
choose  a  sincere  and  faitiiful  one,  and 
thenc;;  love  him;  in  like  manner,  a 
king  or  a  magistrate  proceeds,  that,  out 
of  tliree  or  four,  he  may  choose  one 
qualified  for  the  office,  and  reject  him 
who  is  unqualified,  whatever  counte- 
nance he  may  show,  or  however  plausi- 
bly he  may  speak  and  act.  Since, 


and  concerning  Good  H'orks.  299 


therefore,  every  man  is  a  neighbor, 
and  there  is  an  infinite  variety  of  men, 
and  every  one  is  to  be  loved  as  neigh- 
bor according  to  his  good,  it  is  manifest 
that  there  are  ifinds  and  sorts  and  also 
degrees  of  love  towards  the  neighbor. 
Now,  because  the  Lord  is  to  be  loved 
above  all  things,  it  follows,  that  the  de- 
grees of  love  towards  the  neighbor 
are  to  be  measured  according  to  love 
to  the  Lord,  thus  by  how  much  of  the 
Lord  or  from  the  Lord  another  pos- 
sesses in  himself ;  for  so  much  good  he 
also  possesses,  because  all  good  is  from 
the  Lord.  But  because  these  degrees 
are  in  the  internal  man,  and  this  sel- 
dom manifests  itself  in  the  world,  it  is 
enough  that  the  neighbor  be  loved  ac- 
cording to  the  degrees  which  one 
knows ;  but  these  after  death  are  clear- 
ly perceived,  for  there  the  affections  of 
the  will,  and  thence  the  thoughts  of  the 
understanding,  make  a  spiritual  .sphere 
around  them,  which  is  felt  in  various 
ways ;  but  that  spiritual  sphere  is  ab- 
sorbed in  the  world  by  the  material 
body,  and  includes  itself  in  the  natural 
sphere,  which  then  exudes  from  man. 
That  there  are  degrees  of  love  towards 
the  neighbor,  is  evident  from  the  Lord's 
parable  concerning  the  Samaritan,  who 
showed  mercy  to  him  who  was  wound- 
ed by  robbers,  whom  the  priest  and  the 
Levite,  when  they  saw  him,  passed  by ; 
and  when  the  Lord  asked,  which  of 
those  three  seemed  to  have  been  a 
neighbor,  it  was  answered.  He  that 
showed  mercy,  Luke  xi.  30  to  37. 

41L  It  is  read.  Thou  shall  love  the 
Lord  God  above  all  things,  and  the 
neighbor  as  thyself,  Luke  x.  27.  To 
love  the  neighbor  as  one's  self,  is  not 
to  despise  him  in  comparison  with  one's 
self,  and  to  deal  justly  with  him,  and 
not  to  bear  a  bad  judgment  concerning 
him.  The  law  of  charity,  made  and 
given  by  the  Lord  himself,  is  this : 
Whatsoever  ye  would  icish  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  also  to  them, 
for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
Matt.  vii.  12;  Luke  vi.  31,  32.  Thus 
'  those  love  the  neighbor,  who  are  in  the 
love  of  heaven  ;  but  those  who  are  in 
the  love  of  the  world,  love  the  neighbor 
from  the  w  orld  and  for  the  sake  of  the 


world ;  and  those  who  are  in  the  love  of 
self,  love  the  neighbor  from  self  and 
for  the  sake  of  self 

412.  IV.  That  Man  collective- 
ly, THAT  IS,  A  SMALLER  AND  A  LARGER 

Society,  and  that  Man  in  what  is 

COMPOSED   of  them,   THAT    IS,  ONE's 

Country,  is  the  Neighbor  that  is 
to  be  loved. 

Those  who  do  not  know  what  the 
neighbor  is,  in  the  genuine  sense, 
imagine  that  it  is  no  other  than  man 
as  an  individual,  and  that  to  perform 
acts  of  kindness  to  him,  is  to  love  the 
neighbor ;  but  neighbor  is  more  exten- 
sive, and  love  towards  him  extends  it- 
self more  widely ;  for  it  ascends,  as 
men  are  multiplied.  Who  cannot  com- 
prehend, that  to  love  many  men  in  a 
congregation,  is  to  love  the  neighbor 
more  than  to  love  one  individual  of  the 
congregation?  Wherefore,  the  reason 
why  a  smaller  or  a  larger  society  is 
the  neighbor,  is,  because  that  is  man 
collectively ;  thence  it  follows,  that  he 
who  loves  a  society,  loves  those  of 
whom  the  society  consists ;  wherefore, 
he  who  wishes  well  and  does  good  to 
the  society,  consults  for  each  of  its 
members.  A  society  is  like  one  man, 
and  those  who  enter  into  it  compose, 
as  it  were,  one  body,  and  are  distin- 
guished from  each  other  like  the  mem- 
bers in  one  body.  The  Lord,  and 
from  Him  the  angels,  when  they  look 
down  into  the  earth,  see  a  whole  so- 
ciety no  otherwise  than  as  one  man, 
and  the  form  of  it  from  their  qualities. 
It  has  also  been  given  me  to  see  a  cer- 
tain society  in  heaven,  altogether  as 
one  man,  in  a  similar  stature  with  a 
man  in  the  world.  That  love  towards 
a  society  is  a  fuller  love  to  the  neigh- 
bor than  towards  a  separate  or  indi- 
vidual man,  manifests  itself  in  this, 
that  dignities  are  dispensed  according 
to  the  extent  of  government  over  soci- 
eties, and  honors  annexed  to  them  ac- 
cording to  the  uses  which  they  per- 
form. For  there  are  offices  in  the 
world,  higher  and  lower,  in  subordina- 
tion, according  to  the  more  and  less 
universal  government  over  societies ; 
and  he  is  a  king  whose  government  is 
most  universal ;  and  every  one,  accord- 


300 


Concerning  Charity, 


ing  to  the  magnitude  of  his  office 
and  the  goods  of  use  which  he  per- 
forms, has  recompense,  glory,  and  the 
love  of  the  community.  But  the  gov- 
ernors of  this  age  may  perform  uses, 
and  consult  for  society,  and  still  not 
love  the  neighbor  as  those  do  who  per- 
form uses  and  consult  for  the  sake  of 
the  world  and  for  the  sake  of  themselves, 
that  they  may  appear,  or  that  they  may 
be  esteemed  worthy  to  be  promoted  to 
higher  dignities :  but  although  these 
are  not  discerned  in  the  world,  still 
they  are  discerned  in  heaven ;  where- 
fore, those  who,  from  love  to  the  neigh- 
bor, had  performed  uses,  are  appointed 
also  as  governors  over  a  heavenly  so- 
ciety, and  are  there  in  splendor  and 
honor ;  but  still  they  do  not  place  their 
heart  in  these,  but  in  uses.  But  the 
others,  who  had  done  uses  from  the  love 
of  the  world  and  of  self,  are  rejected. 

413.  The  difference  of  love  towards 
the  neighbor,  and  its  exercise  towards 
man  individually  and  towards  man  col- 
lectively or  a  society,  is  like  that  be- 
tween the  office  of  a  citizen,  the  office 
of  a  magistrate,  and  the  office  of  a 
duke ;  and  like  that  between  him  who 
traded  with  two  talents  and  him  who 
traded  with  ten,  Matt.  xxv.  14  to  31. 
The  difference  is  also  like  that  be- 
tween the  value  of  a  shekel  and  the 
value  of  a  talent ;  and  like  that  be- 
tween tiie  fruit  from  a  vine  and  from  a 
vineyard ;  or  from  an  olive-tree  and 
from  an  olive-yard,  or  from  a  fruit-tree 
and  from  an  orchard.  Love  towards 
the  neighbor  also  ascends  more  and 
more  interiorly  with  man,  and,  as  it 
ascends,  he  loves  a  society  more  than  a 
single  man,  and  his  country  more  than 
a  society.  Now,  since  charity  consists 
in  wishing  well  and  thence  acting  well, 
it  follows  that  it  is  to  be  exercised 
almost  in  the  same  manner  towards  a 
society  as  towards  a  single  man  ;  but 
in  one  manner  towards  a  society  of 
good  men,  and  in  another  towards  a 
society  of  bad  men ;  towards  the  latter, 
charity  should  be  exercised  according 
to  natural  equity  ;  towards  the  former, 
according  to  spiritual  equity  ;  but  con- 
cerning the  former  and  tiie  latter  equi- 
ty, more  will  be  seen  elsewhere. 


414.  The  reason  why  one's  country 
is  a  neighbor  more  than  a  society,  is, 
because  it  consists  of  many  societies, 
and  thence  the  love  towards  it  is  more 
extensive  and  higher ;  and  besides,  to 
love  one's  country  is  to  love  the  public 
welfare.  The  reason  why  one's  coun- 
try is  his  neighbor,  is,  because  it  is  like 
a  parent,  for  there  he  was  born ;  it 
nourished  and  nourishes  him,  it  pro- 
tected and  protects  him  from  injuries. 
A  man  should  from  love  do  good  to  his 
country,  according  to  its  necessities, 
some  of  which  are  natural,  and  some 
spiritual ;  the  natural  respect  civil  life 
and  order,  and  the  spiritual,  spiritual 
life  and  order.  That  one's  country 
should  be  loved,  not  as  a  man  loves 
himself,  but  more  than  himself,  is  a 
law  inscribed  on  the  human  heart; 
whence  is  promulgated  this,  which  is 
professed  by  every  just  man,  that  if  its 
ruin  is  threatened  by  an  enemy,  or  by 
any  thing  whatever,  it  is  honorable  to 
die  for  it,  and  glorious  for  a  soldier  to 
shed  his  blood  for  it ;  this  is  said,  be- 
cause it  is  to  be  loved  so  much.  It 
should  be  known,  that  those  who  love 
their  country,  and  from  good  will  do 
good  to  it,  after  death  love  the  king- 
dom of  the  Lord,  for  this  is  then  their 
country  ;  and  those  who  love  the  king- 
dom of  the  Lord,  love  the  Lord,  be- 
cause the  Lord  is  all  in  all  of  his  king- 
dom. 

415.  V.  That  the  Church  is  the 
Neighbor  that  is  to  be  loved  in  a 
ni(;iiER  Degree,  and  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Lord  in  the  highest  Degree. 

Since  man  was  born  for  eternal  life, 
and  is  introduced  into  it  by  the  church, 
therefore  the  church  is  to  be  loved  as 
a  neighbor  in  a  higher  degree ;  ibr  she 
teaches  the  means  which  lead  to  eter- 
nal life,  and  introduces  into  it ;  she 
leads  to  it  by  the  truths  of  doctrine, 
and  introduces  by  the  goods  of  life 
It  is  not  meant  that  the  priesthood 
should  be  loved  in  a  liigher  degree,  and 
from  it  the  church,  but  that  the  good 
and  the  truth  of  the  church  should  be 
loved,  and  for  the  sake  of  these  the 
priesthood  ;  this  only  serves,  and  as  it 
serves,  it  is  to  be  honored.  Tiic  reason 
why  the  church  is  a  neighbor  that  is 


and  concerning  Good  V^orks. 


301 


to  be  loved  in  a  higher  degree,  thus 
even  above  one's  country,  is  also  be- 
cause a  man  by  his  country  is  initiated 
into  civil  life,  but  by  the  church  into 
spiritual  life,  and  this  life  distinguishes 
man  from  merely  animal  life.  More- 
over, civil  life  is  temporary,  which  has 
an  end,  and  then  it  is  as  if  it  had  never 
been ;  but  spiritual  life,  because  it  has 
no  end,  is  eternal ;  wherefore,  of  the 
latter  may  be  predicated  to  be  (esse), 
and  of  the  former,  not  to  be  {non  esse). 
The  difference  is  as  between  finite  and 
infinite,  between  which  there  is  no 
ratio ;  for  what  is  eternal  is  infinite  as 
to  time. 

416.  The  reason  why  the  kingdom 
of  the  Lord  is  the  neighbor,  that  is  to 
be  loved  in  the  highest  degree,  is  be- 
cause by  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  is 
meant  both  the  church  throughout  the 
whole  world,  which  is  called  the  com- 
munion of  saints,  and  also  heaven ; 
wherefore  he  who  loves  the  kingdom  of 
the  Lord,  loves  all  in  the  whole  world 
who  acknowledge  the  Lord  and  have 
faith  in  Him  and  charity  towards  the 
neighbor ;  and  he  also  loves  all  in 
heaven.  Those  who  love  the  kingdom 
of  the  Lord,  love  the  Lord  above  all 
things ;  consequently  they  are  more  than 
others  in  love  to  God ;  for  the  church 
in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth  is  the 
body  of  the  Lord,  for  they  are  in  the 
Lord  and  the  Lord  in  them.  There- 
fore, love  towards  the  kingdom  of  the 
Lord,  is  love  towards  the  neighbor  in 
its  fulness ;  for  those  who  love  the 
kingdom  of  the  Lord,  not  only  love  the 
Lord  above  all  things,  but  they  also 
love  the  neighbor  as  themselves ;  for 
love  to  the  Lord  is  a  universal  love,  and 
thence  it  is  in  all  and  every  thing  of 
spiritual  life,  and  also  in  all  and  every 
thing  of  natural  life ;  for  that  love  re- 
sides in  the  highest  things  with  man, 
and  the  highest  flow  into  the  lower  and 
vivify  them,  as  the  will  flows  into  all 
things  of  the  intention  and  thence  of 
action,  and  tlie  understanding  into  all 
things  of  the  thought  and  thence  of 
the  speech.  Wherefore  the  Lord  says, 
Sdek  first  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens 
and  its  righteousness;  then  all  things 
mil  be  added  to  you,  Matt.  vi.  33. 


That  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens  is  the 
kingdom  of  the  Lord,  is  evident  from 
these  words  in  Daniel ;  Behold,  as  it 
were,  the  Son  of  Man  was  coming 
iDith  the  clouds  of  the  heavens ;  and  to 
Him  was  given  dominion,  glory  and  a 
kingdom ;  and  all  j)eople,  nations  and 
tongues  shall  worship  Him.  His  do- 
minion is  the  dominion  vf  an  age  which 
will  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  one 
which  will  not  be  destroyed,  vii.  13,  14. 

417.  VI.  That  to  love  the  Neigh- 
bor, VIEWED    IN  itself,   IS    NOT  TO 

love  THE  Person,  but  the  Good 

AVHICH  IS  in  the  PeRSON. 

Who  does  not  know  that  man  is 
not  man  from  a  human  face  and  from 
a  human  body,  but  from  the  wisdom 
of*  his  understanding  and  from  the 
goodness  of  his  will  ?  The  quality  of 
these,  ascending,  makes  him  more  and 
more  a  man.  Man,  when  he  is  born, 
is  more  brutish  than  any  animal ;  but 
he  becomes  a  man  by  instructions, 
and  as  these  are  received,  his  mind  is 
formed,  from  which  and  according  to 
which,  man  is  man.  There  are  beasts 
whose  faces  are  similar  to  human  faces; 
but  they  enjoy  no  faculty  of  under- 
standing and  of  acting  from  under- 
standing, but  they  act  from  an  instinct 
which  their  natural  love  excites.  The 
distinction  is,  that  a  beast  sounds  the 
affections  of  its  love,  but  a  man  speaks 
them  when  brought  into  thouglit ;  and 
also,  that  a  beast  looks  with  its  face 
downwards  to  the  earth,  but  a  man 
with  an  erect  face  looks  to  heaven  on 
every  side ;  whence  it  may  be  con- 
cluded, that  man  is  man  so  far  as  he 
speaks  from  sound  reason,  and  looks  to 
his  abode  in  heaven  ;  and  that  he  is  so 
far  not  a  man  as  he  speaks  from  per- 
verted reason,  and  looks  only  to  his 
abode  in  the  world.  But  still  these  are 
men,  though  not  in  act,  but  in  power ; 
for  every  man  enjoys  the  faculty  of 
understanding  truths  and  of  willing 
goods ;  but  as  far  as  he  is  not  willing 
to  do  goods  and  understand  truths,  so 
far  he  can  in  externals  counterfeit  a 
man,  and  act  the  part  of  an  ape. 

418.  The  reason  why  good  is  the 
neighbor,  is,  because  good  is  of  the 
will,  and  the  will  is  the  esse  of  the  life 


302 


Concerning  Charity, 


of  man  ;  the  truth  of  the  understanding 
is  also  the  neighbor ;  but  so  far  as  it 
proceeds  from  the  good  of  the  will,  for 
the  good  of  the  will  forms  itself  in  the 
understanding,  and  there  exhibits  itself 
to  be  seen  in  the  light  of  reason.  That 
good  is  the  neighbor,  is  evident  from  all 
experience.  Who  loves  a  person,  ex- 
cept from  the  quality  of  his  will  and 
understanding,  that  is,  from  what  is 
good  and  just  in  him  ?  As,  for  exam- 
ple, who  loves  a  king,  a  prince,  a  duke, 
a  governor,  a  consul,  any  magistrate, 
or  any  judge,  but  from  the  judgment 
from  which  they  act  and  speak  ?  Who 
loves  a  primate,  a  minister  or  canon  of 
the  church,  but  for  learning,  integrity 
of  life,  and  zeal  for  the  salvation  of 
souls  ?  Who  loves  the  general  of  "an 
army,  or  any  officer  under  him,  but  for 
courage,  and,  at  the  same  time,  pru- 
dence ?  Who  loves  a  merchant,  but  for 
honesty  ?  or  a  workman  and  a  servant, 
but  for  fidelity  1  Yea,  who  loves  a 
tree,  but  for  its  fruit?  or  ground,  but 
for  its  fertility  ?  or  a  stone,  but  for  its 
preciousness  ?  &c.  And,  what  is  re- 
markable, not  only  the  honest  man  loves 
what  is  good  and  just  in  another,  but 
also  the  dishonest  man,  because  with 
him  he  is  not  in  any  fear  of  the  loss  of 
fame,  honor  or  wealth.  But  the  love 
of  good  with  a  dishonest  man,  is  not 
love  of  the  neighbor ;  for  a  dishonest 
man  does  not  inwardly  love  another, 
only  so  far  as  he  serves  him.  But  to 
love  the  good  in  another,  from  good  in 
one's  self,  is  genuine  love  towards  the 
neiglibor,  for  tlicn  the  goods  mutually 
kiss  each  other  and  join  themselves  to- 
gether. 

419.  The  man  who  loves  what  is 
good  because  it  is  good,  and  what  is 
true  because  it  is  true,  eminently  loves 
ihe  neiglibor,  because  he  loves  the  Lord, 
who  is  Good  itself  and  Truth  itself ; 
the  love  of  good,  and  thence  of  truth, 
and  thus  of  the  neighbor,  is  from  no 
other  source ;  thus  love  towards  the 
neighbor  is  formed  from  a  heavenly 
origin.  Whether  it  be  said,  use  or 
good,  it  is  the  same ;  wherefore,  to  do 
uses  is  to  do  goods,  and  according  to 
the  quantity  and  q\iality  of  the  use  in 
goods,  so  fiir  the  goods  are  good. 


420.  VII.  That  Charity  AND  Good 
Works  are  two  distinct  Things, 
like  willing  well  and  doing  well. 

With  every  man,  there  is  an  inter- 
nal and  an  external ;  his  internal  is 
what  is  called  the  internal  man,  and 
his  external,  what  is  called  the  external 
man.  But  he  who  does  not  know  what 
the  internal  man  is,  and  what  the  ex- 
ternal is,  may  believe  that  the  internal 
man  is  that  which  thinks  and  wills, 
and  the  external  that  which  speaks  and 
acts :  these,  indeed,  are  of  the  external 
man,  and  those,  of  the  internal ;  but 
still  they  do  not  essentially  make  the 
external  and  the  internal  man.  The 
mind  of  man  is,  indeed,  in  the  common 
perception,  the  internal  man ;  but  the 
mind  itself  is  divided  into  two  regions; 
one  region,  which  is  the  higher  and 
interior,  is  spiritual,  and  the  other, 
which  is  the  lower  and  e.xterior,  is  nat- 
ural. The  spiritual  mind  looks  princi- 
pally into  the  spiritual  world,  and  has 
for  objects  those  things  which  are  there, 
whether  they  be  such  as  are  in  heaven, 
or  such  as  are  in  hell,  for  both  are  in 
the  spiritual  world ;  but  the  natural 
mind  looks  principally  into  the  natural 
world,  and  has  for  objects  those  things 
which  are  there,  whether  they  be  good 
or  evil.  All  the  action  and  the  speech 
of  man  proceed  from  the  lower  region 
of  the  mind  directly,  and  from  its  higher 
region  indirectly ;  since  the  lower  re- 
gion of  the  mind  is  nearer  to  the  senses 
of  the  body,  and  the  higher  region  is 
farther  from  them.  Tliis  division  of 
the  mind  is  with  man,  because  he  was 
created  so  as  to  be  spiritual  and  at  the 
same  time  natural,  and  thus  a  man 
and  not  a  beast.  Hence  it  is  manifest 
that  the  man  who  looks  to  the  world 
and  him.-;clf  primarily,  is  an  external 
man,  because  he  is  natural,  not  only  in 
body,  but  also  in  mind ;  and  that  the 
man  who  looks  to  the  things  which  are 
of  heaven  and  the  church,  primarily, 
is  an  internal  man,  because  he  is  spir- 
itual both  in  mind  and  in  body  ;  the  rea- 
son why  he  is  so  also  in  body,  is,  be- 
cause his  actions  and  speecii  proceed 
from  the  higher  mind,  which  is  spiritual, 
through  the  lower  mind,  which  is  nat- 
ural ;  for  it  is  known  that  effects  pro- 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


303 


ceed  from  tlie  body,  and  the  causes 
whicli  produce  tliem  from  the  mind, 
and  that  tlie  cause  is  all  in  the  effect. 
Tliat  the  human  mind  is  so  divided,  is 
very  manifest  from  this,  that  a  man  can 
act  the  dissembler,  flatterer,  hypocrite 
and  buffoon,  and  that  he  can  assent  to 
the  words  of  another,  and  yet  laugh  at 
them ;  this  he  does  from  tlie  higher 
mind,  but  that  from  the  lower. 

421.  Hence  it  may  be  seen  how  it 
is  to  be  understood  that  charity  and 
good  works  are  distinct,  like  willing 
well  and  doing  well ;  namely,  that  they 
are  formally  distinct,  as  the  mind  which 
thinks  and  wills,  and  the  body  by 
which  the  mind  speaks  and  acts ;  but 
that  they  are  essentially  distinct,  be- 
cause the  mind  itself  is  distinct,  the 
interior  region  of  which  is  spiritual, 
and  the  exterior  natural,  as  was  shown 
above.  Wherefore,  if  works  proceed 
from  the  spiritual  mind,  they  proceed 
from  its  good  will  vvhicli  is  charity ; 
but  if  from  the  natural  mind,  they  pro- 
ceed from  a  good  will  which  is  not 
charity,  although  it  may  appear  like 
charity  in  the  external  form,  yet  still  it 
is  not  charity  in  tlie  internal  form  ;  and 
charity  in  the  external  form  alone, 
wears  indeed  the  semblance  of  charity, 
but  the  essence  of  charity  it  does  not 
possess.  This  may  be  illustrated  by 
comparison  with  seeds  in  the  earth ; 
from  every  seed  there  arises  a  shoot 
useful  or  otherwise  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  seed.  The  case  is  simi- 
lar with  spiritual  seed,  which  is  the 
truth  of  the  church  from  the  Word ; 
from  this  is  formed  doctrine,  useful  if 
from  genuine  truths,  otherwise  if  from 
falsified  truths.  The  case  is  similar 
with  charity  from  good  will,  whether 
the  good  will  be  for  the  sake  of  self 
and  the  world,  or  for  the  sake  of  the 
neighbor,  in  a  strict  or  a  wide  sense ; 
if  for  the  sake  of  self  and  the  world, 
it  is  spurious  charity,  but  if  for  the  sake 
of  the  neighbor,  it  is  genuine  charity. 
But  more  may  be  seen  concerning  these 
things  in  the  chapter  concerning  Faith ; 
particularly  in  the  article  where  it  is 
shown,  That  charity  is  to  will  toell, 
and  that  good  works  are  to  do  well  from 
willing  well,  n.  473.    And  that  charity 


and  faith  arc  only  mental  and  perish- 
able things,  unless,  when  it  can  be  done, 
they  are  determined  to  works,  and  co- 
exist in  them,  n.  375,  376. 

422.  VIII.  Th.\t  Charity  itself 

IS   TO  .\CT  JUSTLY  AND  FAITHFULLY  IN 

THE  Office,  Business  and  Work  in 

WHICH  any  one  is,  AND  WITH  WHOM- 
SOEVER HE  HAS  ANY  INTERCOURSE. 

The  reason  why  charity  itself  is  to 
act  justly  and  faithfully  in  the  office, 
business  and  work  in  which  any  one 
is,  is  because  all  the  things  that  a 
man  does  so,  are  of  use  to  society, 
and  use  is  good ;  and  good,  in  the 
sense  abstracted  from  persons,  is  the 
neighbor.  That  not  only  a  single  man, 
but  also  a  smaller  society,  and  one's 
country  itself,  is  the  neighbor,  was 
shown  above.  As,  for  example,  a  king, 
who  sets  before  his  subjects  an  exam- 
ple in  doing  well,  wishes  them  to  live 
according  to  the  laws  of  justice,  rewards 
those  who  do  live  so,  regards  every 
one  according  to  his  merit,  defends 
them  against  injuries  and  invasions, 
acts  as  the  father  of  the  kingdom, 
and  consults  for  the  general  prosperity 
of  his  people — he  has  charity  in  his 
heart,  and  his  deeds  are  good  works. 
A  priest,  who  teaches  truths  from  the 
Word,  and  by  them  leads  to  the  good 
of  life  and  thus  to  heaven,  he,  because 
he  consults  for  the  souls  of  the  men  of 
his  church,  eminently  exercises  charity. 
A  judge,  who  judges  according  to  jus- 
tice and  law,  and  not  from  the  influence 
of  a  bribe,  friendship  and  relationship, 
consults  for  society  and  for  each  indi- 
vidual man  ;  for  society,  because  it  is 
thereby  kept  in  obedience  to  the  law, 
and  in  the  fear  of  transgressing  it ;  and 
for  each  individual  man,  in  that  justice 
triumphs  over  injustice.  A  merchant, 
if  he  acts  from  sincerity  and  not  from 
fraud,  consults  for  the  neighbor  with 
whom  he  has  business.  In  like  man- 
ner a  workman  and  an  artist,  if  he  does 
his  work  uprightly  and  honestly,  and 
not  fraudulently  and  deceitfully.  The 
case  is  similar  with  others,  as  with  cap- 
tains of  vessels  and  sailors,  and  with 
farmers  and  servants. 

423.  The  reason  why  this  is  charity 
itself,  is,  because  this  may  be  defined, 


304 


Concerning  Charity, 


that  it  is  to  do  good  to  the  neighbor, 
daily  and  continually,  and  not  only  to 
the  neighbor  individually,  but  also  to 
the  neighbor  collectively  ;  and  this  can- 
not be  done  without  doing  what  is  good 
and  just  in  the  office,  business  and 
work  in  which  any  one  is,  and  with 
whomsoever  he  has  any  intercourse, 
for  this  he  does  daily ;  and  when  he  is 
not  doing  it,  still  it  is  continually  fixed 
in  his  mind,  and  he  thinks  and  intends 
it.  The  man  who  thus  exercises  char- 
ity becomes  more  and  more  charity  in 
form ;  for  justice  and  fidelity  form  his 
mind,  and  their  exercises  his  body  ;  and 
in  course  of  time  from  his  form  he  wills 
and  thinks  nothing  else  than  such 
things  as  are'  of  charity.  These  at 
length  become  like  those  of  whom  it  is 
said  in  the  Word,  that  they  have  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts.  These  also 
do  not  place  merit  in  works,  since  they 
do  not  think  of  merit,  but  of  duty,  that 
it  becomes  a  citizen  to  do  so.  But  a 
man  can  by  no  means  act  from  spirit- 
ual justice  and  fidelity,  of  himself;  for 
every  man  hereditarily  derives  from  his 
parents  an  inclinatiou  to  do  what  is 
good  and  just  for  the  sake  of  self  and 
the  world,  and  no  one  for  the  sake  of 
what  is  good  and  just ;  wherefore  he 
only  who  worships  the  Lord,  and  acts 
from  Him  while  he  acts  from  himself, 
obtains  spiritual  charity,  and  imbues  it 
by  exerci.scs. 

424.  There  arc  many  wlio  act  justly 
and  faithfully  in  the  execution  of  their 
office,  and  although  they  thus  perform 
works  of  chanty,  still  they  do  not  pos- 
sess any  charity  in  themselves.  But 
there  are  those  with  whom  the  love  of 
self  and  the  world  predominates,  and 
not  the  love  of  heaven ;  and  if  by  chance 
this  be  present,  it  is  under  that,  like  a 
slave  under  his  master,  and  like  a  com- 
mon soldier  under  his  captain ;  and  it 
is  like  a  doorkeeper  standing  at  the 
door. 

425.  IX.  That  the  beneficent 
Acts  ok  Charity  are,  to  give  to  the 
Poor,  and  to  help  the  Needy;  but 
with  Prudknce. 

A  distinction  is  to  be  made  be- 
tween the  duties  of  charity,  and  the 
beneficent  acts  of  charity.   By  the  du- 


ties of  charity  are  meant  the  exercises 
of  charity  which  proceed  immediately 
from  charity  itself,  and  which,  as  was 
shown  just  above,  are  primarily  of  the 
employment  in  which  every  one  is; 
but  by  beneficent  acts  are  meant  those 
helps  that  are  afforded  out  of  his  em- 
ployment. They  are  called  benrjiccnt 
acts,  because  a  man  is  to  do  them  at 
his  liberty  and  pleasure,  and  wlien  they 
are  done  they  are  not  regarded  by  the 
recipient  otherwise  than  as  beneficent 
acts  or  favors,  and  they  are  dispensed 
according  to  the  reasons  and  intentions 
which  the  benefactor  has  in  his  mind. 
It  is  a  common  opinion,  that  charity  is 
nothing  else  than  giving  to  the  poor, 
helping  the  needy,  taking  care  of 
widows  and  orphans,  and  contributing 
to  the  building  of  hospitals  and  houses 
for  the  accommodation  of  invalids, 
strangers  and  orphans ;  and  especially 
to  the  building  of  temples,  and  to  the 
ornaments  and  revenues  of  them  ;  but 
many  of  these  things  are  not  the  proper 
constituents  of  charity,  but  are  things 
extraneous  to  it.  Those  who  place 
charity  itself  in  those  beneficent  acts, 
cannot  do  otherwise  than  place  merit 
in  those  works ;  and  although  they  con- 
fess with  the  mouth  that  thoy  do  not 
wish  them  to  be  merits,  still  inwardly 
there  lurks  the  belief  of  merit.  This 
is  very  manifest  from  them  after  death  ; 
then  they  enumerate  their  works,  and 
demand  salvation  as  a  reward.  But  it 
is  then  inquired,  from  what  origin  they 
are,  and  thence  of  what  quality;  and 
if  it  is  found  that  they  proceeded  from 
vain  glory,  or  from  a  desire  of  fame,  or 
from  bare  munificence,  or  from  friend- 
ship, or  from  merely  natural  inclination, 
or  from  hypocrisy,  they  are  then  judged 
from  that  origin ;  for  the  quality  of  the 
origin  is  in  the  works.  But  genuine 
charity  proceeds  from  those  who  arc 
imbued  with  it  from  justice  and  judg- 
ment in  the  works  whicli  they  do  with- 
out the  expectation  of  reward  as  an  end, 
according  to  the  words  of  the  Lord, 
Luke  xiv.  12, 13,14 ;  these  also  call  such 
things  as  have  been  mentioned  above, 
beneficent  acts,  as  also  debts,  although 
they  are  of  charity. 

426.   It  is  known  tiiat  some  who 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


305 


have  done  those  beneficent  acts  which, 
before  the  world,  appear  as  images  of 
charity,  think  and  beHeve  that  they 
have  exercised  works  of  charity;  and 
that  they  regard  them  as  many  regard 
papal  indulgences,  as  things  on  account 
of  which  they  are  purified  from  sins ; 
and,  as  regenerate,  are  to  be  gifted  with 
heaven  ;  and  yet  they  do  not  regard 
as  sins,  adultery,  hatred,  revenge,  fraud, 
and,  in  general,  the  concupiscences  of 
the  flesh,  which  they  indulge  at  their 
pleasure.  But,  then,  what  else  are 
those  good  works,  than  painted  images 
of  angels  in  company  with  devils,  or 
boxes  of  lapis  lazuli,  in  which  are  hy- 
dras ?  But  the  case  is  quite  otherwise, 
if  those  beneficent  acts  are  done  by 
those  who  shun  the  above-mentioned 
evils  as  enemies  of  charity.  Neverthe- 
less, those  beneficent  acts  are  in  many 
respects  advantageous,  particularly  giv- 
ing to  poor  people  and  beggars ;  for 
thereby  boys  and  girls,  servants  and 
maids,  and,  in  general,  all  the  simple, 
are  initiated  into  charity,  for  they  are 
its  externals,  by  which  they  become 
accustomed  to  the  offices  of  charity ; 
for  they  are  the  rudiments  of  it,  and 
are  then  like  unripe  fruits ;  but  with 
those  who  are  afterwards  perfected  in 
just  knowledges  respecting  charity  and 
faith,  they  become  like  ripe  fi-uits ;  and 
then  they  regard  those  former  works 
done  from  simplicity  of  heart,  no  other- 
wise than  debts. 

427.  The  reason  that  those  benefi- 
cent acts  are  at  this  day  believed  to  be 
the  proper  deeds  of  charity,  which  in 
the  Word  are  meant  by  good  works,  is, 
because  charity  is  often  described  in 
the  Word  by  giving  to  the  poor,  help- 
ing the  needy,  providing  for  widows 
and  orphans;  but  hitherto  it  has  been 
unknown  that  the  Word,  in  the  letter, 
mentions  only  such  things  as  are  ex- 
ternal, yea,  such  as  are  the  most  exter- 
nal things  of  worship;  and  that  spiritual 
things,  which  are  internal,  are  meant 
by  them ;  as  may  be  seen  above,  in 
the  chapter  concerning  the  Sacred 
Scripture,  n.  173  to  209 ;  whence  it 
is  manifest,  that  by  those  called  poor, 
needy,  widows  and  orphans,  not  those 
are  there  meant,  but  those  who  are 
39 


spiritually  such.  That  by  the  poor  are 
meant  those  who  are  not  in  tlie  knowl- 
edges of  what  is  good  and  true,  may 
be  seen  in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed, 
n.  209 ;  that  by  widows,  those  who 
are  without  truths,  and  still  desire 
truths,  n.  764,  &c. 

428.  Those  who  are  from  nativity 
pitiful,  and  do  not  make  their  natural 
pity  spiritual  by  deeds  of  genuine  char- 
ity, believe  that  it  is  charity  to  give  to 
every  poor  person,  and  to  help  every 
needy  person,  and  they  do  not  first  in- 
quire whether  that  poor  and  needy  per- 
son be  good  or  bad,  for  they  say  that 
this  is  not  necessary,  since  God  looks 
only  at  the  help  and  alms.  But  these 
after  death  are  well  distinguished  and 
separated  from  those  who  did  the  be- 
neficent acts  of  charity  from  prudence  ; 
for  those  who  did  them  from  that  blind 
idea  of  charity,  then  do  good  equally  to 
the  bad  and  the  good ;  and  thereby  the 
bad  do  evils,  and  by  them  hurt  the  good  ; 
wherefore,  those  benefactors  are  the 
occasion  of  hurting  even  the  good. 
For  to  do  a  beneficent  act  to  a  mis- 
chievous man,  is  like  giving  bread  to 
the  devil,  which  he  turns  into  poison ; 
for  all  the  bread  in  the  hand  of  the 
devil  is  poison  ;  and  if  it  is  not,  he  turns 
it  into  poison,  which  he  does  by  using 
good  deeds  to  allure  to  evil.  And  it  is 
like  handing  a  sword  to  an  enemy, 
that  he  may  kill  some  one ;  and  it  is 
like  giving  a  shepherd's  crook  to  a  man- 
wolf,  that  he  may  lead  the  sheep  to  the 
pasture,  when  yet,  as  soon  as  he  has 
got  it,  he  drives  the  sheep  from  the 
pasture  into  the  wilderness,  and  there 
kills  them;  and  it  is  like  giving  an 
office  to  a  robber,  who  only  cares  and 
watches  for  plunder,  according  to  the 
excellence  and  abundance  of  which,  he 
dispenses  laws  and  executes  judgments. 

429.  X.  That  there  are  Debts  of 
Charity;  some  Public,  some  Do- 
mestic, AND  some  Private. 

The  beneficent  acts  of  charity 
and  the  debts  of  charity  are  distinct 
from  each  other,  like  the  things  which 
are  done  from  liberty  and  those  which 
are  done  from  necessity.  But  still,  by 
the  debts  of  charity,  are  not  here  meant 
the  debts  of  offices  in  a  kingdom  and 


306 


Concerning  Charity, 


a  republic — as  of  a  minister,  that  he 
should  minister,  of  a  judge,  that  he 
should  judge,  &c. — but  the  debts  of 
every  one,  in  whatever  office  he  is,  are 
meant.  Wherefore  they  are  from  a  dif- 
ferent origin;  and  flow  from  another 
will ;  and  so  they  are  done  from  charity, 
by  those  who  are  in  charity,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  from  no  charity,  by 
those  who  are  in  no  charity. 

430.  The  Public  Debts  of  Char- 
ity are,  especially,  duties  and  taxes, 
which  should  not  be  mixed  together 
with  the  debts  of  offices.  Those  who 
are  spiritual  pay  them  with  one  dispo- 
sition of  heart,  and  those  who  are 
merely  natural,  with  another.  The 
spiritual  pay  them  from  good  will,  be- 
cause they  are  collected  for  the  preser- 
vation of  their  country,  and  for  the  pro- 
tection of  it  and  the  church,  and  for 
the  services  performed  by  officers  and 
rulers,  to  whom  salaries  and  wages  are 
to  be  paid  from  the  public  treasury. 
Wherefore  those  to  whom  their  country 
and  also  the  church  are  the  neighbor, 
pay  them  voluntarily  and  cheerfully, 
and  esteem  it  as  iniquity  to  deceive 
and  defraud  ;  but  those  to  whom  their 
country  and  the  church  are  not  the 
neighbor,  pay  them  unwillingly  and  re- 
luctantly, and  whenever  opportunity  is 
given,  they  defraud  and  cheat,  for  with 
them  their  own  house  and  their  own 
flesh  is  the  neighbor. 

431.  The  Domestic  Debts  of 
Charity  are  those  of  a  husband  to- 
wards his  wife,  and  of  a  wife  towards 
her  husband  ;  also  those  of  a  father 
and  a  mother  towards  their  children, 
and  of  children  towards  their  father 
and  mother,  as  also  those  of  a  master 
and  a  mistress  towards  their  servants 
and  maids,  and  of  the  latter  towards 
the  former.  These  debts,  because  they 
relate  to  education  and  administration 
in  the  house,  are  so  many,  that  if  they 
should  be  enumerated  they  would  fill  a 
volume.  Every  man  is  brought  to  these 
debts  from  a  love  diflerent  from  that 
which  brings  him  to  the  debts  of  his 
office ;  to  those  of  a  husband  towards  his 
wife,  and  of  a  wife  towards  Iter  husband, 
from  conjugial  love  and  according  to 
it ;  of  a  father  and  a  mother  towards 


their  children,  from  a  love  implanted 
in  every  one,  which  is  called  storge  or 
parental  affection;  and  of  children  to- 
wards their  parents,  from  an<)ther  love, 
and  according  to  it,  which  closely  con- 
joins itself  with  obedience  fi-om  debt. 
But  the  debts  of  a  master  and  a  mis- 
tress towards  their  servants  and  maids 
partake  of  the  love  of  reigning,  and 
this  according  to  the  state  of  each  one's 
mind.  But  conjugial  love  and  love  to- 
wards children,  with  their  debts  and 
the  discharge  of  them,  do  not  produce 
love  towards  the  neighbor,  like  the 
discharge  of  debts  in  offices ;  for  the 
love  called  storge  exists  with  the  bad 
equally  as  with, the  good,  and  some- 
times it  is  stronger  with  the  bad ;  and 
also  it  exists  with  beasts  and  birds, 
with  which  no  charity  can  be  formed ; 
that  it  is  with  bears,  tigers  and  ser- 
pents equally  as  with  sheep  and  goats, 
and  with  owls  equally  as  with  doves,  is 
known.  As  to  what  particularly  re- 
gards the  debts  of  parents  towards  chil- 
dren, the  debts  with  those  who  are  in 
charity  are  inwardly  different  from  the 
debts  with  those  who  are  not  in  char- 
ity, but  outwardly  they  appear  similar. 
With  those  who  arc  in  charity,  that  love 
is  conjoined  with  love  towards  the 
neighbor  and  with  love  to  God ;  for  by 
them  children  are  loved  according  to 
their  morals,  virtues,  desires  and  tal- 
ents for  serving  the  public  ;  but  with 
those  who  are  not  in  charity,  there  is 
no  conjunction  of  charity  with  the  love 
called  storge;  wherefore  many  of  them 
love  bad,  immoral  and  crafty  children 
even  more  than  those  who  are  good, 
moral  and  prudent ;  thus  those  who  are 
not  useful  to  the  public  more  than  those 
who  arc  useful. 

432.  The  Private  Debts  of  Char- 
ity are  also  many,  such  as  paying 
wages  to  workmen,  paying  interest  and 
rents,  performing  contracts,  keeping 
pledges,  and  other  such  like  things  ; 
of  which  some  are  debts  by  virtue  of 
the  statute  law,  some  of  the  civil  law, 
and  some  of  the  moral  law.  These 
also  are  discharged  in  one  state  of 
mind  by  those  who  are  in  charity,  and 
in  another  by  those  who  are  not  in 
charity ;  by  those  who  are  in  charity 


and  concerning  Good  tVorks. 


307 


they  are  performed  justly  and  faithfully ; 
for  it  is  a  precept  of  charity  that  every 
onp  sliould  act  justly  and  faithfully 
with  all  with  whom  he  is  in  any  busi- 
ness and  intercourse,  of  which  above, 
n.  422,  and  the  following ;  but  those 
same  things  are  performed  altogether 
differently  by  those  who  are  not  in 
charity. 

433.  XI.  That  the  Recreations 
OF  Charitv  are  Dinners,  Suppers, 
AND  Parties. 

It  is  known  that  dinners  and  sup- 
pers are  in  use  every  where,  and  that 
they  are  made  for  various  purposes,  and 
that  with  many  they  are  for  the  sake 
of  friendship,  for  the  sake  of  relation- 
ship, for  the  sake  of  gladness,  and  for 
the  sake  of  gain  and  recompense  ;  and 
that  they  are  bribes  to  draw  over  to  a 
party ;  and  that  with  grandees  they 
are  also  for  the  sake  of  honor,  and  in 
the  palaces  of  kings  for  the  sake  of 
splendor.  But  dinners  and  suppers  of 
charity  are  with  those  only  who  are  in 
mutual  love  from  a  similar  faith.  In 
the  primitive  church,  among  Christians, 
dinners  and  suppers  were  for  the  sake 
of  no  other  end,  and  they  were  called 
Feasts,  instituted  both  for  promoting 
joy  of  the  heart  and  also  mutual  con- 
junction. Suppers  with  them  signi- 
fied consociations  and  conjunctions,  in 
the  first  state  of  the  establishment  of 
the  church  ;  for  the  evening,  in  which 
they  were  made,  signified  that :  but 
Dinners,  in  the  second  state,  when  the 
church  was  established ;  for  the  morn- 
ing and  the  day  signified  that.  At  ta- 
ble they  had  conversations  upon  vari- 
ous subjects,  as  well  domestic  as  civil, 
but  particularly  upon  such  things  as 
were  of  the  church;  and  because  they 
were  feasts  of  charity,  on  whatsoever 
subject  they  spoke,  charity  with  its 
joys  and  delights  was  in  their  speech. 
The  spiritual  sphere  reigning  in  those 
feasts,  was  a  sphere  of  love  to  the  Lord 
and  of  love  towards  the  neighbor, 
which  exhilarated  the  mind  of  every 
one,  softened  the  sound  of  every  speech, 
and  brought  festivity  from  the  heart  into 
all  the  senses ;  for  from  every  man  there 
emanates  a  spiritual  sphere,  which  is  of 
the  affection  of  his  love,  and  thence  of 


his  thought,  and  it  inwardly  affects 
those  who  are  in  his  company,  es- 
pecially at  feasts ;  it  emanates  through 
the  face  as  well  as  by  respiration. 
Since  by  dinners  and  suppers,  or  by 
feasts,  such  consociations  of  minds 
were  signified,  therefore  they  are  so 
often  mentioned  in  the  Word ;  and  by 
them  there  nothing  else  is  meant  in 
the  spiritual  sense ;  and  in  the  highest 
sense,  by  the  paschal  supper  amongst 
the  sons  of  Israel,  as  also  by  the  ban- 
quets at  the  other  feasts ;  as  also  by 
eating  together  of  the  sacrifices  at  the 
tabernacle.  Conjunction  itself  was 
then  represented  by  breaking  the  bread 
and  distributing  it,  and  by  drinking 
from  the  same  cup  and  handing  it  to 
another. 

434.  As  to  social  parties,  they 
were  in  the  primitive  church  amongst 
such  as  called  themselves  brethren  in 
Christ;  wherefore  they  were  social 
meetings  of  charity,  because  they  were 
a  spiritual  fraternity.  They  were  also 
consolations  for  the  adversities  of  the 
church,  exultations  for  its  increase, 
and  also  recreations  of  the  mind  after 
studies  and  labors,  and  at  the  same  time 
conversations  on  various  subjects ;  and 
because  they  flowed  from  spiritual  love, 
as  from  a  fountain,  they  were  rational 
and  moral  from  a  spiritual  origin. 
There  are  given  at  this  day  parties 
of  friendship,  which  regard  as  their 
end  the  pleasures  of  conversation,  the 
exhilaration  of  the  mind,  and  thence 
they  are  for  the  expansion  of  the  soul 
and  the  liberation  of  the  imprisoned 
thoughts,  and  thus  for  the  refreshment 
of  the  sensual  parts  of  the  body,  and 
the  restoration  of  their  state.  But  as 
yet  there  are  not  given  any  parties 
of  charity ;  for  the  Lord  says,  In  the 
consummation  of  the  age,  that  is,  in 
the  end  of  the  church,  iniquity  will  be 
multiplied,  and  charity  will  grow  cold, 
Matt.  xxiv.  12.  The  reason  is,  be- 
cause the  church  had  not  yet  acknowl- 
edged the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  as  the 
God  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  ap- 
proached Him  immediately,  from  whom 
alone  genuine  charity  proceeds  and 
flows  in.  But  the  parties,  where 
a  friendship  emulating  charity  does 


308 


Concerning  Charity, 


not  join  minds  together,  are  no  other 
than  counterfeits  of  friendship,  and  false 
attestations  of  mutual  love,  alluring 
insinuations  into  favor,  and  indul- 
gences of  the  delights  of  the  body,  es- 
pecially of  sensual  gratifications,  by 
which  others  are  carried,  as  a  ship  by 
sails  and  favorable  winds,  while  syco- 
phants and  hypocrites  stand  at  the  stern 
and  hold  the  rudder  in  their  hand. 

435.  XII.  That  the  first  Thing 
OF  Charity  is  to  put  away  Evils, 

AND  THE   SECOND  ThING  OF  IT  IS  TO 

DO  Goods  which  are  of  use  to  the 
Neighbor. 

In  the  doctrine  of  charity  this  holds 
the  first  place,  that  the  first  thing  of 
charity  is  not  to  do  evil  to  the  neigh- 
bor, and  the  second,  to  do  good  to  him  ; 
this  tenet  is  as  a  door  to  the  doctrine 
of  charity.  It  is  known  that  evil  re- 
sides in  the  will  of  every  man,  from  na- 
tivity, and  because  all  evil  regards  man 
near  itself  and  at  distance  liom  itself, 
and  also  society  and  one's  country,  it 
follows  that  hereditary  evil  is  evil 
against  the  neighbor  in  every  degree. 
Man  may  see  from  reason  itself,  that  as 
far  as  the  evil  residing  in  the  will  is 
not  removed,  so  far  the  good  which  he 
does  is  impregnated  with  that  evil ; 
for  then  evil  is  inwardly  in  the  good, 
like  a  nut  in  the  shell,  and  like  marrow 
in  the  bone ;  wherefore,  although  the 
good  which  is  done  by  such  a  man  ap- 
pears as  good,  still,  inwardly,  it  is  not 
good ;  for  it  is  like  a  bright  shell  with- 
in which  there  is  a  nut  eaten  by  worms, 
and  it  is  like  a  white  almond,  within 
which  there  is  rottenness,  from  which 
rotten  veins  extend  even  to  the  surface. 
To  will  evil  and  to  do  good  are  in 
themselves  opposites ;  for  evil  is  of  ha- 
tred against  the  neighbor,  and  good  is 
of  love  towards  the  neighbor  ;  or  evil 
is  the  neighbor's  enemy,  and  good  is 
his  friend.  Those  two  cannot  exist  in 
one  mind,  that  is,  evil  in  the  internal 
man,  and  good  in  the  external  man;  if 
they  do,  the  good  in  the  external  man 
is  like  a  wound  superficially  healed,  in 
which  inwardly  there  is  rotten  matter. 
Man  is  then  like  a  tree  whose  root  is 
decayed,  and  yet  it  produces  fruit  which 
outwardly  appears  like  agreeable  and 


usefiil  fruit,  but  inwardly  it  is  disagree- 
able and  useless.  He  is  also  like  the 
dross  of  metals,  which,  when  polished 
on  the  surface  and  beautifully  colored, 
are  sold  for  precious  stones.  In  a  word, 
such  are  like  the  eggs  of  an  owl,  which 
are  believed  to  be  the  eggs  of  a  dove. 
Let  every  man  know  that  the  good 
which  a  man  does  with  the  body  pro- 
ceeds from  his  spirit,  or  from  the  inter- 
nal man  ;  the  internal  man  is  his  spirit, 
which  lives  after  death;  wherefore, 
when  a  man  casts  off  the  body  which 
made  his  external  man,  then  whoso- 
ever is  in  evils  and  delights  himself  in 
them,  he  abhors  good,  as  offensive  to 
his  life.  That  man  cannot  do  good, 
which  is  good,  before  evil  is  removed, 
the  Lord  teaches  in  many  places  :  They 
do  not  gather  grapes  from  thorns,  or 
Jigs  from  thistles.  A  corrupt  tree  ean- 
not  produce  good  fruit,  Matt.  vii.  16, 
17,  18.  Wo  to  you,  scribes  and  Phar- 
isees ;  ye  cleanse  the  outside  of  the  cup 
and  of  the  platter,  hut  the  insides  are 
full  of  rapine  and  excess.  Blind  Phar- 
isee, cleanse  frst  the  inside  of  the  cup 
and  of  the  platter,  that  the  outside  may 
be  clean  also,  xxiii.  25,  26.  And  in 
Isaiah ;  Wash  yourselves ;  put  away 
the  evil  of  your  works ;  cease  to  do  evil; 
learn  to  do  good ;  seek  judgment .  Then, 
if  your  .<!i)is  be  as  sca7-let,  they  shall  be- 
come white  like  snow ;  if  they  be  red  as 
crimson,  they  shall  be  like  wool,  i.  10, 
17,  18. 

436.  This  may  be  further  illustrated 
by  these  comparisons :  one  cannot  go 
to  another  who  keeps  a  leopard  and  a 
panther  in  his  chamber,  and  because 
he  gives  them  food  to  eat  lives  secure- 
ly with  them,  unless  he  first  remove 
those  wild  beasts.  Who,  when  invited 
to  the  table  of  a  king  and  queen,  would 
not  first  wash  his  face  and  hands  be- 
fore he  goes  to  it  ?  Who  does  not  puri- 
fy metallic  ore  by  fire,  and  separate  it 
from  the  dross,  before  he  obtains  pure 
gold  and  silver  ?  Who  does  not  separate 
the  tares  from  the  wheat,  before  he 
brings  it  into  the  barn  ?  Who  does  not 
cook  raw  me.it  by  boiling,  before  it  be- 
comes eatable  and  is  set  upon  the  ta- 
ble ?  Who  does  not  shake  off  the  worms 
from  the  leaves  of  a  tree  in  the  garden, 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


309 


lest  the  leaves  should  be  consumed,  and 
thus  the  fruit  sliould  perish  ?  Who  loves 
a.  virgin,  and  intends  marriage  with  her, 
who  is  infected  with  a  malignant  dis- 
ease, and  covered  with  pimples  and 
sores,  however  she  paints  her  face, 
dresses  herself  splendidly,  and  studies 
10  infuse  the  incentives  of  love  by  the 
charms  of  her  conversation  ?  That  man 
ought  to  purify  himself  from  evils  is, 
comparatively,  as  if  a  servant,  having 
his  face  and  clothes  bedaubed  with  soot 
or  dung,  should  go  to  his  master  and 
say,  "Wash  me,  sir."  Would  not  the 
master  say  to  him,  "You  foolish  ser- 
vant, what  do  you  say  ?  Behold,  there 
is  water,  soap  and  a  towel ;  have 
you  not  hands,  and  power  in  them? 
wash  yourself"  And  the  Lord  God 
would  say,  "The  means  of  purification 
are  from  Me,  and  also  your  will  and 
power  are  from  Me ;  use  those  my  gifts 
and  talents  as  your  own,  and  you  will 
be  purified." 

437.  It  is  believed  at  this  day,  that 
charity  is  only  to  do  good,  and  that 
then  one  does  not  do  evil ;  consequent- 
ly, that  the  first  thing  of  charity  is  to 
do  good,  and  the  second  not  to  do  evil. 
But  it  is  altogether  the  reverse;  the 
first  thing  of  charity  is  to  put  away  evil, 
and  the  second  is  to  do  good  ;  for  it  is 
a  universal  law  in  the  spiritual  world, 
and  thence  also  in  the  natural  world, 
that  as  far  as  any  one  does  not  will 
evil,  so  far  he  wills  good ;  thus  as  far 
as  he  turns  himself  away  from  hell, 
whence  all  evil  ascends,  so  far  he  turns 
himself  towards  heaven,  whence  all 
good  descends  ;  hence  also  that  as  far 
as  any  one  rejects  the  devil,  so  far  he 
is  accepted  by  the  Lord.  No  one  can 
stand  between  both,  with  a  versatile 
neck,  and  at  the  same  time  pray  to  the 
one  and  to  the  other  ;  for  these  are  they 
concerning  whom  the  Lord  says  these 
words :  /  knotv  thy  loorks,  that  thou 
art  neither  cold  nor  hot ;  I  would  thou 
wcrt  cold  or  hot ;  hut  because  thou  art 
lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I 
will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth,  Rev. 
iii.  15,  16.  Who  can  fly  about  with 
his  troop  betvyeen  two  armies,  and  favor 
both?  Who  can  be  in  evil  again.st  his 
neighbor,  and  at  the  same  time  in  good 


towards  him  ?  Does  not  the  evil  then 
hide  itself  in  the  good?  And,  although 
the  evil  which  hides  itself  does  not  ap- 
pear in  acts,  still  it  manifests  itself  in 
many  things,  if  they  are  duly  reflected 
upon.  The  Lord  says.  No  servant  can 
serve  two  masters  ;  ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  mammon,  Luke  xvi.  13. 

438.  But  no  one  can,  by  his  own 
power  and  his  own  strength,  purify 
himself  from  evils ;  yet  still  it  cannot 
be  done  without  the  power  and  strength 
of  man,  as  his  own.  Unless  it  were  so, 
no  one  could  fight  against  the  flesh  and 
its  concupiscences,  which  yet  is  en- 
joined upon  every  one  ;  yea,  he  would 
not  think  of  that  conflict,  and  so  would 
give  up  his  mind  to  evils  of  every  kind, 
and  would  only  be  restrained  from  them 
as  to  the  deeds,  by  the  laws  of  justice 
made  in  the  world  and  their  punish- 
ments ;  and  thus  he  would  be  inwardly 
like  a  tiger,  a  leopard  and  a  serpent, 
which  never  reflect  on  the  cruel  de- 
lights of  their  loves.  Hence  it  is  man- 
ifest that  man,  who  is  more  rational 
than  wild  beasts,  ought  to  resist  evils 
from  the  power  and  strength  given  him 
by  tlie  Lord,  which  in  every  sense  ap- 
pear to  him  as  his  own ;  and  tiiis  ap- 
pearance is  given  to  every  man  by  the 
Lord,  for  the  sake  of  regeneration,  im- 
putation, conjunction,  and  salvation. 

439.  XIIL  That  Man,  in  the  Ex- 
ercises OF  Charity,  does  not  place 
Merit  in  Works,  while  he  believes 
that  all  Good  is  from  the  Lord. 

To  place  merit  in  works  which  are 
done  for  the  sake  of  salvation  is  hurt- 
ful, for  therein  are  concealed  evils, 
concerning  which  the  doer  knows  noth- 
ing. There  is  concealed  a  denial  of  the 
influx  and  operation  of  God  with  man  ; 
trust  in  one's  own  power  in  the  things 
of  salvation,  faith  in  one's  self  and  not 
in  God,  a  justification  of  one's  self, 
salvation  by  one's  own  strength,  anni- 
hilation of  the  divine  grace  and  mercy, 
the  rejection  of  reformation  and  regen- 
eration by  divine  means,  and  particu- 
larly derogation  from  the  merit  and 
righteousness  of  the  Lord  God  the  Sa- 
vior, which  they  claim  to  themselves ; 
besides  a  continual  looking  for  reward, 
which  they  regard  as  the  first  and  last 


310 


Concerning  Charity, 


end,  a  suffocation  and  extinction  of 
love  to  the  Lord  and  love  towards  the 
neighbor,  a  total  ignorance  and  imper- 
ceptibility  of  the  delight  of  heavenly 
love,  which  is  without  merit,  and  a  sen- 
sation only  of  the  love  of  self  For 
those  who  put  reward  in  the  first  place, 
and  salvation  in  the  second,  thus  this 
for  the  sake  of  that,  invert  order,  and 
immerse  the  interior  desires  of  their 
mind  in  their  proprium,  and  in  the  body 
defile  them  with  the  delights  of  their 
flesh.  Thence  it  is  that  the  good  of 
merit  appears  to  the  angels  like  rust, 
and  the  good  not  of  merit  like  purple. 
That  good  should  be  done  without  the 
end  of  reward,  the  Lord  teaches  in 
Luke  :  If  ye  do  good  to  those  who  do 
good  to  you,  what  thank  have  ye  1 
Rather  love  your  enemies,  and  do  good; 
and  lend,  hoping  for  nothing  thence ; 
then  your  reward  icill  he  great,  and  ye 
will  be  sons  of  the  Most  High  ;  for  He 
is  kind  to  the  unthankful  and  the  evil, 
vi.  33  to  3G.  That  man  cannot  do 
good,  which  in  itself  is  good,  except 
from  the  Lord,  in  John ;  Abide  in  Me 
and  I  in  you ;  as  the  branch  cannot 
bear  fruit  of  itself,  unless  it  abide  in 
the  vine,  so  neither  can  ye,  unless  ye 
abide  in  Me;  because  without  Me  ye 
cannot  do  any  thing,  xv.  4,  5.  And 
in  another  place ;  A  man  cannot  take 
any  thing,  unless  it  be  given  to  him 
from  heaven,  iii.  27. 

440.  But  for  men  to  think  that  they 
may  come  into  heaven,  and  that  good 
siiouid  be  done  for  that  reason,  is  not 
to  regard  reward  as  an  end,  and  to 
place  merit  in  works ;  for  those  also 
think  that,  who  love  the  neighbor  as 
themselves,  and  God  above  all  things ; 
for  these  think  thus  from  faith  in  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  That  thtir  reward 
will  be  great  in  the  heavens.  Matt.  v. 

11,  12,  vi.  1,  X.  41,  42;  Luke  vi.  23, 
25,  xiv.  12,  13,  14;  John  iv.  36.  That 
those  who  have  done  good  will  possess, 
as  an  inheritance,  the  kingdom  prepared 
from  the  foundation  of  the  jcorld.  Matt. 
XXV.  34.  That  every  one  will  be  re- 
warded according  to  his  works.  Matt, 
xvi.  27;  John  v.  29;  Rev.  xiv.  13,  xx. 

12,  13;  Jcrem.  xxv.  14,  xxxii.  19; 
Ilosea  iv.  9;  Zech.  i.  6;  and  other 


places.  These  are  not  in  the  confi- 
dent expectation  of  reward  from  merit, 
but  in  the  faith  of  the  promise  from 
grace.  With  these  the  delight  of  doing 
good  to  the  neighbor  is  a  reward  ;  this 
delight  the  angels  have  in  heaven,  and 
it  is  a  spiritual  delight  which  is  eternal, 
and  immensely  exceeds  every  natural 
delight.  Those  who  are  in  that  de- 
light do  not  wish  to  hear  of  merit,  for 
they  love  to  do  good,  and  perceive 
blessedness  in  it ;  but  they  are  sorry 
if  it  is  believed  that  they  do  it  for  the 
sake  of  retribution ;  they  are  like  those 
who  do  good  to  friends  for  the  sake  of 
friendship,  to  a  brother  because  he  is 
a  brother,  to  wife  and  children  because 
they  are  wife  and  children,  to  their 
country  because  it  is  their  country  ; 
thus  from  friendship  and  love.  Those 
who  do  good  to  others  also  say  and 
persuade  that  they  do  it  not  for  the 
sake  of  themselves,  but  for  the  sake  of 
them. 

441.  It  is  quite  otherwise  with  those 
who  regard  reward  in  works  as  the  end 
itself ;  these  are  like  those  who  enter 
into  friendship  for  the  sake  of  gain, 
and  also  send  gifts,  perform  kind  offices, 
testify  love  as  from  the  heart,  and  when 
they  do  not  obtain  the  things  hoped 
for,  they  turn  themselves  away,  re- 
nounce friendship,  and  attach  them- 
selves to  his  enemies  and  haters.  And 
they  are  like  nurses  who  suckle  infants 
only  for  wages,  and  in  the  sight  of  the 
parents  they  kiss  and  fondle  them  ;  but 
as  soon  as  they  are  not  fed  delicately, 
and  remunerated  exactly  according  to 
their  wish,  they  cast  away  the  infants, 
treat  them  cruelly,  and  beat  thcni, 
laughing  at  their  cries.  They  are  also 
like  those  who  regard  their  country 
from  the  love  of  self  and  the  world,  and 
say  that  they  are  willing  to  spend  their 
goods  and  their  lives  for  it ;  and  yet, 
if  they  do  not  get  honors  and  riches  as 
rewards,  they  speak  evil  of  it,  and  join 
themselves  to  its  enemies.  They  are 
likewise  like  shepherds  who  feed  sheep 
only  for  the  sake  of  wages,  which  if 
they  do  not  receive  at  the  proper  time, 
they  drive  the  flock  with  their  staff 
from  the  pasture  into  the  wilderness. 
Similar  to  these  are  priests  who  dis- 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


311 


charge  the  duties  of  their  ministry  only 
for  the  sake  of  the  emoluments  annex- 
ed to  them ;  that  these  care  little  for 
the  salvation  of  the  souls  over  whom 
they  are  appointed  leaders  is  manifest. 
It  is  similar  with  magistrates  who  look 
only  to  the  dignity  of  their  office  or 
function,  and  to  the  revenues  of  it ; 
when  they  do  good,  it  is  not  for  the 
sake  of  the  public,  but  for  the  sake  of 
the  delight  of  the  love  of  self  and  the 
world,  which  they  regard  as  the  only 
good.  It  is  similar  with  others;  for  the 
end  in  view  is  every  thing,  and  the 
mediate  causes,  which  are  of  the  office, 
if  they  do  not  promote  the  end,  are  re- 
nounced. The  case  is  similar  with 
those  who  claim  recompense  for  their 
merit  in  the  things  of  salvation. 
These  after  death  demand  heaven 
with  great  confidence  ;  but  afler  they 
are  found  to  possess  nothing  of  love  to 
God,  and  nothing  of  love  towards  the 
neighbor,  they  are  sent  back  to  those 
who  may  instruct  them  concerning 
charity  and  faith ;  and  if  they  reject 
the  doctrinals  of  these,  they  are  sent 
away  to  those  of  a  similar  character, 
amongst  whom  are  some  who  are  angry 
with  God,  because  they  do  not  obtain 
rewards ;  and  they  call  faith  an  imagi- 
nary entity.  These  are  they  who  in 
the  Word  are  meant  by  hirelings,  to 
whom  services  of  the  lowest  kind  in 
the  courts  of  the  temple  were  allotted ; 
they  appear  at  a  distance  as  if  splitting 
wood. 

442.  It  should  be  well  known  that 
charity  and  faith  in  the  Lord  are  close- 
ly conjoined  ;  thence  charity  is  such  as 
faith  is.  That  the  Lord,  charity  and 
faith  make  one,  like  life,  will  and  un- 
derstanding; and  that,  if  they  are  di- 
vided, each  perishes  like  a  pearl  re- 
duced to  powder,  may  be  seen  above,  n. 
362  and  the  following.  And  that  char- 
ity and  faith  are  together  in  good 
works,  n.  373  to  377.  Thence  it  fol- 
lows that  charity  is  such  as  faith  is, 
and  that  works  are  such  as  faith  and 
charity  together  are.  Now,  if  the  faith 
is,  that  all  the  good  which  man  does, 
as  of  himself,  is  from  the  Lord,  man  is 
then  the  instrumental  catise  of  it,  and 
the  Lord  the  principal  cause ;  which 


two  causes  appear  to  man  together, 
when  yet  the  principal  cause  is  all  in 
all  of  the  instrumental  cause.  Thence 
it  follows,  that  if  a  man  believes  that 
all  good  which  in  itself  is  good  is  from 
the  Lord,  he  does  not  place  merit  in 
works;  and  in  that  degree  in  which 
this  faith  with  man  is  perfected,  the 
fantasy  concerning  merit  is  removed 
from  him  by  the  Lord.  A  man  in  this 
state  performs  exercises  of  charity  in 
abundance,  and  at  length  perceives 
the  spiritual  delight  of  charity,  and 
then  he  begins  to  abhor  merit  as  nox- 
ious to  his  life.  Merit  is  easily  wiped 
away  by  the  Lord  with  those  who  im- 
bue charity,  by  acting  justly  and  faith- 
fully in  the  work,  business  and  office 
in  which  they  are,  and  with  whomso- 
ever they  have  any  intercourse,  con- 
cerning which  see  above,  n.  422,  423, 
424 ;  but  merit  is  removed  with  diffi- 
culty from  those  who  believe  that  char- 
ity is  procured  by  giving  alms  and 
helping  the  needy ;  for  these,  while 
they  are  doing  those  works,  in  their 
mind, first  openly,  and  then  tacitly,  wish 
for  recompense  and  attract  merit. 
443.  XIV.  That  a  Moral  Life, 

WHEN  IT  IS  AT  THE  SAME  TIME  SPIR- 
ITUAL, IS  Charity. 

Every  man  learns  from  parents  and 
masters  to  live  morally,  that  is,  to  act 
in  a  civil  capacity,  and  to  perform  the 
offices  of  honesty,  which  refer  them- 
selves to  the  various  virtues,  which  are 
the  essentials  of  honesty,  and  to  pro- 
duce them  by  its  formal  manifestations, 
which  are  called  the  decencies  or  pro- 
prieties of  life ;  and  as  he  advances  in 
age,  he  learns  to  superadd  rational  en- 
dowments, and  to  perfect  the  moral 
things  of  life  by  them  ;  for  moral  life, 
with  children,  even  to  the  first  stage  of 
manhood,  is  natural,  which  afterwards 
becomes  more  and  more  rational.  He 
who  reflects  well  may  see,  that  a  moral 
life  is  the  same  with  the  life  of  charity; 
that  this  is  to  act  well  with  the  neigh- 
bor, and  to  regulate  one's  self  so  as 
not  to  be  contaminated  with  evils,  fol- 
lows from  those  things  which  were 
shown  above,  n.  435  to  438.  But  still, 
in  the  first  period  of  the  life  of  man, 
moral  life  is  the  life  of  charity  in  the 


312 


Concerning  Chanty, 


extremes,  that  is,  only  the  outward  and 
superficial  part  of  it,  and  not  its  in- 
ward part.  For  there  are  four  periods 
of  life  through  which  a  man  passes 
from  infancy  to  old  age.  The  first 
is  that  in  which  he  acts  from  others, 
according  to  instructions ;  the  second 
is  that  in  which  he  acts  fi-om  himself, 
according  to  the  direction  of  the  un- 
derstanding; THE  THIRD  is  that  in 
which  the  will  acts  into  the  under- 
standing, and  the  understanding  modi- 
fies it ;  THE  FOURTH  is  that  in  which 
he  acts  from  a  confirmed  principle  and 
from  purpose.  But  these  periods  of 
life  are  periods  of  the  life  of  the  spirit 
of  man,  and  not  in  like  manner  of  his 
body ;  for  this  can  act  morally  and 
speak  rationally,  and  yet  his  spirit  can 
will  and  think  the  contrary.  That  the 
natural  man  is  such,  is  very  manifest 
from  dissemblers,  flatterers,  liars  and 
hypocrites ;  that  these  have  a  double 
mind,  or  that  their  mind  is  divided  into 
two  discordant  parts,  is  evident.  It  is 
otherwise  with  those  who  will  well  and 
think  rationally,  and  thence  act  well 
and  speak  rationally ;  these  are  they 
who  are  meant  in  the  Word  by  the  sim- 
ple in  spirit;  they  are  called  simple, 
because  they  are  not  double,  or  have 
not  a  double  spirit.  Hence  it  may  be 
seen,  what  is  properly  meant  by  the  ex- 
ternal and  the  internal  man  ;  and  that 
no  one  can  conclude  from  the  morality 
of  the  external  man  to  the  morality  of 
the  internal,  since  this  may  be  in  the 
opposite  st.tte,  and  may  hide  itself,  as  a 
tortoise  hides  its  head  in  its  shell,  and 
as  a  serpent  hides  its  head  in  its  folds ; 
for  such  a  moral  man,  so  called,  is  like 
a  robber  in  a  city  and  in  a  forest,  who 
in  the  city  acts  the  part  of  a  moral  man, 
but  in  the  forest  the  part  of  a  robber. 
It  is  altogether  otherwise  with  those 
who  are  inwardly  moral,  or  moral  as  to 
the  spirit,  which  they  become  by  re- 
generation by  the  Lord  ;  these  are  they 
who  are  meant  by  the  spiritual  moral. 

444.  The  reason  why  a  moral  life, 
when  it  is  at  the  same  time  spiritual, 
is  a  life  of  charity,  is  because  the  ex- 
ercises of  a  moral  life  and  of  charity 
are  the  same  ;  for  charity  is  to  will 
well  to  the  neighbor,  and  thence  to  act 


well  with  him;  this  also  is  of  moral 
life.  The  spiritual  law  is  this  of  the 
Lord ;  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  to  you,  so  also  do 
ye  to  them ;  this  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  Matt.  vii.  12.  This  same 
law  is  the  universal  law  of  moral  life.  , 
But  to  enumerate  all  the  works  of 
charity,  and  compare  them  with  the 
works  of  a  moral  life,  is  a  work  of 
many  pages ;  let  only  six  precepts 
of  the  second  table  of  the  law 
of  the  decalogue  be  for  illustration. 
That  these  are  precepts  of  moral 
life  is  manifest  to  every  one,  and  that 
they  contain  all  the  things  which  are 
of  love  towards  the  neighbor,  mav  be 
seen  above,  n.  329,  330,  331.  That 
charity  fulfils  all  those,  is  evident  from 
these  words  in  Paul :  Love  ye  one  an- 
other ;  for  he  that  loveth  another  hath 
fulfilled  the  late.  For  this.  Thou  shalt 
7iot  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalf  not 
kill.  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt 
not  bear  false  witness.  Thou  shalt  not 
covet,  and  if  there  be  any  other  com- 
mandment, it  is  comprehended  in  this 
saying,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself  Charity  doeth  no  evil  to 
the  7ieighbor ;  charity  is  the  fulfilment 
of  the  law,  Rom.  xiii.  8,  9,  10.  He 
who  thinks  from  the  external  man  only, 
cannot  but  wonder  that  the  seven  pre- 
cepts of  the  second  table  were  promul- 
gated by  Jehovah  upon  mount  Sinai 
with  so  great  a  miracle ;  when  yet 
those  same  precepts,  in  all  the  king- 
doms upon  earth,  consequently  also  in 
Egypt,  whence  the  sons  of  Israel  lately 
came,  were  precepts  of  the  law  of  civil 
justice ;  for  no  kingdom  subsists  with- 
out them.  But  the  reason  why  they 
were  promulgated  by  Jehovah,  and 
moreover  written  upon  tables  of  stone 
with  his  finger,  was,  that  they  might 
be  not  only  precepts  of  civil  society, 
and  thus  of  natural  moral  life,  but  also 
precepts  of  heavenly  society,  and  thus 
of  spiritual  moral  life ;  so  that  to  do 
contrary  to  them  would  be  not  only  to 
do  contrary  to  men,  but  also  contrary 
to  God. 

445.  If  moral  life  be  viewed  in  its 
essence,  it  may  be  seen  that  it  is  a  life 
according  to  human  and  divine  laws  at 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


313 


the  same  time;  wherefore,  he  who 
lives  according  to  those  two  laws  as 
one,  is  a  truly  moral  man,  and  his  life 
is  charity.  Every  one  can  comprehend, 
if  he  will,  from  external  moral  life, 
what  charity  is;  only  transcribe  the 
external  moral  life,  such  as  it  is  in  the 
intercourse  of  civil  society,  into  the 
internal  man,  that  it  may  be,  in  the 
will  and  thought  of  this,  similar  and 
conformable  to  the  acts  in  the  external, 
and  you  will  see  charity  in  its  type. 

446.  XV.  That  Friendship  of 
Love  contracted  with  a  Man,  of 
whatsoever  quality  he  is,  as  to 
THE  Spirit,  is  detrimental  after 
Death. 

By  friendship  of  love  is  meant  inte- 
rior friendship,  which  is  such,  that  not 
only  the  external  man  of  the  person  is 
loved,  but  also  the  internal,  and  this 
without  examining  what  he  is  as  to 
the  internal,  or  the  spirit,  that  is,  as  to 
the  affections  of  the  mind ;  whether 
they  be  of  love  towards  the  neighbor 
and  of  love  to  God,  thus  capable  of 
being  consociated  with  the  angels  of 
heaven ;  or  whether  they  be  of  love 
contrary  to  the  neighbor,  and  of  love 
contrary  to  God,  thus  capable  of  being 
consociated  with  devils.  Such  friend- 
ship with  many  is  contracted  from  va- 
rious causes,  and  for  the  sake  of  va- 
rious ends.  This  is  distinguished  from 
external  friendship,  which  is  of  the 
person  alone,  and  is  formed  for  the  sake 
of  various  delights  of  the  body  and  the 
senses,  and  for  the  sake  of  various 
kinds  of  intercourse.  This  friendship 
may  be  formed  with  any  one,  even 
with  a  buffoon  who  jests  at  the  table  of 
a  duke.  This  is  called  simply  friend- 
ship, but  that,  the  friendship  of  love, 
because  friendship  is  natural  conjunc- 
tion, but  love  is  spiritual  conjunction. 

447.  That  the  friendship  of  love  is 
detrimental  after  death,  may  be  evi- 
dent from  the  state  of  heaven,  from 
the  state  of  hell,  and  from  the  sl^te  of 
the  spirit  of  man  respectively.  As  to 
the  state  of  heaven ;  it  is  distinguished 
into  innumerable  societies,  according 
to  all  the  varieties  of  the  affections  of 
the  love  of  good  ;  hell  also  is  divided 
into  societies,  according  to  all  the  va- 

40 


rieties  of  the  affections  of  the  love  of 
evil;  and  man,  after  death,  who  then 
is  a  spirit,  according  to  his  life  in  the 
world,  is  presently  assigned  to  the  so- 
ciety where  his  reigning  love  is ;  to 
some  heavenly  society,  if  love  to  God 
and  love  towards  the  neighbor  had 
made  the  head  of  his  loves ;  and  to 
some  infernal  society,  if  the  love  of 
self  and  the  world  had  made  the  head 
of  his  loves.  Presently  after  his  en- 
trance into  the  spiritual  world  (which 
is  made  by  death  and  the  rejection  of 
the  material  body  into  the  sepulchre), 
man  is  for  some  time  being  prepared 
for  his  society  to  which  he  has  been 
assigned,  and  the  preparation  is  made 
by  the  rejection  of  the  loves  which  do 
not  agree  with  his  principal  love ; 
wherefore  one  is  then  separated  from 
another,  friends  from  friends,  clients 
from  patrons,  and  also  parents  from 
children,  and  brother  from  brother ;  and 
each  of  them  is  joined  to  his  like,  with 
whom  he  is  to  live  a  life  in  common 
with  them  and  properly  his  own  to  eter- 
nity. But,  at  the  first  time  of  the 
preparation,  they  meet  together  and 
converse  in  a  friendly  manner,  as  in 
the  world ;  but  by  degrees  they  are 
separated,  which  is  done  insensibly. 

448.  But  those  who  in  the  world 
had  contracted  friendships  of  love  one 
with  another,  cannot,  like  others,  be 
separated  according  to  order,  and  as- 
signed to  the  society  corresponding  to 
their  life;  for  they  are  inwardly,  as  to 
the  spirit,  tied,  nor  can  they  be  torn 
asunder,  because  they  are  like  branches 
ingrafted  into  branches ;  wherefore, 
if  one,  as  to  his  interiors,  is  in  heaven, 
and  another,  as  to  his  interiors,  in  hell, 
they  cohere  scarcely  otherwise  than  as 
a  sheep  tied  to  a  wolf,  or  as  a  goose  to 
a  fox,  or  as  a  dove  to  a  hawk  ;  and  he 
whose  interiors  are  in  hell  breathes 
his  infernal  influences  into  him  whose 
interiors  are  in  heaven  ;  for  among  the 
knowledges  which  are  in  heaven,  this 
also  is  one,  that  evils  may  be  inspired 
into  the  good,  but  not  goods  into  the 
evil.  The  reason  is,  because  every 
one,  by  birth,  is  in  evils;  thence  the 
interiors  of  the  good,  who  thus  cohere 
with  the  evil,  are  shut  up,  and  both 


314 


Concerning  Charity, 


are  thrust  down  into  hell,  where  the 
good  suffer  hard  things;  but  at  length, 
after  a  certain  space  of  time,  they  are 
taken  out,  and  then  they  first  begin  to 
be  prepared  for  heaven.  It  has  been 
given  me  to  see  such  tyings,  particu- 
larly between  brothers  and  relations, 
and  also  between  patrons  and  clients, 
and  of  many  with  flatterers,  who  pos- 
sessed contrary  affections  and  diverse 
dispositions ;  and  I  have  seen  some, 
like  kids  with  leopards,  and  them  then 
kissing  each  other  and  swearing  to 
the  former  friendship.  And  I  then 
perceived  the  good  sucking  in  the  de- 
lights of  the  evil,  and  both  holding 
each  other  by  the  hand,  entering  to- 
gether into  caverns,  where  troops  of 
the  evil  were  seen  in  hideous  forms ;  but 
to  themselves,  from  the  illusion  of  fan- 
tasy, they  appeared  in  beautiful  forms. 
But  after  a  while,  I  heard  from  tlie 
good,  lamentations  of  fear  as  for  snares, 
and  from  the  evil,  exultations  as  of  en- 
emies over  their  spoil ;  besides  other 
sad  scenes.  I  heard  that  the  good, 
when  they  were  taken  out,  were  pre- 
pared for  heaven,  by  means  of  refor- 
mation, but  with  more  difficulty  than 
others. 

449.  The  case  is  altogether  other- 
wise with  those  who  love  the  good  in 
another,  that  is,  who  love  justice,  judg- 
ment, sincerity,  benevolence  from  char- 
ity, especially  who  love  faith  and 
love  to  the  Lord ;  those,  because  they 
love  the  things  which  are  within  a  man 
abstracted  from  those  which  are  with- 
out him,  if  tiie'y  do  not  observe  the 
same  qualities  in  the  person  after  deatli, 
immediately  break  off  friendship,  and 
are  associated  by  the  Lord  with  those 
who  are  in  similar  good.  It  may  be 
said  that  no  one  can  explore  the  inte- 
riors of  the  mind  of  those  with  whom 
he  is  associated  and  connected ;  but 
this  is  not  necessary ;  only  let  him  be 
cautious  of  forming  a  friendship  of 
love  with  every  one ;  external  friend- 
ship, for  the  sake  of  various  uses,  is 
not  hurtful. 

450.  XVI.  That  there  is  spurious 
Charity,  hypocritical  Charity,  and 
DEAD  Charity. 

There  is  no  genuine  charity,  whicii 


is  living,  unless  it  makes  one  with 
faith,  and  unless  they  both  together  look 
to  the  Lord ;  for  these  three,  the  Lord, 
charity  and  faith,  are  the  three  essen- 
tials of  salvation,  and  when  they  make 
one,  charity  is  charity,  and  faith  is 
faith,  and  the  Lord  is  in  them,  and 
they  in  the  Lord ;  see  above,  n.  363  to 
367,  368  to  372 ;  but  when  those  three 
are  not  conjoined,  charity  is  either 
spurious,  or  hypocritical,  or  dead. 
There  have  been  diverse,  heresies  in 
Christendom,  since  the  foundation  of 
the  Christian  church,  and  also  there  are 
at  this  day,  in  each  of  which  these  three 
essentials,  which  are  God,  charity  and 
faitli,  were  and  are  acknowledged ;  for 
without  those  three,  there  is  no  reli- 
gion. As  it  respects  charity  in  partic- 
ular, it  may  be  adjoined  to  any  heret- 
ical faith,  as  to  the  faith  of  Socinians, 
to  tlie  faith  of  enthusiasts,  to  the  faith 
of  Jews,  yea,  to  the  faith  of  idolaters; 
and  by  all  it  may  be  believed  that  it  is 
charity,  since,  in  the  external  form,  it 
appears  similar ;  but  still  it  changes  its 
quality,  according  to  the  faith  to  which 
it  is  adjoined  or  conjoined ;  that  it  is 
so,  may  be  seen  in  the  chapter  con- 
cerning faith. 

4.')1.  All  charity  which  is  not  con- 
joined to  faith  in  one  God,  in  whom 
there  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  is  spurious  ; 
as  the  charity  of  the  church  at  this  day, 
whose  faitii  is  in  three  persons  of  the 
same  divinity,  in  successive  order,  in 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit ;  and 
because  in  three  persons,  each  of  whom 
is  a  God  subsisting  by  himself,  there- 
fore in  three  Gods;  to  which  faith 
charity  may  be  adjoined,  as  also  has 
been  done  by  the  as.serters  of  that 
faith,  but  it  never  can  be  conjoined; 
and  the  charity  only  adjoined  to  faith, 
is  merely  natural,  and  not  spiritual, 
wherefbrc  it  is  spurious  cliarity.  It  is 
similar  with  the  charity  of  many  other 
heresies,  as  of  those  who  deny  a  Divine 
Trinity,  and  so  address  fiod  the  Father 
alone,  or  the  Holy  Spirit  alone,  or  both, 
without  God  the  Savior ;  to  the  faith  of 
these  charity  cannot  be  conjoined,  and 
if  it  be  conjoined  or  adjoined,  it  is 
spurious.  It  is  said  spurious,  because 
it  is  like  offspring  from  an  illegitimate 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


315 


bed,  like  the  son  of  Hagar  by  Abra- 
ham, who  was  cast  out  of  tlie  house, 
Gen.  xxi.  9.  Such  charity  is  like  fruit 
not  naturally  belonging  to  the  tree,  but 
fastened  to  it  by  a  needle ;  and  it  is 
like  a  chariot  to  which  the  horses  are 
fastened  only  by  the  reins  in  the  hands 
of  the  charioteer,  which,  when  they 
run,  pull  the  charioteer  from  the  seat, 
and  leave  the  chariot 

452.  But  HYPOCRITICAL  charity  is 
with  those  who,  in  temples  and  houses, 
bow  themselves  down  almost  to  the 
floor  before  God,  pour  out  long  prayers 
devoutly,  wear  sanctified  faces,  kiss 
images  of  the  cross  and  the  bones  of 
the  dead,  and  now  bend  their  knees  at 
sepulchres,  and  there  mutter  with  the 
mouth  words  of  holy  veneration  for 
God,  and  yet  in  heart  think  of  the 
worship  of  themselves,  and  intend  to 
be  adored  as  divinities.  These  are 
similar  to  those  whom  the  Lord  de- 
scribes in  these  words ;  When  thou 
doest  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet  be- 
fore thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do,  in  the 
synagogues  and  in  the  corners  of  the 
streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of 
men.  And  if  thou  praycst,  thou  shalt 
not  be  like  the  hypocrites,  who  love  to 
pray,  standing  in  the  synagogues  and 
in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they 
may  be  seen  by  men.  Matt.  vi.  2,  5. 
Wo  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites;  because  ye  shut  up  the 
kingdom  of  the  heavens  to  men,  for 
ye  neither  enter,  nor  permit  those  to 
enter  who  wish  to  enter.  Wo  unto  you, 
hypocrites,  because  ye  compass  sea  and 
land  to  make  one  proselyte,  and  when 
he  is  made,  ye  make  him  twofold  more 
a  child  of  hell  than  yourselves.  Wo 
unto  you,  hypocrites,  because  ye  cleanse 
the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  plat- 
ter, but  within  they  are  full  of  rapine 
and  excess.  Matt,  xxiii.  13,  15,  25. 
Well  hath  Isaiah  prophesied  concern- 
ing you  hypocrites,  saying,  This  peo- 
ple honoreth  Me  with  their  lips,  but 
their  heart  is  far  from  Me,  Mark 
vii.  6.  Wo  unto  you  hypocrites,  be- 
cause ye  are  like  graves  which  do  not 
appear,  so  that  the  men  who  walk  upon 
them  do  not  know  it,  Luke  xi.  44; 
besides  other  passages.     Those  are 


like  flesh  without  blood ;  like  ravens 
and  parrots  taught  to  speak  the  words 
of  some  psalm;  and  like  birds  taught 
to  sing  the  tune  of  a  sacred  hymn.  The 
sound  of  their  speech  is  like  the 
sound  of  a  fowler's  pipe. 

453.  But  DEAD  charity  is  with  those 
who  have  a  dead  faith,  since  charity  is 
such  as  faith  is ;  that  they  make  one, 
was  shown  in  the  chapter  concerning 
Faith.  That  the  faith  of  those  who 
are  without  works  is  dead,  is  evident 
from  the  Epistle  of  James,  ii.  17,  20. 
Moreover,  those  have  a  dead  faith,  who 
do  not  believe  in  God,  but  in  living  and 
dead  men,  and  worship  idols  as  holy  in 
themselves,  as  the  gentiles  formerly 
did.  The  gifts  of  those  who  are  in 
this  faith,  which  for  the  sake  of  sal- 
vation they  bestow  upon  miraculous 
images,  as  they  call  them,  and  reckon 
them  among  the  works  of  charity,  are 
no  other  than  as  the  gold  and  silver 
put  into  the  urns  and  monuments  of 
the  dead ;  yea,  like  the  little  cakes 
given  to  Cerberus,  and  the  fare,  to 
Charon,  that  they  may  be  transported 
to  the  Elysian  fields.  But  the  charity 
of  those  who  believe  that  there  is  no 
God,  but  that  nature  is  instead  of  God, 
is  not  spurious,  nor  hypocritical,  nor 
dead,  but  none,  because  it  is  not  ad- 
joined to  any  faith ;  for  it  cannot  be 
called  charity,  because  the  quality  of 
charity  is  predicated  from  faith.  The 
charity  of  these,  when  viewed  from 
heaven,  is  like  bread  made  of  ashes,  or 
cake  made  of  fish  scales,  and  like  fruit 
made  of  wax. 

454.  XVII.  That  the  Friendship 
OF  Love  among  the  Evil  is  intestine 
Hatred  towards  each  other. 

It  was  shown  above,  that  every  man 
has  an  internal  and  an  external,  and 
that  his  internal  is  called  the  internal 
man,  and  his  external,  the  external 
man ;  to  this  it  shall  be  added,  that  the 
internal  man  is  in  the  spiritual  world, 
and  the  external,  in  the  natural 
world.  The  reason  why  man  was  cre- 
ated such,  is,  that  he  might  be  asso- 
ciated with  spirits  and  angels  in  their 
world,  and  thence  think  analytically, 
and  after  death  be  transferred  from  his 
own  world  to  another.    By  the  spirit- 


316 


Concerning  Chanty, 


ual  world,  is  meant  both  hearen  and 
hell.  Since  the  internal  man  is  to- 
gether with  spirits  and  angels  in  their 
world,  and  the  external  with  men,  it 
is  manifest  that  man  may  be  consociat- 
ed  with  the  spirits  of  hell,  and  also 
consociated  with  the  angels  of  heaven  ; 
by  this  faculty  and  power,  man  is  dis- 
tinguished from  beasts.  Man  is  such 
in  himself,  as  he  is  as  to  his  internal 
man,  but  not  as  he  is  as  to  the  exter- 
nal, because  the  internal  man  is  his 
spirit,  which  acts  by  the  external. 
The  material  body,  with  which  his  spirit 
is  clothed  in  the  natural  world,  is  an 
accessory  for  the  sake  of  procreations, 
and  for  the  sake  of  the  formation  of  the 
internal  man ;  for  this  is  formed  in  the 
natural  body,  as  a  tree  in  the  earth, 
and  seed  in  the  fruit.  More  concern- 
ing the  internal  and  the  external  man 
may  be  seen  above,  n.  401. 

455.  But  what  an  evil  man  is,  as  to  his 
internal  man,  and  what  a  good  man  is, 
as  to  his,  may  be  seen  from  this  short 
description  of  hell  and  heaven ;  for  the 
internal  man,  with  the  evil,  is  conjoined 
with  the  devils  in  hell ;  and  with  the 
good,  it  is  conjoined  with  the  angels  in 
heaven.  Hell  is,  from  its  loves,  in  the 
delights  of  all  evils,  that  is,  in  ttic  de- 
lights of  hatred,  revenge  and  murder, 
in  the  delights  of  robbery  and  theft,  in 
the  delights  of  reviling  and  blasphem- 
ing, in  the  delights  of  the  denial  of 
God  and  the  profanation  of  the  Word. 
These  are  concealed  in  the  concupis- 
cences, upon  which  man  does  not  re- 
flect ;  by  those  delights  they  burn  like 
lighted  torches ;  those  are  what  are 
meant  in  the  Word  by  infernal  fire. 
But  the  delights  of  heaven  are  the 
delights  of  love  towards  the  neighbor 
and  of  love  to  God.  Since  the  delights 
of  hell  are  opposite  to  the  delights  of 
heaven,  tliere  is  a  great  interstice  be- 
tween them,  into  which  the  delights  of 
heaven  flow  from  above,  and  the  de- 
lights of  hell  from  beneath  ;  in  the  mid- 
dle of  this  interstice  is  man,  while  he 
lives  in  the  world,  in  order  that  he  may 
be  in  etjuilibriuin,  and  thus  in  a  state  of 
freedom  to  turn  himself  to  heaven  or  to 
hell.  This  interstice  is  what  is  meant 
by  the  great  gulf  fixed  between  those 


who  are  in  heaven  and  those  who  are 
in  hell,  Luke  xvi.  26.  Hence  it  may 
be  evident  what  the  friendship  of  love 
amongst  the  evil  is ;  that,  as  to  the  ex- 
ternal man,  it  imitates  or  mimics  the 
gestures  and  puts  on  the  semblance  of 
morality,  for  the  purpose  of  spreading 
its  nets  and  of  finding  occasions  of 
enjoying  the  delights  of  its  loves,  from 
which  their  internal  man  is  enkindled  ; 
it  is  only  the  fear  of  the  law,  and 
thence  of  the  loss  of  fame  and  life, 
which  restrains  and  prevents  the  acts ; 
wherefore  their  friendship  is  like  a 
spider  in  sugar,  a  viper  in  a  loaf  of 
bread,  a  young  crocodile  in  a  cake  of 
honey,  and  a  snake  in  the  grass.  Such 
is  the  friendship  of  the  evil  with  every 
one  ;  but  among  those  who  are  confirm- 
ed in  evil,  as  amongst  thieves,  robbers, 
and  pirates,  that  friendship  is  fa- 
miliar, whilst  they  unanimously  desire 
and  seek  after  plunder ;  for  then  they 
kiss  each  other  as  brethren,  they  enter- 
tain themselves  with  feasting,  singing 
and  dancing,  and  conspire  together  for 
the  destruction  of  others ;  yet  still  each 
deeply  in  himself  looks  at  his  compan- 
ion as  an  enemy  looks  at  an  enemy ; 
this  also  a  cunning  robber  sees  and 
fears  in  his  companion.  Hence  it  is 
manifest  that  amongst  such  there  is 
no  friendship,  but  intestine  hatred. 

455.  Every  man,  who  has  not  openly 
attached  himself  to  malefactors,  and 
committed  robberies,  but  has  led  a  civil 
moral  life,  for  the  sake  of  various  uses, 
as  ends,  and  yet  has  not  bridled  the 
concupiscences  residing  in  the  internid 
man,  may  believe  that  his  friendship  is 
not  such ;  but  that  still  it  is,  in  various 
degrees,  with  all  who  have  rejected 
faith,  and  despised  the  holy  things  of 
the  church,  and  reputed  them  as  noth- 
ing for  them,  but  only  for  the  common 
people,  has  been  given  me  to  know  for 
certain,  by  many  examples  in  the  spir- 
itual world.  With  some  of  them,  the 
delights  of  infernal  love  have  been 
concealed,  like  fire  in  burning  wood 
covered  over  with  the  bark  ;  with  some, 
like  live  coals  under  embers ;  with 
some,  like  little  waxen  torches,  which 
blaze  as  soon  as  fire  is  put  to  them ; 
and  with  some,  in  other  ways.  Such 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


317 


is  every  man  who  rejects  from  his 
heart  those  things  whicli  are  of  reli- 
gion ;  tlie  internal  man  of  these  is  in 
hell,  and  as  long  as  they  live  in  the 
world,  and  then  are  ignorant  of  it, 
on  account  of  an  apparent  morality  in 
externals,  they  acknowledge  none  for 
the  neighbor,  but  themselves  and  their 
children ;  and  all  others  they  regard 
either  with  contempt,  and  are  then 
like  cats  watching  for  birds  in  their 
nests;  or  with  hatred,  and  are  then 
like  wolves,  when  they  see  dogs  which 
they  may  devour.  Tiiese  things  are 
adduced  that  it  may  be  known  what- 
charity  is  by  its  opposite. 

456.  XVllI.  Concerning  the  Con- 
junction OP  Love  to  God,  and  Love 
TOWARDS  the  Neighbor. 

It  is  known,  that  the  law  promul- 
gated from  mount  Sinai  was  written 
upon  two  tables,  and  that  one  of  them 
is  concerning  God,  and  the  other  con- 
cerning men ;  and  that  they,  in  the 
hand  of  Moses,  were  one  table,  on  the 
right  side  of  which  it  was  written  con- 
cerning God,  and  on  the  left  side,  con- 
cerning men  ;  and  that  thus,  when  pre- 
sented to  the  eyes  of  men,  the  writing 
of  both  sides  might  be  seen  at  the  same 
time ;  thus  one  side  was  in  sight  of 
the  other,  like  Jehovah  speaking  with 
Moses,  and  Moses  with  Jehovah,  face 
to  face,  as  it  is  read.  This  was  done, 
in  order  that  the  tables,  thus  united, 
might  represent  tiie  con  junction  of  God 
with  men,  and  the  reciprocal  conjunc- 
tion of  men  with  God ;  for  which 
reason,  the  law  written  upon  them  was 
called  the  Covenant  and  the  Teatimony ; 
covenant  signifies  conjunction,  and 
testimony  a  life  according  to  the  condi- 
tions of  the  covenant.  From  these  two 
tables,  thus  united,  may  be  seen  the 
conjunction  of  love  to  God  and  love 
towards  the  neighbor.  The  first  table 
involves  all  the  things  which  are  of 
love  to  God,  which  are,  primarily,  that 
we  ought  to  acknowledge  One  God, 
the  divinity  of  his  Human,  and  the 
holiness  of  the  Word ;  and  that  He  is 
to  be  worshipped  by  the  holy  things 
which  proceed  from  Him.  That  this 
table  involves  these  things,  is  evident 
from  the  co:nmonts  upon  the  precepts 


of  the  decalogue,  in  the  fifth  chapter. 
The  second  table  involves  all  those 
things  which  are  of  love  towards  the 
neighbor ;  the  five  first  precepts  of  it, 
tliose  things  which  are  of  the  deed, 
and  are  called  works ;  and  the  two  last, 
those  things  which  are  of  the  will, 
thus  those  things  which  are  of  charity 
in  its  origin ;  for  in  these  it  is  said. 
Thou  shalt  not  covet ;  and  when  a  man 
does  not  covet  those  things  which  are 
the  neighbor's,  then  he  wishes  well  to 
him.  That  the  Ten  Precepts  of  the 
Decalogue  contain  all  things  which 
are  of  love  to  God,  and  all  things 
which  are  of  love  toivards  the  Neighbor, 
may  be  seen  above,  n.  329,  330,  331; 
where  it  was  also  shown,  that  there  is 
a  conjunction  of  both  tables,  with  those 
who  are  in  charity. 

457.  The  case  is  otherwise  with  those 
who  are  only  in  the  worship  of  God, 
and  not  at  the  same  time  in  good  works 
from  charity ;  these  are  like  those  who 
break  a  covenant ;  and  it  is  still  other- 
wise with  those  who  divide  God  into 
three,  and  worship  each  separately : 
and  again,  it  is  otherwise  with  those 
who  do  not  go  to  God  in  his  Human ; 
these  are  they  who  do  not  enter  through 
the  door,  but  climb  up  some  other  way, 
John  X.  9 ;  and  still  otherwise  with 
those  who  deny  tlie  divinity  of  the  Lord 
from  confirmation.  In  all  these  cases, 
there  is  not  conjunction  with  God,  and 
hence  no  salvation  ;  and  the  charity  of 
those  is  no  other  than  spurious,  and 
this  does  not  conjoin  fiice  to  face,  but 
side  to  side,  or  back  to  back.  How 
conjunction  is  effected  sliall  also  be 
told  in  a  few  words.  God  flows  in 
with  every  man  with  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  Him  into  the  knowledges  con- 
cerning Him,  and  at  the  same  time 
He  flows  in  with  his  love  towards  men. 
The  man  who  only  receives  the  form(?r 
and  not  the  latter,  receives  that  influx 
in  the  understanding  and  not  in  the 
will,  and  remains  in  knowledges  with- 
out an  interior  acknowledgment  of 
God,  and  his  state  is  like  that  of  a  gar- 
den in  the  time  of  winter ;  but  the 
man  who  receives  both  the  former  and 
the  latter,  receives  the  influx  in  the 
will,  and  thence  in  the  understanding, 


318 


Concerning  Charity, 


thus  in  the  whole  mind ;  and  he  has  an 
interior  acknowledgment  of  God,  which 
vivifies  his  knowledges  concerning 
God,  and  his  state  is  like  that  of  a 
garden  in  the  time  of  spring.  The 
reason  why  conjunction  is  effected  by 
charity,  is,  because  God  loves  every 
man ;  and,  because  He  cannot  do  good 
to  him  immediately,  but  mediately  by 
men,  therefore  He  inspires  his  love 
into  them,  as  He  inspires  into  parents 
love  towards  their  children ;  and  the 
man  who  receives  it  is  conjoined  to 
God,  and  loves  the  neighbor  from  the 
love  of  God;  with  him  the  love  of  God 
is  inwardly  in  tlie  love  of  man  towards 
the  neighbor,  which  produces  the  will 
and  the  power  with  him.  And  be- 
cause a  man  does  nothing  of  good,  un- 
less it  appear  to  him  as  if  the  power, 
the  will  and  the  deed  were  from  him- 
self, therefore  this  is  given  to  him:  and 
when  he  does  good  freely,  as  from  him- 
self, it  is  imputed  to  him  and  accepted, 
as  that  reciprocal  operation  by  which 
conjunction  is  effected.  This  is  like 
the  active  and  the  passive,  and  the 
cooperation  of  the  latter,  which  is  ef- 
fected from  the  active  in  the  passive ; 
it  is  also  like  the  will  in  actions,  and 
the  thought  in  speech,  and  the  soul 
from  the  inmost  operating  into  both  ; 
it  is  also  like  the  effort  in  motion,  and 
likewise  like  the  prolific  principle  of  a 
seed,  which  from  within  acts  in  tiie 
juices,  by  which  the  tree  grows  even  to 
fruits,  and  by  fruits,  produces  new 
seeds;  it  is  also  like  liglit  in  precious 
stones,  which  is  reflected  according  to 
the  textures  of  the  parts,  whence  are 
various  colors  as  if  they  were  of  the 
stones,  when  yet  they  are  of  the  light. 

458.  ITcnco  it  is  manifest,  whence 
and  what  is  the  conjunction  of  love  to 
God  and  love  towards  the  neighbor ; 
that  there  is  an  influx  of  the  love  of  God 
towards  men ;  and  that  the  reception 
of  it  by  man,  and  cooperation  with  him, 
is  love  towards  the  neighbor.  In  short, 
conjunction  is  according  to  these  words 
of  the  Lord ;  In  that  day  ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  in  my  Father,  and  yr  in 
Me,  and  I  in  you,  John  xiv.  20 ;  and 
according  to  these ;  Ilf  that  hath  my 
commandmcnt.<  and  dorth  them,  he  it  is 
that  loveth  Mc ;  and  I  trill  love  him. 


and  will  manifest  Myself  to  him  ;  and 
I  will  make  an  abode  with  him,  21,  22, 
23.  The  commandments  of  the  Lord 
all  refer  themselves  to  love  towards 
the  neighbor,  which,  in  the  sum,  are 
not  to  do  him  evil,  but  to  do  him  good. 
That  those  love  God,  and  God  loves 
them,  is  according  to  those  words  of 
the  Lord.  Since  those  two  loves  are 
so  conjoined,  John  says.  He  that  keep- 
eth  the  commandments  of  Jesus  Christ, 
abideth  in  Him,  and  He  in  him.  If 
any  one  say,  I  love  God,  but  hateth  his 
brother,  he  is  a  liar ;  for  he  that  loveth 
not  his  brother,  whom  he  secth,  how  can 
he  love  God,  tohom  he  doth  not  see  ? 
This  commandment  we  have  from  Him, 
that  he  that  loveth  God,  love  his  bro- 
ther also,  1  John  iii.  24 ;  iv.  20,  21. 

4.59.  To  the  above  will  be  added 
these  Relations.  First  ;  I  saw  at  a 
distance  five  gymnasiums,  which  were 
encompassed  with  various  light ;  the 
first,  with  flamnieous  light,  the  second 
with  yellow  light,  the  third  with  a 
white  light,  the  fourth  with  a  light  half 
way  between  that  of  noon  and  evening, 
the  fifth  scarcely  appeared,  for  it  stood 
as  it  were  in  the  shade  of  the  even- 
ing. And  I  saw  in  the  ways  some 
upon  horses,  some  in  chariots,  and 
some  walking,  and  some  running  and 
hastening,  and  these  to  the  fir.«t  gym- 
nasium, which  was  covered  with  flam- 
nieous light.  On  seeing  them,  I  was 
seized  and  impelled  by  a  strong  desire 
of  going  thither,  and  licaring  what  was 
there  canvassed;  wherefore,  I  quickly 
girded  my.=;elf,  and  associated  myself 
with  those  hastening  to  the  first  gym- 
nasium, and  entered  together  with 
them.  And  lo,  there  was  a  great  as- 
sembly of  people,  part  of  wiioni  turned 
to  the  right  hand,  and  part  lo  the  left, 
to  sit  upon  the  benches  which  were 
along  the  walls.  In  front  1  saw  a  low 
pulpit,  in  which  stood  one  who  officiat- 
ed as  president ;  he  had  a  stalT  in  his 
hand,  a  cap  on  his  head,  and  a  vesture 
tinged  with  the  flammeous  light  of  the 
gymnasium.  After  they  were  gather- 
ed togetlier,  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and 
said,  "  Brethren,  canvass  on  this 
occasion,  What  is  Charity?    Kach  of 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


319 


you  may  know  that  charity  is  spiritual 
in  its  essence,  and  natural  in  its  exer- 
cises." And  immediately  one  arose 
from  the  tirst  bench  on  the  left  hand, 
upon  which  those  sat  who  were  reput- 
ed wise,  and,  beginning  to  speak,  he 
said,  "  My  opinion  is.  That  Morality 
INSPIRED  BY  Faith  is  Charity;"  and 
he  confirmed  it  thus :  "  Who  does 
not  know,  that  charity  follows  faith,  as 
a  waiting  maid  her  mistress ;  and 
that  a  man  who  has  faith,  does  the  law, 
and  thus  charity,  so  spontaneously,  that 
he  does  not  know  that  it  is  the  law  and 
charity  that  he  lives,  since,  if  he  should 
know  it,  and  should  do  so,  and  at  the 
same  time  should  think  of  salvation  on 
account  of  it,  he  would  defile  holy 
faith  with  his  proprium,  and  so  would 
weaken  its  efficacy  ?  Is  not  this  ac- 
cording to  the  dogma  of  our  church?" 
And  he  looked  at  those  sitting  at  the 
sides,  among  whom  there  were  canons, 
and  they  assented.  "But  what  is 
spontaneous  charity,  but  the  morality 
into  which  every  one  is  initiated  from 
his  infancy,  which  therefore  in  itself  is 
iiaturiil,  but  which,  when  faith  is  in- 
spired into  it,  becomes  spiritual '?  Who 
distinguishes  men  from  their  moral  life, 
whether  they  have  faith  or  not,  for 
every  one  lives  morally  ?  But  God 
alone,  who  puts  in  and  seals  faith, 
knows  and  distinguishes.  Wherefore 
I  assert,  that  charity  is  morality  in- 
spired by  faith ;  and  that  this  morality, 
from  the  faith  in  its  bosom,  is  saving ; 
but  no  other  morality  is  conducive  to 
salvation,  because  it  is  meritorious. 
All,  therefore,  lose  their  labor,  who 
mix  charity  and  faith  together,  that  is, 
who  conjoin  them  from  within,  instead 
of  ad  joining  them  from  without ;  for  to 
mix  them  together,  and  to  conjoin  them, 
would  be  like  letting  the  servant,  who 
stands  behind,  get  into  the  chariot  with 
a  primate,  or  like  introducing  a  door- 
keeper into  the  dining  room  to  sit  at 
the  table  with  a  grandee."  After  this 
arose  one  from  the  first  bench  on  the 
right  hand,  and  he  spoke  and  said, 
"  My  opinion  is,  That  Piety  inspired 
BY  Pity  is  Charity  ;  and  I  confirm  it 
by  these  considerations,  that  nothing 
else  can  propitiate  God  more  than  piety 


from  an  humble  heart,  and  piety  prays 
continually  that  God  would  give  faith 
and  charity ;  and  the  Lord  says,  Ask 
and  it  shall  be  given  to  you,  Matt.  vii. 
7 ;  and  because  it  is  given,  they  are 
both  in  it.  I  say  that  piety  inspired 
by  pity  is  charity ;  for  all  devout  piety 
pities  ;  for  piety  moves  the  heart  of  a 
man  to  groan,  and  what  else  is  this 
but  pity?  This,  indeed,  recedes  after 
prayer,  but  still  it  returns  with  it,  and 
when  it  returns,  piety  is  in  it,  and  thus 
in  charity.  Our  priests  ascribe  every 
thing  that  promotes  salvation  to  faith, 
and  not  any  thing  to  charity ;  what 
then  remains,  but  piety  praying  pitiful- 
ly for  both  ?  When  I  read  the  Word, 
I  could  not  see  otherwise,  that  faith 
and  charity  were  two  means  of 
salvation ;  but  when  I  consulted  the 
ministers  of  the  church,  I  heard  that 
faith  was  the  only  means,  and  charity 
not  any  thing ;  and  then  I  seemed  to 
myself  as  if  in  the  sea,  upon  a  ship 
floating  between  two  rocks ;  and  when 
I  feared  the  wreck  of  it,  I  betook  my- 
self to  a  boat,  and  sailed  away ;  my 
boat  was  piety.  And  besides,  piety  is 
profitable  for  all  things."  After  him 
arose  one  from  the  second  bench  on  the 
right,  and  he  spoke  and  said,  "  My 
opinion  is,  That  Charity  is,  to  do 
Good  to  every  One,  to  the  Virtuous 
AS  WELL  AS  the  Vicious  ;  and  I  con- 
firm it  by  these  considerations.  What 
is  charity  but  goodness  of  heart,  and  a 
good  heart  wishes  well  to  all,  to  the 
virtuous  and  also  to  the  vicious.  And 
the  Lord  says,  that  we  should  do  good 
even  to  our  enemies.  If,  therefore, 
you  take  away  charity  from  any  one, 
does  not  charity  then  become,  as  to 
that  particular  instance,  none,  and  so 
like  a  man  hopping  upon  one  foot,  the 
other  being  cut  off?  A  vicious  man  is 
a  man,  as  well  as  a  virtuous  man,  and 
charity  regards  man  as  man  ;  if  he  be 
a  vicious  man,  what  is  this  to  me?  It 
is  with  charity  as  it  is  with  the  heat 
of  the  sun ;  this  vivifies  beasts,  the 
fierce  as  well  as  the  gentle,  wolves  as 
well  as  sheep ;  and  it  causes  trees  to 
grow,  the  bad  as  well  as  the  good,  and 
thorns  as  well  as  vines."  Having  said 
these  words,  he  took  in  his  hand  a 


320 


Concerning  Charity, 


fresh  grape  and  said,  "It  is  with  char- 
ity as  with  this  grape  ;  if  you  divide  it, 
all  that  is  in  it  flows  out."  And  he 
divided  it,  and  what  was  in  it  did  flow 
out.  After  he  had  declared  his  opinion, 
another  arose  from  the  second  bench  on 
the  left,  and  said,"  My  opinion  is,  That 
Charity  is,  to  be  serviceable,  in 

EVERY  WAY,  TO  ONE's  RELATIONS  AND 

Friends  ;  which  I  confirm  thus. 
Who  does  not  know  that  charity  begins 
from  one's  self ;  for  every  one  is 
neighbor  to  himself?  Wherefore,  char- 
ity proceeds  from  itself  by  the  degrees 
of  nearness,  first  to  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  from  these  to  other  relations  and 
connections,  and  thus  the  progression 
of  charity  is  terminated  by  itself  Those 
who  are  without  are  strangers,  and 
strangers  are  not  inwardly  acknowl- 
edged ;  thus  by  the  internal  man  they 
are  alienated  or  treated  as  strangers. 
But  kindred  and  relations  are  con- 
joined by  nature,  and  friends  by  cus- 
tom, which  is  a  second  nature,  and  thus 
they  become  the  neighbor ;  and  char- 
ity unites  to  itself  another,  from  within, 
and  so  from  without;  and  those  who 
are  not  united  from  within,  should  only 
be  called  companions.  Do  not  all 
birds  know  their  relations,  not  by  their 
feathers,  but  by  their  sound,  and  when 
they  are  near,  from  the  sphere  of  life 
exhaled  from  their  bodies  ?  This  af- 
fection of  kindred,  and  thence  conjunc- 
tion, with  birds,  is  called  instinct ;  but 
the  same  with  men,  when  it  is  for  tiioir 
own,  is  truly  the  instinct  of  human 
nature.  What  makes  homogeneity, 
but  blood?  This  the  mind  of  man, 
which  also  is  his  spirit,  feels,  and  as  it 
were  smells ;  in  this  homogeneity  and 
consequent  sympathy,  consists  the  es- 
sence of  charity.  But,  on  the  contrary, 
heterogeneity,  from  which  also  exists 
antipathy,  is,  as  it  were,  not  blood,  and 
thence  not  charity  :  and  because  cus- 
tom is  a  .second  nature,  and  tliis  also 
makes  homogeneity,  it  follows  that 
charity  is  also  to  do  good  to  friends. 
Any  one  who  comes  from  the  sea  into 
any  port,  and  hears  that  it  is  a  foreign 
country,  inhabited  by  those  with  whose 
language,  manners  and  customs  ho  is 
not  acquainted,  is,  as  it  were,  out  of 


himself,  and  feels  nothing  of  the  de- 
light of  love  towards  them ;  but  if  he 
hears  that  it  is  his  own  country,  the 
language,  manners  and  customs  of 
whose  inhabitants  he  knows,  he  is,  as 
it  were,  within  himself,  and  feels  the 
delight  of  love,  which  also  is  the  delight 
of  charity."  Afterwards  one  arose 
from  the  third  bench  on  the  right,  nnd 
spoke  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  "  My 
opinion  is,  That  Charity  is,  to  give 
Alms  to  the  Poor,  and  to  help  the 
Needy.  This  certainly  is  charity,  for 
this  the  Divine  Word  teaches,  whose 
dictate  does  not  admit  of  contradiction. 
What  is  it  to  give  to  the  rich  and  the 
opulent,  but  vain-glory,  in  which  there 
is  no  charity,  but  the  prospect  of  remu- 
neration ;  and  in  this  there  can  be  no 
genuine  affection  of  love  towards  the 
neighbor,  but  a  spurious  affection, 
which  avails  on  earth  and  not  in  the 
heavens ;  wherefore  want  and  need 
should  be  relieved,  because,  into  this  the 
idea  of  retribution  docs  not  enter.  In  the 
city  of  my  residence,  where  I  knew  who 
were  virtuous  and  who  were  vicious,  I 
saw  that  all  the  virtuous,  on  seeing  a 
poor  man  in  the  .street,  would  stop  and 
give  alms ;  but  all  the  vicious,  on  see- 
ing a  poor  nirtn  at  their  side,  would  pass 
by  as  if  tliey  were  blind  and  deaf,  as 
to  seeing  and  hearing  him ;  and  who 
does  not  know,  tiiat  the  virtuous  have 
charity,  and  that  the  vicious  have  not? 
He  who  gives  to  the  poor,  and  helps  the 
needy,  is  like  a  shepherd  who  leads  the 
hungry  and  thirsty  sheep  to  pasture 
and  to  water ;  but  he  who  gives  only  to 
the  rich  and  affluent,  is  like  one,  who 
worships  di  asters,  and  urges  food  and 
wine  upon  those  who  eat  and  drink  to 
excess."  After  him  arose  one  from 
the  third  bench  on  the  left,  and,  speak- 
ing, he  said,  "  My  opinion  is.  That 
Charity  is  to  build  IIosimtals  and 
Houses  for  the  accommodation  of 
Invalids,  Orphans  and  Strangers, 

AND  to  support  THEM  HY  GiFTS.  This 

I  confirm  by  this  consideration,  that 
such  beneficent  acts  and  aids  are  pub- 
lic, and  exceed  by  many  degrees  those 
which  are  private ;  thence  charity  be- 
comes more  opulent  and  replete  with 
goods,  which  goods  are  manifold  in 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


321 


number,  and  the  recompense  expected 
from  the  promises  of  the  Word  becomes 
more  abundant ;  for  as  any  one  pre- 
pares the  ground  and  sows,  so  he  reaps. 
Is  not  this  to  give  to  the  poor,  and  to 
help  the  needy,  in  an  eminent  degree  ? 
Who  does  not  thence  obtain  glory  from 
the  world,  and  at  the  same  time  praises, 
with  the  humble  voice  of  gratitude, 
from  those  w  ho  are  thus  supported  ? 
Does  not  this  elevate  the  heart,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  affection  which 
is  called  charity,  even  to  its  highest 
pitch  ?  The  rich,  who  do  not  walk  in 
the  streets,  but  ride  in  coaches,  cannot 
take  notice  of  those  who  sit  at  the  sides 
of  the  streets,  near  the  walls  of  the 
houses,  and  give  them  little  pieces  of 
money,  but  they  contribute  large  sums 
for  such  objects  as  are  useful  to 
many,  at  the  same  time ;  but  the  poorer 
people,  who  walk  in  the  streets,  and 
have  not  such  means,  do  otherwise." 
On  hearing  these  words,  another  upon 
the  same  bench  suddenly  drowned  his 
voice  by  a  louder  sound,  and  said; 
"  Still  the  rich  should  not  prefer  the 
munificence  and  excellence  of  their 
charity,  to  the  pittance  which  one  poor 
man  gives  to  another ;  for  we  know 
that  every  one,  who  acts,  acts  accord- 
ing to  the  dignity  of  his  person ;  a  king, 
1  general,  a  captain,  and  a  sergeant, 
each,  respectively,  according  to  his  dig- 
nity ;  for  charity,  viewed  in  itself,  is 
not  estimated  according  to  the  excel- 
lence of  the  person,  and  thence  of  the 
gift,  but  according  to  the  fulness  of 
the  affection  which  does  it :  and  that 
thus  a  common  servant,  when  he  gives 
one  little  piece  of  money,  may  give 
from  fuller  charity  than  a  grandee, 
who  gives  or  bequeaths  a  treasure ; 
which  also  is  according  to  these  words ; 
Jesus  seeth  the  rich  casting  their  gifts 
into  the  treasury ;  He  seeth  also  a  poor 
widow  casting  in  thither  tioo  mites.  He 
said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  this 
poor  widotv  hath  cast  in  more  than  all," 
Luke  xxi.  1,2,  3.  After  these  arose 
one  from  the  fourth  bench  on  the  left, 
and  he  spoke  and  said,  "  My  opinion 
is,  That  Charity  is  to  endow 
Churches,  and  to  do  Good  to  their 
Ministers.  This  I  confirm  by  the 
4] 


consideration,  that  whoever  does  those 
things,  revolves  in  his  mind  a  holy 
thing,  and  from  that  holy  thing  there 
he  acts,  which  also  sanctifies  his  gifts; 
this  charity  requires,  because  it  in 
itself  is  holy.  Is  not  all  the  worship  in 
churches  holy?  For  the  Lord  says, 
^Vllere  two  or  three  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  my  name,  I  am  in  the  midst 
of  them  ;  and  the  priests,  his  servants, 
minister  to  him.  Thence  I  conclude, 
that  the  gifts  which  are  bestowed  on 
ministers  and  on  churches  are  superior 
to  the  gifts  which  are  bestowed  on 
other  persons  and  on  other  objects. 
And  besides,  to  the  minister  is  given 
the  power  of  blessing,  by  which  also 
he  sanctifies  them;  and  afterwards 
nothing  more  expands  and  exhilarates 
the  mind,  than  to  see  one's  gifts  as  so 
many  sanctuaries."  Afterwards  arose 
one  from  the  fourth  bench  on  the 
right,  and  spoke  thus  :  "  My  opinion  is, 
That  the  old  Christian  Brother- 
hood IS  Charity.  And  this  I  confirm 
by  this  consideration,  that  every  church 
that  worships  the  true  God,  begins 
from  charity,  in  like  manner  as  the 
old  Christian  church  ;  which,  because 
charity  unites  minds,  and  makes  one 
out  of  many,  therefore  they  called 
each  other  brethren,  but  in  Jesus 
Christ,  their  God.  But  because  they 
were  surrounded  by  barbarous  na- 
tions, of  whom  they  were  afraid,  they 
made  a  common  stock  of  their  goods, 
which  they  enjoyed  together  in  har- 
mony; and  in  their  social  meetings, 
every  day,  they  conversed  concerning 
the  Lord  God  their  Savior  Jesus  Christ, 
and  at  the  dinners  and  suppers,  con- 
cerning charity ;  hence  their  brother- 
hood. But  after  their  times,  when 
schisms  began  to  arise,  and  at  last  the 
wicked  heresy  of  Arius,  which,  with 
many,  took  away  the  idea  of  the  divin- 
ity of  the  Lord's  Human,  charity  de- 
cayed, and  the  brotherhood  was  dis- 
persed. It  is  true,  that  all  who  in 
truth  worship  the  Lord,  and  do  his 
commandments,  are  brethren.  Matt, 
xxiii.  8,  but  brethren  in  spirit ;  yet  be- 
cause, at  this  day,  no  one  is  known, 
what  he  is  in  the  spirit,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  they  should  call  each  other 


322 


Concerning  Chanty, 


brethren.  A  brotherhood  of  faith  alone, 
and  still  less  of  faith  in  any  other  God 
than  in  the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  is  not 
a  brotherhood,  because  charity,  which 
makes  it,  is  not  in  that  faith.  Where- 
fore I  conclude  that  the  old  Christian 
brotherhood  was  charity ;  but  this  was, 
and  is  not;  but  I  prophesy  that  it 
is  about  to  be."  When  he  said  this, 
a  flammeous  light  shone  through  the 
window  on  the  east,  and  tinged  his 
cheeks;  on  seeing  which,  the  assembly 
were  astonished.  At  last  there  arose 
one  from  the  fifth  bench  on  the  left, 
and  requested  that  he  might  be  allowed 
to  add  something  to  what  the  last  had 
said,  and  after  his  request  was  granted, 
he  said,  "  My  opinion  is,  That  Char- 
ity  IS   TO   FORGIVE    EVERY  OnE  HIS 

Trespasses.  This  opinion  I  have 
received  from  a  form  of  speaking  used 
by  those  who  come  to  the  holy  sup- 
per ;  for  some  then  say  to  their  friends, 
'  Forgive  me  whatever  I  have  done 
amiss,'  supposing  thus  that  they 
have  fulfilled  all  the  duties  of  charity. 
But  I  have  thought  with  myself,  that 
this  is  only  a  painted  figure  of  charity, 
and  not  the  real  form  of  its  essence ; 
for  those  say  this  who  do  not  forgive, 
and  also  those  who  do  not  make  any 
effort  to  obtain  charity ;  and  these  are 
not  amongst  those  in  the  prayer,  which 
the  Lord  himself  taught.  Father,  for- 
give us  our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive 
those  who  trespass  against  us.  For 
trespasses  are  like  ulcers,  which  must 
be  opened  and  healed,  or  else  corrupt- 
ed matter  is  collected  in  them,  which 
corrupts  the  neighboring  parts,  and 
creeps  about  like  a  serpent,  and  turns 
the  blood  in  all  parts  of  the  body  into 
corruption.  It  is  similar  with  trespass- 
es against  the  neighbor ;  the.se  remain 
and  consume  us,  unless  they  are  remov- 
ed by  repentance,  and  by  a  life  accord- 
ing to  the  commandments  of  the  Lord. 
And  those  who,  without  repentance, 
only  pray  to  God,  that  He  would  forgive 
them  their  sins,  are  like  the  citizens  of 
a  city,  infected  with  a  contagious  dis- 
ease, who  go  to  the  consul  and  say, 
'  Heal  us,  sir.'  To  whom  the  consul 
would  say,  '  How  can  I  heal  you  ?  Go 
to  a  physician,  and  learn  the  medicines 


proper  for  you,  and  buy  them  of  an 
apothecary,  and  take  them,  and  you  will 
be  healed.'  And  the  Lord  will  say  to 
those  who  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  without  actual  repentance,  '  Open 
the  Word  and  read  that,  which  I  have 
spoken  in  Isaiah :  Ah,  sinful  nation, 
heavy  with  iniquity;  wherefore,  when  ye 
spread  forth  your  hands,  I  hide  my  eyes 
from  you ;  although  ye  multiply  prayers, 
I  do  not  hear.  Wash  yourselves;  re- 
move the  evil  of  your  icorks  from  before 
mine  eyes  ;  cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to 
do  good;  and  then  your  sins  shall  be 
removed  and  forgiven,'  "  i.  4,  15,  16, 
17,  18.  When  this  was  done,  I 
stretched  forth  my  hand,  and  requested 
that  I  might  be  allowed,  although 
I  was  a  stranger,  to  declare  my  opin- 
ion also ;  which  request  the  presi- 
dent proposed,  and  after  it  was  granted, 
I  spoke  as  follows:  "My  opinion  is. 
That  Charity  is,  to  act  from  the 
LOVE  of  Justice  with  Judgment,  in 
EVERY  Work  and  Office,  but  from  a 
LOVE  from  no  other  Source,  than 
from  the  Lord  God  the  Savior. 
All  the  things  that  I  have  heard  from 
those  who  sit  upon  the  benches  on  the 
right  side  and  on  the  left,  are  renowned 
instances  of  charity ;  but,  as  the  presi- 
dent of  this  assembly  premised,  charity 
is  spiritual  in  its  origin  and  natural  in 
its  derivation  ;  and  natural  charity,  if  it 
is  inwardly  spiritual,  appears  to  the 
angels  transparent,  like  a  diamond ; 
but  if  it  is  not  inwardly  spiritual,  and 
thence  merely  natural,  it  appears  to 
the  angels  like  a  pearl  similar  to  the 
eye  of  a  boiled  fish.  It  is  not  mine  to 
say  whether  the  renowned  instances 
of  ciiarity,  which  you  have  set  forth  in 
order,  are  inspired  by  spiritual  charity, 
or  not ;  but  it  is  mine  to  say  here,  what 
the  spiritual  which  ought  to  be  in  them, 
must  be,  that  they  may  be  the  natu- 
ral forms  of  spiritual  charity.  Their 
.spiritual  principle  is  this,  that  they  be 
done  from  the  love  of  justice  with  judg- 
ment, that  is,  that  a  man  in  the  exer- 
cises of  charity  should  see  plainly 
whether  he  acts  from  justice,  and  he 
sees  this  from  judgment.  For  a  man 
may  do  evil  by  good  deeds;  and  also, 
by  such  acts  as  appear  to  be  evil,  he 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


33a 


may  do  good ;  as,  for  example,  he  does 
eviJ  by  good  deeds,  who  gives  to  a 
poorTobber  money  to  buy  him  a  sword, 
although  he  does  not  say  this  when  he 
asks  for  it ;  or  if  he  takes  him  out  of 
prison,  and  shows  him  the  way  to  the 
woods,  and  says  with  himself,  '  It  is 
not  my  fault  that  he  practises  robbery ; 
I  have  afforded  assistance  to  a  man.' 
Take  also  another  example ;  he  who 
feeds  an  idler,  and  keeps  him  from 
being  compelled  to  labor,  and  says  to 
him,  '  Go  into  a  chamber  in  my  house, 
and  lie  down  upon  the  bed ;  why  will 
you  fatigue  yourself?'  That  man  favors 
idleness ;  as  also  he  who  promotes  re- 
lations and  friends  of  a  dishonest 
disposition  to  offices  of  honor,  in 
which  they  can  do  many  kinds  of  mis- 
chief Who  does  not  see  that  such 
works  of  charity  are  not  from  any  love 
of  justice  with  judgment?  Also,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  a  man  may  do  good  by 
such  acts  as  appear  to  be  evil ;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, a  judge  who  acquits  a  criminal 
because  he  sheds  tears,  and  utters 
words  of  piety,  and  prays  that  he  would 
forgive  him,  because  he  is  his  neigh- 
bor ;  when  yet  the  judge  performs  a 
work  of  charity  when  he  imposes  a 
punishment  on  him  according  to  the 
law;  for  thus  he  prevents  him  from 
doing  further  mischief,  and  from  being 
a  nuisance  to  society,  which  is  his 
neighbor  in  a  higher  degree,  and  he 
prevents  the  scandal  of  a  partial  judg- 
ment. Who  does  not  know  also,  that 
it  is  good  for  servants  if  they  are  chas- 
tised by  their  masters,  and  for  children 
if  they  are  chastised  by  their  parents, 
on  account  of  offences  ?  The  case  is 
similar  with  those  in  hell,  all  of  whom 
have  a  love  of  doing  evil,  in  that  they 
are  kept  shut  up  in  prison,  and  when 
they  do  evils  they  are  punished  ;  which 
the  Lord  permits  for  the  sake  of  amend- 
ment. This  is  done,  because  the  Lord 
is  justice  itself,  and  whatever  He  does, 
He  does  from  judgment  itself  Hence 
it  may  be  clearly  seen,  whence  it  is, 
that,  as  was  said  above,  charity  be- 
comes spiritual  from  the  love  of  justice 
with  judgment,  but  from  love  from  no 
ether  source  than  from  the  Lord  God 


the  Savior.  The  reason  is,  because  all 
the  good  of  charity  is  from  the  Lord ; 
for  He  says,  He  that  abideth  in  Me, 
and  I  in  him,  beareth  much  fruit ;  be- 
cause without  Me,  ye  cannot  do  any 
thing,  John  xv.  4;  and  that  He  hath 
all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  Matt, 
xxviii.  18.  And  there  is  no  love  of 
justice  with  judgment  from  any  other 
source,  than  from  the  God  of  heaven, 
who  is  justice  itself,  and  from  whom 
man  has  all  judgment,  Jer.  xxiii.  5; 
xxxiii.  15.  Hence  is  made  this  conclu- 
sion, that  all  those  things  that  have 
been  said  from  the  benches  on  the 
right  and  on  the  left,  concerning  char- 
ity, which  are.  That  charity  is  morality 
inspired  by  faith ;  That  it  is  piety  in- 
spired by  pity  ;  That  it  is  to  do  good  to 
the  good  as  well  as  to  the  evil ;  That 
it  is  to  be  every  way  serviceable  to 
relations  and  friends;  That  it  is  to 
give  to  the  poor,  and  to  help  the  needy  ; 
That  it  is  to  build  hospitals,  and  to 
support  them  by  gifts;  That  it  is  to 
endow  churches,  and  to  do  good  to  their 
ministers ;  That  it  is  the  old  Christian 
brotherhood  ;  That  it  is  to  forgive  every 
one  his  trespasses ; — all  these  are  excel- 
lent instances  of  charity,  when  they 
are  done  from  the  love  of  justice  with 
judgment ;  otherwise  they  are  not  char- 
ity, but  are  only  like  streams  separated 
from  their  fountain,  and  like  branches 
plucked  from  their  tree ;  since  genuine 
charity  is  to  believe  in  the  Lord,  and  to 
act  justly  and  uprightly  in  every  work 
and  office.  Whoever,  therefore,  from 
the  Lord,  loves  justice,  and  does  it 
with  judgment,  he  is  charity  in  its  im- 
age and  likeness."  After  these  things 
were  said,  a  silence  was  made,  such  as 
is  made  by  those  who  see  and  acknowl- 
edge something  in  the  internal  man,  that 
it  is  so,  but  not  as  yet  in  the  external ; 
this  I  observed  from  their  faces.  But 
suddenly  I  was  then  taken  away  from 
their  sight,  for  I  reentered  from  the 
spirit  into  my  material  body ;  for  the 
natural  man,  because  he  is  clothed  with 
a  material  body,  does  not  appear  to  any 
spiritual  man,  that  is,  to  a  spirit  and  an 
angel ;  neither  does  any  spiritual  man 
appear  to  the  natural  man. 


324 


Concerning  Charity, 


460.  Second  Relation.  Once, 
when  I  looked  around  in  the  spiritual 
world,  I  heard,  as  it  were,  a  gnashing 
of  teeth,  and  also,  as  it  were,  a  knock- 
ing, and  intermixed  with  them,  as  it 
were,  a  jarring  sound ;  and  I  asked  what 
they  were ;  and  the  angels  who  were 
with  me  said,  "They  are  colleges, 
which  by  us  are  called  inns,  where 
they  dispute  one  with  another.  Their 
disputations  are  heard  thus  at  a  dis- 
tance, but  near  they  are  heard  only  as 
disputations."  I  went  up  and  saw  lit- 
tle houses  built  of  rushes,  cemented 
together  with  clay,  and  I  wished  to 
look  in  through  a  window,  but  there 
was  none ;  for  it  was  not  lawful  to  en- 
ter through  the  door,  because  thus  light 
would  flow  in  from  heaven  and  con- 
found. But  then,  on  a  sudden,  a  win- 
dow was  made  on  the  right  side,  and 
then  I  heard  them  complaining  that 
they  were  in  darkness ;  but  presently  a 
window  was  made  on  the  left  side,  the 
window  on  the  right  side  being  shut, 
and  then  by  degrees  the  darkness  was 
dispersed,  and  they  seemed  to  them- 
selves in  their  light.  And  after  this, 
it  was  given  me  to  enter  through  the 
door  and  hear.  There  was  a  table  in 
the  middle,  and  benches  round  about ; 
yet  they  all  seemed  to  me  to  stand  upon 
the  benches,  and  to  dispute  sharply 
among  themselves  concerning  Faith 
and  Charity  ;  on  one  side,  that  faith 
was  the  essential  of  the  church,  and  on 
the  other,  that  charity  was.  Those 
who  made  faith  the  essential,  said, 
"  Do  we  not  deal  with  God  by  faith, 
and  with  men  by  charity  ?  Is  not,  then, 
faith  heavenly,  and  charity  earthly? 
Are  we  not  saved  by  what  is  heavenly, 
and  not  by  what  is  earthly  ?  Also  can- 
not God  give  faith  from  heaven,  be- 
cause it  is  heavenly?  And  is  not  man  to 
give  himself  charity,  because  this  is 
earthly  ?  And  that  which  a  man  gives 
himself  is  not  of  the  church,  and  there- 
fore does  not  save.  Can  any  one,  then, 
be  justified  before  God  by  works,  which 
are  called  the  works  of  ciiarity  ?  Be- 
lieve us,  that  by  faith  alone  we  are 
not  only  justified,  but  also  sanctified, 
if  faith  be  not  defiled  with  the  things 


of  merit,  which  are  from  the  works  of 
charity ;"  besides  other  things.  But 
those  who  made  charity  the  essential 
of  the  church,  sharply  refuted  those 
things,  by  saying  "  That  charity  saves, 
and  not  faith.  Does  not  God  hold  all 
dear,  and  will  good  to  all?  How  can 
God  do  this  except  through  men  ?  Does 
God  only  give  to  speak  with  men  the 
things  which  are  of  faith,  and  does  He 
not  give  to  do  to  men  the  things  which 
are  of  charity?  Do  you  not  see,  that 
you  spoke  absurdly  concerning  charity, 
that  it  is  earthly  ?  Charity  is  heavenly, 
and  because  you  do  not  do  the  good  of 
charity,  your  faith  is  earthly.  How  do 
you  receive  your  faith,  but  as  a  stock  or 
a  stone  ?  You  say,  '  By  the  hearing  of 
the  Word.'  But  how  can  the  Word, 
only  heard,  operate  ?  and  how  can  it 
operate  upon  a  stock  or  a  stone  1  Per- 
haps you  are  vivified,  while  you  are 
altogether  unconscious  of  it ;  but  what 
is  that  vivification,  except  that  you  can 
say  that  faith  alone  justifies  and  saves? 
But  what  faith  is,  and  what  saving  faith 
is,  you  do  not  know."  But  then  arose 
one,  who  was  called  by  the  angel  that 
spoke  with  me,  a  si/ncretist.  He  took 
off  his  hood  and  laid  it  upon  the  table ; 
but  suddenly  he  put  it  on  his  head 
again,  because  he  was  bald.  He  said, 
"  Hear  ;  you  are  all  wrong;  it  is  true 
that  faith  is  spiritual,  and  charity  moral, 
but  still  they  are  conjoined,  and  they 
are  conjoined  by  the  Word,  and  then 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  by  the  effect, 
which  indeed  may  be  called  obedience, 
but  in  which  man  has  not  any  part, 
because  when  faith  is  brought  in,  man 
knows  no  more  than  a  statue.  I  have 
long  thought  with  myself  concerning 
these  things,  and  have  at  length  found 
out,  that  man  can  receive  faith  from 
God,  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  he  can- 
not be  moved  by  God  to  charity  which 
is  spiritual,  more  than  a  stock."  When 
these  things  were  said,  those  who  were 
in  faith  alone  clapped,  but  those  who 
were  in  charity  hissed ;  and  the  latter 
from  indignation  said,  "Hear,  friends; 
do  you  not  know  that  there  is  a  spirit- 
ual moral  life,  and  that  there  is  a 
merely  natural  moral  life ;  the  spiritual 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


325 


moral  life  is  with  those  who  do  good 
from  God,  and  still  as  from  themselves, 
and  the  merely  natural  moral  life  is 
with  those  who  do  good  from  hell,  and 
yet  still  as  from  themselves. 

It  was  said  that  the  disputation  was 
heard  as  a  gnashing  of  teeth,  and  a 
knocking,  with  which  was  intermixed 
a  jarring  sound.  The  disputation 
heard  as  the  gnashing  of  teeth  was 
from  those  who  made  faith  the  only 
essential  of  the  church,  and  the  knock- 
ing was  from  those  who  made  charity 
the  only  essential  of  the  church,  and 
the  jarring  sound  intermixed  was  from 
the  syncretist.  The  reason  why  their 
sounds  were  thus  heard  at  a  distance, 
was,  because  they  all  had  disputed  in 
the  world,  and  had  not  shunned  any 
evil,  and  therefore  had  not  done  any 
good  from  a  spiritual  origin ;  and  they 
were  also  entirely  ignorant,  that  all  of 
faith  is  truth,  and  all  of  charity  is  good, 
and  that  truth  without  good  is  not 
truth  in  spirit,  and  that  good  without 
truth  is  not  good  in  spirit,  and  that 
thus  one  makes  the  other. 

461.  Third  Rel.\tion.  I  was 
once  conveyed  to  the  southern  region 
in  the  spiritual  world,  and  into  a  cer- 
tain paradise  there,  and  I  saw  that  this 
excelled  the  rest  that  I  had  hitherto 
surveyed ;  the  reason  was,  because  a 
garden  signifies  intelligence;  and  all 
who  are  superior  to  others  in  intelli- 
gence are  transferred  to  the  south;  the 
garden  of  Eden,  in  which  Adam  with 
his  wife  was,  signifies  nothing  else ; 
wherefore  their  being  expelled  from  it 
involves  that  they  were  deprived  of 
intelligence,  and  thus  also  of  integrity 
of  life.  As  I  was  walking  in  this 
southern  paradise,  I  observed  some  sit- 
ting under  a  certain  laurel-tree  eating 
figs.  I  went  to  them  and  asked  tliem 
for  some  figs,  and  they  gave  me  some ; 
and  lo,  the  figs  in  my  hand  became 
grapes;  and  when  I  was  wondering  at 
this,  an  angelic  spirit,  who  stood  by  ine, 
said  to  me,  "  The  figs  in  your  hand  have 
become  grapes,  because  figs  from  corre- 
spondence signify  the  goods  of  charity, 
and  thence  of  faith,  in  the  natural  or 
external  man  ;  but  grapes  the  goods  of 
charity,  and  thence  of  faith,  in  the  spir- 


itual or  internal  man ;  and  because  you 
love  spiritual  things,  therefore  it  has 
so  happened  to  you  ;  for,  in  our  world, 
all  things  arc  done,  and  exist,  and  also 
are  changed,  according  to  correspon- 
dences." Then,  instantly,  there  came 
upon  me  a  desire  of  knowing  how  man 
can  do  good  from  God,  and  yet  alto- 
gether as  from  himself;  wherefore  I 
asked  those  who  were  eating  figs  how 
they  comprehend  it.  They  said  that 
they  could  not  comprehend  it  otherwise 
than  that  God  works  it,  inwardly,  in 
man  and  by  man,  when  he  is  ignorant 
of  it ;  since  if  man  should  be  conscious 
of  it,  and  should  thus  do  it,  he  would 
do  only  apparent  good,  which  inwardly 
is  evil ;  for  all  that  proceeds  from  man 
proceeds  from  his  proprium,  and  this 
from  nativity  is  evil;  how,  then,  can 
good  from  God, and  evil  from  man,  be 
conjoined,  and  thus  conjointly  proceed 
into  act?  And  the  proprium  of  man 
in  the  things  of  salvation  continually 
breathes  merit,  and  as  far  as  it  does 
this,  it  takes  away  from  the  Lord  his 
merit,  which  is  the  highest  injustice 
and  impiety.  In  a  word,  if  the  good 
which  God  works  in  man  should  flow 
into  the  willing  of  man,  and  thence 
into  his  doing,  that  good  would  be  ut- 
terly defiled  and  also  profaned,  which, 
however,  God  never  permits.  Man, 
indeed,  can  do  good  and  think  that  it 
is  fi-om  God,  and  call  it  the  good  of 
God  through  him ;  but  still  that  it  is,  we 
do  not  comprehend.  But  then  I  opened 
my  mind  and  said,  "  You  do  not  com- 
prehend it,  because  you  think  from 
appearance ;  and  thought  from  appear- 
ance, when  confirmed,  is  fallacy.  The 
appearance  and  fallacy  thence  are  in 
consequence  of  your  believing  that  all 
the  things  that  a  man  wills  and  thinks, 
and  thence  does  and  speaks,  are  in 
himself,  and  consequently  from  himself, 
when  yet  nothing  of  them  is  in  himself 
except  the  state  of  receiving  what  flows 
in.  Man  is  not  life  in  himself,  but  he 
is  an  organ  receptive  of  life  ;  the  Lord 
is  life  in  Himself,  as  He  also  says  in 
John ;  As-  the  Father  hath  life  in  Him- 
self, so  also  hath  He  given  to  the  Son 
to  have  life  in  Himself,  v.  26;  besides 
in  other  places,  as  John  xi.  25 ;  xiv.  6, 


326 


Concemirig  Charity, 


9.  There  are  two  things  which  make 
life,  love  and  wisdom  ;  or,  what  is  the 
same,  the  good  of  love  and  the  truth  of 
wisdom ;  these  flow  in  from  God,  and  are 
received  by  man  as  if  they  were  his ; 
and  because  they  are  felt  thus,  they 
also  proceed  from  man  as  his.  Their 
being  thus  felt  by  man  is  given  by 
the  Lord,  that  that  which  flows  in  may 
affect  him,  and  thus  may  be  received 
and  remain.  But,  because  all  evil 
also  flows  in,  not  from  God,  but  from 
hell,  and  this  is  received  with  delight, 
because  man  is  born  such  an  organ, 
therefore  no  more  of  good  is  received 
from  God,  than  there  is  of  evil  removed 
by  man  as  by  himself,  which  is  done  by 
repentance,  and  at  the  same  time  by 
faith  in  the  Lord.  That  love  and  wis- 
dom, charity  and  faith,  or,  more  gener- 
ally speaking,  the  good  of  love  and 
charity  and  the  truth  of  wisdom  and 
faith,  flow  in,  and  that  the  things  which 
flow  in  appear  in  man  altogether  as 
his,  and  thence  proceed  as  his,  may  be 
seen  manifestly  from  the  senses  of  see- 
ing, hearing,  smeUing,  tasting  and 
touching :  all  the  things  which  are  felt 
in  the  organs  of  those  senses  flow  in 
from  without,  and  are  felt  in  them  :  in 
like  manner,  in  the  organs  of  the  inter- 
nal senses,  with  the  difference  only, 
that  spiritual  things,  which  do  not  ap- 
pear, flow  into  these,  but  natural  things, 
which  do  appear,  flow  into  the  former. 
In  a  word,  man  is  an  organ  receptive 
of  life  from  God ;  consequently  he  is 
receptive  of  good,  so  far  as  he  desists 
from  evil.  The  power  to  desist  from 
evil  the  Lord  gives  to  every  man,  be- 
cause He  gives  him  to  will  and  to  un- 
derstand ;  and  whatsoever  man  does 
from  the  will  according  to  the  under- 
standing, or,  what  is  the  same,  what- 
ever he  does  from  the  freedom  of  the 
will  according  to  the  reason  of  the  un- 
derstanding, this  remains ;  by  it  the 
Lord  leads  man  into  a  state  of  conjunc- 
tion with  Himself,  and  in  this  reforms, 
regenerates,  and  saves  him.  The  life 
which  flows  in  is  life  proceeding  from 
the  Lord,  which  life  also  is  called  the 
Spirit  of  God;  in  the  Word,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  concerning  which  also  it  is  said 
that  it  enlightens  and  enlivens,  yea, 


that  it  operates  in  him ;  but  this  life  is 
varied  and  modified  according  to  the 
organization  induced  by  love.  You 
may  also  know  that  all  the  good  of 
love  and  charity,  and  all  the  truth  of 
wisdom  and  faith,  flow  in,  and  are  not 
in  man,  from  this,  that  whosoever  thinks 
that  such  a  thing  is  in  man  from  crea- 
tion, must  finally  think  that  God  infus- 
ed Himself  into  man,  and  thus  that  men 
were  in  part  gods ;  and  yet  those  who 
think  this  from  faith  become  devils, 
and  with  us  stink  like  carrion.  Be- 
sides, what  is  the  action  of  man,  but 
the  mind  acting?  for  what  the  mind 
wills  and  thinks,  this  it  acts  and  speaks 
by  the  body,  its  organ;  wherefore,  when 
the  mind  is  led  by  the  Lord,  the  action 
and  speech  are  also  led,  and  the  action 
and  speech  are  led  by  the  Lord,  when 
man  believes  in  Him.  Unless  it  were 
so,  say,  if  you  can,  why  the  Lord  in  his 
Word  has,  in  thousands  of  places,  com- 
manded that  man  should  love  his  neigh- 
bor ;  that  he  should  perform  the  goods 
of  charity,  and  produce  fruits  as  a  tree, 
and  should  do  tlie  commandments ;  and 
this  and  that,  that  he  may  be  saved. 
And  also,  why  did  He  say  that  man 
should  be  judged  according  to  his 
deeds  or  works ;  he  who  does  goods  to 
heaven  and  life,  and  he  who  does  evils 
to  hell  and  death  ?  How  could  the  Lord 
have  spoken  such  things,  if  all  that 
proceeds  from  man  were  meritorious, 
and  thence  evil  ?  You  may  know, 
therefore,  that  if  the  mind  be  charity, 
the  action  also  is  charity ;  but  if  the 
mind  be  faith  alone,  which  also  is  faith 
separate  from  spiritual  charity,  the 
action  also  is  that  faith."  On  hearing 
this,  those  who  sat  under  the  laurel- 
tree  said,  "We  comprehend  that  you 
have  spoken  justly,  but  still  we  do  not 
comprehend."  To  whom  I  replied, 
"  You  comprehend  that  I  have  spoken 
justly,  from  the  common  perception 
which  man  has  from  the  influx  of  light 
from  heaven,  when  he  hears  any  truth; 
but  you  do  not  comprehend,  from  the 
peculiar  perception  which  man  has 
from  the  influx  of  light  from  the  world. 
Those  two  perceptions,  namely,  the 
internal  and  the  external,  or  the  spirit- 
ual and  the  natural,  make  one  with  the 


and  concerning  Good  Works. 


327 


wise ;  you  also  can  make  them  one,  if 
you  look  to  the  Lord  and  remove 
evils.  Because  they  understood  this,  I 
plucked  some  twigs  from  a  certain  vine, 
and  handed  to  them,  and  said, "  Do  you 
believe  that  this  is  from  me,  or  from 
the  Lord?"  And  they  said,  "  That  it 
was  of  me  from  the  Lord."  And  lo, 
the  twigs  in  their  hands  put  forth 
grapes.  But  when  I  retired,  I  saw  a 
table  of  cedar,  upon  which  there  was 
a  book,  under  a  green  olive-tree,  the 
trunk  of  which  was  bound  around  with 
a  vine.  I  looked  at  it,  and  behold,  it 
was  a  book  written  by  me,  called  Ar- 
cana CfELESTiA.  And  I  said,  that  in 
that  book  it  is  fully  shown  that  man  is 
an  organ  receptive  of  life,  and  not  life ; 
and  that  this  cannot  be  created,  and 
thus  created  be  in  man,  any  more  than 
light  in  the  eye. 

462.  Fourth  Relation.  I  looked 
towards  the  sea-coast  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  I  saw  a  spacious  dock-yard. 
I  went  to  it,  and  looked  into  it,  and 
behold,  there  were  vessels  there,  large 
and  small,  and  in  them  merchandise 
of  every  kind,  and  upon  the  decks 
were  sitting  boys  and  girls  distributing 
it  to  those  who  wished  for  it.  And 
they  said,  "  We  expect  to  see  our  beau- 
tiful turtles,  which  will  soon  rise  up 
out  of  the  sea  to  us."  And  lo,  I  saw 
little  and  great  turtles,  upon  the  shells 
and  sccdes  of  which  there  sat  young 
turtles,  which  were  looking  to  the 
islands  round  about.  The  turtles,  the 
fathers,  had  two  heads ;  one  great  one, 
covered  over  with  a  shell  similar  to  the 
shell  of  their  bodies,  whence  they  shone ; 
and  another  little  one,  such  as  turtles 
have,  which  they  drew  back  into  the 
fore  part  of  the  body,  and  also  in- 
serted in  a  secret  way  into  the  greater 
head.  But  I  kept  my  eyes  upon  the 
great  shining  head,  and  saw  that  this 
had  a  face  like  a  man,  and  talked  with 
the  boys  and  girls  upon  the  decks,  and 
licked  their  hands,  and  then  the  boys 
and  girls  stroked  them,  and  gave  them 
food  and  dainties,  and  also  precious 
things,  as  silk  for  clothes,  almug  wood 
for  tables,  purple  for  decorations,  and 
SCARLET  FOR  COLORING.  On  Seeing 
these  things,  I  desired  to  know  what 


they  represented,  because  I  knew  that 
all  the  things  that  appear  in  the  spirit- 
ual world  are  correspondences,  and 
represent  spiritual  things,  which  are  of 
affection,  and  thence  of  thought.  And 
then  they  spoke  with  me  from  heaven 
and  said,  "  You  know  yourself  what 
the  dock  represents,  and  also  what  the 
vessels,  as  also  what  the  boys  and  girls 
upon  them ;  but  you  do  not  know  what 
the  turtles  represent."  And  they  said, 
"  The  turtles  represent  those  of  the 
clergy  there,  who  entirely  separate 
faith  from  charity  and  its  good  works, 
affirming  with  themselves  that  there  is 
plainly  no  conjunction ;  but  that  the 
Holy  Spirit,  by  faith  in  God  the  Father, 
for  the  sake  of  the  Son's  merit,  enters 
into  man  and  purifies  his  interiors  even 
to  his  own  will,  of  which  they  make,  as 
it  were,  an  oval  plane ;  and  that,  when 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ap- 
proaches to  that  plane,  on  the  left  side 
of  it,  it  turns  itself  away  around  it,  and 
does  not  touch  it  at  all,  and  that  thus 
the  interior  or  higher  part  of  the  mental 
powers  of  man  is  for  God,  and  that  the 
exterior  or  lower  part  is  for  man  ;  and 
thus  that  not  any  thing  that  man  does, 
appears  before  God,  neither  the  good 
nor  the  evil ;  not  the  good,  because  this 
is  meritorious,  and  not  the  evil,  because 
this  is  evil ;  since  if  they  appeared  be- 
fore God,  man  would  perish  from  both; 
and  because  it  is  so,  that  jt  is  allowable 
for  man  to  will,  think,  speak  and  do 
whatever  he  likes,  provided  he  takes 
heed  to  himself  before  the  world."  I 
asked,  whether  they  also  assert  that  it 
is  allowable  to  think  concerning  God, 
that  He  is  not  omnipresent  and  omnis- 
cient. They  said  from  heaven,  that 
this  also  is  allowable  for  them,  because 
God,  with  him  who  has  got  faith,  and 
is  purified  and  justified  by  it,  does  not 
look  at  any  thing  of  his  thought  and 
will,  and  that  he  still  retains  in  the 
inner  bosom,  or  higher  region  of  his 
mind  or  mental  powers,  the  faith  which 
he  had  received  in  the  act  of  it,  and 
that  this  act  may  some  time  return, 
when  man  is  ignorant  of  it.  These 
things  are  what  the  little  head  repre- 
sents, which  they  draw  into  the  fore 
part  of  the  body,  and  also  insert  into 


328 


Concerning  Charity, 


the  great  head,  when  they  speak  with 
the  laity ;  for  they  do  not  speak  with 
them  from  the  little  head,  but  from  the 
great  one,  which  in  front  appears  en- 
dued, as  it  were,  with  a  human  face; 
and  they  speak  with  them  from  the 
Word,  concerning  love,  concerning 
charity,  concerning  good  works,  con- 
cerning the  commandments  of  the  dec- 
alogue, concerning  repentance ;  and 
they  take  from  the  Word  almost  all  the 
things  that  are  there  concerning  them  ; 
but  then  they  insert  the  little  head  into 
the  great  one,  from  which  they  think 
inwardly  with  themselves  that  all  those 
things  should  not  be  done  for  the  sake 
of  God  and  salvation,  but  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  public  and  private  good. 
But  because  they  speak  concerning 
those  things  from  the  Word,  especially 
concerning  the  Gospel,  the  oper:.iion 
of  tlie  Holy  Spirit  and  salvation,  sweetly 
and  elegantly,  therefore  they  appear  to 
the  hearers  like  beautiful  men,  and 
wiser  than  all  others  in  the  world : 
wherefore  you  also  saw  that  dainties 
and  precious  things  were  given  to  them 
by  the  boys  and  girls  sitting  upon  the 
decks  of  the  vessels.  These,  tiierefore, 
are  those  whom  you  saw  represented 
as  turtles.  In  your  world,  they  are 
scarcely  distinguished  from  others,  only 
by  this,  that  they  believe  themselves 
wiser  than  all,  and  laugh  at  others,  even 
those  who  are  in  similar  doctrine  as  to 
faith,  but  not  in  those  secrets.  They 
carry  with  them  in  their  clothes  some 
little  sign  by  which  they  make  them- 
selves distinguished  from  others.  The 
one  who  spoke  with  me  said,  "  I  shall 
not  tell  you  what  they  think  concerning 
the  other  things  of  faith,  as  what  con- 
cerning election,  concerning  free  agen- 
cy, concerning  baptism,  and  concerning 
the  holy  supper,  which  are  such  things 
as  they  do  not  divulge,  but  we  in  heav- 
en know  them.  But  because  they  are 
such  in  the  world,  and  after  death  it  is 
not  allowable  for  any  one  to  speak 
otherwise  than  he  thinks,  therefore,  be- 
cause they  cannot  then  speak  other- 
wise than  from  the  insanities  of  their 
own  thoughts,  they  are  reputed  as  in- 
sane, and  are  cast  out  of  the  societies, 
and  at  length  are  let  down  into  the  pit 


of  the  abyss  mentioned  in  Rev.  ix.  2, 
and  they  become  corporeal  spirits,  and 
appear  like  the  mummies  of  the  Egyp- 
tians ;  for  a  hardness  is  induced  upon 
the  interiors  of  their  minds,  because  in 
the  world  also  they  interposed  a  hedge. 
There  is  an  infernal  society  of  them 
near  to  the  infernal  society  of  the  Ma- 
chiavelians,  and  they  enter  every  where 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  call  each 
other  companions ;  but  they  go  out  be- 
cause there  is  a  diversity  arising  from 
this,  that  there  was  with  the  former 
something  religious  concerning  the  act 
of  justification  by  faith,  but  not  any 
with  the  Machiavelians. 

After  I  had  seen  them  cast  out  from 
the  societies,  and  collected,  that  they 
might  be  cast  down,  I  saw  a  vessel 
in  the  air,  flying  with  seven  sails,  and 
in  it  officers  and  sailors  clad  in  purple 
garments,  having  upon  their  caps  mag- 
nificent laurels,  exclaiming,  "  Lo,  we 
are  in  heaven :  we  are  doctors,  clothed 
in  purple  and  decked  with  laurels  above 
all,  because  we  are  the  heads  of  the  wise 
of  all  the  clergy  in  Europe."  I  won- 
dered what  this  was;  and  it  was  said 
to  me,  that  they  were  images  of  pride, 
and  ideal  thoughts  which  are  called  fan- 
tasies, from  tiiose  who  before  seemed 
like  turtles,  and  now  like  insane  persons 
cast  out  from  the  societies  and  collected 
together,  and  were  standing  together 
in  one  place.  And  then  1  desired  to 
speak  with  them,  and  went  to  the  place 
where  they  stood,  and  saluted  them 
and  said,  "  Are  you  those  who  have 
separated  the  internals  of  men  from 
their  externals,  and  the  operation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  in  faith,  from  its  co- 
operation with  man  out  of  faith,  and  so 
have  separated  God  from  man  ?  Have 
you  not  thus  not  only  removed  charity 
itself  and  its  works  from  faith,  as  many 
other  teachers  amongst  the  clergy  have 
done,  but  also  faith  itself,  as  to  its  man- 
ifestation before  God  from  man?  But 
I  ask.  Do  you  wish  that  I  should  speak 
with  you  concerning  this  subject  from 
reason,  or  from  the  Sacred  Scripture?" 
They  said,  "  Speak  first  from  reason." 
And  I  spoke,  saying,  "  How  can  the 
internal  and  the  external  with  man  be 
separated  ?    Who  does  not,  or  may  not 


and  cmcerning  Good  fVorks. 


329 


see,  from  common  perception,  that  all 
the  interiors  of  man  proceed  and  are 
continued  to  the  exteriors  and  even  to 
his  extremes,  that  they  may  produce 
their  effects  and  perform  their  works  ? 
Are  not  internal  things  for  the  sake  of 
the  external,  that  they  may  terminate 
and  subsist  in  them,  and  thus  exist, 
scarcely  otherwise  than  as  a  pillar  on 
its  pedestal  ?  You  can  see,  that,  unless 
there  were  a  continuation,  and  thus 
conjunction,  the  extremes  would  be 
dissolved  and  dissipated  like  bubbles 
in  the  air.  Who  can  deny  that  the  in- 
terior operations  of  God  with  man  are 
myriads  of  myriads,  concerning  which 
man  knows  nothing?  And  of  what 
use  is  it  for  him  to  know  them,  if  he 
only  knows  the  extremes, in  which, with 
his  thought  and  will, he  is  together  with 
God.  But  this  shall  be  illustrated  by 
an  example.  Does  man  know  the  in- 
terior operations  of  his  speech  ;  as  how 
the  lungs  draw  in  the  air,  and  with  it 
fill  the  vesicles,  the  bronchiae  and  the 
lobes;  how  they  send  forth  that  air 
into  the  trachea,  and  there  turn  it  into 
sound ;  how  the  sound  is  modified  in 
the  glottis  by  help  of  the  larynx ;  and 
how  the  tongue  then  articulates  it,  and 
the  lips  complete  the  articulation,  that 
it  may  become  speech?  Are  not  all 
these  interior  operations,  concerning 
which  man  knows  nothing,  for  the  sake 
of  the  extreme,  that  man  may  be  .able 
to  speak  ?  Remove  or  separate  one  of 
those  internal  things  from  its  con- 
nection with  the  extremes,  would  man 
have  been  able  to  speak  any  more 
than  a  stock?  Let  there  be  another 
example.  The  two  hands  are  ultimate 
things  of  man :  are  there  not  interior 
things,  which  are  continued  thither 
from  the  head,  through  the  neck,  also 
through  the  breast,  the  shoulders,  the 
arms  and  the  fore  arms ;  and  are  there 
not  innumerable  muscular  textures,  in- 
numerable phalanxes  of  moving  fibres, 
innumerable  bundles  of  nerves  and 
blood-vessels,  and  many  ginglymuses 
of  the  bones  with  their  ligaments  and 
membranes?  Does  man  know  any 
thing  concerning  them  ?  And  yet  his 
hands  operate  fi-om  all  and  each  of 
them.  Suppose  that  those  interior 
42 


things  should  turn  themselves  back 
about  the  elbow,  to  the  left  or  to  the 
right,  and  should  not  enter  by  con- 
tinuity, would  not  the  hand  fall  off  from 
the  arm,  and  putrify  like  something 
inanimate  torn  asunder  ?  Yea,  if  you 
will  believe,  it  would  be  as  with  the 
body,  if  a  man  were  beheaded.  Just  so 
it  would  be  with  the  human  mind  and 
its  two  lives,  the  will  and  the  under- 
standing, if  the  divine  operations  which 
are  of  faith  and  charity  should  stop  in 
the  middle  of  the  way,  and  not  extend 
by  continuity  even  to  man ;  man,  indeed, 
would  then  be  not  only  a  brute  but  a 
rotten  log.  These  things  are  accord- 
ing to  reason.  Now,  if  you  will  hear, 
the  same  are  also  according  to  the 
Sacred  Scripture.  Does  not  the  Lord 
say.  Abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  you ;  I  am 
the  Vine,  and  ye  the  branches.  He 
thai  abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  bear- 
eth  much  fruit,  John  xv.  4,  5.  Are 
not  fruits  the  good  works  which  the 
Lord  does  through  man,  and  man  of 
himself  from  the  Lord  ?  The  Lord 
also  says,  that  He  starids  at  the  door 
and  knocks,  and  that  to  him,  who  opens. 
He  goes  in  and  sups  with  him,  and  he 
with  Him,  Rev.  iii.  20.  Does  not  the 
Lord  give  pounds  and  talents  that  man 
may  trade  with  them,  and  gain?  and 
as  he  gains,  does  He  not  give  eter- 
nal life?  Matt.  xxv.  14  to  34;  Luke 
xix.  13  to  26.  Also,^  that  He  gives 
wages  to  every  one  according  to  the 
labor  in  his  vineyard,  Matt.  xx.  1  to  17. 
But  these  are  a  few;  pages  may  be 
filled  from  the  Word  concerning  this, 
that  man  should  produce  fruits  like  a 
tree,  should  work  according  to  the 
commandments,  should  love  God  and 
the  neighbor,  &,c.  But  I  know  that 
your  own  intelligence  cannot  have  any 
thing,  such  as  it  is  in  itself,  in  common 
with  the  things  which  are  from  the 
Word,  which  although  you  speak,  still 
your  ideas  pervert  them  ;  and  you  can- 
not do  otherwise,  because  you  remove 
all  things  of  God  from  man,  as  to  com- 
munication and  thence  conjunction ; 
what,  then,  remains,  but  to  remove 
also  all  things  of  worship?"  After- 
wards they  appeared  to  me  in  the 
light  of  heaven,  which  discloses  and 


330  Concerning  Chanty,  and 

manifests  what  every  one  is ;  and  then 
they  did  not  appear,  as  before,  in  a 
vessel  in  the  air,  as  if  in  heaven,  nor 
dressed  in  purple  as  to  clothes,  nor 
crowned  with  laurels  as  to  the  head  ; 
but  in  a  sandy  place,  in  garments  of 


conccrni?ig  Good  Works. 

rags,  and  girded  with  nets  like  those 
of  fishermen,  about  the  loins,  through 
which  their  nakedness  appeared ;  and 
then  they  were  let  down  into  a  society 
which  was  contiguous  to  the  Machi- 
avelians. 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


331 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CONCERNING  FREE  AGENCY. 


463.  Before  I  proceed  to  deliver 
the  doctrinal  of  the  New  Church  con- 
cerning Free  Agency,  it  is  necessary 
that  those  things  be  premised,  which 
the  present  church  delivers  in  its  dog- 
matical books  concerning  it ;  since, 
unless  this  be  done,  a  man  who  has 
sound  reason  and  religion  may  be- 
lieve that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  write 
any  thing  new  concerning  it;  for  he 
might  say,  "  Who  does  not  know  that 
man  has  free  agency  in  spiritual  things? 
Otherwise,  what  reason  would  there  be 
that  priests  should  preach,  that  men 
should  believe  in  God,  that  they  should 
turn  themselves  about,  that  they  should 
live  according  to  the  precepts  in  the 
Word,  that  they  should  fight  against  the 
concupiscences  of  their  flesh,  and  that 
they  should  make  themselves  new  crea- 
tures; besides  many  such  like  things? 
Wherefore  he  cannot  think  with  him- 
self otherwise  than  that  those  things 
would  be  only  words  of  wind,  if  there 
were  not  any  free  agency  in  the  things 
of  salvation,  and  that  to  deny  it  would 
be  madness,  because  contrary  to  com- 
mon sense.  But  that  still  the  present 
church  goes  against  it,  and  casts  it  out 
of  its  temples,  may  be  evident  from  the 
book  called  Formula  ConcordijE,  to 
which  the  Evangelical  swear,  from 
these  things  there,  which  follow.  That 
there  is  the  same  doctrine,  and  thence 
faith,  concerning  free  agency, with  the 
Reformed,  thus  the  same  in  the  whole 
Christian  world,  therefore  in  Germany, 
Sweden,  Denmark,  England  and  Hol- 
land, is  evident  from  their  dogmatical 
books.  These  things,  therefore,  were 
taken  from  the  Formula  Concordi^e, 
of  the  Leipsic  edition,  in  the  year  1756. 

464.  "  I.  The  doctors  of  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  assert,  that  man,  from 


the  fall  of  his  first  parents,  was  so  en- 
tirely corrupted,  that,  in  spiritual  things 
which  relate  to  our  conversion  and  sal- 
vation, he  is  by  nature  blind ;  that  he 
neither  understands,  nor  can  under- 
stand, the  Word  of  God  when  preached, 
but  esteems  it  as  a  foolish  thing,  and 
never  of  himself  approaches  to  God,  but 
ratl^er  is  an  enemy  of  God,  and  remains 
so,  until,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  through  the  Word  preached  and 
heard,  he  is,  of  mere  grace,  without 
any  cooperation  on  his  part,  convert- 
ed, gifted  with  faith,  regenerated  and 
renewed ;  page  656.  II.  We  believe 
that  the  understanding,  heart  and  will  of 
a  man  not  born  again,  in  spiritual  and 
divine  things,  of  their  own  natural 
powers,  cannot  at  all  understand,  be- 
lieve, embrace,  think,  will,  begin,  fin- 
ish, act,  operate,  and  cooperate ;  but 
that  man  is  altogether  corrupt  and  dead 
to  good ;  so  that,  in  the  nature  of  man, 
since  the  fall,  before  regeneration,  there 
is  not  remaining  a  single  spark  of  spir- 
itual strength,  by  which  he  can  pre- 
pare himself  for  the  grace  of  God, 
or  apprehend  it  when  offered,  or  ac- 
commodate himself,  and  of  himself  be 
capable  of  receiving  it ;  or  can,  by  bis 
own  strength,  contribute  any  thing  to 
his  conversion,  either  in  the  whole,  or 
by  halves,  or  in  the  least  part,  act,  op- 
erate, or  cooperate  of  himself,  or  as  of 
himself ;  but  that  man  is  the  servant  of 
sin  and  the  slave  of  Satan,  by  whom  he 
is  actuated ;  thence,  therefore,  his  natu- 
ral free  agency,  by  reason  of  his  cor- 
rupted powers  and  his  depraved  nature, 
is  active  and  efficacious  only  to  those 
things  which  displease  and  offend  God ; 
p.  656.  III.  That  man  is  industrious 
and  ingenious  in  civil  and  natural 
things;  but  in   spiritual   and  divine 


332 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


things,  which  relate  to  the  salvation  of 
the  soul,  he  is  like  a  stock,  a  stone,  the 
pillar  of  salt.  Lot's  wife,  which  have 
not  the  use  of  eyes,  mouth  or  of  any 
of  the  senses;  p.  661.    IV.  That  man 
has  still  a  locomotive  power,  can  gov- 
ern his  external  members,  hear  the  gos- 
pel, and  in  some  manner  meditate,  but 
that  still  in  his  secret  thoughts  he  des- 
pises it  as  a  foolish  thing,  neither  can 
he  believe,  and  in  this  respect  he  is 
worse  than  a  stock,  unless  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  him  be  efficacious  and  enkin- 
dle and  operate  in  him  faith  and  other 
virtues  approved  by  God,  and  obedi- 
ence ;  p.  662.    V.  With  some  reason  it 
may  be  said  that  man  is  not  a  stone  or 
a  stock ;  a  stone  or  a  stock  does  not 
resist  nor  understand  or  feel  what  is 
done  with  it,  as  man  by  his  will  resists 
God,  until  he  is  converted  to  God  ;  and 
yet  it  is  true  that  man,  before  conver- 
sion, is  a  rational  creature,  that  has  an 
understanding,  but  not  in  divine  things, 
and  a  will,  but  not  that  he  may  will 
any  good  conducive  to  salvation ;  but 
yet  he  can  contribute  nothing  to  his 
conversion,  and  in  this  respect  he  is 
worse  than  a  stock  or  a  stone  ;  p.  672, 
673.    VI.  That  the  whole  of  conver- 
sion is  the  operation,  gift  and  work  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  alone,  who  operates 
and  effects  it,  by  his  virtue  and  power 
through  the  Word,  in  the  understand- 
ing, heart  and  will  of  man,  as  in  a  pas- 
sive subject,  when  man  does  not  act  at 
all,  but  is  only  acted  upon ;  that  yet  it 
is  not  done  in  the  same  manner  as  a 
statue  is  formed  out  of  stone,  or  a  seal 
impressed  upon  wax,  because  the  wax 
has  neither  knowledge  nor  will ;  p. 
681.    VII.  It  is  according  to  the  say- 
ings of  some  fathers  and  modern  doc- 
tors. That  God  draws  hit  the  willing, 
thus  that  the  will  of  mari  does  some- 
thing in  conversion  ;  but  these  are  not 
according   to  the  sacred  words,  for 
they  confirm  a  false  opinion  concern- 
ing the  powers  of  the  human  will  in 
conversion  ;  p.  582.    VIIT.  That  in  the 
outward  things  of  the  world,  there  is 
still  left  to  man  something  of  under- 
standing,  powers   and   faculties,  al- 
though these  miserable  remains  are 
very  weak  ;  and  even  these  themselves, 


small  as  they  are,  are  infected  and  con- 
taminated with  poison  by  hereditary 
disease,  so  that  they  are  of  no  account 
in  the  sight  of  God  ;  p.  641.    IX.  That 
man  in  conversion,  by  which  from  a 
child  of  wrath  he  becomes  a  child  of 
grace,  does  not  cooperate  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  for  the  conversion  of  man 
is  solely  and  exclusively  his  work ;  p. 
219,  519  and  the  following,  663  and 
the  following;  appen.  p.  143.  That 
yet  a  man  born  again  by  virtue  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  can  cooperate,  although 
much  infirmity  still  accompanies ;  and 
that  he  operates  well,  so  far  and  so 
long  as  he  is  led,  guided  and  governed 
by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  still  he  does 
not  cooperate  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  as 
two  horses  together  draw  a  chariot ;  p. 
674.    X.  Original  sin  is  not  a  certain 
fault  which  is  perpetrated  in  act,  but 
it  is  fixed  most  deeply  in  the  nature, 
substance  and  essence  of  man,  which 
is  the  source  of  all  actual  sins,  such  as 
depraved   thoughts,   words,  and  evil 
works;  p.  577.    That  hereditary  dis- 
ease, by  which  the  whole  nature  was 
corrupted,  is  a  horrible  sin,  and  indeed 
the  beginning  and  head  of  all  sins, 
from  which,  as  the  root  and  source,  all 
transgressions  proceed  ;  p.  640.  That 
the  whole  nature,  by  that  sin,  as  by  a 
spiritual  leprosy,  is,  even  in  the  inmost 
bowels  and  deepest  recesses  of  the 
heart,  wholly  infected  and  corrupted  in 
the  sight  of  God  ;  and  on  account  of 
this  corruption,  the  person  of  man  is 
accused  and  condemned  by  the  law  of 
God  ;  so  that  by  nature  we  are  children 
of  wrath,  slaves  of  death  and  damna- 
tion, unless,  by  the  benefit  of  Christ's 
merit,  we  are  delivered  and  saved  from 
these  evils ;  p.  639.    That  hence  there 
is  a  total  want  or  privation  of  original 
righteousness  or  the  image  of  God, 
created  with  him  in  paradise,  and  that 
thence  is  the  impotence,  unfitness,  and 
stupidity,  by  which  man  is  altogether 
unfit  for  all  divine  or  spiritual  things. 
That  instead  of  the  image  of  God  lost 
in  man,  there  is  nn  inmost,  most  vile, 
most  deep,  inscrutable,  inexpressible 
corruption  of  the  whole  nature,  and  of 
all  the  powers,  especially  of  the  higher 
and  principal  faculties  of  the  soul,  in 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


333 


the  mind,  understanding,  heart  and 
will ;  p.  640." 

405.  These  are  the  precepts,  dogmas 
and  decrees  of  the  present  church  con- 
cerning man's  free  agency  in  spiritual 
and  in  natural  things,  as  also  concern- 
ing original  sin.  These  have  been 
adduced,  in  order  that  the  precepts, 
dogmas  and  decrees  of  the  New 
Church  concerning  those  things,  may 
more  evidently  appear ;  for  from  the 
two  forms  thus  placed  together,  the 
truth  appears  in  the  light ;  as  is  done 
in  pictures,  in  which  an  ugly  face  is 
placed  at  the  side  of  a  beautiful  face, 
from  which,  seen  together,  the  beauty 
of  the  one  and  thfe  ugliness  of  the 
other,  are  clearly  exhibited  to  the  eye. 
The  decrees  of  the  New  Church  are 
these  which  follow. 

466.   I.  That  two  Trees  were 

PL.A.CED    IN    THE    GaRDEN    OF  EdEN, 

ONE  OF  Life,  and  the  other  of  the 
Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  sig- 
nifies TiTAT  Free  Agency  in  spirit- 
ual Things  was  given  to  Man. 

It  has  been  believed  by  many,  that 
by  Adam  and  Eve,  in  the  book  of 
Moses,  are  not  meant  the  man  and 
woman  first  created  ;  and  to  confirm  it, 
they  have  adduced  arguments  concern- 
ing the  Preadamites,  from  computa- 
tions and  chronologies  among  some 
nations;  and  also  from  the  saying  of 
Cain,  the  first-born  of  Adam,  to  Jeho- 
vah ;  /  shall  be  a  fugitive  and  vag- 
abond in  the  earth,  so  that  whoever 
Jindeth  me  will  hill  me.  Wherefore 
Jehovah  set  a  mark  upon  Cain,  that 
whoever  should  find  him,  might  not  kill 
him,  Gen.  iv.  14,  15.  And  after  he 
had  gone  out  from  the  face  of  Jehovah, 
he  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod,  and  built  a 
city,  16,  17 ;  consequently,  that  the 
earth  was  inhabited  before  Adam. 
But  that  by  Adam  and  his  wife  is 
meant  the  most  ancient  church  in  this 
earth,  has  been  abundantly  demonstrat- 
ed in  the  Arcana  CcELESTiA,published 
by  me  at  London ;  and  there  also,  that 
by  the  garden  of  Eden,  is  meant  the 
wisdom  of  the  men  of  that  church ;  and 
by  the  tree  of  life,  the  Lord  in  man,  and 
man  in  the  Lord  ;  and  by  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  man 


not  in  the  Lord,  but  in  his  proprium, 

as  he  is  who  believes  that  he  does  all 
things  from  himself,  even  good ;  and 
that  by  eating  from  this  tree  is  meant 
the  appropriation  of  evil. 

467.  In  the  Word,  by  the  garden  of 
Eden,  is  not  meant  any  garden,  but 
intelligence ;  nor  by  tree,  any  tree,  but 
man.  That  the  garden  of  Eden  signi- 
fies intelligence  and  wisdom,  may  be 
evident  from  these  passages ;  In  thy 

INTELLIGENCE  AND  WISDOM  thuu  hadst 

made  for  thyself  riches ;  thou  hast  been 
in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God  ;  and 
in  what  follows  there,  Full  of  avisdom, 
thou  hast  been  in  Eden,  the  garden 
OF  God  ;  every  precious  stone  thy  cover- 
ing, Ezek.  xxviii.  4,  12,  13.  These 
things  are  concerning  the  prince  and 
concerning  the  king  of  Tyre,  of  whom 
wisdom  is  predicated,  because  by  Tyre, 
in  the  Word,  is  signified  the  church  as 
to  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good, 
by  which  is  wisdom ;  by  the  precious 
stones  which  were  his  covering,  are 
also  signified  the  knowledges  of  truth 
and  good ;  for  the  prince  and  the  king 
of  Tyre  were  not  in  the  garden  of 
Eden.  And  elsewhere,  in  Ezekiel ; 
Ashur,  a  cedar  in  Lebanon ;  the  cedars 
did  not  hide  him  in  the  garden  of 
God  ;  no  tree  in  the  garden  of  God 
was  equal  to  him  in  beauty.  All  the 
trees  of  Eden,  in  the  garden  of 
God,  emulated hitn,  xxxi.  1, 8.  And  fur- 
ther ;  To  whom  hast  thou  become  like, 
thus  in  glory  and  in  greatness,  among 
the  trees  of  Eden,  verse  18.  This 
is  said  concerning  Ashur,  because 
by  him,  in  the  Word,  is  signified  ra- 
tionality and  thence  intelligence.  In 
Isaiah ;  Jehovah  will  comfort  Zion ;  He 
will  turn  her  desert  into  Eden,  and  her 
wilderness  into  the  garden  of  Jeho- 
vah, li.  3.  Zion  there  is  the  church, 
and  Eden  and  the  garden  of  Jehovah, 
is  wisdom  and  intelligence.  In  the 
Revelation  ;  To  him  that  'overcometh,  I 
will  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life, 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  para- 
dise of  God,  iii.  7.  In  the  midst  of 
the  street  and  of  the  river  on  each  side 
shall  be  the  tree  of  life,  xxii.  2.  From 
these  it  is  clearly  manifest,  that  by  the 
garden  in  Eden,  in  which  Adam  is 


334 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


said  to  have  been  placed,  is  meant  in- 
telligence and  wisdom,  because  similar 
things  are  said  concerning  Tyre, 
Ashur  and  Zion.  By  garden  is  signi- 
fied intelligence  also  in  other  places  in 
the  Word,  as  Isaiah  Iviii.  11,  Ixi.  11; 
Jer.  xxxi.  12;  Amos  ix.  14;  Numbers 
xxiv.  6.  This  spiritual  meaning  of 
garden  derives  its  cause  from  the  rep- 
resentations in  the  spiritual  world ; 
there  paradises  appear  where  angels  in 
intelligence  and  wisdom  are.  The  in- 
telligence itself  and  wisdom  which  they 
have  from  the  Lord,  exhibit  such 
things  around  them ;  and  this  is  done 
from  correspondence,  for  all  the  things 
which  exist  in  the  spiritual  world  are 
correspondences. 

468.  That  tree  signifies  man,  is  evi- 
dent fi-om  these  passages  in  the  Word ; 
All  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  know  th  at 
J  Jehovah  humble  the  high  tree,  exalt 
the  low  tree,  and  dry  the  green  tree, 
and  make  the  dry  tree  flourish,  Ezek. 
xvii.  24.  Blessed  is  he  whose  delight 
is  in  the  law;  he  will  be  like  a  tree 
planted  by  rivers  of  joatei's,  tvhich 
will  produce  its  fruit  in  its  season, 
Psalms  i.  1,  3,  Jer.  xvii.  8.  Praise 
Jehovah,  ye  trees  of  fruit,  Psalms 
cxlviii.  9.  The  trees  of'  Jehovah  are 
filled  full,  civ.  16.  The  axe  lieth  at 
the  root  of  the  tree ;  every  tree  not  j)ro- 
ducing  good  fruit  shall  be  cut  down, 
Matt.  iii.  10;  vii.  16  to  21.  Either 
make  the  tree  good,  and  the  fruit  good, 
or  make  the  tree  corrupt ;  for  the  tree 
is  known  from  the  fruit.  Matt.  xii.  33 ; 
Luke  vi.  43,  44.  /  toill  kindle  a  fire, 
which  shall  devour  every  green  tree  and 
every  dry  tree,  Ezek.  xx.  47.  Since 
tree  signifies  man,  therefore  it  was  a 
statute.  That  the  fruit  of  a  tree  ser- 
viceable for  food  in  the  land  of  Canaan 
should  be  accounted  uncircumcised. 
Lev.  xix.  23,  24.  Since  olive-tree  sig- 
nifies a  man  of  the  celestial  church,  it 
is  said  concerning  the  two  witnesses 
who  prophesied,  Jliat  they  were  two 
olive-trees  standing  by  the  Lord  of  the 
whole  earth.  Rev.  xi.  4 ;  also  Zech. 
iv.  3,  11,  12.  And  in  David  ;  I  am  a 
green  olive-tree  in  the  house  of  God, 
Psalms  Hi.  8.  And  in  Jeremiah  ;  The 
Lord  called  thy  name  a  green  olive-tree. 


beautiful  with  fruit,  xi.  16,  17;  besides 
many  other  passages,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  their  abundance,  are  not  here 
brought  forward. 

469.  Every  one  at  this  day,  who  has 
interior  wisdom,  may  perceive  or  con- 
jecture, that  those  things  which  are 
written  concerning  Adam  and  his  wife, 
involve  spiritual  things,  which  no  one 
has  hitherto  known,  because  the  spirit- 
ual sense  of  the  Word  has  never  till 
now  been  laid  open.  Who  cannot  see 
afar  off",  that  Jehovah  would  not  have 
placed  two  trees  in  the  garden,  and 
one  for  a  stumbling-block,  except  for  the 
sake  of  some  spiritual  representation  1 
And  that,  because  they  both  ate  of  a 
certain  tree, ,  they  were  cursed  ;  and 
that  that  curse  adheres  to  every  man 
after  them,  thus  that  the  whole  hu- 
man race,  on  account  of  the  fault  of 
one  man,  in  which  there  was  not  any 
evil  of  the  concupiscence  of  the  flesh 
and  iniquity  of  heart,  was  condemned; 
does  this  square  with  the  divine  jus- 
tice? Especially,  why  did  not  Jeho- 
vah withhold  him  from  eating,  when, 
being  present.  He  saw  it  ?  And  why 
did  he  not  cast  the  serpent  down 
into  hell  before  he  persuaded  ?  But,  my 
friend,  God  did  not  do  this,  since  thus 
He  would  have  taken  away  free  agency 
from  man ;  from  which,  however,  man 
is  man,  and  not  a  beast.  When  this 
is  known,  it  appears  in  evidence,  that 
by  those  two  trees,  one  for  life  and 
the  other  for  deatii,  was  represented 
man's  free  agency  in  spiritual  things. 
Besides,  hereditary  evil  is  not  thence, 
but  from  parents,  by  whom  the  inclina- 
tion to  evil,  in  which  they  tiicinselves 
were,  is  communicated  to  their  children. 
That  it  is  so,  is  clearly  seen  by  any  one 
who  attentively  observes  the  manners, 
minds  and  faces  of  the  ciiildrcn,  yea, 
of  tiie  families,  from  one  father;  but 
still  it  depends  upon  each  one  in  the 
family, whether  he  will  accede  or  recede, 
since  every  one  is  left  to  his  own  choice. 
But  what,  in  particular,  the  tree  of  life 
signifies,  and  th(!  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil,  has  been  fully  ex- 
plained in  a  Relation  above,  n.  48, 
which  may  be  seen. 

470.  II.  That  man  is  not  Life, 


Concemiiig  Free  Agency. 


335 


BUT  A  Receptacle  of  Life  from 
God. 

It  is  commonly  believed,  that  life  is 
in  man  his,  so  that  he  is  not  only  a  re- 
ceptacle of  life,  but  also  life.  That  it  is 
commonly  so  believed,  is  from  appear- 
ance, because  he  lives,  that  is,  feels, 
thinks,  speaks  and  acts  altogether  as 
from  himself.  Wherefore  this,  that 
man  is  a  receptacle  of  life,  and  not  life, 
cannot  but  seem  as  something  unheard 
of,  or  as  a  paradox  adverse  to  sensual 
thought,  because  to  appearance.  The 
cause  of  this  fallacious  belief,  that  man 
is  also  life,  consequently  that  life  was 
created  inherent  in  him,  and  after- 
wards produced  in  man  by  natural  gen- 
eration, I  have  deduced  from  appear- 
ance ;  but  the  cause  of  the  fallacy  from 
appearance  is,  that  most  at  this  day  are 
natural,  and  few  spiritual,  and  the  nat- 
ural man  judges  from  appearances,  and 
thence  fallacies,  and  these  are  diamet- 
rically opposite  to  this  truth,  that  man 
is  only  a  receptacle  of  life,  and  not  life. 
That  man  is  not  life,  but  only  a  recep- 
tacle of  life  from  God,  is  evident  from 
these  clear  testimonies,  that  all  things 
which  are  created  are  in  themselves 
finite;  and  that  man,  because  he  is 
finite,  could  not  have  been  created  but 
from  finite  things;  wherefore  in  the 
book  of  Creation  it  is  said,  that  Adam 
jvas  made  of  the  earth  and  its  dust, 
from  which  also  he  was  named,  for 
Adam  signifies  the  ground  of  the  earth  ; 
and  every  man  actually  consists  only 
of  such  tilings  as  are  in  the  earth,  and 
from  the  earth,  in  the  atmospheres :  those 
things  which  are  in  the  atmospheres 
from  the  earth  man  sucks  in  through 
the  lungs,  and  through  the  pores  of  the 
whole  body,  and  the  grosser  parts  by 
food  made  of  things  from  the  earth. 
But  as  to  what  concerns  the  spirit  of 
man,  that  also  is  created  from  finite 
things.  What  is  the  spirit  of  man,  but 
a  receptacle  of  the  life  of  the  mind  ? 
The  finite  things,  from  which  that  is, 
are  the  spiritual  substances,  which  are 
in  the  spiritual  world,  and  also  are 
l)rought  together  into  our  earth,  and 
therein  concealed.  Unless  these  were 
together  with  material  things  in  the 
earth,  no  seed  could  be  impregnated 


from  the  inmost  parts,  and  thence  grow 
wonderfully,  without  any  deviation, 
from  the  first  stamen  even  to  the  fruit 
and  to  new  seeds ;  nor  would  any 
worms  be  procreated  from  the  effluvia 
from  the  earth  and  from  the  e.vhalation 
of  vapors  from  vegetables,  by  which 
the  atmospheres  are  impregnated.  Who 
can  from  reason  think,  that  the  Infi- 
nite can  create  any  thing  else  than 
finite ;  and  that  man,  because  he  is 
finite,  is  any  thing  else  than  a  form, 
which  the  Infinite  can  vivify  from  the 
life  in  itself.'  And  this  is  meant  by 
these  Words;  Jehovah  formed  man,  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  and  breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  lives,  Gen.  ii.  7. 
God,  because  He  is  infinite,  is  life  in 
Himself;  this  He  cannot  create  and 
thus  transcribe  into  man,  for  this  would 
be  to  make  him  God;  that  this  was 
done,  was  an  insanity  of  the  serpent  or 
devil,  and  from  him  of  Eve  and  Adam; 
for  the  serpent  said,  In  the  day  that  ye 
eat  of  the  fruit  of  this  tree,  your  eyes 
will  be  opened,  and  ye  will  be  as  God, 
Gen.  iii.  5.  That  this  direful  persua- 
sion, that  God  transfused  and  transcrib- 
ed himself  into  men,  was  entertained 
by  the  men  of  the  most  ancient  church, 
at  its  end,  when  it  was  consummated, 
I  have  heard  from  their  mouth ;  and 
these,  on  account  of  that  horrible  be- 
lief, that  thus  they  were  gods,  lie  deeply 
concealed  in  a  cavern,  to  which  no 
one  can  approach,  without  being  seized 
with  an  inward  dizziness,  so  that  he 
falls  down.  That  by  Adam  and  his 
wife  is  understood  and  described  the 
most  ancient  church,  was  made  known 
in  the  preceding  article. 

471.  Who  does  not  see,  if  he  can 
think  from  reason,  elevated  above  the 
sensual  things  of  the  body,  that  life  is 
not  creatable  ?  For  what  is  life,  but  the 
inmost  activity  of  love  and  wisdom, 
which  are  in  God,  and  are  God,  which 
life  also  may  be  called  the  very  living 
force  1  He  who  sees  this,  can  also  see 
that  that  life  cannot  be  transcribed  into 
any  man,  except  together  with  love  and 
wisdom.  Who  denies,  or  can  deny, 
that  all  the  good  of  love  and  all  the 
truth  of  wisdom  are  solely  from  God  ; 
and  that,  as  far  as  man  receives  them 


336 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


from  God,  so  far  he  lives  from  God, 
and  is  said  to  be  born  of  God,  that  is, 
regenerated.  And,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  far  as  any  does  not  receive  love  and 
wisdom,  or,  what  is  similar,  charity  and 
faith,  so  far  he  does  not  receive  life, 
which  in  itself  is  life,  from  God,  but 
from  hell,  which  is  no  other  life  than 
inverted  life,  which  is  called  spiritual 
death. 

472.  From  the  things  said  above,  it 
may  be  perceived  and  concluded  that 
the  following  things  are  not  creatable, 
viz:  1.  that  the  infinite  is  not;  2. 
that  love  and  wisdom  are  not ;  3.  and 
thence  life  is  not;  4.  nor  light  and 
heat;  5.  yea,  neither  activity  itself 
viewed  in  itself;  but  that  organs  re- 
ceiving them  are  creatable  and  created. 
These  things  may  be  illustrated  by 
these  comparisons ; — that  light  is  not 
creatable,  but  its  organ,  which  is  the 
eye ;  that  sound,  which  is  an  activity 
of  the  atmosphere,  is  not  creatable,  but 
its  organ,  which  is  the  ear  ;  that  neither 
is  heat,  which  is  the  primary  active 
principle,  for  receiving  which,  all  the 
things  which  are  in  the  three  kingdoms 
of  nature  were  created,  which  accord- 
ing to  reception  do  not  act,  but  are 
acted  upon.  It  is  from  creation,  that 
where  there  are  things  active,  there  are 
also  things  passive,  and  that  those  two 
join  themselves  together  as  into  one. 
If  the  active  were  creatable,  as  the 
passive,  there  would  have  been  no  need 
of  the  sun,  and  of  heat  and  light  thence, 
but  all  created  tilings  might  subsist 
without  them:  when  yet,  if  those 
should  be  removed,  the  created  uni- 
verse would  fall  into  chaos.  The  sun 
of  the  world  itself  consists  of  created 
substances,  the  activity  of  which  pro- 
duces fire.  These  things  are  adduced 
for  the  sake  of  illustration.  It  would 
be  similar  with  man,  if  spiritual  light, 
which  in  its  essence  is  wisdom,  and 
spiritual  heat,  which  in  its  essence  is 
love,  should  not  flow  into  man  and  be 
received  by  man.  The  whole  man  is 
nothing  else  than  a  form  organized  for 
the  reception  of  those  two,  as  well  from 
the  natural  world  as  from  the  spiritual 
world,  for  they  correspond  to  eacli 
other.    If  it  were  denied  that  man  is  a 


form  receptive  of  love  and  wisdom  from 
God,  influx  would  also  be  denied,  and 
thus  that  all  good  is  from  God ;  and 
likewise  conjunction  with  God  would 
be  denied,  and  thence  it  would  be  an 
empty  word,  that  man  may  be  a  habita- 
tion and  temple  of  God. 

473.  But  that  man  does  not  know 
this  from  any  light  of  reason,  is  because 
fallacies  from  the  believed  appearances 
of  the  external  senses  of  the  body  over- 
shadow that  light.  That  man  feels  no 
otherwise  than  that  he  lives  from  his 
own  life,  is  because  the  instrumental 
feels  the  principal  as  its  own,  and  can- 
not, therefore,  distinguish  them;  for  the 
principal  cause  and  the  instrumental 
cause  act  together  as  one  cause,  ac- 
cording to  a  maxim  known  in  the  learned 
world.  The  principal  cause  is  life, 
and  the  instrumental  cause  is  the  mind 
of  man.  It  appears  as  if  beasts  also 
possessed  life  created  in  themselves, 
but  this  is  a  similar  fallacy ;  for  they 
are  organs  created  for  receiving  light 
and  heat  from  the  natural  world,  and 
at  the  same  time  from  the  spiritual 
world ;  for  every  species  is  a  form  of 
some  natural  love,  and  receives  Hght 
and  heat  from  the  spiritual  world  me- 
diately through  heaven  or  hell,  gentle 
beasts  through  heaven,  and  ferocious 
ones  through  hell.  Man  alone  receives 
light  and  heat,  that  is,  wisdom  and 
love,  immediately  from  the  Lord ;  this 
is  the  diflerence. 

474.  That  the  Lord  is  Life  in  Him- 
self, thus  Life  itself.  He  teaches  in 
John ;  The  Word  was  with  God,  and 
God  wa$  the  Word.  In  Him  was  lAfc, 
and  the  Life  was  the  light  of  men,  John 
i.  1,4.  And  also.  As  the  Father  hath 
Life  in  Himself,  so  He  hath  given  to 
the  Son  to  have  Life  in  Himself,  v.  26. 
And  again,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth 
and  the  Life,  xir.  C.  And  again.  He 
that  followeth  Me  shall  have  the  light 
of  Life,  viii.  12. 

475.  III.  Th.\t  Man,  while  hf. 

LIVES  IN  THE  WoRLD,  IS  HELD  IN 
THE    MIDDLE    BETWEEN   He.WEN  -AND 

Hell,  and  there  in  spiritual  Equ- 
LiiuiiuM,  WHICH  IS  Free  Aoencv. 

That  it  may  be  known  wliat  free 
agency  is,  and  of  what  quality,  it  is 


Concerning  Fret  Agency. 


337 


necessary  that  it  should  be  known 
whence  it  is ;  from  a  knowledge  of  its 
origin,  especially,  it  is  known  not  only 
that  it  is,  but  also  what  it  is.  Its  origin 
is  from  the  spiritual  world,  where  the 
mind  of  man  is  held  by  the  Lord.  The 
mind  of  man  is  his  spirit,  which  lives 
after  death;  and  his  spirit  is  continually 
in  consociation  with  its  like  in  that 
world ;  and  his  spirit,  by  the  material 
body  with  which  it  is  encompassed,  is 
with  men  in  the  natural  world.  That 
man  does  not  know  that  he  is  in  the 
midst  of  spirits  as  to  his  mind,  is  be- 
cause those  spirits  with  whom  he  is 
in  consociation  in  the  spiritual  world, 
think  and  speak  spiritually,  but  the 
spirit  of  man.  while  it  is  in  the  material 
body,  naturally ;  and  spiritual  thought 
and  speech  cannot  be  understood  nor 
perceived  by  the  natural  man,  nor  the 
reverse ;  thence  it  is,  that  neither  can 
they  be  seen.  But  when  the  spirit  of 
a  man  is  in  society  with  spirits  in  their 
world,  then  it  is  also  in  spiritual 
thought  and  speech  with  them,  because 
his  mind  is  inwardly  spiritual,  but  out- 
wardly natural ;  wherefore,  by  its  inte- 
riors, it  communicates  with  them,  but 
by  its  exteriors,  with  men.  By  this 
communication,  man  perceives  things, 
and  thinks  them  analytically ;  if  man 
had  not  this,  he  would  not  think  any 
more  nor  any  otherwise  than  a  beast ; 
as  also,  if  all  commerce  with  spirits 
should  be  taken  away  from  him,  he 
would  die  in  an  instant.  But  that  it 
may  be  comprehended  how  man  can 
be  held  in  the  middle  between  heaven 
and  hell,  and  thereby  in  spiritual  equi- 
librium, whence  he  has  free  agency,  it 
shall  be  told  in  a  few  words.  The 
spiritual  world  consists  of  heaven  and 
hell ;  heaven  is  over  the  head,  and  hell 
there  under  the  feet ;  yet  still  not  in  the 
middle  of  the  globe  inhabited  by  men, 
but  under  the  earths  of  that  world, 
which  also  are  of  a  spiritual  origin,  and 
thence  not  in  what  is  extended,  but  in 
the  appearance  of  what  is  extended. 
Between  heaven  and  hell  there  is  a 
great  interstice,  which  appears  to  those 
who  are  there  like  an  entire  orb. 
Into  this  interstice  evil  from  hell  is  ex- 
haled in  all  abundance ;  and  on  the 
43 


other  hand,  good  from  heaven  flows  in 
thither  also  in  all  abundance.  It  is  this 
interstice,  of  which  Abraham  said  to 
the  rich  man  in  hell,  Between  us  and 
you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  so  that 
those  who  would  pass  over  from  hence 
to  you  cannot;  neither  can  those  who 
arc  there  pass  over  to  us,  Luke  xvi.  26. 
Every  man,  as  to  his  spirit,  is  in  the 
middle  of  this  interstice,  solely  in  order 
that  he  may  be  in  free  agency.  This 
interstice,  because  it  is  so  great,  and 
appears  to  those  who  are  there  as  a 
great  orb,  is  called  the  World  op 
Spirits  ;  it  is  also  full  of  spirits,  be- 
cause every  man  after  death  first  comes 
thither,  and  is  there  prepared  either  for 
heaven  or  for  hell ;  he  is  there  among 
them  in  consociation,  as  before  among 
men  in  the  former  world.  There  is  no 
purgatory  there ;  this  is  a  fable  invented 
by  the  Roman  Catholics.  But  that 
world  has  been  particularly  treated  of 
in  the  work  concerning  Heaven  and 
Hell,  published  at  London,  in  the 
year  1758,  n.  536  to  603. 

476.  Every  man,  from  infancy  even 
to  old  age,  changes  places  or  situa- 
tions in  this  world.  When  an  infant, 
he  is  held  in  the  eastern  quarter  toward 
the  north  there  ;  and  when  a  child,  as 
he  learns  the  rudiments  of  religion,  he 
successively  recedes  from  the  north  to 
the  south ;  when  a  youth,  as  he  begins 
to  think  from  his  own  mind,  he  is  car- 
ried towards  the  south ;  and  afterwards, 
when  he  has  come  to  the  exercise  of 
his  own  judgment  and  his  own  right, 
according  to  his  advancement  in  such 
things  as  inwardly  have  respect  to  God 
and  love  towards  the  neighbor,  into  the 
south  to  the  east.  But  if  he  favors  evil, 
and  imbibes  it,  he  advances  towards 
the  west ;  for  all  in  the  spiritual  world 
dwell  according  to  quarters ;  in  the 
EAST,  those  who  are  in  good  from  the 
Lord,  for  there  is  the  sun,  in  the  midst 
of  which  is  the  Lord ;  in  the  north, 
those  who  are  in  ignorance ;  in  the 
south,  those  who  are  in  intelligence ; 
and  in  the  west,  those  who  are  in  evil. 
Man  himself  is  not  held,  as  to  his  body, 
in  that  interstice  or  middle  region,  but 
as  to  his  spirit ;  and  as  this  changes 
state  by  coming  to  good  or  to  evil,  so  it 


338 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


is  transferred  to  places  or  situations  in 
this  or  that  quarter,  and  there  comes 
into  consociation  with  the  inhabitants. 
But  it  is  to  be  known,  that  the  Lord 
does  not  transfer  man  hither  or  thither, 
but  man  himself  in  different  ways.  If 
he  chooses  good,  then  man,  together 
with  the  Lord,  or  rather  the  Lord,  to- 
gether with  man,  transfers  his  spirit 
towards  the  east;  but  if  man  chooses 
evil,  then  man,  together  with  the  devil, 
or  rather  the  devil,  together  with  man, 
transfers  his  spirit  towards  the  west. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  that  when  heaven 
is  here  mentioned,  the  Lord  also  is 
meant,  because  the  Lord  is  the  all  in 
all  of  heaven ;  and  when  the  devil  is 
mentioned,  hell  is  meant,  because  all 
there  are  devils. 

477.  That  man  is  held  in  this  great 
interstice,  and  there  continually  in  the 
middle  of  it,  is  solely  in  order  that  he 
may  be  in  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things;  for  this  equilibrium  is  a  spir- 
'tual  equilibrium,  because  it  is  be- 
ween  heaven  and  hell,  thus  between 

good  and  evil.  All  who  arc  in  that 
great  intenstice,  as  to  their  interiors, 
are  conjoined  cither  with  the  angels  of 
heaven,  or  with  the  devils  of  hell ;  but 
at  this  day,  either  with  the  angels  of 
Michael,  or  with  the  angels  of  the 
dragon.  Every  man,  after  death,  be- 
takes himself  to  his  own  in  that  inter- 
stice, and  associates  himself  with  those 
who  are  in  a  similar  love,  for  love  con- 
joins every  one  there  with  his  like,  and 
causes  him  to  respire  freely,  and  to  be  in 
the  state  of  his  past  life.  But  then  the 
externals,  which  do  not  make  one  with 
the  internals,  are  successively  put  olT; 
which  being  done,  the  good  arc  elevated 
into  heaven,  and  the  evil  betake  them- 
selves to  hell,  each  to  those  with  whom, 
as  to  the  reigning  love,  he  makes  one. 

478.  But  this  spiritual  equilibrium, 
which  is  free  agency,  may  be  illustrated 
by  natural  equilibriums.  It  is  like  the 
equilibrium  of  a  man  bound  around  the 
body,  or  at  the  arms,  between  two  men 
of  the  same  strength,  one  of  whom 
draws  the  middle  man  to  the  right,  and 
the  other  to  the  left ;  that  then  the  man 
in  the  middle  can  turn  himself  either 
way,  as  if  not  acted  upon  by  any  force ; 


and  if  he  betakes  himself  to  the  right 
hand,  he  draws  the  man  at  the  left 
hand  to  himself  with  violence,  so  that 
tiie  man  at  the  left  hand  falls  to  the 
earth.  So  it  would  be  if  any  one,  ever 
so  weak,  should  be  bound  between 
three  men  on  the  right  hand  and  as 
many  on  the  left,  of  the  same  power ; 
and  so  also  if  between  camels  or  horses. 
Spiritual  equilibrium,  which  is  free 
agency,  may  be  compared  with  a  bal- 
ance, in  each  scale  of  which  are  placed 
equal  weights;  if  then  a  little  be  added 
to  the  scale  of  one  side,  the  tongue  of 
the  balance  above  vibrates :  it  is  simi- 
lar also  with  a  bar  or  with  a  large 
beam  placed  upon  its  roller.  All  and 
each  of  the  things  which  are  within 
man,  as  the  heart,  the  lungs,  the  stom- 
ach, the  liver,  the  pancreas,  the  spleen, 
the  intestines,  and  the  rest,  are  in  such 
equilibrium  ;  thence  it  is  that  every  one 
in  the  greatest  quietness  can  perform 
its  functions.  It  is  so  with  all  the 
muscles ;  without  such  an  equilibrium 
of  these,  all  action  and  reaction  would 
cease,  and  man  would  no  longer  act  as 
man.  Since,  therefore,  all  the  things 
that  are  in  the  body  are  in  such  equi- 
lii)rium,  all  the  things  that  are  in  the 
brain  are  also  in  the  like  ;  consequently 
all  the  th.ings  that  are  in  the  mind 
there,  which  refer  themselves  to  the 
will  and  the  understanding.  Beasts, 
birds,  fishes  and  insects,  also  have 
freedom,  but  these  are  carried  away  by 
the  senses  of  their  body,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  appetite  and  pleasure.  Man 
would  not  be  unlike  these,  if  he  had  the 
liberty  of  doing,  as  he  has  the  liberty 
of  thinking ;  he  likewise  would  be  car- 
ried aw.ay  only  by  the  senses  of  his 
body,  at  the  suggestion  of  lust  and 
pleasure.  The  case  is  otherwise  with 
him  who  imbibes  the  spiritual  things 
of  the  church,  and  restrains  his  free 
agency  by  them;  he  is  withdrawn  by 
the  Lord  from  lusts  and  evil  pleasures, 
and  the  connate  desires  of  them,  and 
acquires  an  afToction  i'or  good,  and  an 
aversion  to  evil ;  he  is  then  transferred 
by  the  Lord  nearer  to  the  east,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  the  south,  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  and  is  put  in  celestial  free- 
dom, which  is  truly  freedom. 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


339 


479.  IV.  That  from  the  Permis- 
sion OF  Evil,  in  which  the  inter- 
NAi,  Man  of  every  one  is,  it  is  evi- 
di:ntlv  manifest  that  Man  has 
Free  Agency  in  spiritual  Things. 

That  man  has  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things,  is  to  be  confirmed,  first 
from  general  things,  and  afterwards 
from  particular  things,  which  every  one 
at  the  first  hearing  will  acknowledge. 
The  general  things  are  these :  1. 
That  the  wisest  of  mankind,  Adam  and 
his  wife,  suffered  themselves  to  be  se- 
duced by  the  serpent.  2.  That  their 
first  son,  Cain,  killed  his  brother  Abel ; 
and  Jehovah  God  did  not  withdraw 
them  by  speaking  with  them,  but  only 
by  cursing  them  after  the  deeds.  3. 
That  the  Israelitish  nation,  in  the 
desert,  worshipped  a  golden  calf;  when 
yet  Jehovah  saw  this,  from  mount 
Sinai,  and  did  not  guard  against  it.  4. 
That  David  numbered  the  people, 
and  therefore  a  pestilence  was  sent, 
by  which  so  many  thousands  of  men 
perished ;  and  that  God,  not  before, 
but  after  the  deed,  sent  to  him  the 
prophet  Gad,  and  denounced  punish- 
ment. 5.  That  Solomon  was  permit- 
ted to  institute  idolatrous  worship.  6. 
And  many  kings  after  him,  to  profane 
the  temple  and  the  holy  things  of  the 
church.  7.  And  at  length,  that  tliat 
nation  was  permitted  to  crucify  the 
Lord.  That  Mahomet  was  permitted 
to  institute  a  species  of  religion  in  many 
things  not  conformable  to  the  Sacred 
Scripture.  8.  That  the  Christian  reli- 
gion is  divided  into  many  sects,  and 
each  into  heresies.  9.  That  there  are 
so  many  impious  people  in  Christen- 
dom, and  also  glorying  in  impiety ;  as 
also  machinations  and  stratagems,  even 
against  the  pious,  just  and  sincere. 

10.  That  injustice  sometimes  triumphs 
over  justice  in  judgments  and  business. 

11.  That  the  impious  also  are  exalted 
to  honors,  and  become  grandees  and 
primates.  12.  That  wars  are  permit- 
ted, and  then  the  destruction  of  so 
many  men,  and  the  plundering  of  so 
many  cities,  nations  and  families ;  be- 
sides many  other  things.  Can  any  one 
deduce  such  things  from  any  other 
source,  than  from  the  firee  agency  with 


every  man?  The  permission  known 
in  the  whole  world,  is  from  no  other 
origin.  That  the  laws  of  permission 
are  also  laws  of  Divine  Providence,  may 
be  seen  in  the  work  concerning  the 
Divine  Providence,  printed  at  Am- 
sterdam, in  the  year  1765,  n.  234  to 
274,  where  the  things  above  adduced 
also  are  explained. 

480.  The  particular  things,  show- 
ing that  there  is  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things  equally  as  in  natural,  are  innu- 
merable. Let  every  one,  if  he  will, 
consult  himself,  whether  he  cannot 
think  seventy  times  in  a  day,  or  three 
hundred  times  in  a  week,  concerning 
God,  concerning  the  Lord,  concerning 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  concerning  divine 
things,  which  are  called  the  Spiritual 
things  of  the  church ;  whether  he  then 
feels  any  thing  forced,  if  he  be  carried 
to  it  from  any  pleasure,  yea,  if  from  any 
lust,  and  this  whether  he  have  faith,  or 
whether  he  have  not  faith.  Try,  also, 
in  whatever  state  you  may  be,  whether 
you  can  think  any  thing  without  free 
agency,  as  well  in  your  conversation  as 
in  your  prayers  to  God,  then  in  preach- 
ing, and  also  in  hearing ;  does  not  free 
agency  carry  every  point  in  those 
things  ?  Yea,  that  without  fi-ee  agency 
in  every  thing,  yea,  in  the  least  things, 
you  would  not  respire  any  more  than  a 
statue ;  for  respiration  follows  thought, 
and  thence  speech,  at  every  step.  I 
say,  not  any  more  than  a  statue,  and 
not  any  more  than  a  beast,  for  a  beast 
respires  from  natural  free  agency,  but 
man  from  free  agency  in  natural  things, 
and  at  the  same  time  in  spiritual ;  for 
man  is  not  born  like  a  beast.  A  beast 
is  born,  with  all  the  ideas,  attendants 
of  its  natural  love,  into  such  things  as 
are  of  nutrition  and  prolification ;  but 
man,  without  connate  ideas,  only  into 
the  faculty  of  knowing,  understanding 
and  being  wise,  and  into  the  inclina- 
tion to  love  himself  and  the  world,  and 
also  the  neighbor  and  God.  Where- 
fore it  is  said,  that  if  free  agency 
should  be  taken  away  from  him  in 
every  thing  that  he  wills  and  thinks, 
he  would  not  respire  any  more  than  a 
statue;  and  it  is  not  said,  not  any  more 
than  a  beast. 


340 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


481.  That  man  has  free  agency  in 
natural  things,  is  not  denied ;  but  man 
has  this  from  his  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things ;  for  the  Lord  from  above, 
or  from  within,  flows  into  every  man 
with  the  divine  good  and  the  divine 
truth,  as  was  before  shown,  and  thereby 
inspires  life  into  man,  distinct  from  the 
life  of  beasts,  and  gives  him  the  ability 
to  will  to  receive  those  things,  and  to 
act  from  them ;  and  this  He  never 
takes  away  from  any  one.  Thence  it 
follows,  that  it  is  the  perpetual  will  of 
the  Lord,  that  man  should  receive  truth 
and  do  good,  and  thus  become  spiritual, 
for  which  he  was  born  ;  and  to  become 
spiritual  without  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things,  is  as  impossible  as  it  is  to 
thrust  a  camel  through  the  eye  of  a 
sewing  needle,  or  as  to  touch  with  the 
hand  a  star  in  heaven.  That  abili- 
ty to  understand  the  truth,  and  to  will 
it,  is  given  to  every  m.an,  and  also  to 
the  devils,  and  is  never  taken  away, 
has  been  shown  to  me  by  lively  experi- 
ence. One  of  those  who  were  in  hell 
was  once  taken  up  into  the  world  of 
spirits,  and  there,  being  asked  by  angels 
from  heaven,  whether  he  could  under- 
stand the  things  which  they  were  speak- 
ing with  him  (they  were  spiritual  di- 
vine things),  he  answered,  that  he  did 
understand  them ;  and  being  asked, 
why  he  did  not  receive  such  like  things, 
he  said  that  he  did  not  love  them,  and 
thence  did  not  will  them.  Again,  it 
was  said  to  him,  that  he  could  will 
them.  He  wondered  at  this,  and  said, 
that  he  could  not;  wherefore  the  angels 
inspired  into  his  understanding  the 
glory  of  fame  with  its  delight,  which 
he,  having  received,  also  willed  and 
likewise  loved  those  things.  But  pres- 
ently he  was  let  back  into  his  former 
state,  in  which  he  was  a  robber,  an 
adulterer  and  a  rcviler  of  his  neighbor ; 
and  then,  because  he  did  not  will,  he 
neither  any  longer  understood  those 
things.  Hence  it  is  manifest  that  man 
is  man  from  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things,  and  without  it  man  would  he  a 
stock,  a  stone,  or  a  statue, — Lot's  wife. 

482.  That  man  would  not  have  any 
free  agency  in  civil,  moral  and  natural 


things,  if  he  had  no  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things,  is  evident  from  this, 
that  spiritual  things,  which  are  called 
theological,  reside  in  the  highest  region 
of  man's  mind,  as  the  soul  in  the  body. 
That  they  reside  there,  is  because  there 
is  the  door  through  which  the  Lord 
enters  to  man ;  under  those  are  civil, 
moral  and  natural  things,  which  in  man 
receive  all  their  life  from  the  spiritual 
things  which  sit  above  them ;  and  be- 
cause life  from  the  highest  things  flows 
in  from  the  Lord,  and  the  life  of  man 
is  to  be  able  freely  to  think,  to  will, 
and  thence  to  speak  and  to  do,  it  fol- 
lows, that  thence,  and  from  no  other 
source,  is  free  agency  in  political  and 
natural  things.  From  that  spiritual 
freedom,  man  has  the  perception  of 
what  is  good  and  true,  and  just  and 
right,  in  civil  things,  which  perception 
is  understanding  itself  in  its  essence. 
The  free  agency  of  man  in  spiritual 
things  is,  comparatively,  like  air  in  the 
lungs,  which  is  inspired,  detained  and 
expired,  according  to  all  the  changes 
of  thought ;  and  without  it,  it  would 
be  worse  for  him  than  it  is  for  one 
who  is  afllicted  with  the  night-mare, 
with  the  quinsy,  or  with  the  asthma. 
And  it  would  be  like  the  blood  in  the 
heart,  which  if  it  should  begin  to  be 
deficient,  the  heart  would  first  palpi- 
tate, and  after  convulsions,  it  would  en- 
tirely cease  to  beat.  And  it  would  also 
be  like  a  body  moved,  which  is  carried 
as  long  as  the  effort  is  in  it,  and  they 
both  cease  together.  So,  also,  it  is  with 
the  free  agency  in  which  the  will  of 
man  is ;  both  together,  free  agency  and 
will,  may  be  called  the  living  effort 
in  man ;  for  when  the  will  ceases,  action 
ceases,  and  when  free  agency  ceases, 
the  will  ceases.  If  spiritual  freedom 
were  taken  away  from  man,  it  would 
be,  comparatively,  as  if  the  wheels 
were  taken  away  from  maciiines,  the 
wings  from  wind-mills,  and  the  sails 
from  ships :  yea,  it  would  be  as 
with  a  man  who  yields  up  the  spirit 
when  he  dies;  for  the  life  of  man's 
spirit  consists  in  his  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things.  The  angels  groan 
when  it  is  only  said,  that  this  free 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


341 


agency  is  at  this  day  denied  by  many 
ministers  of  the  churcli,  and  tlic  denial 
of  it  they  call  madness  upon  madness. 

483.  V.  That  WITHOUT  Free  Agen- 
cy IN  SPIRITUAL  Things,  the  Word 

WOULD  NOT  BE  OF  ANY  UsE  ;  CONSE- 
QUENTLY, THE  Church  would  not  be 
ANY  Thing. 

It  is  known  in  all  the  Christian 
world,  that  the  Word  is,  in  a  wide 
sense,  the  law,  or  book  of  laws,  accord- 
ing to  which  man  is  to  live,  that  he 
may  obtain  eternal  life :  and  what  is 
said  there  more  frequently,  than  that 
man  should  do  good,  and  not  evil ;  and 
that  he  should  believe  in  God,  and 
not  in  idols  ?  And  it  is  full  of  com- 
mands and  exhortations  to  those  things, 
and  of  blessings  and  promises  of  re- 
wards for  those  who  do,  and  of  curses 
and  threatenings  for  those  who  do  not. 
To  what  purpose  would  all  these  things 
be,  if  man  had  no  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things,  that  is,  in  such  things  as  con- 
cern salvation  and  eternal  life  ?  Would 
they  not  be  vain  things,  which  would 
serve  for  no  use  ?  And  if  man  should 
persist  in  the  idea  that  he  has  no  power 
and  no  liberty  in  spiritual  things,  thus 
abstractly  from  any  power  of  the  will 
in  them,  would  the  Sacred  Scripture 
then  appear  to  him  otherwise  than  as 
blank  paper  without  a  single  syllable;  or 
like  paper  upon  which  a  whole  bottle  of 
ink  has  been  cast;  or  like  dots  and  points 
alone,  without  letters,  thus  as  an  empty 
volume  ?  It  would  not,  indeed,  be 
necessary  to  confirm  this  from  the 
Word ;  but,  because  the  churches  at 
this  day  have  plunged  themselves  into 
emptiness  of  mind  in  spiritual  things, 
and  to  confirm  it  have  produced  some 
passages  thence,  which  they  have  false- 
ly interpreted,  it  is  necessary  to  adduce 
some,  which  command  man  to  do  and 
to  believe,  which  are  these :  The  king- 
dom of  God  shall  be  taken  from  y on,  and 
given  to  a  nation  producing  the  fruits 
of  it,  Matt.  xxi.  43.  Produce  fruits 
worthy  of  repentance.  Noio  the  axe  lies 
at  the  root  of  the  tree;  every  tree,  there- 
fore, not  producing  good  fruit,  is  cut 
down  and  cast  into  the  fire,  Luke  iii.  8, 
9.  Jesus  said,  Wliy  call  ye  3fe  Lord, 
Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  which  1 


say?  Every  one  that  comtth  to  Me, 
and  heareth  my  sayings,  and  doeth 
them,  is  like  a  man  building  a  house 
upon  a  rock ;  but  he  that  heareth  and 
doeth  not,  like  a  man  building  a  house 
upon  the  ground  without  a  foundation, 
vi.  46  to  49.  Jesus  said.  My  mother 
and  my  brethren  are  these,  icho  hear  the 
Word  of  God  and  do  it,  viii.  21.  We 
know  that  God  heareth  not  sinners ;  hut 
if  any  one  worshippeth  God,  and  doeth 
his  ivill,  him  He  heareth,  John  ix.  31. 
If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye 
if  ye  do  them,  xiii.  17.  He  that  hath 
my  commandments,  and  doeth  them,  he 
it  is  that  loveth  Mc,  and  I  will  love 
him,  xiv.  15.  In  this  is  my  Father 
glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit,  xv. 
8.  Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  tohat- 
soever  I  command  you.  I  have  chosen 
you  that  ye  may  bear  much  fruit,  and 
that  your  fruit  may  remain,  xv.  14, 
16.  Make  the  tree  good;  the  tree  is 
known  from  the  fruit,  Matt.  xiii.  12. 
Produce  fruits  worthy  of  repentance, 
iii.  12.  That  which  loas  sown  into  good 
ground,  is  he  that  heareth  the  Word, 
and  heareth  fruit,  xiii.  23.  He  that 
reapeth  rcceiveth  wages,  and  gathereth 
fruit  unto  eternal  life,  John  iv.  36. 
Wash  yourselves,  make  yourselves  clean, 
remove  the  evil  of  your  works,  learn  to 
do  good,  Isaiah  i.  16,  17.  The  Son  of 
man  is  about  to  come  in  the  glory  of  his 
Father;  and  then  He  will  render  to 
every  one  according  to  his  deeds,  Matt, 
xvi.  27.  Those  who  have  done  goods 
will  come  forth  into  the  resurrection  of 
life,  John  v.  29.  Their  works  follow 
with  them,  Rev.  xx.  12,  13.  Behold,  I 
come  quickly,  and  my  reward  is  with 
Me,  that  I  may  give  to  every  07ie  ac- 
cording to  his  work,  xxii.  12.  Jehovah, 
ivhose  eyes  are  open  to  give  to  every  one 
according  to  his  ways,  according  to 
our  works  He  dcaleth  with  ?/s,  Zech.  i. 
6.  The  Lord  also  teaches  the  same  in 
parables,  many  of  which  involve,  that 
those  who  do  goods  are  accepted,  and 
those  who  do  evils  are  rejected  ;  as  in 
the  parable  concerning  tlie  husband- 
men in  the  vineyard,  Matt.  xxi.  33  to 
44.  Concerning  the  talents  and  pounds 
with  which  they  should  trade,  xxv.  14 
to  31 ;  Luke  xix.  13  to  25.    In  like 


342 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


manner  concerning  Faith  :  Jesus 
said,  He  that  believeth  in  Me  shall 
never  die,  but  shall  live,  John  xi.  25, 
26.  This  is  the  will  of  the  Father, 
that  every  one  that  believeth  in  the  So7i 
should  have  eternal  life,  vi.  40.  He 
that  believeth  in  the  Son,  hath  eternal 
life ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son, 
shall  not  see  life,  but  the  anger  of  God 
abideth  on  him,  iii.  36.  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  He  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  every  one  that  believ- 
eth in  Him,  might  not  perish,  but  have 
eternal  life,  iii.  15,  16.  And  further, 
TTiou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  from 
thy  whole  heart,  and  in  thy  whole  soul, 
and  in  thy  whole  mind ;  and  thou  shalt 
love  the  neighbor  as  thyself:  on  these 
two  commandments  hang  the  law  and 
the  prophets.  Matt.  xxvi.  35  to  38. 
But  these  are  a  very  few  from  the 
Word,  and  as  some  cups  of  water  from 
the  sea. 

484.  Who  does  not  see  emptiness, 
I  will  not  say  foolishness,  in  those 
things  which  were  adduced  above,  n. 
462,  from  the  ecclesiastical  book  called 
Formula  Concordia,  after  he  has 
read  these  and  some  other  passages 
here  and  there  in  the  Word  ?  Would 
he  not  think  with  himself.  If  it  were  as 
it  is  there  taught,  that  man  has  no  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  what  would 
religion  be,  which  is  to  do  good,  but  a 
vain  word?  And  what  is  the  church, 
without  religion,  but  as  the  bark  around 
wood,  whicli  does  not  serve  for  any 
other  use  than  that  it  may  be  burned  ? 
And  moreover,  he  would  think.  If  there 
be  no  church,  because  no  religion, 
what  then  are  heaven  and  hell,  but 
fables  of  the  niinister.s  and  prelates  of 
the  church,  to  inveigle  the  common  peo- 
ple, and  elevate  themselves  to  superior 
honors?  Thence  is  tiiat  detestable  say- 
ing, in  the  nK)uth  of  many,  Who  can 
do  good  of  himself?  and.  Who  can  ac- 
quire faith  of  himself?  And  thence 
they  omit  them,  and  live  like  pagans. 

But,  my  friend,  shun  evil,  and  do 
good,  and  believe  in  the  Lord  from 
your  whole  heart,  and  in  your  whole 
soul,  and  the  Lord  will  love  you,  and 
will  give  love  to  do,  and  faith  to  be- 
lieve; and  then  from  love  you  will  do 


good,  and  from  faith,  which  is  trust, 
you  will  believe ;  and  if  you  persevere 
thus,  a  reciprocal  conjunction  will  be 
effected,  and  this  perpetual,  which  is 
salvation  itself  and  eternal  life.  If 
man  from  the  strength  given  should 
not  do  good,  and  from  his  own  mind 
believe  in  the  Lord,  what  would  man 
be,  but  a  wilderness  and  a  desert ;  and 
altogether  like  dry  ground,  which  does 
not  receive  the  rain,  but  repels  it;  or 
like  a  sandy  plain,  where  are  sheep 
which  have  no  pasture  ?  And  he  would 
be  like  a  fountain  dried  up ;  or  like 
stagnant  water,  the  course  being  ob- 
structed ;  or  like  a  habitation  where 
there  is  no  corn  nor  any  water,  from 
which  place  one  must  flee  immediately, 
and  seek  a  habitable  abode  elsewhere, 
or  else  die  of  hunger  and  thirst. 

485.  VI.  That  without  Free 
Agency  in  spiritual  Things,  there 

WOULD  NOT  BE  ANY  ThING  OF  Man, 

by  which  he  could  reciprocally 
conjoin  himself  to  the  lord  ,  and 
thence  no  imputation,  but  mere 
Predestination,  which  is  detesta- 
ble. 

That  without  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things,  there  would  not  be  charity 
nor  faith  with  any  man,  still  less  con- 
junction of  those  two,  was  fully  shown 
in  the  chapter  concerning  Faith. 
Hence  it  follows,  that  without  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  there  would 
not  be  any  thing  of  man  by  which  the 
Lord  might  conjoin  Himself  to  him  ; 
and  yet  without  reciprocal  conjunction, 
no  reformation  and  regeneration,  and 
thence  no  salvation,  can  be  given. 
That  without  reciprocal  conjunction  of 
man  with  the  Lord,  and  of  the  Lord 
with  man,  there  would  not  be  any  im- 
})utation,  is  an  irrefragable  consequence. 
The  conclusions  which  follow  from  the 
confirmation,  that  there  is  no  imputa- 
tion of  good  and  evil  without  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  are  many ; 
and  in  the  last  part  of  this  work,  where 
the  heresies,  paradoxes  and  contradic- 
tions, flowing  from  the  faith  at  this  day, 
imputative  of  the  merit  and  righteous- 
ness of  the  Lord  God  tlie  Savior,  are  to 
be  treated  of,  those  enormous  conclu- 
sions arc  to  be  laid  open. 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


343 


486.  Predestination  is  zfatuso^  the 
faith  of  the  present  church,  because 
it  is  derived  from  the  faith  of  an  abso- 
lute inipotency  and  no  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things;  from  that  and  also  from  the 
conversion  of  man,  as  it  were  inan- 
imate, that  he  is  like  a  stock,  and 
that  afterwards  he  does  not  know,  from 
any  consciousness,  whether  he  be  a 
stock  vivified  by  grace  or  not ;  for  it 
is  said,  that  election  is  from  the  mere 
grace  of  God,  exclusive  of  the  action 
of  man,  whether  it  proceed  from  the 
powers  of  nature  or  of  reason ;  and 
that  election  is  made  where  and  when 
God  wills,  thus  from  mere  good  pleas- 
ure. The  works  which  follow  faith, 
as  evidences,  are,  before  the  reflect- 
ing sight,  similar  to  the  works  of  the 
flesh  ;  and  the  spirit,  which  operates 
them,  does  not  manifest  from  what 
origin  they  are,  but  makes  them  of 
grace  or  good  pleasure,  like  the  faith 
itself  Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  the 
dogma  of  the  present  church  concern- 
ing predestination,  proceeded  thence,  as 
a  shoot  from  the  seed ;  and  I  may  say, 
that  it  flowed  as  a  consequence  scarcely 
avoidable  from  that  faith ;  which  was 
done  first  among  the  Predestinari- 
ANs,  then  by  GoDosciiALcus,  afterwards 
by  Calvin  and  his  followers,  and  at 
last  was  firmly  established  by  the  Synod 
OF  DoRT  ;  and  thence,  as  the  palladium 
of  religion,  or  rather  as  the  head  of 
Gorgon  or  Medusa  engraved  upon  the 
shield  of  Pallas,  it  was  brought  by  the 
Supralapsarians  and  Infralapsari- 
ans  into  their  church.  But  what  could 
have  been  devised  more  pernicious,  or 
what  could  have  been  believed  con- 
cerning God  more  cruel,  than  that 
some  of  the  human  race  were  predes- 
tined to  damnation  ?  For  it  would  be 
a  cruel  faith,  that  the  Lord,  who  is 
Love  itself  and  Mercy  itself,  wills  that 
a  multitude  of  men  should  be  born  for 
hell,  or  that  myriads  of  myriads  should 
be  born  accursed,  that  is,  should  be 
born  devils  and  satans,  and  that  from 
his  divine  wisdom,  which  is  infinite, 
He  did  not,  and  does  not,  provide  that 
those  who  live  well  and  acknowledge  a 
God,  should  not  be  cast  into  eternal 
fire  and  torment.    Still  the  Lord  is  the 


Creator  and  Savior  of  all,  and  He  alone 
leads  all,  and  wills  the  death  of  none. 
What  more  horrible,  then,  can  be  be- 
lieved and  conceived,  than  that  a  mul- 
titude of  nations  and  people,  under  his 
auspices  and  under  his  inspection, 
should  be,  by  predestination,  deliv- 
ered to  the  devil  as  a  prey,  and  should 
glut  his  maw  ?  But  this  is  a  fatus  of 
the  faith  of  the  present  church ;  but  the 
faith  of  the  New  Church  abhors  it  as 
a  monster. 

487.  Since  I  thought  that  such  a 
frantic  thing  could  never  have  been 
decreed,  still  less  declared  and  publish- 
ed to  the  world  by  any  Christian,  which 
yet  was  done  by  so  many  chosen  from 
the  clergy,  at  the  Synod  of  Dort  in 
Holland,  and  afterwards  was  neatly 
written  and  published ;  therefore,  that 
I  might  not  doubt,  some  of  those  who 
were  members  of  that  Synod  were 
called  to  me.  When  they  were  seen  to 
stand  by  me,  I  said,  "  Can  any  one,  of 
any  sound  reason,  conclude  predestina- 
tion ?  Can  it  be  otherwise,  than  that 
cruel  ideas  concerning  God  should  flow 
thence,  and  shocking  ideas  concerning 
religion  ?  Can  he  who  has,  by  confirm- 
ations, engraved  predestination  on  his 
heart,  think  any  thing  concerning  all 
the  things  of  the  church,  but  that  they 
are  vain  ?  Li  like  manner  concerning 
the  Word?  And  concerning  God,  be- 
cause He  has  predestined  so  many 
myriads  of  men  to  hell,  but  as  concern- 
ing a  tyrant?"  When  I  had  said  these 
things,  they  looked  at  me  with  a  Sa- 
tanic look,  saying,  "  We  were  among 
those  chosen  at  the  Synod  of  Dort,  and 
then,  and  still  more  afterwards,  con- 
firmed ourselves  in  many  things  con- 
cerning God,  concerning  the  Word  and 
concerning  religion,  which  w'e  durst 
not  publish ;  but  when  we  spoke  and 
taught  concerning  that,  we  wove  and 
twisted  a  web  of  threads  of  various  col- 
ors, and  strewed  upon  it  feathers  bor- 
rowed from  the  wings  of  peacocks." 
But,  because  they  now  wished  to  do  so, 
the  angels,  by  the  power  given  to  them 
from  the  Lord,  closed  up  the  externals 
of  their  mind,  anJ  opened  its  internals 
with  them,  and  from  these  they  were 
forced  to  speak ;  and  then  they  said, 


344 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


"  Our  faith,  which  we  formed  by  con- 
clusions, one  following  from  another, 
was,  and  still  is,  this  :  1.  That  there  is 
no  Word  of  Jehovah  God,  but  some 
windy  thing  breathed  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  prophets  :  this  we  have  thought, 
because  the  Word  predestinates  all  to 
heaven,  and  that  only  man  is  in  fault, 
if  he  does  not  walk  the  ways  which  lead 
thither.  2.  That  there  is  religion,  be- 
cause there  ought  to  be ;  but  that  it  is 
like  a  tempest  bearing  a  fragrant  odor 
for  the  vulgar ;  that  it  is,  therefore,  to 
be  taught  by  ministers,  both  small  and 
great,  and  that  too  from  the  Word,  be- 
cause this  is  received :  this  we  have 
thought,  because,  where  predestination 
is,  there  religion  is  nothing.  3.  That 
the  civil  laws  of  justice  are  religion ; 
but  that  predestination  is  not  according 
to  a  life  from  them,  but  from  the  mere 
good  pleasure  of  God,  as  with  a  king  of 
absolute  power  from  the  face  alone 
being  seen.  4.  That  all  things  that 
the  church  teaches,  except  That  theue 
js  A  God,  are  to  be  exploded  as  vani- 
ties, and  rejected  as  chaff.  5.  That 
tiic  spiritual  things,  which  are  vaunt- 
ed, are  no  more  than  ethereal  things 
under  the  sun,  which,  if  they  penetrate 
deeply  into  a  man,  induce  upon  him  a 
dizziness  and  stupor,  and  make  him  a 
detestable  monster  in  the  sight  of  God." 
(i.  Being  questioned  concerning  the 
faith  from  which  they  deduced  predes- 
tination, whether  they  believed  it  to  be 
spiritual,  they  said,  "  It  is  made  accord- 
ing to  that  faith,  but  that  when  it  is 
given,  they  are  like  stocks,  from  which 
indeed  they  are  vivified,  but  not  spirit- 
ually." After  they  had  uttered  these  hor- 
rible things,  they  wished  to  go  back,  but 
I  .said  to  them,  "  Stay  yet  a  little  while, 
and  I  will  read  to  you  from  Isaiah;" 
and  I  read  these  words,  Rrjoite  not, 
whole  Philistia,  that  thr  rod  ^niitins 
thee  /.';  broken  ;  for  out  o  f  thr  root  of  the 
serpent  rame  forth  a  basilisk,  icho/e 
fruit  shall  be  a  venomous  fj/ing  serpent, 
xiv.  29.  And  I  explained  it  by  the  spir- 
itual sense  ;  that  by  Philistia  is  meant 
the  church  separate  from  charity  ;  that 
by  the  basilisk,  which  came  forth  out 
of  the  root  of  the  serpent,  is  meant  its 
doctrine  concerning  three  Gods,  and 


concerning  imputative  faith  applied  to 
each  singly ;  and  that  by  its  fruit, 
which  is  a  venomous  flying  serpent,  is 
meant,  no  imputation  of  good  and  evil, 
but  immediate  mercy,  whether  man  has 
lived  well  or  ill.  When  they  had 
heard  this,  they  said,  "  This  may  be ; 
but  take  from  that  volume  which  you 
call  the  Holy  Word,  something  respect- 
ing predestination."  And  I  opened, 
and  in  the  same  prophet  I  found  this, 
which  was  opposite  ;  They  laid  the  eggs 
of  an  asp,  and  wove  spiders'  tctbs ;  he 
that  cateth  of  their  eggs  dieth,  and 
when  any  one  crusheth,  a  viper  is  hatch- 
ed, lix.  5.  When  they  had  heard  these 
words,  they  could  not  bear  the  explana- 
tion ;  but  some  of  those  who  had  been 
called  to  me  (there  were  five)  hastened 
into  a  cave,  around  which  apf)eared  a 
dusky  fire  ;  a  sign  that  they  had  not  faith 
nor  charity.  Hence  it  is  manifest,  that 
that  syuodical  decree  concerning  pre- 
destination, is  not  only  an  insane  heresy, 
but  also  a  cruel  heresy :  wherefore  it 
should  be  eradicated  from  the  brain,  so 
that  not  even  a  trace  of  it  may  be  left. 

488.  The  horrible  faith,  that  God 
predestinates  men  to  hell,  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  savagencss  of  parejits 
among  some  barbarous  nations,  who  cast 
out  their  sucking  children  and  infants 
into  the  streets  ;  and  with  the  savage- 
ness  of  some  enemies,  who  throw  men 
that  are  slain  into  the  woods  to  be  de- 
voured by  wild  beasts.  It  may  also  be 
compared  with  the  cruelty  of  a  tyrant, 
who  divides  the  people  subject  to  him 
into  companies,  and  delivers  some  of 
them  to  executioners,  throws  some  into 
the  depth  of  the  sea,  and  some  into 
the  fire.  It  may  be  compared  also 
with  the  outrageousness  of  certain  wild 
beasts,  which  devour  their  young :  and 
also  it  mav  be  compared  with  the  mad- 
ness of  dogs,  which  fly  at  their  own 
images  seen  in  a  looking-glass. 

489.  VII.  That  without  Free 
Agency  in  spiritual  Thinus,  God 
WOULD  iiE  the  Cause  of  Evil,  and 
thus  there  won.n  he  no  Imputa- 
tion. 

That  God  is  the  cause  of  evil,  follows 
from  the  present  faith,  which  was 
first  devised  by  those  who  constituted 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


345 


the  council  in  the  city  of  Nice.  There 
was  forged  and  produced  the  heresy, 
as  yet  persisting,  that  there  were 
three  divine  persons  from  eternity,  and 
each  one  a  God  by  himself  Wlien 
this  egg  was  hatclied,  its  favorers  could 
not  do  otherwise  than  address  each 
person  separately  as  God.  They  com- 
piled a  faith  imputative  of  the  merit  or 
righteousness  of  the  Lord  God  the  Sa- 
vior ;  and  that  no  man  might  enter 
into  merit  with  the  Lord,  they  took 
away  from  man  all  free  agency  in  spir- 
itual things,  and  imposed  on  him  ex- 
treme impotence,  as  to  that  faith  ;  and 
because  they  deduced  every  thing  spir- 
itual of  the  church  from  that  faith  alone, 
they  declared  a  like  impotence,  as  to 
every  thing  which  the  church  teaches 
concerning  salvation.  Thence  sprung 
direful  heresies,  one  after  another, 
founded  upon  that  faith  and  the  impo- 
tence of  man  in  spiritual  things,  and 
also  that  most  pernicious  one  concern- 
ing predestination,  which  was  treated 
of  in  the  preceding  article ;  all  which 
involve  that  God  is  the  cause  of  evil, 
or  that  God  created  both  good  and  evil. 
But,  my  friend,  trust  not  any  council, 
but  trust  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  which 
is  above  councils.  What  have  not  the 
Roman  Catholic  councils  devised  ? 
and  what  has  not  the  council  of  Dort, 
whence  predestination,that  horrid  viper, 
was  drawn  forth  ?  It  may  be  thought, 
that  the  free  agency  given  to  man  in 
spiritual  things,  was  the  mediate  cause 
of  evil;  consequently,  that  if  such  free 
agency  had  not  been  given  to  him,  he 
could  not  have  transgressed.  But,  my 
friend,  stop  here  and  consider,  whether 
any  man  could  have  been  so  created  as 
to  be  a  man,  without  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things.  If  that  were  taken 
away  from  him,  he  would  no  longer  be 
a  man,  but  only  a  statue.  What  is 
free  agency,  but  to  be  able  to  will  and 
do,  and  to  think  and  speak,  in  all  ap- 
pearance, as  from  one's  self  ?  Since 
this  was  given  to  man,  that  he  might 
live  a  man,  therefore  two  trees  were 
placed  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  tree 
of  life,  and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil;  by  which  is  signified, 
that  from  the  freedom  given  to  him,  he 
44 


could  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life, 
and  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil. 

490.  That  every  thing  that  God  cre- 
ated was  good,  is  manifest  from  the 
first  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  it  is 
said,  verses  10,  12,  18,  21,  25,  God 
smv  that  it  was  good ;  and  at  length, 
verse  31,  God  saw  all  that  He  had 
made,  and  behold,  it  was  very  good; 
and  also  from  the  primeval  state  of  man 
in  paradise.  But  that  evil  arose  fi-om 
man,  is  manifest  from  the  state  of 
Adam  at  or  after  the  fall,  in  that  he 
was  driven  out  of  paradise.  Hence  it 
is  manifest,  that  unless  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things  had  been  given  to  man, 
God  himself  would  have  been  the  cause 
of  evil,  and  not  man,  and  thus  that 
God  must  have  created  both  good  and 
evil ;  that  He  also  created  evil  is  horri- 
ble to  think.  That  God  did  not  cre- 
ate evil,  because  He  endued  man  with 
free  agency  in  spiritual  things,  and 
that  He  never  inspires  him  with  any 
evil,  is  because  He  is  good  itself,  and 
in  this  God  is  omnipresent,  and  contin- 
ually urges  and  entreats  that  He  may 
be  received ;  and  if  He  is  not  received, 
still  He  does  not  recede;  for  if  He 
should  recede,  man  would  die  in  an  in- 
stant ;  yea,  he  would  fall  into  nonentity ; 
for  the  life  of  man,  and  the  subsistence 
of  all  things  of  which  it  consists,  is  from 
God.  The  reason  that  God  did  not 
create  evil,  but  that  man  introduced  it, 
is,  because  man  turns  the  good,  which 
continually  flows  in  from  God,  into 
evil,  by  turning  himself  away  from  God 
and  turning  himself  to  himself ;  and 
when  this  is  done,  there  remains  the 
delight  of  good,  and  this  then  becomes 
the  delight  of  evil ;  for  without  a  delight 
remaining,  as  similar,  man  would  not 
live ;  for  delight  makes  the  life  of  his 
love.  But  still  those  delights  are  dia- 
metrically opposite  to  each  other  ;  yet 
man  does  not  know  this,  while  he  lives 
in  the  world ;  but  after  death  he  will 
know  it,  and  also  manifestly  perceive 
it;  for  then  the  delight  of  good  is  turn- 
ed into  celestial  blessedness,  but  the 
delight  of  the  love  of  evil,  into  infernal 
horrors.  From  the  things  above  ad- 
duced, it  is  evident,  that  every  man  is 


346 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


predestinated  to  heaven,  and  no  one  to 
hell ;  but  that  man  consigns  himself  to 
hell,  by  the  abuse  of  his  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things,  by  which  he  embraces 
such  things  as  arise  from  hell ;  for,  as 
was  said  above,  every  man  is  held  in 
the  middle  region  between  heaven  and 
hell,  that  hs  may  be  in  equilibrium  be- 
tween good  and  evil,  and  thence  in  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things. 

491.  That  God  has  given  freedom 
not  only  to  man,  but  also  to  every 
beast,  yea,  also  what  is  analogous  to  it 
to  inanimate  things,  to  each  a  capaci- 
ty for  receiving  it  according  to  its  na- 
ture, as  also  that  He  provides  good  for 
them  all,  but  that  the  objects  turn  it 
into  evil,  may  be  illustrated  by  compar- 
isons. The  atmosphere  gives  to  every 
man  the  power  of  breathing ;  in  like 
manner  to  every  tame  and  wild  beast ; 
and  also  to  every  bird,  to  the  owl  as  well 
as  to  the  dove,  and  likewise  the  power 
of  flying ;  and  yet  the  atmosphere  is 
not  the  cause  of  that  power's  being  re- 
ceived by  those  of  contrary  genius  and 
disposition.  The  ocean  gives  a  habi- 
tation in  itself,  and  also  affords  suste- 
nance, to  every  fish ;  but  it  does  not 
cause  one  there  to  devour  another,  nor 
the  crocodile  to  turn  its  food  into  poison 
with  which  it  kills  man.  The  sun  dis- 
penses to  all  light  and  heat,  but  the 
objects,  which  are  the  various  vegeta- 
bles of  the  earth,  receive  them  in  dif- 
ferent ways ;  a  good  tree  and  a  good 
shrub  in  one  way,  and  a  thorn  and  a 
bramble  in  another,  or  a  harmless  herb 
differently  from  a  poisonous  one.  The 
rain  falls  from  the  higher  region  of  the 
atmosphere  every  where  into  the  earth, 
and  the  earth  furnishes  water  thence  to 
every  shrub,  herb,  and  blade  of  grass, 
and  each  of  them  applies  it  to  itself 
according  to  its  need.  This  is  what  is 
called  analogous  to  free  agency,  be- 
cause they  imbibe  it  freely  through  the 
little  mouths,  pores,  and  holes,  which 
stand  open  in  the  time  of  heat,  and  the 
earth  only  supplies  both  moisture  and 
elements ;  and  the  shrubs,  according  to 
something  similar  to  thirst  and  hunger, 
attract  them.  It  is  similar  with  men, 
in  that  the  Lord  with  every  man  flows 
in  with  spiritual  heat,  which  in  its 


essence  is  the  good  of  love,  and  with 
spiritual  light,  which  in  its  essence  is 
the  truth  of  wisdom  ;  but  man  receives 
them  according  to  his  turning  either 
to  God,  or  to  himself.  Wherefore  the 
Lord  says,  when  He  teaches  concern- 
ing love  towards  the  neighbor,  That  yc 
may  he  children  of  the  Father,  who 
maketh  the  sun  rise  upon  the  evil  and  the 
good,  and  sendcth  rain  upon  the  just 
and  the  unjust,  Matt.  v.  45.  And  in 
another  place,  That  He  willeth  the  sal- 
vation  of  all. 

492.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  this 
relation.  I  have  several  times  heard 
expressions  sent  down  from  heaven 
concerning  the  good  of  charity,  which 
passed  through  the  world  of  spirits,  and 
penetrated  into  hell,  even  to  the  bottom 
of  it ;  and  that  those  expressions,  in 
their  progress,  were  turned  into  such 
things  as  were  entirely  opposite  to  the 
good  of  charity,  and  at  length  into 
those  which  were  of  hatred  towards 
the  neighbor ;  a  proof  that  all  that 
proceeds  from  the  Lord  is  good,  and 
that  by  the  spirits  in  hell,  it  is  turn- 
ed into  evil.  The  like  was  done  with 
some  truths  of  faith,  which,  in  pro- 
ceeding, were  turned  into  falses  oppo- 
site to  the  truths;  for  the  recipient 
form  itself  turns  the  things  which  fall 
into  it  into  whatever  is  agreeable  to 
itself 

493.  VIII.  That  kvery  spiritual 
Thing  of  the  Chuiich,  which  enters 
IN  Freedom,  and  is  received  in  a 
State  ok  Freedom,  remains;  but 
not  the  reverse. 

That  that  remains  with  man,  which 
is  received  by  him  in  a  state  of  free- 
dom, is  because  freedom  is  of  his  will  ; 
and  because  it  is  of  the  will,  it  is  also 
of  his  love  :  that  the  will  is  the  recepta- 
cle of  love,  has  been  shown  elsewhere. 
That  all  that  which  is  of  the  love,  is 
free,  and  that  this  al.so  is  of  the  will, 
every  one  understands,  when  it  is  said, 
/  roill  this  becausr  I  love  it ;  and  the 
reverse.  Because  I  love  this,  I  also  will 
it.  But  the  will  of  man  is  two-fold, 
interior  and  exterior,  or  of  the  internal 
and  the  external  man ;  wherefore  a 
man  who  is  a  sycophant,  can  act  and 
speak  before  the  world  in  one  manner, 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


347 


and  with  his  familiar  associates  in  an- 
otiior.  Before  tlie  world,  he  acts  and 
speaks  from  the  will  of  his  external 
man,  and  with  his  familiar  associates, 
from  the  will  of  the  internal ;  but  here 
is  meant  the  will  of  the  internal  man, 
where  his  reigning  love  is.  From  those 
few  things  it  is  evident,  that  the  in- 
terior will  is  the  man  himself,  for 
there  is  the  esse  and  the  essence  of 
his  life  ;  the  understanding  is  its  form, 
by  which  the  will  renders  its  love  visible. 
All  that  a  man  loves,  and  from  love 
wills,  is  free ;  for  whatever  proceeds 
from  the  love  of  the  internal  will,  is 
the  delight  of  his  life ;  and  because 
the  same  is  the  esse  of  his  life,  it  is 
also  his  proprium,  which  is  the  cause, 
that  that  which  is  received  in  a  free 
state  of  this  will  remains,  for  it  adds 
itself  to  the  proprium.  The  contrary 
is  the  case  if  any  thing  is  introduced 
not  in  a  state  of  freedom ;  this  is  not 
thus  received :  but  of  this  in  what  fol- 
lows. 

494.  It  is  well  to  be  known  that  the 
spiritual  things  of  the  Word  and  of  the 
church,  which  a  man  imbibes  from  love, 
and  the  understanding  confirms,  re- 
main with  the  man,  but  not  so  civil 
and  political  things;  because  spiritual 
things  ascend  to  the  highest  region  of 
the  mind,  and  there  form  themselves. 
The  reason  is,  because  there  is  the 
entrance  of  the  Lord  with  divine  truths 
and  goods  into  man,  and  as  it  were 
the  temple  in  which  He  is.  But  civil 
and  political  things,  because  they  are 
of  the  world,  occupy  the  lower  parts  of 
the  mind,  and  some  there  are  like  little 
buildings  out  of  the  temple,  and  some 
like  porches  through  which  they  enter. 
That  the  spiritual  things  of  the  church 
dwell  in  the  highest  region  of  the  mind, 
is  also  because  they  properly  belong  to 
the  soul,  and  have  respect  to  its  eter- 
nal life ;  and  the  soul  is  in  the  high- 
est, and  its  nourishment  is  from  no 
other  food  than  spiritual ;  wherefore 
the  Lord  calls  Himself  Bread,  for  He 
says,  /  am  the  living  Bread,  which  came 
down  from  heaven ;  if  any  one  eat  of 
this  Bread,  he  shall  live  for  ever,  John 
vi.  5L  In  that  region  also  resides 
man's  love,  which  makes  his  blessed- 


ness after  death ;  and  there  also  princi- 
pally resides  his  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things :  from  this  all  the  freedom 
which  man  has  in  natural  things  de- 
scends ;  and  because  its  origin  is  there, 
it  communicates  it  to  all  free  deter- 
minations in  natural  things,  and  by 
them  the  love  reigning  in  the  highest 
takes  to  itself  every  thing  that  conduces 
to  itself  The  communication  is  like 
that  of  the  vein  of  a  fountain  with  its 
waters  thence;  and  like  the  prolific 
principle  of  the  seed  with  the  whole 
and  every  part  of  the  tree,  especially 
with  the  fruit,  in  which  it  renews  itself. 
But  if  any  one  denies  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things,  and  thence  rejects  it, 
he  makes  for  himself  another  fountain, 
and  opens  a  way  to  it,  and  changes 
spiritual  freedom  into  merely  natural 
freedom,  and  at  length  into  infernal. 
This  freedom  also  is  like  the  prolific 
principle  of  seed,  which  also  passes 
freely  through  the  trunk  and  branches 
into  the  fruit,  which  from  its  source  is 
inwardly  rotten. 

495.  All  freedom,  which  is  from  the 
Lord,  is  real  freedom,  but  that  which 
is  from  hell  and  thence  with  man,  is 
servitude ;  but  still  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise than  that  spiritual  freedom  should 
appear  to  him  who  is  in  infernal  free- 
dom, as  servitude,  because  they  are 
opposites.  But  yet  all  who  are  in 
spiritual  freedom,  not  only  know,  but 
also  perceive,  that  infernal  freedom  is 
servitude ;  wherefore  the  angels  loathe 
it  as  the  stench  of  dead  bodies,  but  the 
infernals  regale  themselves  with  it  as 
with  a  fragrant  odor.  It  is  known  from 
the  Word,  that  worship  from  freedom 
is  truly  worship,  and  that  what  is  spon- 
taneous pleases  the  Lord ;  wherefore 
it  is  said  in  David,  /z^)?'//  sacrifice  a  vol- 
untary thing  to  God,  Psalm  liv.  6 ;  and 
in  another  place,  The  spontaneous  ones 
of  the  people  are  gathered  together,  the 
people  of  the  God  of  Abraham,  xlvii.  9. 
Thence  with  the  sons  of  Israel  there 
M'ere  spontaneous  sacrifices ;  their  sa- 
cred worship  consisted  principally  in 
sacrifices.  On  account  of  God's  com- 
placency in  spontaneous  things,  it 
was  commanded.  That  every  man, 
whom  his  heart  impelled,  and  every  one 


348 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


whose  spontaneous  spirit  moved  him, 
should  bring  an  offering  to  Jehovah  for 
the  work  of  the  tent,  Ex.  xxxv.  5,  21, 
29.  And  the  Lord  says,  If  ye  abide 
in  my  Word,  ye  are  truly  my  disciples, 
and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  maketh  you  free.  If  the  Son, 
therefore,  maketh  you  free,  ye  will  be 
truly  free.  But  every  one  that  doeth 
sin,  is  a  servant  of  sin,  John  viii.  31 
to  35. 

496.  That  that  which  is  received  in 
a  state  of  freedom  remains,  is  because 
the  will  of  man  adopts  and  appropriates 
it  to  itself,  and  because  it  enters  into  its 
love,  and  the  love  acknowledges  it  as  its 
own  and  forms  itself  by  it.  But  this 
shall  be  illustrated  by  comparisons ;  but 
because  these  are  taken  from  natural 
things,  heat  will  be  instead  of  love.  It 
is  known,  that  by  heat,  and  according 
to  the  degree  of  it,  the  pores  are  open- 
ed in  every  vegetable,  and  that,  as  they 
are  opened,  the  vegetable  returns  in- 
wardly into  the  form  of  its  own  nature, 
and  spontaneously  receives  its  nutri- 
ment, and  retains  what  is  agreeable, 
and  grows.  The  case  is  similar  with 
a  beast ;  every  thing  that  this  chooses 
and  eats,  from  the  love  of  nutrition 
which  is  called  appetite,  this  adds  itself 
to  its  body,  and  thus  remains  :  that  that 
which  is  agreeable  continually  adds 
itself  to  the  body,  is  because  all  the 
things  that  compose  the  body  are  per- 
petually renewed.  That  it  is  so  is 
known,  but  to  few.  Heat,  likewise,  with 
beasts,  opens  also  all  things  of  their 
body,  and  makes  their  natural  love  act 
freely ;  thence  it  is  that  in  tlie  time  of 
spring  and  summer,  they  come  and  re- 
turn to  the  in-stinct  of  prolification,  and 
also  of  the  education  of  their  offspring ; 
which  is  done  in  the  greatest  freedom, 
because  it  is  of  the  reigning  love  im- 
planted in  them  by  creation,  for  the 
sake  of  preserving  the  universe  in  the 
state  created.  That  the  freedom  of 
love  may  be  illustrated  by  the  freedom 
which  heat  induces,  is  because  love 
produces  heat ;  which  is  evident  from 
its  effects,  as  that  man  is  enkindled, 
made  warm  and  inflamed,  as  love  is 
exalted  into  zeal,  or  into  the  heat  of 
anger.    The  heat  of  the  blood,  or  the 


vital  heat  of  men,  and  of  animals  in 
general,  is  from  no  other  source.  It  is 
from  this  correspondence,  that  the 
things  of  the  body  are  by  heat  adapted 
to  receive  freely  those  things  to  which 
the  love  aspires.  All  the  things  that 
are  inwardly  in  man,  are  in  such  equi- 
librium and  thence  freedom ;  in  such 
freedom  the  heart  impels  its  blood 
equally  upwards  and  downwards,  the 
mesentery  its  chyle,  the  liver  separates, 
the  kidneys  secrete,  and  the  glands 
purify  the  blood,  &c.  If  the  equilibri- 
um should  suffer,  the  member  would 
be  diseased,  and  would  be  affected  with 
a  palsy  or  an  ataxy.  Equilibrium  and 
freedom  here  are  one.  In  the  created 
universe  there  is  no  substance  which 
does  not  tend  to  an  equilibrium,  that 
it  may  be  in  freedom. 

497.  IX.  That  the  Will  and 
THE  Understanding  of  Man  are  in 
THIS  Free  Agency  ;  but  that  the 
DOING  of  Evil  in  each  World,  the 
Spiritual  and  the  Natural,  is  re- 
strained BY  Laws,  since,  other- 
wise. Society  would  perish  in 
both. 

That  every  man  is  in  free  agency  in 
spiritual  tilings,  he  may  know  from  the 
observation  only  of  his  own  thought. 
Who  cannot,  from  freedom,  think  con- 
cerning God,  concerning  the  Trinity, 
concerning  charity  and  the  neighbor, 
concerning  faith  and  its  operation,  con- 
cerning the  Word  and  all  the  things 
which  are  thence ;  and  after  he  has 
learned  the  things  of  theology,  concern- 
ing each  of  them  ?  And  who  cannot 
think  with  those  things,  or  against 
them  ?  yea,  conclude,  teach  and  write  ? 
If  this  freedom  should  for  one  moment 
be  taken  away  from  man,  would  not 
his  thought  stop,  his  tongue  be  dumb, 
and  his  hand  be  motionless?  Where- 
fore, my  friend,  you  can,  if  you  please, 
by  the  observation  only  of  your  own 
thought,  renounce  and  reject  that  ab- 
surd and  pernicious  heresy,  which,  at 
this  day,  has  induced  in  Christendom 
a  lethargy  upon  the  heavenly  doctrine 
concerning  cli-.irity  and  faith,  and 
thence  concerning  salvation  and  eter- 
nal life.  These  are  the  reasons  why 
that  free  agency  resides  in  the  will  and 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


349 


understanding  of  man:  1.  Because 
these  two  faculties  are  first  to  be  in- 
structed and  reformed,  and  by  them 
the  two  faculties  of  the  external  man, 
which  make  him  speak  and  act.  2. 
That  those  two  faculties  of  the  internal 
man  constitute  his  spirit,  which  lives 
after  death,  and  not  under  any  other 
law  than  the  divine,  the  primary  thing 
of  which  is,  that  man  should  think  of 
the  law,  do  it,  and  obey  it  from  himself, 
although  from  the  Lord.  3.  Because 
man,  as  to  his  spirit,  is  in  the  midst 
between  heaven  and  hell,  thus  be- 
tween good  and  evil,  and  thence  in 
equilibrium,  he  has  thence  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things ;  concerning  which 
equilibrium,  see  above,  n.  445,  and  the 
following ;  but  whilst  he  lives  in  the 
world,  he  is,  as  to  his  spirit,  in  equi- 
librium between  heaven  and  the  world ; 
and  man  then  is  almost  ignorant,  that 
as  far  as  he  recedes  from  heaven  and 
accedes  to  the  world,  so  far  he  accedes 
to  hell ;  of  this,  man  is  ignorant,  and 
yet  is  not  ignorant,  in  order  that,  as  to 
this  also,  he  may  be  in  freedom,  and  be 
reformed.  4.  Because  those  two,  the 
will  and  the  understanding,  are  the  two 
receptacles  of  the  Lord — the  will  the 
receptacle  of  love  and  charity,  the  un- 
derstanding fhe  receptacle  of  wisdom 
and  faith  ;  and  the  Lord  operates  each 
of  these,  while  man  is  in  perfect  free- 
dom, that  there  may  be  mutual  and  re- 
ciprocal conjunction,  by  which  is  sal- 
vation. 5.  Because  all  the  judgment 
which  is  done  to  man  after  death,  is 
according  to  the  use  which  he  makes 
of  his  free  agency  in  spiritual  things. 

498.  Hence  results  this,  that  free 
agency  itself,  in  spiritual  things,  resides 
in  the  soul  of  man,  in  all  perfection  ;  and 
thence,  as  a  vein  into  a  fountain,  it  flows 
into  his  mind,  into  the  two  parts  of  it, 
which  are  the  will  and  the  understand- 
ing, and  through  these  into  the  senses  of 
the  body,  and  into  the  speech  and  ac- 
tions. For  there  are  three  degrees  of 
life  with  man,  the  soul,  the  mind,  and 
the  sensual  body  ;  all  that  which  is  in 
a  higher  degree  in  perfection,  is  above 
that  which  is  in  a  lower  degree.  This 
freedom  of  man  is  that  by  which,  in 
which,  and  with  which  the  Lord  is 


present  in  man  ;  and  He  continually 
urges  the  reception  of  Himself,  but 
never  removes  and  takes  away  free- 
dom ;  since,  as  was  said  above,  all  that 
which  is  done  by  man  in  spiritual 
things,  not  in  freedom,  does  not  re- 
main; wherefore  it  may  be  said,  that 
this  freedom  of  man  is  that  in  which 
the  Lord  dwells  with  him  in  his  soul. 
But  that  the  doing  of  evil  in  both 
worlds,  the  spiritual  and  the  natural, 
is  restrained  by  laws,  since  otherwise 
society  would  nowhere  subsist,  is  man- 
ifest without  explanation.  But  still  it 
shall  be  illustrated,  that,  without  those 
external  bonds,  not  only  society  would 
not  subsist,  but  also  the  whole  human 
race  would  perish.  For  man  is  capti- 
vated by  two  loves,  which  are  the  love 
of  ruling  over  all,  and  the  love  of  pos- 
sessing the  wealth  of  all :  these  loves, 
if  the  reins  be  given  to  them,  rush  on 
to  infinity.  The  hereditary  evils  into 
which  man  is  born ,  arose  principally  from 
those  tw^o  loves  ;  nor  was  that  of  Adam 
any  other  than  that  he  wished  to  be- 
come as  God,  which  evil  the  serpent 
infused  into  him,  as  it  is  read  ;  where- 
fore in  his  curse  it  is  said,  that  the 
earth  should  bring  forth  to  him  the 
thorn  and  the  thistle,  Gen.  iii.  5,  18 ; 
by  which  is  meant  all  evil  and  the 
false  thence.  All  who  are  enslaved  by 
those  loves,  look  upon  themselves  alone 
as  the  only  one  in  whom  and  for  whom 
all  others  are :  such  have  no  pity,  no 
fear  of  God,  no  love  of  the  neighbor ; 
and  thence  they  are  full  of  unmerci- 
fulness,  savageness,  and  cruelty,  and 
of  infernal  covetousness  and  desire  of 
robbing  and  plundering,  and  of  craft 
and  cunning  in  effecting  those  things. 
Such  things  are  not  innate  in  the  beasts 
of  the  earth;  these  kill  and  devour 
others  from  no  other  love  than  that  of 
satisfying  their  appetite,  and  of  defend- 
ing themselves  ;  wherefore  an  evil  man, 
viewed  as  to  those  loves,  is  more  savage, 
more  ferocious,  and  worse  than  any 
beast.  That  man  inwardly  is  such, 
manifests  itself  in  seditious  tumults,  in 
which  the  bonds  of  the  law  are  loosed; 
and  also  in  massacres  and  robberies, 
when  the  liberty  of  exercising  fury 
upon  the  vanquished  and  besieged  is 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


sounded,  from  which  scarcely  one  ab- 
stains, before  the  drum  is  heard,  that 
they  must  desist  Hence  it  is  mani- 
fest, that,  if  no  fear  of  punishments 
from  the  laws  restrained  men,  not  only 
society,  but  the  whole  human  race, 
would  be  destroyed.  But  all  these 
things  are  removed  only  by  the  true 
use  of  free  agency  in  spiritual  things, 
which  is  to  apply  the  mind  to  think 
earnestly  concerning  the  state  of  life 
after  death. 

499.  But  this  shall  be  further  illus- 
trated by  comparisons;  by  these,  that 
unless  there  were  some  free  agency  in 
all  created  things,  both  animate  and 
inanimate,  there  could  not  have  been 
any  creation.  For  without  free  agency 
in  natural  things,  as  to  beasts,  there 
would  not  be  any  power  of  choosing 
food  conducive  to  their  nourishment, 
nor  any  power  of  procreating  and  pre- 
serving their  oiTspring,  thus  no  beast. 
If  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  shell-fish 
of  its  bottom,  had  not  such  freedom, 
there  would  be  no  fish  or  shell-fish.  In 
like  manner,  unless  it  were  in  every 
little  insect,  there  would  be  no  silk- 
worm, from  which  silk  could  be  pro- 
duced, no  bee,  from  which  honey  and 
wax  could  be  derived,  nor  any  butter- 
fly, which  sports  with  its  partner  in  the 
air,  and  nourishes  itself  with  the  juices 
in  flowers,  and  represents  the  happy 
state  of  man  in  the  heavenly  aura,  after 
he  has,  like  the  worm,  laid  aside  his 
earthly  covering.  Unless  there  were 
something  analogous  to  free  agency  in 
the  soil  of  the  earth,  in  the  seed  cast 
into  it,  and  in  all  the  parts  of  the  tree 
thence  produced,  and  in  its  fruits,  and 
again  in  the  new  seeds,  there  would 
not  be  any  vegetable.  If  there  were 
not  something  analogous  to  free  agency 
in  every  metal,  and  in  every  stone, 
precious  and  common,  there  would  not 
be  a  metal  nor  a  stone,  yea,  not  even  a 
particle  of  sand  ;  for  this  freely  imbibes 
the  ether,  exhales  its  native  properties, 
rejects  what  is  obsolete,  and  renews 
itself  with  fresh  substances ;  thence 
there  is  a  magnetical  sphere  around  the 
magnet,  a  sphere  of  iron  around  iron, 
of  copper  around  copper,  of  silver 
around  silver,  of  gold  around  gold,  of 


stone  around  stone,  of  nitre  around 
nitre,  of  sulphur  around  sulphur,  and  a 
various  sphere  around  every  particle  of 
the  dust  of  earth,  from  which  sphere 
the  inmost  of  every  seed  is  impregnat- 
ed, and  the  prolific  principle  vegetates ; 
for  without  such  an  exhalation  from 
every  particle  of  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
there  would  not  be  any  beginning  of 
germination,  and  thence  continuance 
of  it.  In  what  other  way  could  the 
earth,  with  dust  and  water,  penetrate 
into  the  inmost  centre  of  the  seed  sown, 
than  by  what  is  exhaled  from  it  ?  as 
into  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  is 
less  than  all  the  seeds;  but  wheti  it  hath 
grown  up,  it  is  greater  than  the  herbs, 
andbecometh  a  great  tree,  Matt.  xiv.  32 ; 
Mark  iv.  30,  31, 32.  Since,  therefore, 
freedom  has  been  given  to  all  created 
subjects,  to  each  according  to  its  na- 
ture, why  not  free  agency  to  man, 
according  to  his  nature,  which  is,  that 
he  may  be  spiritual  1  Thence  it  is, 
that  free  agency  in  spiritual  things  is 
given  to  man  from  the  womb  even  to 
the  end  of  his  life  in  the  world,  and 
afterwards  to  eternity. 

500.  X.  That  if  Men  h.ad  not 
Free  Agency  in  spiritual  Things, 
all  in  the  whole  world  might  be 

BROUGHT  WITHIN  ONE  DaV  TO  BELIEVE 

IN  THE  Lord  :  but  the  Reason  that 

THIS  cannot  be  done,  IS  BECAUSE 
THAT  WHICH  IS  NOT  RECEIVED  BY  MaN 

IN  Free  Agency  does  not  remain. 

That  God,  without  having  given  to 
men  free  agency  in  spiritual  things, 
could  bring  all  in  the  whole  world, 
within  one  day,  to  believe  in  Himself, 
follows  as  true  from  not  understanding 
the  divine  omnipotence.  Those  who 
do  not  understand  the  divine  omnipo- 
tence, may  im.igine,  either  that  there 
is  no  order,  or  that  God  can  do  con- 
trary to  order  as  well  as  according  to 
it ;  when  yet,  without  order,  there 
could  have  been  no  creation.  The  pri- 
mary thing  of  order  is,  that  man  should 
be  an  image  of  God ;  consequently, 
that  he  should  be  perfected  in  love  and 
wisdom,  and  thus  more  and  more  be- 
come that  image.  To  effect  this,  God  is 
continually  operating  with  man ;  but 
without  free  agency  in  spiritual  things, 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


351 


by  whicli  man  can  turn  himself  to  God, 
and  reciprocally  conjoin  liimself  to  Him, 
it  would  1)0  in  vain,  because  impossible ; 
for  order  is  that  from  which  and  ac- 
cording to  which  the  wliole  world,  with 
all  and  every  part  of  it,  was  created  ;  and 
because  from  it  and  according  to  it  all 
creation  was  made,  tlierefore  God  is 
called  order  itself  Wherefore,  it  is  the 
same  whether  you  say,  to  do  contrary  to 
divine  order,  or  say,  to  do  contrary  to 
God;  yea,  God  himself  cannot  do  con- 
trary to  his  own  divine  order,  since  this 
would  be  to  do  contrary  to  Himself 
Wherefore  he  leads  every  man  accord- 
ing to  Himself,  or  according  to  order, 
and  the  wandering  and  backsliding  into 
it,  and  the  disobedient  to  it.  If  man  could 
have  been  created  without  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things,  what  then  would  be 
easier  for  Almighty  God,  than  to  bring 
all  in  the  whole  world  to  believe  in  the 
Lord?  Could  He  not  have  brought 
this  faith  into  every  one,  both  immedi- 
ately and  mediately ;  immediately  by 
his  absolute  power,  and  its  irresistible 
operation,  which  is  continual,  that  man 
may  be  saved ;  or  mediately,  by  tor- 
ments injected  into  his  conscience,  by 
mortal  convulsions  of  the  body,  and 
grievous  threats  of  death,  if  he  did  not 
receive  it ;  and  besides,  by  opening 
hell,  and  thence  by  the  presence  of 
devils  holding  in  their  hands  terrible 
torches ;  or  by  calling  out  thence  the 
dead  whom  they  had  known,  under 
the  image  of  frightful  spectres  ?  But  to 
these  things  it  is  answered  from  the 
words  of  Abraham  to  the  rich  man  in 
hell ;  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  neither  loill  they  be  persuad- 
ed if  one  should  rise  from  the  dead, 
Luke  xvi.  31. 

501.  It  is  asked  at  this  day,  why 
miracles  are  not  done,  as  formerly  ;  for 
it  is  believed  that  if  they  were  done, 
every  one  would,  in  heart,  acknowledge. 
But  the  reason  that  miracles  are  not 
done  at  this  day,  as  before,  is  because 
miracles  force,  and  take  away  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  and  from 
spiritual  make  man  natural.  Every 
one  in  the  Christian  world,  since  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  may  become  spir- 
itual, and  he  is  made  spiritual  solely  by 
Him  through  the  Word  ;  but  the  facul- 


ty for  this  would  be  lost,  if  man  were 
brought  by  miracles  to  believe,  since 
these,  as  was  said  .above,  force  and 
take  away  from  him  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things ;  and  every  thing  forced 
in  such  things,  brings  itself  into  the 
natural  man,  and  shuts  up,  as  with  a 
door,  the  spiritual,  which  is  truly  the 
internal  man,  and  deprives  this  of  all 
power  of  seeing  any  truth  in  the  light ; 
wherefore  afterwards  he  reasons  con- 
cerning spiritual  things  from  the  natu- 
ral man  alone,  which  sees  every  thing 
truly  spiritual  upside  down.  But  the 
reason  that  miracles  were  done,  before 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,  was,  because 
then  the  men  of  the  church  were  natu- 
ral, to  whom  spiritual  things,  which  are 
the  internals  of  the  church,  could  not 
be  opened  ;  for  if  they  had  been  open- 
ed, they  would  have  profaned  them. 
Wherefore  also  all  their  worship  con- 
sisted in  rituals,  which  represented  and 
signified  the  intern.al  things  of  the 
church  ;  and  they  could  not  be  brought 
to  perform  those  rightly,  except  by  mir- 
acles ;  and  that  they  could  not  even  by 
miracles,  because  in  those  representa- 
tives there  was  a  spiritual  internal,  is 
manifest  from  the  sons  of  Israel  in  the 
wilderness,  who,  although  they  had 
seen  so  many  miracles  in  Egypt,  and 
afterw"ards  that  greatest  one  upon  mount 
Sinai,  still,  after  a  month  of  days,  when 
Moses  was  absent,  they  danced  around 
a  golden  calf,  and  cried  that  that  had 
brought  them  forth  out  of  Egypt. 
Very  similar  things  were  done  by 
them  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  although 
they  saw  the  excellent  miracles  done 
by  Elijah  and  Elisha,  and  at  last 
those  truly  divine  by  the  Lord.  Mira- 
cles are  not  done  at  this  day,  especially 
for  this  reaso»i,  because  the  church  has 
taken  away  all  free  agency  from  man; 
and  it  has  taken  it  away  by  this,  that  it  has 
decreed  that  man  can  contribute  noth- 
ing at  all  towards  receiving  faith,  nor 
any  thing  to  conversion,  and  in  general 
to  salvation  (see  above,  n.  464).  The 
man  who  believes  these  things,  be- 
comes more  and  more  natural,  and 
the  natural  man,  as  was  said  above, 
beholds  every  thing  spiritual  upside 
down,  and  thence  thinks  against  it. 
The  higher  region  of  man's  mind. 


352 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


where  free  agency  in  spiritual  things 
primarily  resides,  would  be  closed  up, 
and  spiritual  things,  which  have  been, 
as  it  were,  confirmed  by  miracles, 
would  occupy  the  lower  region  of  the 
mind,  which  is  merely  natural ;  thus 
above  this  there  would  remain  falses 
concerning  faith,  conversion  and  salva- 
tion. Thence  it  would  be,  that  satans 
would  dwell  above  and  angels  below, 
like  vultures  over  hens.  Then  after 
some  time  the  satans  would  break  the 
barrier  and  rush  with  fury  into  the 
spiritual  things  which  are  placed  be- 
low, and  would  not  only  deny,  but  also 
blasplieme  and  profane  them ;  thence 
the  latter  state  of  the  man  would  be- 
come much  worse  than  the  first. 

502.  The  man,  who,  by  falses  con- 
cerning the  spiritual  things  of  the 
church,  has  become  natural,  cannot 
tliink  otherwise  concerning  the  divine 
omnipotence,  than  that  it  is  above  or- 
der, thus  concerning  divine  omnipo- 
tence without  order ;  wherefore  he 
would  fall  into  these  wild  queries: 
Why  the  coming  of  the  Lord  into  the 
world,  and  why  thus  redemption,  when 
God  from  his  omnipotence  could  have 
eftected  the  same  from  heaven  as  upon 
the  earth  ?  Why  should  He  not  by  re- 
demption have  saved  the  whole  human 
race  without  exception  ?  And  wliy 
should  the  devil  afterwards  be  able  to  pre- 
vail over  the  Redeemer  in  man  ?  Why  is 
there  a  hell  1  Could  not  and  cannot  God 
from  his  omnipotence  destroy  it,  or  bring 
all  out  thence  and  make  them  angels  of 
heaven  ?  Why  the  last  judgment?  Can 
He  not  transfer  all  the  goats  from  the 
left  hand  to  the  right,  and  make  them 
sheep  ?  Why  did  He  cast  down  tlie 
angels  of  the  dragon,  and  the  dragon 
himself,  from  heaven,  and  not  change 
them  into  angels  of  Michael  ?  Why 
does  He  not  give  faith  to  these  and 
those,  and  impute  the  Son's  righteous- 
ness, and  thus  remit  their  sins,  and 
justify  and  sanctify  them  7  Why  does 
He  not  make  the  beasts  of  the  earth, 
the  birds  of  the  air,  and  the  fishes  of 
the  sea,  speak,  and  give  them  intelli- 
gence, and  introduce  them  together  with 
men  into  iieaven  ?  Why  did  he  not,  or 
why  does  He  not,  make  the  whole  world 


a  paradise,  in  which  there  should  be  no 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, 
nor  any  serpent ;  but  where  all  the 
hills  should  flow  with  generous  wines, 
and  produce  gold  and  silver,  each  in  its 
native  state  ;  and  that  all  might  live 
there  in  jubilees  and  songs,  and  thus 
in  perpetual  festivities  and  joys,  as  im- 
ages of  God  ?  Would  not  these  things  be 
worthy  of  an  omnipotent  God  ?  Besides 
other  similar  things.  But,  my  friend, 
all  those  things  are  vain  and  frivolous. 
The  divine  omnipotence  is  not  without 
order.  God  himself  is  order ;  and  be- 
cause all  things  were  created  from  God, 
they  were  created  also  from  order,  in 
order,  and  to  order.  There  is  an  order 
into  which  man  was  made,  which  is, 
that  his  happiness  or  his  misery  should 
depend  on  his  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things;  for,  as  was  said  above,  man 
could  not  have  been  created  without 
free  agency,  nor  even  a  beast,  bird,  or 
fish;  but  beasts  are  in  natural  free 
agency  only,  but  man  in  natural  free 
agency,  and  at  the  same  time  spiritual. 


503.  To  the  above  will  be  added 
these  Relations.  First.  I  heard 
that  there  was  a  meeting  appointed,  in 
which  they  were  to  deliberate  concern- 
ing man's  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things:  this  was  in  the  spiritual  world. 
The  learned  from  every  quarter,  who, 
in  the  world,  in  which  they  before  liv- 
ed, had  thought  concerning  it,  were 
present ;  and  many  of  those  who  had 
been  in  councils  and  conventicles  both 
before  the  Nicene  council  and  after  it. 
They  were  assembled  in  a  round  tem- 
ple similar  to  the  temple  at  Rome, 
whicli  is  called  the  Pantheon,  which 
before  had  been  consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  all  the  gods,  and  afterwards 
dedicated  to  the  worship  of  all  the  holy 
martyrs,  from  the  papal  chair.  In 
this  temple,  at  the  walls  also  there 
were,  as  it  were,  altars,  but  at  each  of 
them  seats,  uj)on  which  those  who 
were  assembled  placed  themselves,  and 
leaned  with  their  elbows  upon  the 
altars  as  upon  so  many  tables.  There 
was  no  one  appointed  president  to  act  the 
primate  among  them  ;  but  each  one, 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


353 


as  his  inclination  prompted  him,  rusli- 
ed  forth  into  the  midst,  and  from  his 
breast  uttered  and  declared  his  opinion ; 
and,  what  I  wondered  at,  all  who  were 
in  that  assembly  were  lull  of  confirma- 
tions for  the  plenary  impotence  of 
man  in  spiritual  things ;  thus  they  rid- 
iculed the  idea  of  free  agency  in  those 
things.  When  they  were  assembled, 
]o,  suddenly  one  rushed  forth  into  the 
midst,  and  with  a  loud  voice  breathed 
out  this  :  "  Man  has  not  any  more  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  than  Lot's 
wife  had,  after  she  was  turned  into  a 
pillar  of  salt;  for,  if  man  had  any  more 
free  agency,  surely  he  might  of  himself 
claim  to  himself  the  faith  of  our  church, 
which  is,  that  God  the  Father,  of  en- 
tire freedom  and  good  pleasure,  gives 
it  gratuitously  to  whom  He  wills  and 
when  He  wills.  God  would  by  no 
means  have  this  good  pleasure  and  sov- 
ereign power,  if  man,  from  any  free- 
dom or  good  pleasure,  could  also  claim 
it  to  himself ;  for  thus  our  faith,  which 
is  a  star  shining  before  us  by  day  and  by 
night,  would  be  dissipated,  like  a  star 
falling  into  the  air."  After  him,  another 
burst  forth  from  his  seat,  and  said, 
"  Man  has  no  more  free  agency  in  spir- 
itual things,  than  a  beast,  yea,  than  a 
dog ;  since,  if  man  had  it,  he  might  do 
good  from  himself,  when  yet  all  good  is 
from  God ;  and  man  can  take  nothing 
to  himself,  which  is  not  given  to  him 
from  heaven."  After  him,  one  leaped 
out  of  his  seat,  and  in  the  midst  lifted 
up  his  voice,  saying,  that  "  Man  has  no 
more  free  agency  in  spiritual  things, 
even  in  seeing  them  clearly,  than  an 
owl  has  in  the  day  time ;  yea,  no  more 
than  a  chicken  yet  concealed  in  the 
egg.  He  is  in  those  things  entirely 
blind,  like  a  mole ;  for  if  he  were 
quick-sighted  in  seeing  the  things, 
which  are  of  faith,  salvation  and  eter- 
nal life,  he  might  believe  that  he  could 
regenerate  and  save  himself,  and  also 
would  attempt  it,  and  thus  would  pro- 
fane his  thoughts  and  deeds  with  merits 
and  merits."  Again,  another  ran  out 
into  the  midst,  and  uttered  this  speech  : 
"  He  who  imagines  that  he  can  will 
and  understand  any  thing  in  spiritual, 
things,  since  the  fall  of  Adam,  is  insane, 
45 


and  becomes  a  maniac ;  since,  in  that 
case,  he  would  believe  himself  a  little 
god  or  deity,  possessing  a  part  of  the 
divine  power  in  his  own  right."  After 
him,  another  hastened  into  the  midst, 
carrying  under  his  arm  a  book,  to  the 
orthodoxy  of  which,  as  he  called  it,  the 
Evangelical  at  this  day  swear,  called 
Formula  Concordia  ;  and  he  opened 
it,  and  read  thence  the  following : 
That  7nan  is  altogether  corrupt  and 
dead  to  what  is  good,  so  that  in  man's 
nature,  since  the  fall,  before  regenera- 
tion, there  is  not  even  a  spark  of  spirit- 
ual strength  left  or  remaining,  hy  lohich 
he  can  he  prepared  for  the  grace  of 
God,  or  can  apprehend  it  when  offered, 
or  of  himself  and  by  himself  he  capable 
of  receiving  it ;  or,  in  spiritual  things, 
understand,  believe,  embrace,  think,  will, 
begin,  fnish,  act,  operate,  cooperate,  or 
apply  or  accommodate  himself  to  grace, 
or  of  himself  contribute  any  thing  to 
conversion,  either  hy  halves,  or  in  the 
least  part.  And  that  man,  in  spiritual 
things,  which  have  respect  to  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soul,  is  like  the  pillar  of  salt, 
Lot's  wife,  and  like  a  stock  or  a  stotie 
without  life,  lohich  have  not  the  use 
of  eyes,  mouth,  or  any  of  the  senses. 
That  still  he  has  a  locomotive  power,  or 
can  govern  the  external  members,  go  to 
public  assemblies,  and  hear  the  Word 
and  the  Gospel.  These  things  are 
read  in  my  edition,  p.  656,  658,  661, 
662,  663,  671,  672,  673.  After  this, 
they  all  concurred  and  together  ex- 
claimed, "This  is  truly  orthodox." 
I  stood  by  and  heard  all  attentively: 
and  because  I  became  warm  in  my 
spirit,  I  asked  with  a  loud  voice,  "  If, 
in  spiritual  things,  you  make  man  a 
pillar  of  salt,  a  beast,  blind  and  insane, 
what,  then,  are  the  things  of  your  theol- 
ogy ?  Are  they  not  all  and  each  of  them 
spiritual?"  To  this,  after  some  silence, 
they  replied,  "  In  all  our  theology, 
there  is  not  any  thing  at  all  spiritual, 
which  reason  comprehends.  Our  faith 
there  only  is  spiritual ;  but  this  we 
have  carefully  shut  up,  and,  that  no 
one  may  look  into  it,  we  have  taken 
care  that  no  spiritual  ray  may  proceed 
thence,  and  appear  before  the  under- 
standing ;  and  besides,  man  does  not 


354 


Concerning  Free  Agency, 


contribute  a  particle  to  it,  from  his 
own  agency.  Charity  also  we  have 
removed  from  every  thing  spiritual ;  and 
we  have  made  it  merely  natural ;  like- 
wise the  decalogue.  Concerning  jus- 
tification, the  remission  of  sins,  re- 
generation and  thence  salvation,  we  do 
not  deliver  any  thing  spiritual ;  we  say 
that  faith  produces  them,  but  how,  we 
do  not  know.  Instead  of  repentance, 
we  have  taken  contrition ;  and  lest  this 
should  be  believed  to  be  spiritual,  we 
have  removed  it  from  faith,  entirely. 
Concerning  redemption,  we  have  not 
adopted  any  other  than  purely  natural 
ideas,  which  are,  that  God  the  Father 
concluded  the  human  race  under  dcm- 
nation,  and  that  his  Son  took  that  dam- 
nation upon  himself,  and  suffered  him- 
self to  be  suspended  upon  the  cross, 
and  that  thus  he  brought  over  his 
Father  to  compassion ;  besides  many 
similar  tilings,  in  which  you  will  not 
find  any  thing  spiritual,  but  all  merely 
natural."  But  then,  in  the  warmth  be- 
fore conceived,  I  continued  by  saying, 
"  If  man  had  no  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things,  what  then  would  man  be 
but  a  brute  ?  Is  not  man  distinguished 
by  thai  above  the  brute  beasts  ?  What 
would  the  church  be  without  that,  but 
the  black  face  of  a  fuller,  in  whose 
eyes  there  is  a  white  spot^  What  would 
the  Word  be  without  that,  but  an  empty 
volume?  What  is  more  frequently  said 
and  commanded  there,  than  that  man 
should  love  God,  and  that  he  should 
love  the  neighbor,  and  also  that  he 
should  believe,  and  that  he  has  salva- 
tion and  life  according  as  he  loves  and 
believes?  Who  is  there  that  has  not 
the  faculty  of  understanding  and  doing 
those  things  which  are  commanded  in 
the  Word  and  in  the  decalogue  ?  Tell 
any  rustic,  whose  mind  is  not  closed  up 
by  the  fallacies  in  theology,  that  he 
cannot,  any  more  than  a  stock  or  a 
stone,  understand  and  will,  in  the 
things  of  faith  and  charity  and  thence 
of  salvation,  and  cannot  even  apply  and 
accommodate  himself  to  them ;  would 
he  not  then  laugh  out,  and  say,  '  Wliat 
is  more  silly  V  What  then  have  I  to  do 
with  the  priest  and  his  preaching  ? 
What  then  is  a  temple  more  than  a 


stable  1  And  what  then  is  worship  more 
than  ploughing  ?  Oh  what  madness  to 
talk  so!  It  is  folly  upon  folly.  Who 
denies  that  all  good  is  from  God?  Is 
it  not  given  to  man  to  do  good  of 
himself  from  God,  and  also  to  be- 
lieve ?' "  W^hen  they  had  heard  this, 
they  all  cried,  "  AVe  have  spoken  from 
the  orthodox,  like  the  orthodox,  but 
you  from  the  rustics,  like  a  rustic." 
But  then  suddenly  a  thunder-bolt  fell 
fi'om  heaven,  and  that  it  might  not  con- 
sume them,  they  burst  forth  in  troops, 
and  fled  thence,  each  to  his  own  home. 

504.  Second  Relation.  I  was  in 
the  interior  spiritual  sight,  in  which  the 
angels  of  the  higher  heaven  are,  but 
then  in  the  world  of  spirits ;  and  I  saw 
two  spirits  not  far  from  me,  yet  at  a  dis- 
tance from  each  other ;  and  I  perceiv- 
ed that  one  of  them  loved  what  is  good 
and  true,  and  thereby  was  conjoined 
to  heaven,  and  that  the  other  loved 
what  is  evil  and  false,  and  thereby  was 
conjoined  to  hell.  I  went  up  and  called 
them  together ;  and  from  their  tones 
and  answers,  I  gathered  that  one  as 
well  as  the  other  could  perceive  truths, 
acknowledge  them  when  perceived, 
thus  think  from  the  understanding,  and 
likewise  determine  the  things  of  the 
understanding  as  he  pleased,  and  the 
things  of  the  will  as  he  liked ;  conse- 
quently that  both  were  in  similar  free 
agency  as  to  rational  things.  And 
besides,  I  ob.servod,  that  from  that  free- 
dom in  their  minds,  tlierc  appeared  some- 
thing lucid,  from  the  first  sight,  which 
was  that  of  perception,  to  the  last  sight, 
which  was  that  of  the  eye.  But  when 
he  who  loved  what  is  evil  and  false 
thought,  when  left  to  himself,  I  observed 
that  a  smoke,  as  it  were,  ascended 
from  hell,  and  extinguished  the  lucidity 
which  was  above  the  memory,  whence 
he  had  thick  darkness  there  like  that 
of  midnight;  and  also  that  that  smoke, 
being  set  on  fire,  burned  like  a  flame, 
which  illuminated  tlie  region  of  the 
mind,  which  was  below  the  memory, 
from  which  he  thought  enormous  falses 
from  the  evils  of  self-love.  But  with 
the  other,  who  loved  what  is  good  and 
true,  when  he  was  left  to  himself,  I  saw, 
as  it  were,  a  gentle  flame  flowing  down 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


355- 


from  heaven,  which  illuminated  the 
region  of  his  mind  above  the  memory, 
and  also  the  region  below  it  even  to 
the  eye;  and  that  the  light  from  that 
flame  shone  more  and  more,  as  he  per- 
ceived and  thought  truth  from  the  love 
of  good.     From  seeing  these  things, 
it  was  manifest  to  me,  that  every  man, 
as  well  the  evil  as  the  good,  had  spirit- 
ual free  agency ;  but  that  hell  some- 
times extinguishes  it  with  the  evil,  and 
that  heaven  exalts  and  enkindles  it  with 
the  good.    After  this,  I  spoke  with 
each  of  them,  and  first  with  him  who 
loved  what  is  evil  and  false  ;  and  after 
some  things  respecting  his  lot,  when 
I  mentioned  free  agency,   he  grew 
warm,  and  said,  "  Ah,  what  madness 
it  is  to  believe  that  man  has  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things  !   Can  any  man  take 
faith  to  himself,  or  do  good  of  himself? 
Does  not  the  priesthood  teach  at  this 
day  from  the  Word,  that  no  one  can 
take  any  thing,  unless  it  be  given  from 
heaven  ?  And  the  Lord  Christ  said  to 
his  disciples, '  Without  Me  ye  cannot  do 
any  thing.'     To  which  I  add  this,  that 
no  one  can  move  a  foot  or  a  hand  to  do 
any  good,  or  move  the  tongue  to  speak 
any  truth  from  good.    Wherefore  the 
church,  from  her  wise  ones,  has  conclud- 
ed, that  man  cannot  will,  understand 
and  think  any  thing  spiritual,  and  can- 
not even  accommodate  himself  to  will, 
understand  and  think  it,  more  than  a 
statue,  a  stock  and  a  stone ;  and  that 
therefore  faith  is  inspired  by  God,  who 
alone  has  most  free   and  unlimited 
power,  of  his  good  pleasure ;  which  faith, 
without  our  labor  and  power,  through 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  pro- 
duces all  the  things  which  the  un- 
learned ascribe  to  man."     Then  I 
spoke  with  the  other,  who  loved  what 
is  good  and  true  ;  and  after  some  things 
respecting  his  lot,  when  I  mention- 
ed free  agency,  he  said,  "  What  mad- 
ness it  is  to  deny  free  agency  in  spirit- 
ual things!  Who  cannot  will  and  do 
good,  and  think  and  speak  truth  of 
himself  from  the  Word,  thus  from  the 
Lord,  who  is  the  Word  ?  For  He  said, 
'  Make  the  fruits  good,  and  believe  in 
the  light,  and  also  love  one  another,  and 


love  God  ;'  and  also,  '  He  that  heareth 
and  doeth  my  commandments,  he  lov- 
eth  Me,  and  I  will  love  him ;'  besides 
thousands  of  similar  things  in  the  whole 
Word.  Of  what  use,  therefore,  would 
the  Word  be,  if  man  had  no  power  at  all 
to  will  and  think,  and  thence  to  do  and 
speak  what  is  there  commanded  ?  With- 
out that  power  with  man,  what  would 
religion  and  the  church  be,  but  like  a 
vessel  wrecked,  which  lies  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea,  upon  the  top  of  whose 
mast  the  pilot  stands  and  cries,  '  I  can- 
not do  any  thing,'  and  sees  the  rest  of 
the  sailors  hoist  the  sails  and  escape  in 
boats  ?  Was  there  not  given  to  Adam  the 
freedom  of  eating  from  the  tree  of  life, 
and  also  from  the  tree  of  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil  ?  And  because,  from  his 
freedom,  he  ate  from  this  tree,  smoke 
from  the  serpent,  that  is,  hell,  entered  his 
mind,  on  account  of  which  he  was  cast 
out  of  paradise  and  cursed.  And  yet 
he  did  not  lose  free  agency,  for  it  is 
read,  that  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life 
was  guarded  by  a  cherub ;  and  unless 
this  had  been  done,  he  could  still  have 
willed  to  eat  from  it."  These  things 
being  said,  the  other,  who  loved  what 
is  evil  and  false,  said,  "  The  things 
which  I  have  heard  I  leave ;  I  retain 
with  me  what  I  have  declared.  But  who 
does  not  know,  that  God  alone  is  alive, 
and  thence  active,  and  that  man  is  of 
himself  dead,  and  thence  merely  pas- 
sive? How  can  such  a  one,  who  in 
himself  is  dead  and  merely  passive, 
take  to  himself  any  thing  alive  and  ac- 
tive ?"  To  this  I  replied,  "  Man  is  an 
organ  of  life,  and  God  alone  is  life  ;  and 
God  infuses  his  life  into  the  organ  and 
every  part  of  it,  as  the  sun  infuses  its 
heat  into  a  tree  and  every  part  of  it; 
and  God  gives  to  man  to  feel  that  life 
in  himself,  as  his  own,  and  God  wills 
that  man  should  feel  so,  in  order  that 
he  may  live  as  of  himself,  according  to 
the  laws  of  order,  which  are  as  many  as 
there  are  precepts  in  the  Word,  and 
dispose  himself  for  receiving  the  love 
of  God.  But  still  God  continually  holds, 
with  his  finger,  the  perpendicular  over 
the  balance,  and  moderates,  but  never 
violates  fi'ee  agency  by  forcing.    A  tree 


356 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


cannot  receive  any  thing,  which  the 
heat  of  the  sun  introduces  through  the 
root,  unless  it  acquire  warmth  and  heat 
as  to  each  one  of  its  fibres;  nor  can 
the  elements  rise  up  through  the  root, 
unless  each  of  its  fibres,  from  the  heat 
received,  also  give  out  heat,  and  thus 
contribute  to  the  passage.  So  also 
does  man  from  the  heat  of  life  received 
from  God.  But  he,  differently  from  a 
tree,  feels  that  as  his  own,  although  it 
is  not  his  ;  but  as  far  as  he  believes 
that  it  is  his,  and  not  God's,  so  far  he 
receives  the  light  of  life,  but  not  the 
heat  of  love  from  God,  but  the  heat  of 
love  fi-om  hell ;  which,  because  it  is 
gross,  stops  and  closes  up  the  purer 
little  branches  of  the  organ,  as  the  im- 
pure blood  does  the  capillary  vessels  of 
the  body ;  thus  man  makes  himself 
from  spiritual  merely  natural.  Man 
has  free  agency  from  this,  that  he  feels 
life  in  himself  as  his  own,  and  that 
God  leaves  man  to  feel  thus,  that  con- 
junction may  be  effected,  which  is  not 
possible  unless  it  be  reciprocal ;  and  it 
becomes  reciprocal  while  man  from 
freedom  acts  altogether  as  from  him- 
self If  God  had  not  left  that  to  man, 
man  would  not  be  man,  nor  would  he 
have  eternal  life ;  for  reciprocal  con- 
junction with  God  causes  man  to  be 
man  and  not  a  beast,  and  also  causes 
him  to  live  after  death  to  eternity  ;  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things  effects  this." 
Having  heard  this,  that  evil  spirit  re- 
moved himself  to  a  distance  ;  and  then 
I  saw  a  flying  serpent,  which  is  called 
a  prester,  upon  a  certain  tree,  which 
presented  the  fruit  thence  to  a  certain 
one ;  and  then  in  the  spirit  I  came  up 
to  the  place,  and  there,  instead  of  the 
serpent,  appeared  a  monstrous  man, 
whose  face  was  so  covered  over  with 
beard,  that  nothing  of  it  was  visible, 
except  the  nose ;  and  instead  of  a  tree 
there  was  a  fire-brand,  at  which  he 
stood,  into  whose  mind  smoke  be- 
fore entered,  and  who  afterwards  re- 
jected free  agency  in  spiritual  things. 
And  suddenly  a  similar  smoke  came 
out  from  the  fire-brand  and  encompass- 
ed them  both ;  and  because  they  were 
thus  withdrawn  from  my  sight,  I  de- 


parted ;  but  the  other,  who  loted  what 
is  good  and  true,  and  asserted  that  man 
has  free  agency  in  spiritual  things,  ac- 
companied me  home. 

505.  Third  Relation.  I  once 
heard  a  noise  as  of  two  mill-stones  rub- 
bing against  each  other.  I  went  to  the 
sound,  and  it  ceased  ;  and  I  saw  a  nar- 
row gate  leading  obliquely  downwards 
to  a  certain  vaulted  house,  in  which 
were  many  chambers,  in  which  were 
little  cells,  in  each  of  which  sat  two 
persons,  who  were  collecting  from  the 
Word  confirmations  in  favor  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith  alone  :  one  was  collect- 
ing and  the  other  was  writing,  and  this 
by  turns.  I  went  up  to  one  cell,  which 
was  near  the  door,  and  asked,  "  What 
are  you  collecting  and  writing  1"  They 
said,  "  Concerning  the  act  of  justi- 
fication, or  concerning  faith  in  act, 
which  is  itself  justifying,  vivifying  and 
saving  faith,  and  the  head  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  church  in  our  Christen- 
dom." And  then  I  said  to  him,  "  Tell 
me  some  sign  of  that  act,  when  that 
faith  is  introduced  into  the  heart  and 
into  the  soul  of  man."  lie  replied, 
"  The  sign  of  that  act  is  in  the  moment 
when  a  man  is  pierced  with  anguish 
on  account  of  his  condemnation,  and 
when,  in  that  contrition,  he  thinks  of 
Christ,  that  He  took  away  the  con- 
demnation of  the  law,  and  lays  hold  of 
this  his  merit  with  confidence,  and 
with  this  in  his  thought  goes  to  God 
the  Father  and  prays."  Then  said  T, 
"  Thus  the  act  is  made,  and  this  is  the 
moment."  And  I  asked,  "  How  shall 
I  comprehend  what  is  said  concerning 
this  act,  that  man  contributes  nothing 
towards  it,  any  more  than  he  would  if  he 
were  a  stock  or  a  stone  ;  and  that  man, 
as  to  that  act,  has  no  power  to  begin, 
will,  understand,  think,  operate,  coop- 
erate, apply  and  accommodate  himself? 
Tell  mc  how  this  coheres  with  what 
you  said,  that  the  act  then  happens, 
when  man  is  thinking  concerning  the 
justice  of  the  law,  concerning  its  con- 
demnation removed  by  Christ,  concern- 
ing the  confidence  in  which  he  lays 
hold  of  this  his  merit,  and  in  thought 
concerning  this  goes  to  God  the  Father 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


357 


and  prays.  Are  not  all  these  things 
done  by  man  1"  But  he  said,  "  They 
are  not  done  by  man  actively,  but  pas- 
sively." And  I  replied,  "  How  can 
any  one  think,  have  confidence,  and 
pray  passively  1  Take  away  from  man 
what  is  active  and  cooperative,  then 
do  you  not  also  take  away  what  is  re- 
ceptive, thus  all,  and  with  all  the  act 
itself  ?  What,  then,  does  your  act  be- 
come, but  purely  ideal,  which  is  called 
an  imaginary  entity  ?  I  hope  that  you 
do  not  believe,  with  some,  that  such  act 
is  given  only  with  the  predestinated, 
who  know  nothing  at  all  about  the 
infusion  of  faith  into  themselves. 
These  can  play  at  dice,  and  thereby 
inquire  whether  faith  has  been  infused 
into  them,  or  not.  Wherefore,  my 
friend,  believe  that  man,  as  to  charity 
and  faith,  operates  of  himself  from  the 
Lord,  and  that  without  this  operation, 
your  act  of  faith,  which  you  called  the 
head  of  all  the  doctrines  of  the  church 
inChristendora,  is  nothing  else  than  the 
statue  of  Lot's  wife,  tinkling  from  mere 
salt,  when  touched  with  a  scribe's  pen, 
or  his  finger  nail,  Luke  xvii.  32.  This 
I  said,  because  you  make  yourselves, 
as  to  that  act,  similar  to  statues." 
When  I  had  said  this,  he  took  a  can- 
dlestick, intending  to  throw  it  with  all 
his  might  into  my  face,  and  the  candle 
then  suddenly  being  extinguished,  he 
threw  it  at  the  forehead  of  his  compan- 
ion ;  and  I  went  away  laughing. 

506.  Fourth  Relation.  There 
were  seen  in  the  spiritual  world  two 
flocks,  one  was  of  go.\ts,  and  the 
other  of  sheep.  I  wondered  who  they 
were,  for  I  knew  that  the  animals  seen 
in  the  spiritual  world  are  not  animals, 
but  that  they  are  correspondences  of 
the  affections  and  of  the  thoughts 
thence,  of  those  who  are  there.  Where- 
fore I  went  up  nearer,  and  as  I  went  up, 
the  likenesses  of  animals  disappeared, 
and  instead  of  them  were  seen  men. 
And  it  was  made  manifest,  that  those 
who  made  the  flock  of  goats,  were 
those  who  confirmed  themselves  in  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone ; 
and  those  who  made  the  flock  of  sheep, 
those  who  believed  that  charity  and 
faith  are  one,  even  as  good  and  truth 


are  one.  And  then  I  spoke  with  those 
who  appeared  like  goats,  and  said, 
"  Why  are  you  thus  assembled?"  Most 
of  them  were  of  the  clergy,  who  gloried 
in  the  fame  of  their  erudition,  because 
they  knew  the  secrets  of  justification 
by  faith  alone.  They  said  that  they 
were  assembled  that  they  might  sit  as 
a  council,  because  they  had  heard 
that  the  saying  of  Paul,  Rom.  iii.  28, 
That  man  is  justified  bi/  faith,  without 
the  works  of  the  lata,  was  not  rightly 
understood ;  since  by  faith  there,  he 
did  not  mean  the  faith  of  the  present 
church,  which  is  in  three  divine  per- 
sons from  eternity,  but  a  faith  in  the 
Lord  God  the  Savior  Jesus  Christ; 
and  by  the  works  of  the  law,  he  did 
not  mean  the  works  of  the  law  of 
the  decalogue,  but  the  works  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  which  was  for  the  Jews ; 
and  that  thus,  by  a  wrong  interpreta- 
tion, they  had  concluded,  from  those 
few  words,  two  enormous  falsities, 
which  are,  that  they  meant  the  faith  of 
the  present  church,  and  the  works  of 
the  law  of  the  decalogue.  That  Paul 
did  not  mean  these,  but  the  works  of 
the  Mosaic  law,  which  were  for  the 
Jews,  is  clearly  evident  from  his  own 
words  to  Peter,  whom  he  blamed  for 
Judaizing,  when  yet  he  knew,  that  no 
one  is  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  Gal. 
ii.  16.  By  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  is 
meant  faith  in  Him  and  from  Him  (see 
above,  n.  338).  And,  because  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  he  meant  the  works 
of  the  Mosaic  law,  therefore  he  dis- 
tinguished between  the  law  of  faith 
and  the  law  of  works,  and  between  the 
Jews  and  the  Gentiles,  or  the  circum- 
cision and  the  uncircumcision  ;  and  by 
the  circumcision  is  signified  Judaism, 
as  every  where  else ;  and  he  also 
closes  those  sayings  by  these  words  ;  Do 
we  then  abrogate  the  laio  by  faith  ? 
Not  at  all;  but  we  establish  the  law. 
All  these  things  he  says  in  one  series, 
Rom.  iii.  27,  28,  29,  30,  3L  And 
also  he  says  in  the  chapter  which  pre- 
cedes. Not  the  hearers  of  the  law  will 
he  justified  by  God,  but  the  doers  of 
the  law  will  be  justified,  Rom.  ii.  13. 
And  also.   That  God  will  render  to 


368 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


every  one  according  to  his  works,  ii.  6. 
And  again,  We  must  all  appear  before 
the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  that  every 
one  may  receive  the  things  which  he 
hath  done  in  the  body,  whether  good  or 
bad,  2  Cor.  v.  10 ;  besides  many  other 
things  in  his  epistles ;  from  which  it  is 
manifest,  that  Paul  rejected  faith  with- 
out good  works,  as  well  as  James,  ii. 
17  to  26.  That  the  works  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  which  were  for  the  Jews, 
were  meant  by  Paul,  we  have  been  still 
more  confirmed  from  this,  that  all  the 
statutes  for  the  Jews  are  called  in 
Moses  the  Lara,  thus  the  works  of  the 
law ;  which  we  saw  from  these  pas- 
sages :  This  is  the  law  of  the  sacrifice  of 
peace-offerings.  Lev.  vii.  11.  This  is 
the  law  for  the  burnt-offering,  for  the 
meat-offering,  for  the  sacrifice  of  sin 
and  trespass,  for  consecrations,  vii.  37. 
This  is  the  law  of  the  beast  and  the 
bird,  xi.  46,  and  the  following  verses. 
This  is  the  law  of  one  bringing  forth, 
for  a  soil  or  a  daughter,  xii.  7.  This 
is  the  law  of  leprosy,  xiii.  59 ;  xiv.  2, 
32,  54,  57.  This  is  the  law  of  him 
that  hath  an  issue,  xv.  32.  This  is  the 
law  of  jealousy.  Num.  v.  29,  30.  This 
is  the  law  of  the  Nazarite,  vi.  13,  21. 
This  is  the  law  when  a  man  dieth  in  a 
tent,  xix.  14.  This  is  the  law  concern- 
ing the  red  heifer,  xix.  2.  The  law  for 
the  king,  Deut.  xvii.  15  to  19.  Yea, 
the  whole  book  of  Moses  is  called  the 
book  of  the  Law,  xxxi.  9,  11,  12,  26; 
and  also  Luke  ii.  22 ;  xxiv.  24 ;  John 
i.  46;  vii.  22,  23;  viii.  5.  To  this 
also  they  added,  that  they  had  seen  in 
Paul,  that  the  law  of  the  decalogue  is 
the  rule  of  life,  and  that  it  is  fulfilled 
by  charity,  Rom.  xiii.  8,9,  10,  11 ;  and 
also  that  he  says.  That  there  are  three 
things,  faith,  hope,  and  charity;  and 
that  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity,  1 
Cor.  xiii.  13;  thus  not  faith.  They 
said,  that  on  account  of  these  things, 
they  had  been  called  together.  But 
lest  I  should  disturb  them,  I  retired ; 
and  then  again,  at  a  distance,  they 
seemed  like  goats,  and  sometimes  as 
lying  down,  and  sometimes  as  standing 
up ;  but  they  turned  themselves  away 
from  the  flock  of  sheep.  They  appear- 
ed as  if  lying  down  when  they  were 


deliberating,  and  as  if  standing  ap 
when  they  were  concluding.  But  I 
kept  my  sight  fixed  upon  their  horns, 
and  I  wondered  that  the  horns  in 
their  foreheads  should  appear,  now, 
as  if  projecting  forwards  and  upwards, 
now  as  if  turning  backwards,  and  at 
length  as  if  turned  entirely  back. 
And  then  suddenly  they  turned  them- 
selves about  to  the  flock  of  sheep,  but 
still  they  appeared  as  goats.  Where- 
fore I  again  went  up  and  asked,  "  What 
now?"  They  said  that  they  had  con- 
cluded that  faith  alone  produces  the 
goods  of  charity,  as  a  tree  produces 
fruit.  But  then  thunder  was  heard 
and  lightning  was  seen  from  above; 
and  presently  an  angel  appeared  stand- 
ing between  those  two  flocks,  and  he 
cried  to  the  flock  of  sheep,  "  Do  not 
hearken ;  they  have  not  receded  from 
their  former  faith,  which  is,  that  faith 
alone  justifies  and  saves,  and  that  act- 
ual charity  does  not  at  all.  Neither  is 
faith  a  tree,  but  man  is  a  tree.  But 
repent,  and  look  to  the  Lord,  and  you 
will  have  faith  :  the  faith  before  that  is 
not  a  faith  in  which  there  is  any  thing 
living."  Then  the  goats,  which  had 
horns  turned  backwards, wished  to  come 
to  the  sheep;  but  the  angel,  standing 
between  them,  divided  the  sheep  into 
two  flocks,  and  said  to  those  on  the 
left  hand, "  Join  yourselves  to  the  goats  : 
but  I  tell  you  that  a  wolf  is  coming, 
which  will  seize  them  and  you  with 
them." 

But  after  the  two  flocks  of  sheep 
were  separated,  and  those  on  the  left 
hand  had  heard  the  threatening  words 
of  the  angels,  they  looked  at  each 
other  and  said,  "  Let  us  speak  with 
our  old  consociate.s."  And  then  the 
flock  on  the  left  hand  spoke  to  that  on 
the  right,  saying,  "  Why  have  you 
gone  away  from  our  pastors  ?  Are  not 
faith  and  charity  one,  as  the  tree  and 
the  fruit  are  one  ?  For  the  tree  is  con- 
tinued through  the  branches  into  the 
fruit.  Break  oflf  any  of  the  branches, 
through  which  the  tree  by  continuity 
flows  into  the  fruit,  and  would  not 
the  fruit  perish,  and,  together  with 
the  fi-uit,  all  the  seed  of  any  tree 
about  to  arise  anew  ?   Ask  our  priests 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


359 


whether  it  is  not  so."  And  then  they 
asked ;  and  they  looked  around  to  the 
rest,  who  winked  with  their  eyelids 
that  they  should  say  that  they  spoke 
well ;  and  after  this  they  answered, 
"  You  have  spoken  well ;  but  as  to 
what  concern^  the  continuation  of  faith 
into  good  works,  we  know  many  se- 
crets, but  this  is  not  the  place  to  pub- 
lish them ;  in  the  bond  or  thread  of 
faith  and  charity,  there  are  many  little 
knots,  which  we  priests  only  are  able 
to  untie."  And  then  one  of  the  priests, 
who  was  among  the  sheep  on  the  right 
hand,  rose  up  and  said,  "They  answer- 
ed to  you,  that  it  is  so;  but  to  their 
own,  that  it  is  not  so;  for  they  think 
otherwise."  Wherefore  they  asked, 
"How  then  do  they  think?  Do  they 
not  think  as  they  teach?"  He  said, 
"  No ;  thej  think  that  all  the  good  of 
charity,  which  is  called  good  work, 
which  is  done  by  man  for  the  sake  of 
salvation  and  eternal  life,  is  not  in  the 
least  degree  good,  because  man  by 
work  from  himself,  wishes  to  save  him- 
self by  claiming  to  himself  the  right- 
eousness and  merit  of  the  one  Savior; 
and  that  it  is  so  with  every  good  work 
in  which  man  feels  his  own  will ;  where- 
fore they  assert,  that  there  is  no  con- 
junction at  all  of  faith  and  charity,  and 
that  faith  is  not  even  retained  and  pre- 
served by  good  works."  But  some  of 
the  flock  on  the  left-  hand  said,  "  You 
speak  lies  against  them ;  do  they  not 
openly  preach  to  us  charity  and  its 
works,  which  they  call  the  works  of 
faith?"  And  he  replied,  "  You  do  not 
understand  their  preachings;  only  the 
clergy  who  are  present  attend  and  un- 
derstand. They  think  only  of  moral 
charity,  and  its  civil  and  political  goods, 
which  they  call  those  of  faith,  and  they 
are  not  so  at  all ;  for  a  man  who  is  an 
atheist,  can  do  them  in  like  manner, 
and  under  the  same  form ;  wherefore 
they  unanimously  say,  that  no  one  is 
saved  by  any  works,  but  by  faith  alone. 
But  this  shall  be  illustrated  by  com- 
parisons. An  apple-tree  produces  ap- 
ples ;  but  if  a  man  does  goods  for  the 
sake  of  salvation,  as  that  tree  produces 
apples  by  continuity,  then  those  apples 
are  inwardly  rotten  and  full  of  worms. 


They  say  also,  that  a  vine  produces 
grapes ;  but  if  a  man  shoidd  do  spirits 
ual  goods,  as  a  vine  produces  grapes, 
he  would  produce  wild  grapes."  But 
then  they  asked,  "What  are  their  goods 
of  charity,  or  the  works  which  are  the 
fruits  of  faith?"  He  replied,  " That 
perhaps  they  are  inconspicuous  some- 
where near  faith,  to  which,  however, 
they  do  not  cohere ;  they  are  like  the 
shadow  which  follows  behind  a  man 
when  he  looks  to  the  sun ;  which 
shadow  he  does  not  observe,  unless  he 
turns  himself  about.  Yea,  I  may  say 
that  they  are  like  the  tails  of  horses, 
which  at  this  day  are  in  many  places 
cut  off;  for  it  is  said.  What  is  the  use 
of  them  ?  they  are  good  for  nothing ; 
if  they  adhere  to  the  horse,  they  are 
apt  to  be  defiled."  Having  heard  this, 
some  one  of  the  flock  of  sheep  on  the 
left  said  with  indignation,  "  There  is 
certainly  some  conjunction,  or  else  how 
can  they  be  called  the  works  of  faith  ? 
Perhaps  the  goods  of  charity  may  be 
insinuated  by  God  into  the  voluntary 
works  of  man  by  some  influx,  as  by 
some  affection,  aspiration,  inspiration, 
incitement  and  excitement  of  the  will, 
tacit  perception  in  the  thought,  and 
thence  exhortation,  contrition,  and  thus 
conscience,  and  thence  an  impulse  to 
action  and  obedience  of  the  decalogue 
and  the  Word,  as  an  infant,  or  as  a 
wise  man,  or  by  some  other  means 
similar  to  those ;  how  otherwise  can 
they  be  called  the  fi-uits  of  faith  ?"  To 
this  the  priest  replied,  "  No,  it  is  not 
so ;  and  if  they  say  that  it  is  done  by 
any  such  means,  still  they  stuff"  it  in 
their  sermons  with  expressions  from 
which  it  results  that  it  is  not  from 
faith.  Some,  however,  teach  such 
things ;  but  only  as  signs  of  faith, 

BUT   not  as  the   bonds  OF   IT  WITH 

CHARITY.  Yet  some  have  thought  of 
conjunction  by  the  Word."  And  then 
they  said,  "Is  there  not  thus  a  con- 
junction ?"  But  he  replied,  "  They  do 
not  think  this,  but  only  by  hearing  of 
the  Word ;  for  they  assert,  that  every 
thing  rational  and  every  thing  volun- 
tary of  man,  in  the  things  of  faith,  is 
impure  and  meritorious,  since  man,  in 
spiritual  things,  is  not  any  more  able 


360 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


to  understand,  will,  operate  and  coop- 
erate, than  a  log."  But  one,  when  he 
heard  that  man  is  believed  to  be  such, 
in  all  the  things  which  are  of  faith  and 
salvation,  said,  "  I  heard  a  certain  one 
say,  '  I  have  planted  a  vineyard  ;  now  I 
will  drink  wine  even  to  intoxication.' 
But  another  asked,  '  Will  you  drink 
the  wine  out  of  your  cup,  by  your  right 
hand.'  And  he  said,  '  No,  but  out  of 
an  invisible  cup,  by  an  invisible  hand.' 
And  the  other  replied, '  Certainly,  then, 
you  will  not  be  intoxicated.'  "  Presently 
the  same  man  said,  "  But  hear  me,  I 
pray ;  I  tell  you,  drink  wine  from  the 
Word  understood.  Do  you  not  know, 
that  the  Lord  is  the  Word  ?  Is  not  the 
Word  from  the  Lord?  Thus,  is  He 
not  in  it?  If,  therefore,  you  do  good 
from  the  Word,  do  you  not  do  it  from 
the  Lord,  from  his  own  mouth  and 
will  ?  If,  then,  you  look  to  the  Lord, 
He  also  will  lead  and  teach  you,  and 
you  will  do  it  of  yourselves  from 
the  Lord.  Who,  that  does  any  thing 
from  a  king,  from  his  mouth  and  com- 
mand, can  say,  I  do  this  from  my  own 
mouth  or  command,  and  from  my  own 
will  V  After  this,  he  turned  himself 
to  the  clergy  and  said,  "  Ministers  of 
God,  do  not  seduce  the  flock."  Hav- 
ing heard  this,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
flock  on  the  left  hand  went  away,  and 
united  themselves  to  the  flock  on 
the  right.  Then  some  of  the  clergy 
said,  "  We  have  heard  what  we  never 
heard  before.  We  are  pastors ;  we  will 
not  leave  the  sheep."  And  they  went 
away  together  with  them.  And  they 
said,  "  This  man  has  spoken  a  true 
word.  Who,  that  does  any  thing  from 
the  Word,  thus  from  tiie  Lord,  his 
mouth  and  will,  can  say,  '  I  do  this 
from  myself?'  Who,  that  does  any  thing 
from  a  king,  his  mouth  and  will,  says, 
'  I  do  this  from  myself?'  We  see  now  the 
Divine  Providence,  why  a  conjunction 
of  faith  and  good  works  has  not  been 
found,  which  is  acknowledged  by  an 
ecclesia.stical  society.  It  could  not  be 
found,  because  it  could  not  be  given; 
for  there  was  not  a  faith  in  the  Lord, 
who  is  the  Word,  and  thence  there  was 
not  a  faith  from  the  Word."  But  the 
rest  of  the  priests,  who  were  of  the 


flock  of  the  goats,  went  away,  and 
waved  their  hats  and  cried,  "  Faith 
alone,  faith  alone,  shall  live  still." 

507.  Fifth  Relation.  I  was  in 
conversation  with  angels,  and  at  last 
concerning  the  concupiscence  of  evil, 
in  which  every  man  is  from  his  nativity. 
One  said,  that  in  the  world  where  he 
is,  those  who  are  in  the  concupiscence 
of  evil,  appear  to  us  angels,  as  idiots, 
but  to  themselves  there  as  supremely 
wise.  Wherefore,  that  they  may  be 
drawn  out  of  their  infatuation,  they  are 
by  turns  let  into  it,  and  by  turns  into 
the  rational  faculty,  which  with  them 
is  in  externals ;  and  in  this  state  they 
see,  acknowledge  and  confess  their  in- 
sanity ;  but  still  they  earnestly  desire 
to  return  from  their  rational  slate  into 
their  insane  state,  and  also  they  let 
themselves  into  it,  as  from  a  forced  and 
undelightful  into  a  free  and  delightful 
state  :  thus  concupiscence  inwardly  de- 
lights them,  and  not  intelligence. 
There  are  three  universal  loves,  of 
which  every  man,  from  creation,  is 
composed ;  the  love  of  the  neighbor, 
which  also  is  the  love  of  doing  uses — 
this  love  is  spiritual ;  the  love  of  the 
world,  which  also  is  the  love  of  pos- 
sessing wealth — this  love  is  material; 
and  the  love  of  self,  which  also  is  the 
love  of  ruling  over  others — and  this  love 
is  corporeal.  Man  is  truly  man,  while 
the  love  of  the  neighbor,  or  the  love  of 
doing  uses,  makes  the  head,  and  the 
love  of  the  world,  or  the  love  of  pos- 
.'sessing  wealth,  makes  the  breast  and 
belly,  and  the  love  of  self,  or  the  love 
of  ruling,  makes  the  feet  and  the  soles 
of  the  feet;  but  if  the  love  of  the  world 
makes  the  head,  man  is  not  man  other- 
wise than  as  a  hunch-backed  one ;  but 
if  the  love  of  self  makes  the  head,  he  is 
not  like  a  man  standing  upon  the  feet, 
but  as  on  the  palms  of  the  hands,  with 
the  head  downwards  and  the  buttocks 
upwards.  When  the  love  of  doing 
uses  makes  the  head,  and  the  two  other 
loves  make  in  order  the  body  and  the 
feet,  that  man  appears  in  heaven  of  an 
angelic  face,  with  a  beautiful  rainbow 
around  his  head  ;  but  if  the  love  of  the 
world,  or  of  wealth,  makes  the  head, 
he  appears  from  heaven  of  a  pallid  face. 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


361 


like  a  corpse,  with  a  yellow  circle  around 
his  head  ;  but  if  the  love  of  self,  or  of 
ruling  over  others,  makes  the  head,  he 
appears  from  heaven  of  a  dusky  fiery 
face,  with  a  white  circle  around  his 
head.    At  this  I  asked,  "  What  do  the 
circles  around  the  heads  represent  ?" 
They  replied,  "  They  represent  intelli- 
gence.   The  white  circle  around  the 
head  of  a  dusky  fiery  face,  represents 
that  his  intelligence  is  in  externals,  or 
around  him,  but  insanity  in  his  inter- 
nals, or  in  him;  also  a  man  who  is  such, 
is  wise  when  in  the  body,  but  insane 
while  in  the  spirit ;  and  no  man  is  wise 
in  spirit  but  from  the  Lord,  which  is 
the  case  when  he  is  born  and  created 
anew  by  Him."    When  these  things 
were  said,  the  earth  opened  to  the  left, 
and  through  the  opening  I  saw  a  devil 
rising  up,  of  a  dusky  fiery  face,  with  a 
white  circle  around  his  head,  and  I 
asked,  "  V/ho  are  you  ?"    He  said,  "  I 
am  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning ;  and 
because  I  made  myself  like  the  Most 
High,  I  was  cast  down,  as  I  am  de- 
scribed, Isaiah  xiv. ;"  yet  he  was  not 
Lucifer,  but  he  believed  himself  to  be 
him.    And  I  said,  "  Since  you  were 
cast  down,  why  can  you  not  rise  again 
out  of  hell  ?"    He  replied,  "  I  am  there 
a  devil,  but  here  I  am  an  angel  of  light. 
Do  you  not  see  my  head  girded  with  a 
white  girdle '?    And  also,  if  you  wish, 
you  shall  see  that  I  am  moral  among 
the  moral,  and  rational  among  the  ra- 
tional, yea,  spiritual  among  the  spirit- 
ual.   I  could  also  preach."    I  asked, 
"How  did  you  preach?"    He  said, 
"  Against  defrauders,  against  adulter- 
ers, and  against  all  infernal  loves;  yea, 
then  I  called  myself,  Lucifer,  a  devil, 
and  cursed  myself  as  such,  and  on  that 
account  was  extolled  with  praises  to 
heaven.   Thence  it  is,  that  I  was  called 
son  of  the  morning.    And  what  I  my- 
self wondered  at,  when  I  was  in  the 
pulpit,  I  thought  no  otherwise  than 
that  I  was  speaking  rightly  and  truly  ; 
but  the  cause  was  discovered  to  me, 
which  was,  that  I  was  in  externals, 
and  these  were  then  separate  from  my 
internals ;  and  although  this  was  dis- 
covered to  me,  still  I  could  not  change 
myself,  because  I  had  exalted  myself 
46 


above  the  Most  High,  and  lifted  up  my- 
self against  Him."  Then  I  asked, 
"  How  could  you  speak  thus,  since  you 
are  yourself  a  defrauder  and  an  adul- 
terer." He  replied,  "  I  am  one  thing 
while  I  am  in  externals,  or  in  the  body, 
and  another,  while  in  internals,  or  in 
the  spirit ;  in  the  body  I  am  an  angel, 
but  in  the  spirit,  a  devil ;  for  in  the 
body  I  am  in  the  understanding,  but 
in  the  spirit  I  am  in  the  will ;  and  the 
understanding  carries  me  upwards, 
but  the  will  carries  me  downwards; 
and  while  I  am  in  the  understanding, 
a  white  girdle  encompasses  my  head, 
but  while  the  understanding  subjects 
itself  completely  to  the  will,  and  be- 
comes its  slave,  which  is  our  last  con- 
dition, then  the  girdle  grows  black  and 
disappears ;  and  when  this  is  done,  I 
can  no  more  ascend  into  this  light." 
But  suddenly,  as  he  saw  the  angels 
with  me,  he  was  inflamed  in  the  face 
and  voice,  and  became  black,  even  as 
to  the  girdle  around  his  head;  and 
through  the  opening,  through  which  he 
rose,  he  slid  down  into  hell.  Those 
who  were  present,  from  seeing  and 
hearing  these  things,  made  this  con- 
clusion :  That  man  is  such  as  his  will 
is,  and  not  such  as  his  understanding 
is,  since  the  will  easily  carries  away 
the  understanding  over  to  its  side,  and 
enslaves  it.  Then  I  asked  the  angels, 
"  Whence  have  the  devils  rationality  1" 
And  they  said,  "It  is  from  the  glory  of 
the  love  of  self;  for  the  love  of  self  is 
encompassed  with  glory  ;  for  this  is  the 
splendor  of  its  fire,  and  that  glory 
elevates  the  understanding  almost  into 
the  light  of  heaven.  For  the  under- 
standing with  every  man  is  capable  of 
being  elevated  according  to  knowl- 
edges ;  but  the  will,  only  by  a  life  ac- 
cording to  the  truths  of  the  church  and 
of  reason.  Thence  it  is,  that  atheists 
themselves,  who  are  in  the  glory  of 
fame  from  the  love  of  self,  and  thence 
in  the  pride  of  their  own  intelligence, 
enjoy  a  sublimer  rationality  than  many 
others ;  but  then  when  they  are  in 
the  thought  of  the  understanding,  but 
not  when  in  the  love  of  the  will ; 
and  the  love  of  the  will  possesses  the 
internal  man,  but  the  thought  of  the 


362 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


understanding  the  external."  Further, 
the  angel  told  the  reason  why  man  is 
composed  of  the  three  loves,  namely, 
the  love  of  use,  the  love  of  the  world, 
and  the  love  of  self.  The  reason  is, 
that  man  may  think  from  God,  al- 
though altogether  as  from  himself. 
He  said,  that  the  highest  things  in 
man's  mind  are  turned  upwards  to  God, 
the  middle  things  there,  outwards  to 
the  world,  and  the  lowest  things  there, 
downwards  into  the  body ;  and  because 
these  are  turned  downwards,  man 
thinks  altogether  as  of  himself,  when 
yet  from  God. 

508.  Sixth  Relation.  One  day, 
there  appeared  to  me  a  magnificent 
temple,  of  a  square  form,  the  roof  of 
which  was  like  a  crown,  arched  above 
and  elevated  round  about.  The  walls 
of  it  were  continuous  windows  of  crys- 
tals, the  gate  of  the  substance  of  pearl ; 
within,  on  the  south  side,  towards  the 
west,  there  was  a  pulpit,  on  which,  at 
the  right,  lay  the  Word  open,  girded 
with  a  sphere  of  light,  the  splendor  of 
which  surrounded  and  illuminated  the 
whole  pulpit.  In  the  middle  of  the 
temple  was  the  sacred  recess,  before 
which  was  a  veil,  but  now  removed, 
where  stood  a  cherub  of  gold  with  a 
sword  in  his  hand,  vibrating  hither  and 
thither.  Wiien  I  had  viewed  these 
things,  it  flowed  into  my  meditation, 
what  each  of  them  signified  ;  namely. 
That  that  temple  signified  the  New 
Church  ;  the  gate  of  the  substance  of 
pearl,  entrance  into  it ;  the  windows  of 
crystals,  the  truths  which  illustrate  it ; 
the  pulpit,  the  priesthood  and  preach- 
ing;  the  Word  upon  it  open,  and  illu- 
minating the  higher  part  of  the  pulpit, 
the  internal  sense  of  it,  which  is  spir- 
itual, revealed ;  the  sacred  recess  in 
the  middle  of  the  temple,  the  conjunc- 
tion of  that  church  with  the  angelic 
heaven ;  the  cherub  of  gold  therein, 
the  Word  in  the  sense  of  the  letter ; 
the  sword  vibrating  in  his  hand,  signi- 
fied that  this  sense  may  be  turned 
hither  and  thither,  provided  this  is 
done  in  application  to  some  truth ; 
that  the  veil  before  the  cherub  was 
removed,  signified  that  now  the 
Word  was  laid  open.  Afterwards, 


when  I  came  up  nearer,  I  saw  these 
words  written  on  the  gate,  Now  it  is 
LAWFUL ;  which  signified,  that  now  it  is 
lawful  to  enter  intellectually  into  the 
secrets  of  faith.  From  seeing  this 
writing,  it  fell  into  my  thought,  that 
it  is  very  dangerous  to  enter  by  the  un- 
derstanding into  the  dogmas  of  faith, 
which  are  formed  from  man's  own  in- 
telligence and  thence  of  falses,  and 
still  more  to  confirm  them  from  the 
Word :  thence  the  understanding  is 
closed  above,  and  by  degrees  below,  to 
such  a  degree,  that  theological  things 
are  not  only  loathed,  but  also  oblit- 
erated, as  the  writing  on  paper  is  by 
worms,  and  the  nap  on  cloth  by  moths; 
the  understanding  remaining  only  in 
political  things,  which  have  respect  to 
one's  life  in  the  dominion  where  he  is, 
and  in  civil  things  whicli  belong  to  his 
employment,  and  in  domestic  things 
which  belong  to  his  house:  and  in  these 
and  those  he  continually  kisses  nature, 
and  loves  her  from  the  allurements  of 
her  pleasures,  as  an  idolater  does  the 
golden  image  in  his  bosom.  Now,  be- 
cause file  dogmas  in  the  Christian 
churches  at  this  day  are  formed  not 
from  the  Word  but  from  man's  own 
intelligence,  and  thence  from  falses,  and 
also  confirmed  by  some  things  from 
the  Word;  therefore,  by  the  divine 
providence  of  tiin  Lord,  the  Word  with 
the  Roman  Catholics  was  taken  away 
from  the  laity,  and  with  the  Protestants 
it  is  open,  but  still  shut  by  their  com- 
mon saying,  that  tlie  understanding  is 
to  be  kept  under  obedience  to  their 
faith.  But  in  the  New  Church  it  is 
reversed  ;  in  this  it  is  lawful  by  the 
understanding  to  enter  and  penetrate 
into  all  the  secrets  of  it,  and  also  to 
confirm  them  by  the  Word ;  the  rea- 
son is,  because  its  doctrinals  are  truths 
continuous  from  the  Lord,  laid  open 
by  the  Word ;  and  confirmations  of 
them  by  rational  things  cause  the 
understanding  to  be  opened  above 
more  and  more,  and  thus  to  be  elevated 
into  the  light  in  which  the  angels  of 
heaven  are;  and  that  light  in  its 
essence  is  truth,  and  in  this  light  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  Lord,  as  the 
God  of  heaven  and  earth,  shines  in  its 


Concerning  Free  Agency. 


363 


glory.  This  is  meant  by  the  writing 
upon  the  gate  of  the  temple,  Now  it 
IS  lawful;  and  also  by  the  circum- 
stance tliat  the  veil  of  the  sacred  re- 
cess before  the  cherub  was  removed ; 
for  it  is  a  canon  of  the  New  Church, 
that  falsities  close  up  the  nnderstand- 
ing,  and  that  truths  open  it.  After 
these  things,  I  saw,  as  it  were,  an  infant 
over  head,  holding  in  his  hand  a  paper  ; 
he,  as  he  approached  me,  increased 
to  the  stature  of  a  middling  sized  man  ; 
he  was  an  angel  of  the  third  heaven, 
where  all    at  a  distance    appear  as 


infants.    While  he  was  with  me,  he 

handed  to  me  the  paper ;  but  because 
it  was  written  with  circular  letters,  such 
as  are  in  that  heaven,  I  returned  it,  and 
requested  that  they  would  themselves 
explain  the  sense  of  the  words  there 
in  expressions  adapted  to  the  ideas  of 
my  thought.  And  he  replied,  "  This 
is  written  there.  Enter  herkafter 

INTO  the  mysteries  OF  THE  WoRD, 
WHICH  HAS  BEEN  HITHERTO  CLOSED 
UP  ;  FOR  ITS  TRUTHS,  ONE  AND  ALL, 
ARE  SO  MANY  MIRRORS  OF  THE  LoRD." 


364 


Concerning  Repentance. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CONCERNING  REPENTANCE. 


509.  After  treating  of  Faith,  Char- 
ity, and  Free  Agency,  it  follows  next 
in  course  to  treat  of  Repentance ; 
since  true  faith  and  genuine  charity  are 
not  attainable  without  repentance,  and 
no  one  can  repent  without  free  agency. 
The  reason  also  why  repentance  is  here 
treated  of,  is  because  the  next  chapter 
treats  of  Regeneration,  and  no  one  can 
be  regenerated,  before  the  more  griev- 
ous evils,  which  make  man  detestable 
in  the  sight  of  God,  are  removed,  and 
these  are  removed  by  repentance. 
What  is  an  unregenerate  man,  but  an 
impenitent  man  ?  And  what  is  an  im- 
penitent man,  but  as  one  who  is 
in  a  lethargy,  and  knows  nothing  about 
sin,  and  so  cherishes  it  in  his  bosom, 
and  daily  kisses  it,  as  an  adulterer  a 
harlot  in  his  bed.  But  that  it  may  be 
known  what  repentance  is,  and  what 
it  effects,  the  discussion  of  it  must  be 
divided  into  articles. 

510.  I.  That  Repentance  is  the 
FIRST  Thing  of  the  Church  with 
Man. 

The  communion  which  is  called  the 
church  consists  of  all  such  persons  as 
have  the  church  in  them ;  and  the 
church  with  man  enters  when  he  is 
being  regenerated ;  and  every  one  is 
regenerated  by  abstaining  from  the 
evils  of  sin,  and  fleeing  from  them  like 
one  when  he  sees  infernal  troops  with 
torches  about  to  attack  him  and  cast 
him  upon  a  funeral  pile.  There  are 
many  things  which  prepare  man  for 
the  church, as  he  advances  in  the  first 
stages  of  life,  and  which  introduce 
him  into  the  church ;  but  the  things 
which  effect  the  church  in  man,  are 
acts  of  repentance.  Acts  of  repent- 
ance are  such  as  cause  that  man  should 
not  will,  and  thence  should  not  do,  the 


evils  which  are  sins  against  God ;  for 
before  this  is  done,  man  stands  out  of 
regeneration ;  and  then,  if  any  thought 
should  enter  concerning  eternal  salva- 
tion, he  turns  himself  to  it,  but  presently 
turns  himself  from  it;  for  it  does  not 
enter  further  into  man  than  into  the 
ideas  of  his  thought,  and  thence  it 
goes  out  into  the  words  of  speech,  and 
perhaps  also  into  some  gestures  con- 
formable to  the  speech.  But  when  it 
enters  into  the  will,  then  it  is  in  man  ; 
for  the  will  is  the  man  himself,  because 
his  love  dwells  there  ;  and  the  thought 
is  out  of  man,  unless  it  proceeds  from 
his  will ;  if  it  does,  then  the  will  and 
the  thought  act  as  one,  and  together 
make  the  man.  Hence  it  follows,  that 
repentance,  in  order  to  be  repentance, 
and  efficient  in  man,  must  be  of  the 
will  and  thence  of  the  thought,  and 
not  of  the  thought  alone ;  consequently 
that  it  must  be  actual,  and  not  merely 
oral.  That  repentance  is  the  first 
thing  of  the  church,  is  manifestly  evi- 
dent from  the  Word.  John  the  Baptist, 
who  was  sent  before  to  prepare  men 
for  the  church,  which  the  Lord  was 
about  to  institute,  when  he  baptized, 
at  the  same  time  preached  repentance ; 
wlicrefore  his  baptism  was  called  the 
baptism  of  repentance,  because  by 
baptism  was  signified  spiritual  wash- 
ing, which  is  a  cleansing  from  sins. 
This  John  did  in  the  Jordan,  because 
tlic  Jordan  signifies  introduction  into 
the  church,  for  it  was  the  first  bound- 
ary of  the  land  of  Canaan,  where  the 
church  was.  The  Lord  himself  also 
preached  repentance  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  by  which  lie  taught,  that  re- 
pentance is  the  first  thing  of  the  church, 
and  that  so  far  as  man  does  it,  his  sins 
are  removed,  and  that  so  far  as  these 


Concerning  Repentance. 


366 


are  removed,  they  are  remitted.  And 
besides,  the  Lord  commanded  the 
twelve  Apostles,  and  also  the  seventy 
whom  he  sent  forth,  that  they  should 
preach  repentance ;  from  which  it 
is  manifest,  that  the  first  thing  of  the 
church  is  repentance. 

511.  That  the  church  is  not  in  man, 
before  his  sins  are  removed,  every  one 
may  conclude  from  reason,  and  it  may 
be  illustrated  by  these  comparisons : — 
Who  can  introduce  sheep,  kids  and 
lambs  into  plains  and  woods,  where 
are  wild  beasts  of  every  kind,  before 
he  has  driven  out  the  wild  beasts  1 
And  who  can  prepare  for  a  garden  a 
piece  of  land,  covered  over  with  thorns, 
briers  and  nettles,  before  he  has  rooted 
out  those  noxious  plants?  Who  can 
introduce  a  form  of  administration  of 
justice  from  judgment  into  a  city  pos- 
sessed by  enemies,  and  establish  a  civil 
government,  before  he  has  expelled  the 
enemies?  The  case  is  similar  with 
the  evils  in  man,  which  are  like  wild 
beasts,  like  briers  and  thorns,  and  like 
enemies,  with  which  the  church  can- 
not dwell  together,  any  more  than  one 
can  dwell  in  a  den  where  are  tigers 
and  leopards ;  nor  any  more  than  one 
can  lie  in  a  bed,  upon  which  poison- 
ous herbs  have  been  strewed  and  put 
into  the  pillows  ;  nor  any  more  tlian 
one  can  sleep  at  night  in  a  temple, 
under  the  floor  of  which  are  sepulchres 
in  which  are  dead  bodies :  would  not 
spectres  infest  him  there  like  furies  ? 

512.  II.  That    Contrition,  of 

WHICH  IT  IS  AT  THIS  DaY  SAID,  THAT 
IT  PRECEDES  FaiTH,  AND  IS  FOLLOWED 

BY  THE  Consolation  of  the  Gospel, 
IS  not  Repentance. 

In  the  reformed  Christian  world, 
mention  is  made  of  a  certain  kind  of 
anxiety,  grief  and  terror,  which  they 
call  contrition,  and  which,  with  those 
who  are  to  be  regenerated,  precedes 
their  faith  and  is  followed  by  the  con- 
solation of  the  gospel.  They  say  that 
this  contrition  arises  in  them  from  fear 
of  the  just  anger  of  God,  and  thence 
eternal  damnation,  to  every  one,  on 
account  of  the  sin  of  Adam,  and 
thence  an  inherent  propensity  to  evils ; 
and  that  without  that  contrition  the 


faith  which  is  imputative  of  the  merit 
and  righteousness  of  the  Lord  the 
Savior,  is  not  given;  and  that  those 
who  have  obtained  this  faith  receive 
the  consolation  of  the  gospel,  which  is, 
that  they  are  justified,  that  is,  renewed, 
regenerated  and  sanctified,  without 
any  cooperation  of  their  own; and  that 
thus  they  are  transferred  from  damna- 
tion to  eternal  blessedness,  which  is 
eternal  life.  But  concerning  this  con- 
trition, it  is  to  be  considered,  (1.) 
WJiether  it  be  repentance.  (2.)  Whether 
it  be  of  ani/ moment.  (3.)  Whether  it  be 
given. 

513.  Whether  that  contrition 
be  repentance  or  not,  may  be  con- 
cluded from  the  description  of  repent- 
ance in  what  follows,  that  it  is  not 
attainable,  unless  a  man  know,  not 
only  in  general,  but  also  in  particular, 
that  he  is  a  sinner;  which  no  one  can 
know,  unless  he  examine  himself,  see 
the  evils  in  himself,  and  condemn  him- 
self on  account  of  them.  But  that 
contrition,  which  is  said  to  be  neces- 
sary to  faith,  has  nothing  in  common 
with  those  things ;  for  it  is  only  the 
thought  and  thence  confession,  that  he 
was  born  into  the  sin  of  Adam,  and 
into  a  propensity  to  the  evils  thence 
originating,  and  that,  therefore,  he  in- 
curs the  anger  of  God,  and  thence,  by 
desert,  damnation,  the  curse  and  eter- 
nal death;  from  which  it  is  manifest, 
that  this  contrition  is  not  repentance. 

514.  Another  point  is,  since  that 
contrition  is  not  repentance,  Whether 
IT  BE  OF  any  moment.  It  is  said  that 
it  contributes  to  faith,  as  what  precedes 
to  what  follows,  but  that  still  it  does  not 
enter  faith  and  conjoin  itself  with  it  by 
mixing  itself  with  it.  But  what  else  is 
the  faith  which  follows,  than  that  God 
the  Father  imputes  the  righteousness  of 
his  Son,  and  then  declares  man,  not 
conscious  of  any  sin,  righteous,  new, 
and  holy,  and  thus  clothes  him  with  a 
robe  washed  and  made  white  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  ?  And  when  he 
walks  in  this  robe,  what  then  are  the 
evils  of  his  life,  but  like  sulphurous 
stones  thrown  into  the  bottom  of  the 
sea?  And  what  then  is  the  sin  of 
Adam,  but  some  such  thing,  which  is 


366 


Concerning  Repentance. 


either  covered  or  removed,  or  taken 
away  by  the  imputed  righteousness  of 
Christ  ?  When  a  man,  from  that  faith, 
walks  in  the  righteousness,  and  at  the 
same  time  in  the  innocence,  of  Grod 
the  Savior,  to  what  purpose  does  that 
contrition  then  serve,  but  for  confi- 
dence that  he  is  in  Abraham's  bosom, 
and  thence  he  beholds  those  who  are 
not  contrite  before  faith,  as  miserable 
in  hell,  or  as  dead?  For  it  is  said,  that 
a  living  faith  is  not  in  those  who  have 
no  contrition.  Wherefore  it  may  be 
said,  that  if  they  have  immersed  them- 
selves, or  do  immerse  themselves,  in 
damnable  evils,  they  do  not  attend  to 
them,  and  are  not  sensible  of  them, 
any  more  than  pigs  lying  in  the  mud 
are  sensible  of  the  stench  in  the 
ditches.  Hence  it  is  manifest,  that 
that  contrition,  since  it  is  not  repent- 
ance, is  not  any  thing. 

515.  The  third  point  which  was  to 
be   considered,   is.  Whether  that 

CONTRITION  WITHOUT  REPENTANCE  BE 

GIVEN.  In  the  spiritual  world,  I  have 
asked  many  who  have  confirmed  in 
themselves  the  faith  imputative  of  the 
merit  of  Christ,  whether  they  had 
any  contrition,  and  they  have  answered, 
Why  contrition,  when  from  childhood 
we  have  believed  for  certain  that 
Christ,  by  his  passion,  has  taken  away 
all  our  sins?  Contrition  does  not 
square  with  this  faith ;  for  contrition  is 
to  cast  themselves  into  hell,  and  to  tor- 
ture the  conscience ;  when  yet  they 
know  that  they  are  redeemed,  and  so 
rescued  from  hoil,  and  thence  secure 
from  harm.  To  this  they  added,  that 
I  the  statute  of  contrition  was  only  a 
'  figment,  wliicli  was  accepted  instead 
of  tilt;  repentance  which  is  so  often 
mentioned  in  tlin  Word,  and  also  en- 
joined ;  that,  perhaps,  there  may  be 
some  emotion  of  mind  with  the  simple 
who  know  hut  little  about  the  gospel, 
when  they  hear  or  think  about  the  tor- 
ments in  hell.  And  they  said,  that  the 
consolation  of  the  gospel,  impressed  on 
them  from  their  earliest  youth,  had  re- 
moved that  contrition,  so  that  they  in 
heart  laughed  at  it,  when  it  was  named  ; 
that  hell  could  not  terrify  them  any 
more  than  the  fire  of  Vesuvius  and 


iEtha  can  those  who  dwell  in  Warsaw 
and  Vienna;  nor  any  more  than  the 
basilisks  and  vipers  in  the  deserts  of 
Arabia,  or  the  tigers  and  lions  in  the 
forests  of  Tartary,  can  terrify  those  who 
are  in  safety,  tranquillity  and  quietness 
in  some  city  of  Europe  ;  and  that  the 
anger  of  God  excited  in  them  no  more 
terror  and  contrition,  than  the  anger 
of  the  king  of  Persia  did  in  those  who 
are  in  Pennsylvania.  From  these  things, 
and  from  reasons  deduced  from  their 
traditions,  I  am  confirmed,  that  contri- 
tion, unless  it  be  repentance,  such  as 
is  described  in  what  follows,  becomes 
nothing  else  than  a  sport  of  the  fancy. 
The  reason,  also,  why  the  Reformed 
took  up  contrition  instead  of  repent- 
ance, was  that  they  might  be  torn 
away  from  the  Roman  Catholics,  who 
urge  repentance,  and  at  tlie  same  time 
charity ;  and  after  they  had  confirmed 
justification  by  faith  alone,  they  alleged 
the  reason,  that  by  repentance,  as  by 
charity,  something  of  man,  which 
savors  of  merit,  would  enter  into  his 
faith  and  blacken  it. 

516.  III.  That  the  oral  Con- 
fession ALONE,  that  one  IS  A  SlNNER, 
IS  not  Repentance. 

Concerning  this  oral  confession,  the 
Reformed,  who  are  att.ached  to  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  tlius  teach : 
"No one  can  ever  know  his  own  sins, 
wherefore  they  cannot  be  enumerated ; 
they  are  also  interior  and  hidden ; 
wherefore  the  confession  would  be  false, 
uncertain,  imperfect  and  nnitilated ; 
but  he  who  confesses  himself  to  be 
altogether  mere  sin,  comprehends  all 
sins,  excludes  none,  and  forgets  none. 
But,  still,  the  enumeration  of  sins, 
although  it  is  not  necessary,  is  not  to 
be  taken  away,  on  account  of  tender 
and  timid  consciences ;  but  this  is  only 
a  puerile  and  common  form  of  confes- 
sion for  the  more  simple  and  ignorant." 
Formula  Concorui.e,  pages  'V27,  331, 
380.  But  this  confession  was  accepted 
instead  of  actual  repentance,  by  the 
Reformed,  after  they  had  separated 
themselves  from  the  Roman  Catholics, 
because  it  is  founded  on  their  imputa- 
tive faith,  which  alone,  without  charity, 
and  thus  also  without  repentance,  pro- 


Concerning  Repentance. 


m 


duces  remission  of  sins.and  regenerates 
man ;  and  also  upon  this,  which  is  an 
inseparable  appendage  to  that  faith, 
that  there  is  no  cooperation  of  man 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  act  of  jus- 
tification ;  and  upon  this,  that  no  one 
has  free  agency  in  spiritual  things ; 
and  again  upon  this,  that  every  thing  is 
of  immediate  mercy,  and  nothing  at  all 
of  that  which  becomes  mediate  by 
man  and  through  him. 

517.  Among  the  many  reasons 
why  the  oral  confession  that  one  is  a 
sinner  is  not  repentance,  is  this ;  that 
every  man  can  say  this,  even  a  wicked 
man,  and  also  a  devil,  and  this  with 
much  external  devotion,  when  he 
thinks  of  the  torments  in  hell,  threat- 
ening him  and  present  to  him.  But 
who  does  not  see  that  this  is  not  from 
any  internal  devotion,  consequently 
that  it  is  imaginative,  and  thence  from 
the  lungs,  but  not  voluntary  from  with- 
in, and  thence  from  the  heart  ?  For  a 
wicked  man  and  a  devil  still  burn  in- 
wardly with  the  lusts  of  the  love  of 
doing  evil,  by  which  they  are  carried 
like  mills  driven  by  tempests;  where- 
fore, such  an  exclamation  is  nothing 
else  than  a  contrivance  to  deceive  God 
or  impose  upon  the  simple  for  the  sake 
of  deliverance.  For  what  is  easier, 
than  to  force  the  lips  to  vociferate,  and 
to  accommodate  the  breath  of  the 
mouth  to  it,  and  to  raise  the  eyes  and 
lift  the  hands  upwards?  This  is  the 
same  that  the  Lord  says  in  Mark ; 
"Well  hath  Isaiah  prophesied  concern- 
ing i/ou,  hypocrites ;  This  people  hon- 
oreth  me  with  their  lips,  but  their  heart 
is  far  from  me,  vii.  6.  And  in  Mat- 
thew ;  TFb  to  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees , 
because  ye  make  clean  the  outside  of 
the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  but  the  in- 
sides  are  full  of  rapine  and  excess. 
Blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  the  inside 
of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  that  the 
outside  also  may  be  made  clean,  xxiii. 
25,  26 ;  and  more  in  the  same  chapter. 

518.  In  the  like  hypocritical  wor- 
ship are  those  who  have  confirmed  in 
themselves  the  faith  of  this  day,  that 
the  Lord,  by  the  passion  of  the  cross, 
took  away  all  the  sins  of  the  world ; 
and  thereby  they  understand  the  sins 


of  every  one,  who  only  prays  the  forms 
respecting  propitiation  and  mediation. 
Some  of  these  can,  in  pulpits,  with  a* 
loud  voice,  and,  as  it  were,  an  ardent 
zeal,  pour  forth  many  holy  things  con- 
cerning repentance  and  concerning 
charity,  and  they  think  both  of  no 
avail  to  salvation ;  for  they  mean  no 
other  repentance  than  oral  confession, 
and  no  other  charity  than  forensic ; 
but  they  do  that  to  gain  the  favor  of 
the  people.  These  are  they  who  are 
meant  by  these  words  of  the  Lord ; 
Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day.  Lord, 
Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  by  thy 
name;  and  in  thy  name  done  many 
mighty  tcorks  ?  But  then  I  shall  con- 
fess to  them,  I  knoiD  you  not;  depart 
from  Me,  yc  loorkers  of  iniquity. 
Matt.  vii.  22,  23.  Once,  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  I  heard  a  certain  one 
praying  thus  :  "  I  am  full  of  the  scab, 
leprous  and  filthy  from  my  mother's 
womb.  There  is  nothing  sound  in  me, 
from  the  head  to  the  sole  of  the  foot. 
I  am  not  worthy  to  lift  up  my  eyes  to 
God.  I  am  deserving  of  death  and 
eternal  damnation.  Have  mercy  on 
me  for  the  sake  of  thy  Son.  Purify 
me,  by  his  blood.  The  salvation  of 
all  is  in  thy  good  pleasure.  I  implore 
mercy."  Those  who  stood  by  him 
and  heard  these  words  asked,  "  Whence 
do  you  know  that  you  are  such  ?  "  He 
replied,  "I  know  because  I  have  heard." 
But  then  he  was  sent  to  the  examining 
angels,  in  whose  presence  he  spoke 
similar  things ;  and  they,  having  made 
an  examination,  reported,  that  he  had 
spoken  truths  concerning  himself,  but 
that  still  he  did  not  know  one  evil  in 
himself,  because  he  had  never  exam- 
ined himself,  and  had  believed  that 
evils,  after  an  oral  confession,  are  no 
longer  evils  in  the  sight  of  God,  both 
because  God  turns  away  his  eyes  from 
them,  and  because  He  is  propitiated  ; 
and  that,  therefore,  he  had  not  repented 
of  any,  although  he  was  a  deliberate 
adulterer,  a  robber,  a  deceitful  detracter, 
and  a  burning  revenger;  and  that  he 
was  such  in  will  and  heart,  and  thence 
would  be  such  in  words  and  deeds, 
unless  the  fear  of  the  law  and  of  the 
loss  of  fame  restrained  him.  After 


368 


Concerning  Repentance. 


it  was  found  out  that  he  was  such,  he 
was  judged  and  cast  off  to  the  hypo- 
crites in  hell. 

519.  What  those  are  may  be  il- 
lustrated by  comparisons.  They  are 
like  temples  in  which  are  assembled 
only  spirits  of  the  dragon,  and  those 
who  are  meant  by  locusts  in  the  Revela- 
tion ;  and  they  are  like  the  pulpits  there, 
where  the  Word  is  not,  because  it  is 
buried  under  feet.  They  are  like  the 
walls  of  houses  plastered,  and  the  plas- 
tering beautifully  colored,  within  which 
owls  and  direful  birds  of  night  fly 
about,  the  windows  being  open.  They 
are  like  whitened  sepulchres,  in  which 
are  bones  of  the  dead.  They  are  like 
coins  made  of  the  lees  of  oil,  or  dried 
dung,  and  covered  over  with  gold. 
They  arc  like  the  bark  and  rind  around 
rotten  wood  ;  and  they  are  like  the  gar- 
ments of  the  sons  of  Aaron  about  a 
leprous  body  :  yea,  they  are  like  ulcers, 
within  which  there  is  corrupted  matter, 
covered  over  with  a  thin  skin,  which 
are  believed  to  be  healed.  Who  does 
not  know,  that  a  holy  external  and  a 
profane  internal  do  not  agree  together ! 
Such,  also,  more  than  others,  are  afraid 
to  explore  themselves;  wherefore  they 
have  no  more  perception  of  the  vicious 
things  within  them,  than  of  the  noisome 
and  loath.some  things  in  the  stomach 
and  in  the  bowels,  before  they  are  cast 
out  into  the  draught.  But  it  is  to  be 
held,  that  those  who  have  been  hitherto 
spoken  of  are  not  to  be  confounded 
with  those  who  act  well  and  believe 
well ;  nor  with  those  who  repent  of 
some  sins,  and  from  a  like  oral  confes- 
sion, while  in  worship,  and  still  more 
in  spiritual  temptation,  speak  with  them- 
selves, or  pray ;  for  that  general  con- 
fession both  precedes  and  follows  ref- 
ormation and  regeneration. 

520.  IV.  That  Man  is  korn  to 
Evils  of  every  Kind,  and  that,  u.\- 
less  he  remove  them  in  part  by 
Repentance,  he  remains  in  the.m, 

AND  he  WHO  REMAINS  IN  THEM  CANNOT 
BE  SAVED. 

That  every  man  is  born  to  evils, 
thus  that  from  his  mother's  womb  ho 
is  nothing  but  evil,  is  known  in  the 
church  ;  and  it  became  known  in  conse- 


quence of  its  being  taught  by  councils 
and  by  the  prelates  of  churches,  that 
the  sin  of  Adam  was  transmitted  to  all 
his  posterity ;  and  that  this  is  the  only 
thing,  on  account  of  which  every  man 
after  him  was  condemned  together  with 
him ;  and  that  this  is  what  is  inherent 
in  every  man  from  his  birth.  Besides, 
many  other  things  which  the  churches 
teach  are  founded  upon  this  assertion  ; 
as  that  the  laver  of  regeneration,  which 
is  called  baptism,  was  instituted  by  the 
Lord  that  this  sin  might  be  removed ; 
and  that  this  was  the  cause  of  the 
Lord's  coming ;  and  that  faith  in  his 
merit  is  the  means  by  which  it  is  re- 
moved ;  besides  many  other  things, 
which  the  churches  have  founded  upon 
this  assertion.  But  that  there  is  no 
hereditary  evil  from  that  origin,  may 
be  evident  from  those  things  which 
were  shown  above,  n.  466,  and  the  fol- 
lowing ;  that  Adam  was  not  the  first 
of  mcH,  but  that  by  Adam  and  his 
wife,  the  first  church  on  this  globe  is 
representatively  described  ;  and  by  the 
garden  of  Eden,  the  wisdom  of  that 
church ;  and  by  the  tree  of  life,  its 
looking  to  the  Lord  who  was  to  come ; 
and  by  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  its  looking  to  self, 
and  not  to  the  Lord.  That  this  church 
was  representatively  described  by  the 
first  chapters  of  Genesis,  has  been 
evinced  Irom  many  parallel  passages 
from  the  Word,  in  the  Arcana  C(e- 
M'.STiA,  published  at  London.  From 
these  things  being  understood  and  as- 
sumed, the  ojjinion  hitherto  entertained, 
that  the  evil  innate  in  man  from  his 
parents  is  thence,  falls  to  the  ground ; 
when  yet  it  does  not  derive  its  origin 
thence,  but  from  another  source.  That 
the  tree  of  life,  and  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  are  with 
every  man  ;  and  that  their  being  said  to 
be  placed  in  a  certain  garden  signified 
the  liberty  and  ability  of  turning  one's 
self  to  the  Lord,  and  of  turning  one's 
self  away  from  Him,  has  been  fully 
demonstrated  in  the  chapter  concerning 
Free  Agency. 

But,  my  friend,  hereditary 
evil  is  from  no  other  source  than  from 
parents ;  not  indeed   the   evil  itself 


Concerning  Repentance. 


369 


which  a  man  actually  commits,  but  au 
inclination  to  it.  That  it  is  so,  every 
one  will  acknowledge,  if  he  only  joins 
reason  to  experience.  Who  does  not 
know  that  children  are  born  into  a 
common  likeness  of  their  parents,  as 
to  their  faces,  and  manners,  and  dispo- 
sitions ?  And  also  that  grandchildren 
and  great-grandchildren  are  born  into 
those  of  their  grandfathers  and  great- 
grandfathers, and  that  thence  families, 
and  also  nations,  are  distinguished  from 
each  other  by  many,  as  Africans  from 
Europeans,  Neapolitans  from  Germans, 
Englishmen  from  Frenchmen,  and  so 
forth  !  And  who  does  not  know  a  Jew 
from  his  face,  eyes,  speech  and  gestures  ? 
And  if  you  could  feel  the  sphere  of 
life  diffusing  itself  from  the  native  dis- 
position of  every  one,  you  might  also 
be  convinced  of  the  likeness  of  their 
dispositions  and  minds.  Hence  it  fol- 
lows, that  man  is  not  born  into  evils 
themselves,  but  only  into  an  inclina- 
tion to  evils,  yet  with  a  greater  or  less 
bias  to  particular  ones.  Wherefore, 
after  death,  no  one  is  judged  from  any 
hereditary  evil,  but  from  the  actual 
ones,  which  he  himself  has  committed. 
This  also  is  evident  from  this  statute 
of  the  Lord  :  Tke  father  shall  not  die 
for  the  son,  and  the  son  shall  not  die 
for  the  father ;  every  one  shall  die  for 
his  own  sin,  Deut.  xxiv.  16.  This  was 
made  certain  to  me,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  from  the  infants  which  die,  in 
that  they  only  incline  to  evils,  so  that 
they  will,  but  still  they  do  not  do  them, 
for  they  are  educated  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Lord,  and  saved.  The 
above-mentioned  inclination  and  bias 
to  evils,  transmitted  from  parents  to 
their  children  and  posterity,  is  broken 
only  by  a  new  birth  from  the  Lord, 
which  is  called  regeneration :  without 
this,  that  inclination  not  only  remains 
uninterrupted,  but  also  increases  from 
successive  parents,  and  becomes  more 
prone  to  evils,  and  at  length  to  every 
kind  of  them.  Thence  it  is,  that  the 
Jews  are  still  images  of  their  father 
Judah,  who  took  to  wife  a  Canaanitess, 
and  by  adultery  with  his  daughter-in-law 
Tamar,  begot  the  three  j-aces  of  them. 
Wherefore  this  hereditary  disposition, 


in  process  of  time,  has  increased  with 
them  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  caa- 
not,  witli  a  faith  of  the  heart,  embrace 
the  Christian  religion.  It  is  said,  that 
they  cannot,  because  the  interior  will 
of  their  mind  is  averse  to  it,  and  this 
will  causes  the  inability. 

522.  That  every  evil,  unless  it  be 
removed,  remains  with  man;  and  that 
man,  if  he  remain  in  his  evils,  cannot 
be  saved,  follow  of  themselves.  That 
no  evil  can  be  removed  but  by  the  Lord, 
with  those  who  believe  in  Him  and 
love  the  neighbor,  may  be  very  evident 
from  what  has  been  said  above,  par- 
ticularly from  these  things  in  the  chap- 
ter concerning  F.\ith  ;  That  the  Lord, 
charity  and  faith  make  one,  like  life, 
will  and  understanding ;  and  if  they 
are  divided,  each  perishes  like  a  pearl 
reduced  to  poicder.  And  from  these 
there,  That  the  Lord  is  charity  and 
faith  in  man,  and  that  man  is  charity 
and  faith  in  the  Lord.  But  is  it  asked, 
How  can  man  enter  into  that  union  ? 
It  is  answered,  that  he  cannot,  unless 
he  remove  his  evils,  in  part,  by  repent- 
ance. It  is  said,  that  man  removes 
them,  because  the  Lord  does  not  do  it 
immediately  without  the  cooperation  of 
man,  which  also  was  fully  shown  in  the 
same  chapter,  and  in  the  following  one 
concerning  Free  Agency. 

523.  It  is  affirmed  that  no  one  can 
fulfil  the  law,  especially  since  he  who 
offends  against  one  precept  of  the 
decalogue,  offends  against  all.  But 
this  form  of  speaking  is  not  just  as  it 
sounds  ;  for  it  is  to  be  understood  in 
this  manner,  that  he,  who,  from  purpose 
or  confirmation,  acts  against  one  pre- 
cept, acts  against  the  rest,  since  to  act 
from  purpose  and  confirmation,  is  utter- 
ly to  deny  that  it  is  sin  ;  and  if  it  is 
said  that  it  is  sin,  to  reject  it  as  of  no 
moment :  and  he  who  thus  denies  and 
rejects  sin,  makes  light  of  every  thing 
that  is  called  sin.  Those  who  are  not 
willing  to  hear  any  thing  about  repent- 
ance, come  into  this  purpose;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  those  who  by  repent- 
ance have  removed  some  evils,  which 
are  sins,  come  into  the  purpose  of  be- 
lieving in  the  Lord  and  loving  the 
neighbor :  these  are  held  by  the  Lord 


370 


Concerning  Repentance. 


in  the  purpose  of  abstaining  from  more 
sins  ;  wherefore,  if  they  sin  from  igno- 
rance, or  from  some  very  powerful  lust, 
it  is  not  imputed  to  them,  because  they 
did  not  propose  it  to  themselves,  nor 
do  they  confirm  it  in  themselves. 
This  may  be  confirmed  by  these  facts. 
In  the  spiritual  world  I  have  met  with 
many,  who  in  the  natural  world  lived 
like  others,  in  clothing  themselves 
splendidly,  feasting  sumptuously,  trad- 
ing with  interest  like  others,  seeing  the- 
atrical exhibitions,  joking  about  lovers 
as  if  from  lust,  besides  other  similar 
things ;  and  yet  the  angels  charged 
those  things  to  some,  as  evils  of  sin, 
and  to  some  they  did  not  charge  them 
as  evils,  and  these  they  declared  inno- 
cent, but  those  guilty.  To  the  ques- 
tion. Why  so?  when  yet  they  did  the 
like  things,  they  replied ;  that  they 
regard  all  from  the  purpose,  intention, 
and  end,  and  distinguish  according  to 
these  ;  and  that,  therefore,  those  whom 
the  end  either  excuses  or  condenms, 
they  themselves  excuse  or  condemn, 
since  all  in  heaven  have  the  end  of 
good,  and  all  in  hell  the  end  of  evil. 

524.  But  these  things  shall  be  illus- 
trated by  comparisons.  Wiien  sins  are 
retained  in  an  impenitent  man,  they 
may  be  compared  with  various  diseases 
in  him,  of  which,  unless  medicines  be 
applied  to  them,  and  their  malignity 
thereby  removed,  the  man  dies  ;  par- 
ticularly with  the  disease  called  gan- 
grene, which,  unless  it  be  cured  in 
season,  spreads  itself  around  and  brings 
on  inevitable  death ;  in  like  manner 
with  impostumes  and  abscesses,  unless 
they  be  uncovered  and  opened ;  for 
thence  collections  of  putrid  matter 
would  be  spread  into  the  neighboring 
parts,  and  thence  into  the  adjacent 
viscera,  and  at  last  into  the  heart, 
whence  death  would  ensue.  They 
may  also  be  compared  with  tigers, 
jeopards,  lions,  wolves  and  foxes,  which, 
unless  they  be  kept  in  dens,  or  tied 
with  chains  or  ropes,  would  attack  the 
flock  and  herd,  and  the  fox,  the  hens,  and 
kill  them  ;  and  also  with  venomous  ser- 
pents, which,  unless  they  are  held  down 
and  confined  by  polos,  or  deprived  of 
their  teeth,  would  intlict  upon  man 


deadly  wounds.  The  whole  flock,  if 
it  were  left  in  plains  where  there  are 
poisonous  herbs,  would  perish,  unless 
it  were  led  away  thence  by  the  shep- 
herd into  wholesome  pastures.  The 
silk-worm,  too,  would  perish,  and  thus 
all  the  silk,  unless  other  worms  were 
shaken  off  from  the  leaves  of  its  tree. 
It  may  be  compared  also  with  corn  in 
barns  or  houses,  which  would  become 
musty  and  rancid,  and  thus  unfit  for 
use,  unless  the  air  were  suffered  to 
pass  freely  through  it,  and  preserve  it 
from  damage.  Fire,  unless  it  were 
extinguished  at  its  first  breaking  out, 
would  consume  a  whole  city  or  forest. 
A  garden  would  be  covered  all  over 
with  brambles,  thistles  and  briers,  un- 
less they  were  rooted  up.  Skilful  gar- 
deners know,  tiiat  a  bad  tree,  from  the 
seed  and  root,  brings  its  bad  juices  into 
the  stock  of  a  good  tree,  engrafted  or 
inoculated  into  it,  and  that  the  bad 
juices,  which  enter  from  beneath, 
are  turned  into  good  juices,  and  pro- 
duce good  fruit.  The  like  is  done  to 
man  by  tlie  removal  of  evil  by  means  of 
repentiince,  for  by  this,  man  is  en- 
grafted into  the  Lord,  as  a  branch  into 
a  vine,  and  bears  good  fruit,  John 
XV.  4,5,  0. 

525.  V.  Tii.\T  THE  Knowledge 
OF  Sin,  .\.\d  the  Sr..\urHiNG  out  of 
SOME  oNK  Sin  in  o.xe's  .self,  begins 
Repent.vnce. 

No  one  in  the  Christian  world  can 
be  without  tlic  knowledge  of  sin ;  for 
every  one  there  is  taught,  from  his  in- 
fancy, what  evil  is,  and  from  his  child- 
hood, what  is  the  evil  of  sin.  All 
young  people  learn  this  from  their 
parents  and  masters,  and  also  from  the 
decalogue,  which  is  the  first  book  for  all 
in  Christendom ;  and  in  their  progress 
afterwards,  from  preaching  in  temples, 
and  from  instruction  at  home,  and  in 
fulness  from  the  W ord ;  and  besides, 
from  the  civil  laws  of  justice,  which 
teach  the  same  things  as  the  decalogue 
and  the  other  parts  of  the  Word.  For 
the  evil  of  sin  is  nothing  else  than  evil 
against  the  neighbor ;  and  evil  against 
the  neighbor  is  also  evil  against  God, 
which  is  sin.  But  the  knowledge 
of  sin  does  not  effect  any  thing,  unless 


Concerning  Repentance. 


371 


a  man  explores  the  acts  of  his  life,  and 
sees  whether  he  has  done  any  such 
thing,  in  secret  or  in  public ;  previous 
to  this  it  is  all  only  science,  and  tlien 
all  that  the  preacher  brings  forth  is 
on!y  something  sounding  in  his  left  car, 
from  which  it, passes  through  to  his 
right  and  flies  away  ;  and  at  last  it 
becomes  only  something  of  thought 
and  something  devout  from  the  lungs, 
and  with  many  something  imaginary 
and  chimerical.  But  the  case  is  quite 
different,  if  a  man,  according  to  his 
knowledge  of  what  sin  is,  explores  him- 
self, and  finds  some  sin  in  himself,  and 
says  with  himself,  This  evil  is  a  sin, 
and  abstains  from  it  through  fear  of 
eternal  punishment ;  then,  for  the  first 
time,  instructive  and  oratorial  preach- 
ing in  temples,  is  received  with  both 
ears  and  admitted  into  the  heart,  and 
the  man,  from  a  pagan,  becomes  a 
Christian. 

526.  What  can  be  more  known  in 
the  whole  Ciiristian  world,  than  tliat  a 
man  ought  to  examine  himself!  For 
every  where  in  the  empires  and  king- 
doms, which  are  devoted  either  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  or  the  Evangelical 
religion,  they  are  taught  and  admon- 
ished, before  coming  to  the  holy  sup- 
per,  that   a   man    should  examine 
himself,  and  know  and  acknowledge 
his  sins,  and  begin  to  live  otherwise ; 
and  this  with  horrible  threatenings  in 
the  dominions  of  England,  where,  fi-om 
the  preparatory  service  before  com- 
munion, these  words  are  read  and  pro- 
claimed by  the  priest  from  the  altar : 
"  The  way  and  means,''  to  become 
a  worthy  partaker  of  the  holy  sup- 
per,   "  is.    First,    to    examine  your 
lives  and  conversations  by  the  rule  of 
God's  commandments ;  and  whereinso- 
ever ye  shall  perceive  yourselves  to 
have  offended,  either  by  will,  word, 
or  deed,  there  to  bewail  your  own  sin- 
fulness, and  to  confess  yourselves  to 
Almighty  God,  with  full  purpose  of 
amendment  of  life.    And  if  ye  shall 
perceive    your  offences  to   be  such 
as  are   not   only   against   God,  but 
also  against  your  neighbors,  then  ye 
shall  reconcile  yourselves  unto  them, 
being  ready  to  make  restitution  and 


satisfaction  according  to  the  utter- 
most of  your  powers,  for  all  injuries 
and  wrongs  done  by  you  to  any  other ; 
and  being  likewise  ready  to  forgive 
others  that  have  offended  you,  as  ye 
would  have  forgiveness  of  your  offences 
at  God's  hand ;  for  otherwise  the  re- 
ceiving of  the  holy  communion  doth 
nothing  else  but  increase  your  damna- 
tion. Therefore,  if  any  of  you  be  a 
blasphemer  of  God,  a  hinderer  or  slan- 
derer of  his  Word,  an  adulterer,  or  be 
in  malice,  or  envy,  or  in  any  other 
grievous  crime ;  repent  ye  of  your 
sins,  or  else  come  not  to  that  holy  table  ; 
lest,  after  the  taking  of  that  holy  sac- 
rament, the  devil  enter  into  you,  as  he 
entered  into  Judas,  and  fill  you  full 
of  all  iniquities,  and  bring  you  to  de- 
struction both  of  body  and  soul." 

o2T.  But  still  there  are  some  who 
cannot  examine  themselves,  as  infants, 
boys  and  girls, before  they  arrive  at  an 
age  wlien  they  become  capable  of  self- 
examination  ;  in  like  manner,  the  sim- 
ple, who  are  incapable  of  reflection  ; 
and  also  all  who  have  not  the  fear  of 
God ;  besides  these  some  who  are  dis- 
eased in  mind  and  body ;  and  more- 
over those,  who,  being  confirmed  in  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone 
imputative  of  the  merit  of  Christ,  have 
persuaded  themselves  that  by  examina- 
tion and  thence  repentance,  something 
of  man  would  enter,  which  would  de- 
stroy faith,  and  thus  throw  salvation 
out  of  its  only  focus,  and  throw  it 
away.    These  and  those  make  use  only 
of  oral  confession,  which   has  been 
shown  above,  in  this  chapter,  not  to  be 
repentance.     But  those    who  know 
what  sin  is,  and  especially  those  who 
know  many  things  from  the  Word,  and 
teach  them,  and  do  not  explore  them- 
selves, and  thence  see  no  sin  in  them- 
selves, may  be  likened  to  those  who 
scrape  together  riches  and  lay  them  up 
in  coffers  and  chests,  without  any  other 
use  of  them,  than  to  look  at  them  and 
count  them  ;  and  like  those  who  collect 
in  treasuries  jewels  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  shut  them  up  in  cellars,  solely  for 
the  sake  of  opulence ;  who  are  like 
the  trader  that  hid  his  talent  under 
the  ground,  and  like  him  that  hid  his 


372 


Concerning  Repentance. 


pound  in  a  napkin,  Matt.  xxv.  25 ; 
Luke  xix.  20.  They  are  also  like  hard 
and  stony  ways,  on  which  seed  falls, 
Matt.  xiii.  4 ;  and  also  like  fig-trees  lux- 
uriant in  leaves,  and  bearing  no  fruit, 
Mark  xi.  12.  And  they  are  hearts  of 
adamant,  which  do  not  become  hearts 
of  flesh,  Zech.  vii.  12.  They  are  like 
partridges,  icMch  sit  and  do  not  hatch. 
They  get  riches,  but  not  xoith  judgment ; 
in  the  midst  of  their  days  they  leave 
them,  and  in  their  end  they  become  fools, 
Jer.  xvii.  11.  They  are  like  the  five 
virgins  who  had  lamps  and  not  oil, 
Matt.  xxv.  1  to  12.  Those  who  de- 
rive from  the  Word  many  things  con- 
cerning charity  and  concerning  repent- 
ance, and  know  precepts  in  abundance, 
and  do  not  live  according  to  them, 
may  be  compared  with  voracious  eaters, 
who  stuff  their  mouths  with  food,  and, 
without  chewing  it  with  their  teeth, 
let  it  down  into  the  stomach,  where 
it  remains  undigested,  and  being  thence 
pressed  out,  it  vitiates  the  chyle,  and 
brings  on  lingering  diseases,  of  which 
at  last  they  die  miserably.  Such, 
because  they  are  without  spiritual  heat, 
however  they  may  be  in  light,  may  be 
called  winters,  frozen  countries,  arctic 
climates,  yea,  heaps  of  snow  and  ice. 

528.  VI.  That  actual  Repent- 
ance IS,  TO   examine    one's  self 

TO    KNOW    and   acknowledge  ONe's 

Sins,  to  make  Supplication  to  the 
Lord,  and  to  begin  a  new  Life. 

That  repentance  must  surely  be 
performed,  and  that  the  salvation  of 
man  depends  upon  it,  is  evident  from 
many  passages  and  plain  declarations 
pf  the  Lord  in  the  Word ;  of  which 
these  at  present  will  be  adduced.  John 
preached  the  baptism  of  repentance, 
and  said,  Bring  forth  fruits  worthy 
of  repentance,  Luke  iii.  3,  8;  Mark 
i.  9.  Jesus  began  to  preach  and  say. 
Repent  ye.  Matt.  iv.  17.  And  He 
said,  Because  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
at  hand,  repent  ye,  Mark  i.  14,  15. 
Again,  Unless  ye  repent,  ye  will  all 
perish,  Luke  xiii.  5.  Jesus  instructed 
his  disciples,  that  repentance  and  re- 
mission of  sins  should  be  preached  in 
Ms  name,  to  all  nations,  xxiv.  47 ; 
Mark    vi.    12.     Wherefore  Peter 


preached  repentance  and  baptism  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission 
of  sins.  Acts  ii.  38.  And  also  he 
said.  Repent  ye,  and  turn  yourselves 
about,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted 
out,  iii.  19.  Paul  preached  to  all 
every  where,  that  they , should  repent, 
xvii.  30.  Paul  also  announced  in 
Damascus,  in  Jerusalem,  through  the 
jchole  region  of  Judea,  and  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, that  they  should  repent,  and  turn 
themselves  to  God;  and  that  they  should 
do  works  worthy  of  repentance,  xxvi.  20. 
And  also  he  testified,  both  to  the  Jctcs 
and  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards 
God,  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  XX.  21.  The  Lord  said  to  the 
church  of  Ephesus,  /  have  against 
thee,  that  thou  hast  left  the  first  char- 
ity ;  repent,  or  else  I  tcill  remove  thy 
candlestick  out  of  its  place,  unless  thou 
repent,  Rev.  ii.  2,  4,  5.  To  the 
church  in  Pergamus,  I knoio  thy  works ; 
repent,  ii.  16.  To  the  church  in  Thy- 
atira,  I  will  give  her  up  to  ajjiictioit,if 
she  do  not  repent  of  her  works,  ii.  19, 
20,  23.  To  the  church  of  the  Lao- 
diceans,  /  know  thy  works;  be  zealous 
and  repent,  iii.  15,  19.  There  is  joy 
in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  rcpentcth, 
Luke  XV.  7  ;  besides  in  other  places. 
Hence  it  is  evident,  that  repentance 
must  by  all  means  be  performed ;  but 
what,  and  in  what  manner,  will  be 
made  manifest  in  what  follows. 

529.  Who  cannot  understand  from 
the  reason  given  to  him,  that  it  is  not 
repentance  for  one  merely  to  confess 
with  the  mouth,  that  he  is  a  sinner, 
and  to  utter  many  things  about  it,  like 
the  hypocrite,  who  was  mentioned 
above,  n.  518?  For  what  is  easier  for 
a  man,  when  he  is  in  anguish  and  in 
agony,  than  to  breathe  out  from  the 
lungs,  and  to  pour  forth  thence, 
through  the  lips,  sighs  and  groans,  and 
also  to  beat  the  breast,  and  make  him- 
self guilty  of  all  sins,  when  yet  he  is 
conscious  of  no  one  in  himself?  Does 
the  diabolical  crew  which  is  in  his  loves 
go  out  together  with  his  sighs  ?  Do  they 
not  rather  hiss  at  them  and  remain  in 
him,  as  before,  as  in  their  own  house  ? 
Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  such  repent- 
ance was  not  meant  in  the  Word,  but 


Concerning  Repentance. 


373 


repentance  from  evil  works,  as  it  is 
said. 

530.  Is  it  asked,  then.  How  is  re- 
pentance to  be  performed  ?  It  is  an- 
swered, Actually  ;  and  this  is,  for  one 
to  examine  himself,  to  know  and  ac- 
knowledge his  sins,  to  make  supplica- 
tion to  the  Lord,  and  begin  a  new  life. 
That  there  can  be  no  repentance 
without  examination,  was  shown  in  the 
article  which  precedes.  But  for  what 
purpose  is  examination,  but  that  one 
may  know  his  sins  ?  And  for  what  pur- 
pose is  that  knowledge,  but  that  he 
may  acknowledge  that  they  are  in  him  ? 
And  for  what  purpose  are  those  three, 
but  that  he  may  confess  them  before 
the  Lord,  and  make  supplication  for 
help,  and  from  this  begin  a  new  life, 
which  is  the  end  that  was  to  be  attain- 
ed ?  This  is  actual  repentance.  Every 
man,  after  the  first  stage  of  life,  and 
more  and  more  as  he  comes  to  the 
exercise  of  his  right  and  his  reason,  may 
know  from  baptism,  by  the  washing  of 
which  is  meant  regeneration,  that  he 
ought  to  proceed  and  do  thus  ;  for  at 
his  baptism,  his  sponsors  promise  for 
him,  that  he  shall  renounce  the  devil 
and  all  his  works.  The  like  is  manifest 
from  the  holy  supper,  before  the  worthy 
celebration  of  which,  all  are  admon- 
ished to  repent  of  their  sins,  turn  them- 
selves to  God,  and  begin  a  new  life. 
And  it  is  also  manifest  from  the  deca- 
logue, or  catechism,  which  is  in  the 
hands  of  all  Christians,  where,  in  six 
precepts  of  the  decalogue,  nothing  else 
is  commanded,  but  that  men  should 
not  do  evils ;  and  unless  man  removes 
evils  by  repentance,  he  cannot  love  his 
neighbor,  and  still  less  God  ;  when  yet, 
on  these  two  commandments  hang  the 
law  and  the  prophets ;  that  is,  the  Word, 
and,  consequently,  salvation.  If  actual 
repentance  be  performed  at  stated 
times ;  for  instance,  as  often  as  a  man 
prepares  himself  for  the  communion  of 
the  holy  supper ;  and  if  he  afterwards 
abstain  from  one  or  more  sins,  which 
he  then  discovers  in  himself,  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  initiate  him  into  actual  re- 
pentance ;  and  when  he  is  in  that,  he 
is  in  the  way  to  heaven ;  for  then  man 
begins  from  natural  to  become  spir- 


itual, and  to  be  born  anew  of  the 
Lord. 

531.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
following  comparisons.  Man,  before 
repentance,  is  like  a  desert,  in  which 
there  are  terrible  wild  beasts,  dragons, 
owls,  screech  owls,  vipers,  venomous 
serpents;  and  in  the  thickets  there, 
ochim  and  ziim,  and  satyrs  dance  :  but 
when  these  are  cast  out  by  the  indus- 
try and  labor  of  man,  that  desert  may 
be  ploughed  and  cultivated  for  fields, 
and  in  them  may  be  sown  first  oats, 
beans  and  flax,  and  afterwards  barley 
and  wheat.  And  also  it  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  wickedness  which  reigns 
abundantly  among  men :  unless  the 
wicked  were  chastised  and  punished 
according  to  the  laws,  with  stripes  or 
death,  no  city  and  no  kingdom  could 
subsist.  Man  is  like  a  society  in  the 
least  form  :  unless  he  dealt  with  himself 
in  a  spiritual  manner,  as  the  wicked 
are  dealt  with  in  a  great  society  in  a 
natural  manner,  he,  after  death,  would 
be  chastised  and  punished ;  and  this 
until,  through  fear  of  punishment,  he 
does  not  do  evil,  although  he  can  never 
be  reduced  to  do  good  from  the  love 
of  good. 

532.  VII.  That  true  Repentance 

IS,  TO  EXPLORE  NOT  ONLY  THE  AcTS  OP 
one's  LfFE,  but  ALSO  THE  INTENTIONS 

OF  HIS  Will. 

That  true  repentance  is,  to  explore 
not  only  the  acts  of  one's  life,  but  also 
the  intentions  of  his  will,  is  because  the 
understanding  and  the  will  make  the 
acts;  for  man  speaks  from  thought  and 
acts  from  will ;  wherefore  speech  is 
thought  speaking,  and  action  is  will 
acting ;  and  because  the  words  and 
actions  are  thence,  it  follows  indubitably 
that  those  two  are  v.'hat  sin,  when  the 
body  sins.  And  also  a  man  can  repent 
of  the  evils  which  he  has  done  with  the 
body,  and  still  think  and  will  evil ;  but 
this  is  like  cutting  oflT  the  trunk  of  a 
bad  tree  and  leaving  its  root  in  the 
ground,  from  which  the  same  bad  tree 
grows  up  and  spreads  itself  around. 
But  it  is  otherwise,  when  the  root  also 
is  pulled  up ;  and  this  is  done  in  man, 
when  he  at  the  same  time  explores  the 
intentions  of  his  will,  and  removes  evils 


374 


Concerning  Repentance. 


by  repentance.  A  man  explores  the 
intentions  of  his  will,  while  he  explores 
his  thoughts,  for  the  intentions  manifest 
themselves  in  them ;  as  while  he  thinks, 
wills  and  intends,  revenge,  adultery, 
theft,  false  witness,  and  the  desires  for 
those  things,  and  also  blasphemy 
against  God,  the  holy  Word  and  the 
church,  and  so  forth  :  if  he  still  applies 
his  attention  to  it,  and  considers  whether 
he  would  do  those  things,  if  the  fear  of 
the  law  and  of  fame  did  not  oppose, 
and  then,  after  such  scrutiny,  thinks 
that  he  will  not  do  them,  because  they 
are  sins,  he  performs  true  and  interior 
repentance  ;  and  still  more  when  he  is 
in  the  delight  of  those  evils  and  at  the 
same  time  in  the  liberty  of  doing  them, 
and  then  resists  and  abstains.  He 
who  repeatedly  exercises  this,  finds  the 
delights  of  evils,  when  they  return,  un- 
delightful,  and  at  length  condemns 
them  to  hell.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  these  words  of  the  Lord  ;  W/iosorvcr 
rcilljind  his  life,  shall  lose  it;  and  whoso- 
ever shall  lose  his  life,  for  my  sake,  shall 
find  it.  Matt.  x.  39.  He  who  removes  the 
evils  of  his  will  by  repentance,  is  like 
him  who  seasonably  pulls  up  the  tares 
sown  in  his  field  by  the  devil,  whence 
the  seeds  implanted  by  the  Lord  God 
the  Savior  find  a  free  soil  and  grow  up 
into  a  harvest.  Matt.  xiii.  25  to  3L 

533.  There  are  two  loves,  which  for 
a  long  time  have  been  rooted  in  the 
human  race,  the  love  of  ruling  over  all, 
and  tiie  love  of  possessing  the  goods  of 
all.  The  former  love,  if  it  have  the 
reins  freely,  rushes  on  even  so  far  that 
it  would  be  the  God  of  heaven ;  and 
the  latter  love,  if  it  have  the  reins  freely, 
rushes  on  so  far  that  it  would  be  the 
God  of  the  world.  To  these  two  loves, 
all  the  otiier  evil  loves,  which  are  hosts, 
are  subordinate.  But  it  is  very  difficult 
to  explore  those  two,  because  they  re- 
side most  interiorly,  and  hide  them- 
selves ;  for  they  are  like  vipers  conceal- 
ed in  a  rock  full  of  holes,  which  retain 
their  poison,  that,  when  any  one  lies 
down  upon  tliat  rock,  they  may  inflict 
deadly  wounds,  and  draw  themselves 
back.  They  are  also  like  the  sirens 
of  the  ancients,  who  allured  men  by 
singing,   and   thereby   killed  them. 


Those  two  loves  also  adorn  themselves 
with  shining  gowns  and  coats,  as 
the  devil  from  magical  fantasy  does 
among  his  own, and  among  others  whom 
he  wishes  to  mock.  But  it  is  well  to 
be  known,  that  those  two  loves  may 
reign  more  with  the  little  than  with  the 
great,  more  with  the  poor  than  with  the 
rich,  and  more  with  subjects  than  with 
kings ;  for  these  are  born  to  dominion 
and  to  wealth,  which  at  length  they 
look  upon  no  otherwise  than  as  anoth- 
er looks  upon  his  household  and  pos- 
sessions, whether  he  be  a  governor,  a 
general,  a  captain  of  a  vessel,  yea,  even 
a  poor  husbandman.  But  the  case  is 
different  with  kings  who  aspire  to  do- 
minion over  the  kingdoms  of  others. 
The  reason  that  the  intentions  of  the 
will  are  to  be  explored,  is,  because  the 
love  resides  in  the  will,  for  the  will  is 
the  receptacle  of  it,  as  was  shown 
above.  Every  love  thence  breathes  forth 
its  delights  into  the  perceptions  and 
thoughts  of  the  understanding ;  for 
these  do  nothing  from  themselves,  but 
from  the  will,  tor  they  favor  it,  and  con- 
sent to  and  confirm  ail  the  things  which 
are  of  its  love  :  wherefore  the  will  is  the 
house  itself,  in  which  man  dwells,  and 
the  understanding  is  the  entry,  through 
which  he  goes  out  and  comes  in. 
Thence  it  is,  that  it  was  said,  that  the 
intentions  of  the  will  should  be  explor- 
ed ;  and  when  tliey  are  explored  and 
removed,  man  is  elevated  from  the  nat- 
ural will,  in  which  hereditary  and  ac- 
tual evils  reside,  into  a  .spiritual  will,  by 
which  the  Lord  reforms  and  regenerates 
the  natural,  and  by  means  of  this,  the 
sensual  and  voluntary  things  of  the 
body,  thus  the  whole  man. 

534.  Those  who  do  not  explore 
them.sclves,  are  in  comparison  like  sick 
people,  in  wliom  the  blood,  in  conse- 
quence of  obstruction  in  the  smallest 
vessels,  is  vitiated,  whence  atrophy, 
sleepiness  of  the  limbs,  and  acute  chronic 
diseases,  arising  from  the  thickness, 
tenacity,  acrimony  and  acidity  of  the 
humors,  and  tliciicc  of  the  blood  ;  but 
those  who  do  explore  themselves  al-so  as 
to  the  intentions  of  the  will,  in  compar- 
ison, are  like  tiiose  who  are  cured  of 
those  diseases,  and  return  into  the  life 


Concerning  Repentance. 


376 


in  which  they  were  when  young. 
Those  who  rightly  explore  themselves, 
are  like  ships  from  Ophir,  laden  with 
gold,  silver  and  precious  things ;  but 
before  they  have  explored  themselves, 
they  are  like  ships  loaded  with  filth,  in 
which  are  carried  off  the  dirt  and  dung 
of  the  streets.  Those  who  explore 
themselves  interiorly,  become  like 
mines,  all  the  sides  of  which  glitter 
with  the  ores  of  noble  metal ;  but  be- 
fore, they  are  like  stinking  bogs,  in 
which  are  water-snakes  and  ven- 
omous serpents  which  glitter  with 
their  scales,  and  noxious  insects  which 
shine  with  their  wings.  Those  who 
do  not  explore  themselves,  are  like  the 
dry  bones  in  the  valley  ;  but  after  they 
have  explored  themselves,  they  are  like 
the  same  bones,  upon  which  the  Lord 
Jehovah  gave  sinews,  brought  on  flesh, 
and  covered  with  skin,  and  into  which 
He  put  breath,  and  they  lived,  Ezek. 
xxxvii.  1  to  14. 

535.  VIII.  That  those  also  per- 
form Repentance  who  do  not  ex- 
plore Themselves,  rut  still  desist 
from  Evils,  because  they  are  Sins  ; 

AND  THAT  TUIS  RePENTANCE  IS  DONE 

by  those  who  do  the  works  of 
Charity  from  Religion. 

Since  actual  repentance,  which  is  to 
explore  one's  self,  to  know  and  ac- 
knowledge his  sins,  to  make  suppli- 
cation to  the  Lord,  and  to  begin  a  new 
life,  is  very  difficult  in  the  Reformed 
Christian  world,  for  several  reasons,  of 
which  in  the  last  article  in  this  chapter, 
therefore  an  easier  kind  of  repentance 
will  be  proposed ;  which  is,  that,  when 
any  one  revolves  evil  in  his  mind  and 
intends  it,  he  should  say  to  himself,  "  I 
think  of  tliis  and  I  intend  it ;  but  because 
it  is  a  sin,  I  will  not  do  it."  By  this 
the  temptation  injected  from  hell  is 
broken,  and  its  further  entrance  is 
prevented.  It  is  wonderful,  that  every 
one  can  chide  another,  who  intends 
evil,  and  say,  "  Do  not  do  this,  because 
it  is  a  sin ;"  and  yet  with  difficulty  can 
say  it  to  himself :  the  reason  is,  because 
this  moves  the  will,  but  that  only  the 
thought  next  to  the  hearing.  It  was 
inquired  in  the  spiritual  world,  who 
could  do  this  other;  and  they  were 


found  as  few  as  the  doves  in  a  spacious 
desert.  Some  said  that  they  could  in- 
deed do  that,  but  that  they  could  not 
explore  themselves  and  confess  their 
sins  before  God.  But  still  all  those 
who  do  good  from  religion,  avoid  actual 
evils ;  and  yet  how  very  seldom  they  re- 
flect on  the  interior  things  which  are  of 
the  will,  believing  that  they  are  not  in 
evils,  because  they  are  in  good ;  yea, 
that  the  good  covers  the  evil.  But, 
my  friend,  the  first  thing  of  charity  is, 
to  shun  evils ;  this  the  Word  teaches, 
and  also  the  decalogue,  baptism,  the 
holy  supper,  and  also  reason ;  for  how  can 
any  one  shun  evils  and  put  them  away 
from  him,  without  some  self-inspection? 
And  how  can  good  become  good,  un- 
less it  be  inwardly  purified  ?  I  know 
that  the  pious,  and  also  thos3  of  sound 
reason,  while  they  read  this,  will  assent 
and  see  it  as  genuine  truth,  but  that 
still  few  will  do  so. 

536.  But  still  all  who  do  good  from 
religion,  not  only  Christians,  but  also 
pagans,  are  accepted  by  the  Lord,  and 
are  adopted  after  death ;  for  the  Lord 
said,  Itvas  hungry,  and  ye  gave  Mc  to 
eat ;  I  teas  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me 
drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took 
Me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  Me ;  I 
was  sick,  and  ye  visited  Mc ;  I  was  in 
prison,  and  ye  came  to  Me.  And  He 
said.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  to 
one  of  my  least  brethren,  ye  have  done 
it  to  Me.  Come,  ye  blessed,  possess, as 
an  inheritance,  the  kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  Matt.  xxv.  31  to  the  end.  To 
the  above  I  shall  add  this  news.  All 
those  who  do  good  from  religion,  after 
death  reject  the  doctrine  of  the  present 
church  concerning  three  divine  persons 
from  eternity,  and  also  its  faith  applied 
to  those  three  in  order,  and  turn  them- 
selves to  the  Lord  God  the  Savior,  and 
receive  with  pleasure  those  things 
which  are  of  the  New  Church.  But 
the  rest,  who  have  not  exercised  charity 
from  religion,  are  hearts  of  adamant, 
thus  hard.  These  first  go  to  three 
Gods,  afterwards  to  the  Father  only, 
and  at  last  to  none.  The  Lord  God 
the  Savior  they  regard  as  only  the  Son 
of  Mary  by  her  marriage  with  Joseph, 


376 


Concerning  Repentance. 


and  not  as  the  Son  of  God ;  and  then 
all  the  things  of  the  New  Church,  good 
and  true,  they  shake  off,  and  presently 
join  themselves  to  the  spirits  of  the 
dragon,  and  are  driven  away  with  them 
into  deserts  or  into  caverns,  which  are 
in  the  outermost  bounds  of  what  is 
called  the  Christian  world  ;  and  after  a 
time,  because  they  are  separated  from 
the  new  heaven,  they  rush  into  villa- 
nous  deeds,  and  are  therefore  let  down 
into  hell.  Such  is  the  lot  of  those 
who  do  not  perform  the  works  of  char- 
ity from  religion,  in  consequence  of  a 
belief  that  no  one  can  do  good  from 
himself,  unless  it  be  meritorious ;  and 
thence  they  omit  those  works,  and  herd 
together  with  the  goats,  who  are 
condemned,  and  cast  into  eternal 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  an- 
gels, because  they  did  not  the  things 
that  the  sheep  did,  Matt.  xxv.  41  and 
the  following  verses.  It  is  not  said 
there  that  they  did  evils,  but  that  they 
did  not  do  goods,  and  those  who  do  not 
do  good  from  religion,  do  evil ;  Sinre 
no  one  can  serve  two  lords,  but  he  will 
hate  one  and  love  the  other ;  or  he  tcill 
cleave  to  one  and  neglect  the  other. 
Matt.  vi.  24.  Jehovah  says  by  Isaiah, 
WasJiT/oiirselves,  make  yourselves  clean; 
remove  the  evil  of  your  works  from  be- 
fore my  eyes;  cease  to  do  evil;  liaru  to 
do  good:  and  then,  though  your  sins  be 
as  scarlet,  they  shall  become  ichite  as 
snow;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
they  shall  be  like  icool,  i.  10,  17,  18. 
And  to  Jeremiah,  Stand  in  the  gate 
of  the  house  of  Jehovah,  and  proclaim 
there  this  word;  Thus  said  Jehovah 
of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel,  Make  your 
ways  and  your  works  good,  and  trust 
ye  not  in  the  words  of  a  lie,  by  saying. 
The  temple  of  Jehovah,  the  temple  of 
Jehovah  is  here  (that  is,  tlie  church) ; 
after  stealing,  killing,  and  swearing  by 
a  lie,  will  ye  then  come  and  stand  in 
this  house,  upon  which  my  name  is 
named,  and  say.  We  are  delivered, 
while  ye  do  all  those  abominations  ?  Is 
this  house  become  a  den  of  robbers  1 
Behold,  I  also  have  seen,  saith  Jehovah, 
vii.  2,  3,  4,  9,  10,  11. 

537.  It  is  to  be  known,  that  those 
who  do  good  fi-om  natural  goodness 


only,  and  not  at  the  same  time  from 
religion,  are  not  accepted  after  death, 
because  there  is  only  natural  good  in 
their  charity,  and  not  at  the  same  time 
spiritual ;  and  the  spiritual  is  what  con- 
joins the  Lord  to  man,  and  not  the 
natural  without  it.  Natural  goodness 
is  of  the  flesh  alone,  born  of  parents, 
but  spiritual  goodness  is  of  the  spirit, 
born  anew  of  the  Lord.  Those  who 
do  the  goods  of  charity  from  religion, 
and  thence  not  evils,  before  they  have 
received  the  doctrine  of  the  New 
Church  concerning  the  Lord,  may  be 
likened  to  trees  that  bear  good  fruits, 
although  few;  and  also  to  trees  that 
bear  noble  fruit  of  small  size,  which, 
nevertheless,  are  carefully  preserved  in 
gardens.  And  also  they  may  be  likened 
to  olive-trees  and  fig-trees,  in  forests ; 
and  also  to  fragrant  herbs  and  balsamic 
plants  upon  hills.  They  are  like  little 
chapels  or  houses  of  God,  in  which 
pious  worsliip  is  performed ;  for  they 
are  the  sheep  on  the  right  hand,  and 
the  rams,  which  the  he-goats  attack, 
according  to  Daniel,  viii.  2  to  14.  In 
heaven  they  are  clothed  with  garments 
of  a  red  color,  and  after  they  have  been 
initiated  into  the  goods  of  the  New 
Church,  they  are  clothed  with  garments 
of  a  purple  color;  which,  as  they  re- 
ceive truths  also,  become  beautifully 
tinged  with  yellow. 

.538.  IX.  That  Confession  ought 

TO  BK  M.\I)F.  BEFORE  THE  LoRD  GoD 
THE  S.WIOR,  AND  THEN  SUPPLICATION 

FOR  Help  and  Power  to  resist 
Evils. 

The  reason  that  the  Lord  God  the 
Savior  is  to  be  addrcs.sed,  is,  because 
He  is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  tiie 
Redeemer  and  Savior,  who  has  om- 
nipotence, omniscience,  omnipresence, 
mercy  itself,  and  at  the  same  time 
righteousness;  and  l)ecause  man  is  his 
creature  and  the  church  his  fold  ;  and 
He  has  many  times  commanded,  in  the 
new  covenant,  that  men  should  address, 
worship  and  adore  Him.  That  he 
alone  should  be  addressed,  He  enjoined 
by  the.se  words  in  John  ;  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  to  you,  he  that  cntcreth  not 
through  the  door  into  the  shccpfold,  but 
climbeth  up  sowtc  other  way,  he  is  a 


Concerning  Repentance. 


377 


thief  and  a  robber;  but  he  that  goeth 
in  through  the  door,  is  the  shepherd  of 
the  sheep.  lam  the  Door ;  If  any  one 
enter  through  Me,  he  shall  be  saved  and 
shall  find  pasture.  The  thief  cometh 
not  but  that  he  may  steal,  kill  and  de- 
stroy. I  have  come  that  they  may  have 
life  and  abundance.  I  am  the  good 
Shepherd,  x.  1,  2,  9,  10,  11.  That 
man  ouglit  not  to  climb  up  any  other 
way,  is,  that  he  should  not  to  God  the 
Father,  because  He  is  invisible,  and 
thence  inaccessible,  and  incapable  of 
conjunction ;  and  therefore  He  came 
into  the  world,  and  made  himself  visi- 
ble, accessible,  and  capable  of  conjunc- 
tion, which  was  solely  for  the  end  that 
man  might  be  saved ;  for  unless  God 
be  approached  in  thought  as  Man,  all 
idea  concerning  God  is  lost ;  it  falls 
like  the  sight  into  the  universe,  thus 
into  empty  nothing,  or  into  nature,  or 
into  some  objects  within  nature.  That 
God  liimself,  who  from  eternity  is  One, 
came  into  the  world,  is  clearly  manifest 
from  the  nativity  of  the  Lord  the  Savior, 
in  that  He  was  conceived  from  the 
power  of  the  Most  High  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  that  thence  his  Human  was 
born  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  whence  it 
follows,  that  his  soul  was  the  Divine 
Itself,  which  is  called  the  Father,  for 
God  is  indivisible,  and  that  the  Human 
born  thence,  is  the  Human  of  God  the 
Father,  which  is  called  the  Son  of  God, 
Luke  i.  32,  34,  35.  Hence  it  follows 
again,  that  whilst  the  Lord  God  the 
Savior  is  addressed,  God  the  Father  is 
addressed  also.  Wherefore  He  answer- 
ed Philip,  when  he  requested  that  He 
would  show  the  Father :  He  that 
seeth  Me,  seeth  the  Father;  how  then 
sayest  thou,  Shotc  us  the  Father  1  Be- 
lievest  thou  not,  that  I  am  in  the  Father 
and  the  Father  in  Me.  Believe  Me, 
that  I  am  in  the  Father  and  the  Father 
in  Me,  John  xiv.  6  to  11.  But  more 
may  be  seen  concerning  this  subject  in 
the  chapters  concerning  God,  the  Lord, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  concerning  the 
Trinity. 

539.  There  are  two  duties,  which  it 
is  incumbent  on  man  to  do  after  ex- 
amination, which  are  supplication  and 
confession.     Supplication'   will  be, 
48 


that  the  Lord  would  show  mercy,  give 
power  to  resist  the  evils  of  which  he 
has  repented,  and  supply  inclination  and 
affection  to  do  good.  Since  man  without 
Him  cannot  do  any  thing,  John  xv.  5. 
Confession  will  be,  that  he  sees,  knows 
and  acknowledges  his  evils,  and  finds 
himself  a  miserable  sinner.  There  is  no 
need  of  enumerating  sins  before  the 
Lord,  nor  of  supplicating  for  their  re- 
mission. The  reason  that  there  is  no 
need  of  enumerating  the  sins,  is  be- 
cause the  man  has  searched  and  seen 
them  in  himself,  and  thence  they  are 
present  to  the  Lord,  because  they  are 
present  to  himself  The  Lord  also  led 
him  in  searching,  and  opened  them, 
and  inspired  him  with  sorrow,  and 
together  with  this  with  the  endeavor  to 
desist  from  them  and  begin  a  new  life. 
There  are  these  two  reasons  why  sup- 
plication for  the  remission  of  sins  need 
not  be  made  before  the  Lord :  first, 
because  sins  are  not  abolished  but  re- 
moved; and  they  are  removed,  as  man 
afterwards  desists  from  them  and  enters 
upon  a  new  life  ;  for  there  are  in- 
numerable concupiscences,  involved  in 
every  evil,  which  cannot  be  removed 
in  a  moment,  but  successively,  as  man 
suffers  himself  to  be  reformed  and  re- 
generated. The  other  reason  is,  that 
the  Lord,  because  He  is  Mercy  itself, 
remits  to  all  their  sins,  nor  imputes  one 
to  any ;  for  He  says,  They  know  not 
what  they  do ;  (but  still  they  are  not 
therefore  taken  away;)  for  He  said  to 
Peter,  when  he  asked  how  often  he 
should  forgive  his  brother  his  tres- 
passes, whether  till  seven  times?  I  say 
not  to  thee,  till  seven  times,  but  until 
seventy  times  seven,  Matt,  xviii.  21, 
22  ;  why  should  not  the  Lord  ?  But 
still  it  is  not  hurtful  for  any  one  whose 
conscience  is  burdened,  to  enumerate 
his  sins  before  a  minister  of  the  church, 
for  the  sake  of  absolution  and  allevia- 
tion ;  because  he  is  thus  introduced 
into  the  habit  of  examining  himself, 
and  of  reflecting  upon  his  daily  evils. 
But  this  confession  is  natural ;  but  that 
above  described  is  spiritual. 

560.  To  adore  any  vicar  upon  earth, 
or  to  invoke  any  saint,  as  God,  is  of 
no  more  avail  in  heaven  than  to  make 


378 


Concerning  Repentance.- 


supplication  to  the  sun,  moon  and  stars, 
and  to  ask  a  diviner  for  an  answer,  and 
to  believe  his  word,  which  is  vain. 
This  would  be  also  like  worshipping  a 
temple,  and  not  God  in  the  temple. 
And  it  would  be  like  supplicating  the 
servant  of  a  king,  who  carries  in  his 
hand  his  sceptre  and  crown,  for  the 
honors  of  glory,  and  not  the  king  him- 
self. And  this  would  be  as  useless  as, 
abstractedly  from  the  subjects,  to  kiss 
the  splendor  of  purple,  the  glory,  light 
and  golden  rays  of  the  sun,  and  a  mere 
name.  Let  those  who  do  such  things, 
consider  these  words  in  John :  We 
abide  in  the  truth,  in  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life. 
Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from 
idols,  1  John  v.  20,  21. 

561.  X.  That  actual  Repentance 
IS  easy  with  those  who  have  done  it 
SEVERAL  Times,  but  extremely  dif- 
ficult TO  those  who  have  not 
done  it. 

Actual  repentance  is,  to  examine 
one's  self,  to  know  his  sins,  to  con- 
fess himself  before  the  Lord,  and  thus 
to  begin  a  new  life ;  it  is  tiiat  accord- 
ing to  the  description  of  it  in  tlio  fore- 
going pages.  To  those  in  the  Re- 
formed Christian  world,  by  which  are 
meant  ail  who  are  separated  from  the 
Roman  Catholic  church,  and  also  to 
those  of  that  church  who  have  not 
performed  any  actual  repentance,  this 
actual  repentance  is  extremely  difficult. 
The  reason  is,  because  some  are  not 
willing,  and  some  are  afraid,  and  dis- 
use renders  man  inveterate,  and  in- 
duces unwillingness,  and  at  length  con- 
sent  from  the  reasonings  of  the  under- 
standing, and  with  some,  sorrow,  dread 
and  terror  on  account  of  it.  The  prin- 
cipal cause,  that  actual  repentance  is 
so  extremely  difficult  in  the  Reformed 
Christian  world,  is  their  faith,  that 
repentance  and  charity  contribute  noth- 
ing to  salvation,  but  faith  alone  ;  from 
the  imputation  of  which,  follow  the 
remission  of  sins,  justification,  reno- 
vation, regeneration,  saiictification,  and 
eternal  salvation,  without  man's  co- 
operating of  himself  or  as  of  himself; 
this  their  dogmatists  call  a  useless 
thing,  and  opposite,  repugnant,  and 


injurious  to  the  merit  of  Christ : 
and  this  is  implanted  in  the  common 
people  although  they  are  ignorant  of 
the  mystical  things  of  that  faith,  by 
these  words  merely,  that  "  Faith  alone 
saves ;  and  Who  can  do  good  of  him- 
self?" Thence  it  is,  that,  with  the  Re- 
formed, repentance  is  like  a  bird's  nest 
with  the  young  ones,  forsaken  by  the 
birds,  which  were  taken  by  the  fowler 
and  killed.  To  this  cause  another  is  add- 
ed, that  a  Reformed  man,  so  called,  as 
to  his  spirit,  in  the  spiritual  world,  is 
among  no  others  than  his  like,  who 
put  such  things  into  the  ideas  of  his 
thoughts,  and  lead  him  away  from  the 
track  to  self-inspection  and  examina- 
tion. 

562.  I  have  asked  many  of  the 
Reformed,  in  the  spiritual  world,  why 
they  did  not  perform  actual  repent- 
ance, when  yet  this  was  enjoined  upon 
them  both  in  the  Word  and  at  their 
baptism,  and  also  before  the  holy  com- 
munion in  all  their  churches ;  and  they 
have  answered  various  things.  Some, 
"  That  contrition  is  sufficient,  and  then 
the  oral  confession  that  he  is  a  sinner." 
Some,  "  That  such  repentance,  because 
it  is  performed  by  man  operating  from 
his  own  will,  docs  not  coincide  with 
the  faith  universally  received."  Some, 
"Who  can  explore  himself,  when  he 
knows  that  he  is  mere  sin  ?  This  would 
be  like  casting  a  net  into  a  lake  full 
of  mud,  from  the  bottom  to  the  top,  in 
which  are  noxious  worms."  Some, 
"  Who  can  so  thoroughly  inspect  himself 
as  to  see  in  himself  the  sin  of  Adam, 
from  which  all  his  actual  evils  have 
flowed?  Are  not  these,  together  with 
that,  washed  away  by  the  w^aters  of 
baptism,  and  wiped  off  and  covered 
over  by  the  merit  of  Christ?  What 
then  is  repentance,  but  an  imposition 
which  grievously  troubles  the  conscien- 
tious? Are  wc  not  by  the  gospel 
under  grace,  and  not  under  the  hard 
law  of  that  repentance?"  Besides 
other  things.  Some  said,  "  That  when- 
ever they  intended  to  examine  them- 
selves, a  dread  and  terror  would  seize 
them,  as  if  they  saw  a  monster  by  the 
side  of  their  bed  at  the  dawn  of  day." 
Hence  were  made  known  the  causes, 


Concerning  Repentance. 


379 


why  actual  repentance,  in  the  Re- 
formed Cliristian  world,  is  as  it  were 
out  of  use  and  rejected.  And  I  asked, 
in  their  presence,  some  who  were 
attached  to  the  Roman  Catholic  reli- 
gion, concerning  their  actual  confession 
before  their  ministers,  whether  it  was 
difficult.  And  they  replied,  that,  after 
they  were  initiated  into  it,  they  were 
not  afraid  of  recounting  their  sins  be- 
fore a  confessor  who  was  not  severe,  and 
that  they  collected  them  together  with  a 
kind  of  pleasure,  and  cheerfully  told 
the  lighter  ones,  but  the  more  grievous 
ones  somewhat  timidly  ;  and  that,  from 
custom,  they  freely  returned  every  year 
to  their  appointed  confession,  and  after 
absolution  to  festivity ;  and  also  that 
they  look  upon  all  as  impure,  who  are 
not  willing  to  lay  open  the  defilements 
of  their  hearts.  After  hearing  these 
things,  the  Reformed,  who  were  pres- 
ent, fled  away,  some  laughing  and 
sneering,  some  wondering  and  yet  com- 
mending. Afterwards  there  came  up 
some  who  were  attached  to  the  same 
church,  but  who,  residing  in  countries 
amongst  the  Reformed,  according  to 
the  usual  practice  there,  did  not  make 
a  particular  confession,  as  their  breth- 
ren elsewhere  did,  but  only  a  general 
one  before  their  leader ;  these  said  that 
they  could  not  search,  find  out  and 
make  known  their  actual  evils  and  the 
secrets  of  their  thoughts,  and  that  they 
felt  it  as  repugnant  and  terrible,  as  it 
would  be  to  pass  over  a  ditch  to  a  ram- 
part, where  an  armed  soldier  stands  and 
cries,  "  Do  not  come  here."  Hence 
now  it  is  manifest,  that  actual  repent- 
ance is  easy  to  those  who  have  several 
times  done  it,  but  extremely  difficult 
to  those  who  have  not  done  it. 

563.  It  is  known  that  custom  makes 
a  second  nature,  and  that  thence  that 
is  easy  for  one  which  is  difficult  for 
another ;  thus  also  to  explore  one's  self, 
and  to  confess  the  evils  that  are  dis- 
covered. What  is  easier  for  a  laborer, 
a  porter,  or  a  husbandman,  than  to 
work  with  his  hands  from  morning  till 
evening,  when  yet  a  gentleman  or  a 
delicate  man  could  not  do  it  for  half 
an  hour  without  fatigue  and  sweat? 
It  is  easy  for  a  footman  with  light 


shoes  to  take  a  journey  of  many  miles, 
while  one  who  is  accustomed  to  ride 
in  a  coach,  can  with  difficulty  run 
slowly  from  one  street  to  another. 
Every  workman,  who  is  diligent  at  his 
work,  performs  it  with  ease  and  pleas- 
ure, and  when  he  goes  away  from  it 
he  desires  to  return ;  when  another, 
who  knows  how  to  do  the  same  work, 
but  is  slothful,  can  scarcely  be  forced 
to  it.  It  is  just  so  in  every  employ- 
ment and  in  every  study.  What  is 
easier,  for  any  one  studious  of  piety, 
than  to  pray  to  God  ?  and  what  is  more 
difficult  for  one  who  is  addicted  to  im- 
piety ?  and  the  reverse  ?  What  priest, 
when  he  preaches  for  the  first  time 
before  a  king,  is  not  afraid?  but  when 
he  is  accustomed  to  it,  he  goes  through 
it  without  fear.  What  is  easier  for  a 
man-angel  than  to  lift  up  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  for  a  man-devil,  than  to 
cast  down  his  eyes  to  hell  ?  but  if  he 
be  a  hypocrite,  he  likewise  can  look 
up  to  heaven,  but  his  heart  is  the  other 
way.  The  end  regarded,  and  the  habit 
thence,  imbues  every  one. 

564.  XI.  That  he  who  has  never 
performed  repentance,  or  has  not 
looked  into  and  examined  himself, 
at  length  does  not  know  what 
d.vmnable  evil  is,  and  what  s.wing 
Good  is. 

Since  few,  in  the  Reformed  Chris- 
tian world,  perform  repentance,  it  is 
therefore  added,  that  he  who  has  not 
looked  into  and  examined  himself,  at 
length  does  not  know  what  dam- 
nable evil  is,  and  what  saving  good 
is ;  for  he  has  no  religion,  from 
which  he  can  know  this.  For  the  evil 
which  a  man  does  not  see,  know  and 
acknowledge,  remains ;  and  that  which 
remains,  is  rooted  more  and  more, 
until  it  obstructs  the  interiors  of 
his  mind  ;  whence  man  becomes  first 
natural,  then  sensual,  and  at  last  cor- 
poreal, and  neither  this  nor  that  knows 
any  evil  which  condemns,  nor  good 
which  saves.  He  becomes  like  a  tree 
upon  a  hard  rock,  which  spreads  its 
roots  among  the  holes  of  the  rock,  and 
at  length,  because  moisture  fails,  it 
withers  away.  Every  man,  properly 
educated,  is  rational  and  moral ;  but 


380  Concerning 

there  are  two  ways  to  rationality,  one 
from  the  world,  the  other  from  heaven. 
He  who  is  made  rational  and  moral 
from  the  world,  and  not  from  heaven 
also,  is  rational  and  moral  only  with 
the  mouth  and  gesture,  and  inwardly 
he  is  a  beast,  yea,  a  wild  beast,  because 
he  acts  as  one  with  those  who  are  in 
hell,  where  all  such  are.  But  he  who 
is  rational  and  moral  from  heaven  also,  is 
truly  rational  and  moral,  because  he  is 
so  at  the  same  time  with  the  spirit, 
mouth  and  body ;  for  the  spiritual 
is  inwardly  in  these  two  as  a  soul, 
which  actuates  the  natural,  sensual 
and  corporeal  ;  he  also  acts  as  one  with 
those  who  are  in  heaven.  Wherefore, 
there  is  a  spiritual-rational  and  moral 
man,  jnd  also  a  merely  natural-rational 
and  moral  man ;  and  one  is  not  distin- 
guished from  the  other  in  the  world, 
especially  if  he  acquires  hypocrisy  by 
exercise ;  but  by  the  angels  in  heaven, 
they  are  distinguished  as  well  as  doves 
from  owls,  and  as  sheep  from  tigers. 
The  merely  natural  man  can  see  evils 
and  goods  in  others,  and  also  can  re- 
prove them,  but  because  he  never 
looked  into  and  examined  himself,  he 
does  not  see  any  evil  in  himself ;  and 
if  any  is  laid  open  by  another,  he  cov- 
ers it  over  by  means  of  his  rational 
faculty,  as  a  serpent  covers  its  head  with 
dust,  and  immerses  himself  in  it,  as  a 
hornet  immerses  itself  in  dung.  This 
is  done  by  the  delight  of  evil,  which 
surrounds  him,  as  a  thick  cloud  sur- 
rounds a  bog,  and  absorbs  and  suffo- 
cates the  rays  of  light.  The  delight 
of  hell  is  nothing  else  ;  this  is  exhaled 
thence,  and  it  Hows  into  every  man, 
but  into  the  soles  of  the  feet,  the  back, 
and  the  hinder  part  of  the  head  ;  but 
if  it  is  received  by  the  head  in  the  fore 
part,  and  by  the  body  in  the  breast, 
the  man  is  then  enslaved  to  hell ;  the 
reason  is,  because  the  cerebrum  of  man 
is  dedicated  to  the  understanding  and 
to  the  wisdom  there,  but  the  cerebelhim 
to  the  will  and  to  its  love ;  thence  it  is, 
that  there  are  two  spheres  of  the  brain. 
But  that  infernal  delight  is  amended, 
reformed  and  inverted,  solely  by  the 
spiritual-rational  and  moral. 

565.  There  follows  now  some  de- 


Repentance. 

scription  of  the  merely  natural-rational 
and  moral  man,  who,  viewed  in  himself, 
is  sensual,  and  if  he  goes  on,  he  be- 
comes corporeal  or  carnal ;  but  this 
description  will  be  given  in  a  sketch 
divided  into  parts.  The  sensual  is  the 
ultimate  of  the  mind  of  man,  adhering 
to,  and  cohering  with,  the  five  senses 
of  his  body.  He  is  called  a  sensual 
man  who  judges  all  things  fi-om  the 
senses  of  the  body,  and  who  believes 
only  what  he  can  see  with  the  eyes 
and  touch  with  the  hands,  saying  these 
are  something,  and  rejecting  every 
thing  else.  The  interiors  of  his  mind, 
which  see  from  the  light  of  heaven, 
are  closed,  so  that  he  sees  nothing  of 
the  truth  which  is  of  heaven  and  the 
church.  Such  a  man  thinks  in  the 
outermost  things,  and  not  inwardly 
from  any  spiritual  light,  because  he  is 
in  gross  natural  light ;  thence  it  is,  that 
he  is  inwardly  opposed  to  those  things 
which  are  of  heaven  and  the  church, 
although  outwardly  he  can  speak  in 
favor  of  them,  ardently  according  to 
the  hope  of  obtaining  power  and  opu- 
lence by  them.  That  men  of  learning 
and  erudition,  who  have  confirmed 
tiiemselves  deeply  in  falses,  and  espe- 
cially those  who  have  confirmed  them- 
selves against  the  truths  of  the  Word, 
are  more  sensual  than  others.  That 
sensual  men  reason  acutely  and  ingeni- 
ously, because  their  thought  is  near  the 
speech,  so  as  to  be  almost  in  it,  and  as 
it  were  in  their  lips,  and  because  they 
place  all  intelligence  in  the  speech 
merely  from  the  memory ;  and  also 
that  they  can  confirm  falses  dexterously, 
and  that  after  confirmation  they  believe 
them  to  be  true  ;  but  that  they  reason 
and  confirm  from  the  fallacies  of  the 
senses,  by  which  the  common  people 
are  captivated  and  persuaded.  That 
sensual  men  are  cunning  and  malicious 
above  all  others.  That  the  covetous, 
the  adulterous  and  the  deceitful,  are 
most  of  all  sensual,  although  they  ap[)ear 
before  the  world  as  ingenious.  That 
the  interiors  of  their  mind  arc  foul  and 
filthy ;  that  by  tiiese  they  communi- 
cate with  the  hells  ;  that  in  the  Word 
they  are  called  dead.  That  those  who 
are  in  the  hells  are  sensual,  and  the 


Concerning  Repentance. 


381 


more  so,  the  deeper  they  afe ;  that  the 
sphere  of  infernal  spirits  conjoins  itself 
with  the  sensual  of  man  from  behind ; 
and  that,  in  the  light  of  heaven,  the 
hinder  part  of  their  head  appears 
hollow.  That  those  who  reasoned 
from  sensual  things  alone,  were  called 
by  the  ancients,  serpents  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge.  That  sensual 
things  ought  to  be  in  the  last  place, 
and  not  in  the  first ;  and  that,  with  a 
wise  and  intelligent  man,  they  are  in 
the  last  place  and  subject  to  the  inte- 
riors ;  but  that  with  an  unwise  man, 
they  are  in  the  first  place  and  predom- 
inate. If  sensual  things  are  in  the 
last  place,  that  a  way  is  opened  through 
them  to  the  understanding,  and  truths 
are  refined  by  the  mode  of  extraction. 
That  sensual  things  stand  forth  next  to 
the  world,  and  admit  the  things  which 
come  from  the  world,  and  as  it  were 
sift  them.  That  man  by  sensual  things 
communicates  with  the  world,  and  by 
rational  things  with  heaven.  That 
sensual  things  supply  those  things 
which  are  subservient  to  the  interiors 
of  the  mind.  That  there  are  sensual 
things  which  supply  the  understand- 
ing, and  also  which  supply  the 
will.  That  unless  the  thought  is 
elevated  above  sensual  things,  man  has 
but  little  wisdom  ;  that  man,  when  his 
thought  is  elevated  above  sensual 
things,  comes  into  clearer  light,  and  at 
length  into  heavenly  light,  and  then 
perceives  such  things  as  flow  down 
from  heaven.  That  the  ultimate  of 
the  understanding  is  what  relates  to 
natural  science,  and  that  the  ultimate 
of  the  will  is  what  relates  to  sensual 
delight. 

566.  Man,  as  to  the  natural  man,  is 
like  a  beast,  and  he  acquires  the  image 
of  a  beast  by  life ;  wherefore,  around 
such,  in  the  spiritual  world,  beasts  of 
every  kind  appear,  which  are  corre- 
spondences. For  the  natural  of  man, 
viewed  in  itself,  is  merely  animal,  but 
because  the  spiritual  is  superadded  to 
it,  it  can  be  made  man ;  and  if  it  is 
not  made  so,  from  the  faculty  which 
it  has,  it  can  counterfeit  the  man,  but 
still  it  is  a  talking  beast,  for  he  speaks 
from  the  natural-rational,  but  thinks 


from  spiritual  madness,  and  acts  from 
the  natural-moral,  but  loves  from  a 
perpetual  lust :  his  actions,  viewed  by 
the  spiritual-rational  man,  are  scarcely 
any  thing  else  than,  as  it  were,  the 
dancing  of  one  who  has  been  bitten  by 
a  tarantula,  and  is  called  St.  Vitus's 
dance.  Who  does  not  know  that  a 
hypocrite  can  talk  about  God,  a  robber 
about  sincerity,  an  adulterer  about 
chastity,  &c.  ?  But  unless  man  had 
the  power  of  shutting  and  opening  the 
door  between  his  thoughts  and  words, 
and  between  his  intentions  and  actions, 
and  for  a  door-keeper  there,  prudence 
or  cunning,  he  would  rush  more  furi- 
ously than  any  beast  into  wicked  and 
cruel  deeds.  But  that  door  is  opened 
to  every  one  after  death,  and  then  he 
appears  such  as  he  was  ;  but  he  is  held 
in  bonds  by  punishments  and  guards 
in  hell.  Wherefore,  kind  reader,  look 
into  yourself,  and  search  out  one  or 
more  of  the  evils  in  you,  and  remove 
it  from  religious  principle ;  if  you  re- 
move them  from  any  other  purpose  or 
end,  you  only  remove  them  so  that 
they  do  not  appear  before  the  world. 


567.  To  the  above  the  following 
Relations  will  be  added.  First.  I 
was  suddenly  seized  with  a  disease  al- 
most mortal ;  my  head  ached  all  over  ; 
a  pestilential  smoke  was  sent  upon  me 
from  the  Jerusalem,  which  is  called 
Sodom  and  Egypt,  Rev.  xi.  8 ;  I  was 
half  dead  with  severe  pain ;  I  ex- 
pected my  last  end.  Thus  I  lay  in 
my  bed  for  three  days  and  a  half  My 
spirit  became  such,  and  from  it  my 
body.  And  then  I  heard  around  me 
the  voices  of  those  who  said,  "  Lo,  he 
lies  dead  in  the  street  of  our  city,  who 
preached  repentance  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  and  Christ  only  man."  And 
they  asked  some  of  the  clergy,  whether 
he  was  worthy  of  burial.  They  said, 
"  No,  let  him  lie,  and  be  seen  for  a  spec- 
tacle." And  they  went  away  and  came 
back,  and  mocked.  Of  a  truth,  it  thus 
happened  to  me,  while  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  the  Revelation  was  being 
explained.  Then  were  heard  harsh 
speeches  of  mockers,  especially  these. 


382 


Concerning  Repentance. 


«'  How  can  repentance  be  performed 
without  faith?  How  can  Christ,  a  man, 
be  adored  as  God  ?  Since  we  are  saved 
freely,  without  any  merit  of  our  own, 
what  need,  then,  is  there  of  any  thing 
but  merely  the  faith  that  God  the  Father 
sent  the  Son  to  take  away  the  con- 
demnation of  the  law,  to  impute  to  us 
his  merit,  and  thus  to  justify  us  in  his 
sight,  and  absolve  us  from  sins  by  the 
declaration  of  a  priest,  and  then  give 
us  the  Holy  Ghost  to  produce  in  us  all 
good  ?  Are  not  these  things  according 
to  the  Scripture,  and  also  according  to 
reason  ?  "  At  these  words,  the  company 
standing  by  clapped  their  hands.  I 
heard  these  things,  and  was  not  able 
to  reply,  because  I  lay  almost  dead. 
But  after  three  days  and  a  half,  my 
spirit  recovered,  and  as  to  it  I  went 
out  of  the  street  into  the  city  and  said 
again,  "Repent  and  believe  in  Christ, 
and  your  sins  will  be  remitted  to  you, 
and  you  will  be  saved ;  and  if  not,  you 
will  perish.  Did  not  the  Lord  himself 
preach  repentance  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  that  men  should  believe  in 
Him  ?  Did  He  not  command  the  dis- 
ciples, that  they  should  preach  the 
same?  Does  not  a  careless  security 
follow  the  dogma  of  your  faith?"  But 
they  said,  "  How  you  prate.  Has  not 
the  Son  made  satisfaction?  And  does 
not  tiie  Father  impute  it,  and  justify  us, 
who  liave  believed  this?  We  are  thus 
.ed  by  the  spirit  of  grace ;  what  sin 
then  is  there  in  us  ?  what  then  has 
death  to  do  with  us?  Do  you  com- 
prehend this  gospel,  O  preacher  of  sin 
and  repentance?"  But  then  a  voice 
came  forth  out  of  heaven,  saying, 
"  What  is  the  faith  of  an  impenitent 
man,  but  a  dead  faith  ?  The  end  is 
come,  the  end  is  come  upon  you,  who 
are  secure,  unblamable  in  your  own 
eyes,  justified  in  your  faith,  O  satans." 
And  then  suddenly  a  gulf  was  opened 
in  the  midst  of  the  city,  and  it  enlarged 
itself,  and  house  fell  upon  house,  and 
they  were  swallowed  up  ;  and  presently 
water  bubbled  up  from  the  wide  whirl- 
pool, and  overflowed  the  waste. 

When  thoy  were  thus  sunk  and  ap- 
parently overflowed,  I  desired  to  know 
their  condition  in  the  deep  ;  and  it  was 


said  to  me  from  heaVen,  "You  shall 
see  and  hear."  And  the  waters,  with 
which  they  seemed  to  be  overflowed, 
disappeared  before  my  eyes,  because 
waters  in  the  spiritual  world  are  corre- 
spondences, and  thence  they  appear 
around  those  who  are  in  falses.  And 
then  they  appeared  to  me  on  a  sandy 
bottom,  where  heaps  of  stones  were 
collected,  among  which  they  were  run- 
ning and  lamenting  that  they  had  been 
cast  out  of  their  great  city.  And  they 
screamed  and  cried,  "  Why  is  this  to  us? 
Are  we  not  by  our  faith  clean,  pure, 
just  and  holy?  Are  we  not  by  our 
faith  cleansed,  purified,  justified  and 
sanctified  ?  "  And  others,  "  Are  we  not 
by  our  faith  made  such  that  we  appear, 
are  seen  and  reputed  before  God  the 
Father,  and  declared  before  the  an- 
gels, clean,  pure,  just  and  holy  ?  Are 
we  not  reconciled,  propitiated,  expiated, 
and  thus  freed,  washed  and  wiped  from 
sins  ?  Is  not  the  condemnation  of  the 
law  taken  away  by  Christ?  Why, 
then,  are  we  cast  into  this  jjlace,  as 
condemned  ?  We  heard  from  a  bold 
preacher  of  sin,  in  our  great  city, 
Bditvc  ill  Christ,  and  repent  ?  Did 
we  not  believe  in  Christ,  when  we 
believed  in  iiis  merit?  And  did  we 
not  repent,  vvhen  we  confessed  that  we 
were  sinners?  Why,  then,  has  this 
happened  to  us?"  But  then  was  heard 
a  voice  to  them  from  the  side,  "  Do 
you  know  any  sin  in  which  you  are  ? 
Have  you  ever  explored  yourselves? 
Have  you  in  consequence  shunned  any 
evil  as  a  sin  against  God  ?  And  he 
who  has  not  shunned  it,  is  in  it.  Is 
not  sin  the  devil  ?  Wherefore  you  are 
those  of  whom  the  Lord  says,  T/ien 
ye  will  begin  to  sai/,  We  have  eaten 
and  drunk  in  thy  presenee,  and  Thou 
host  taught  in  our  streets.  But  He 
will  say,  I  tell  you,  I  know  you  not, 
ichcnee  ye  are;  Depart  from  Me,  all 
ye  icorkers  of  iniquity,  Luke  xiii.  26, 
27,  and  also  Matt.  vii.  22,  23.  Depart, 
therefore,  each  to  his  own  place.  You 
see  the  openings  into  the  caverns; 
enter  tliither,  and  work  will  be  given 
there  for  each  of  you  to  do,  and  then 
food  according  to  your  work ;  if  not, 
still  hunger  will  compel  you  to  enter." 


Concerning  Repentance. 


383 


Afterwards  a  voice  came  from  heaven 
to  some  on  the  earth,  who  were  out  of 
that  great  city,  who  also  are  mentioned 
Rev.  xi.  13,  saying  aloud,  "  Beware, 
beware  of  associating  yourselves  with 
such  persons.  Can  you  not  understand 
that  the  evils  which  are  called  sins 
and  iniquities  render  man  unclean  and 
impure  ?  How  can  man  be  cleansed 
and  purified  from  them,  but  by  actual 
repentance,  and  by  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ?  Actual  repentance  is 
to  explore  one's  self,  to  know  and  ac- 
knowledge his  sins,  to  make  himself 
guilty,  to  confess  tliem  before  the  Lord, 
to  implore  help  and  the  power  of  resist- 
ing them,  and  thus  to  desist  from  them 
and  lead  a  new  life;  and  all  these 
things  as  of  yourselves.  Do  so  once  or 
twice  a  year,  when  you  come  to  the 
holy  communion:  and  afterwards  when 
the  sins  of  which  you  have  made  your- 
selves guilty  recur,  then  say  to  your- 
selves, '  We  will  not  do  them,  because 
they  are  sins  against  God  ; '  this  is  ac- 
tual repentance.  Who  does  not  un- 
derstand, that  he  who  does  not  search 
out  and  see  his  sins,  remains  in  them  ? 
For  all  evil  is  from  nativity  delightful ; 
for  it  is  delightful  to  revenge,  to  commit 
whoredom,  to  defraud,  to  blaspheme, 
especially  to  rule  from  the  love  of  self 
Does  not  the  delight  cause  them  not  to 
be  seen  ?  And  if  by  chance  it  is  said 
that  they  are  sins,  do  you  not  from  their 
delight  excuse  them  ?  Yea,  do  you  not 
strive  to  prove  by  falses  that  they  are 
not  sins,  and  thus  remain  in  them,  and 
do  them  more  than  before,  and  this 
even  until  you  do  not  know  what  sin  is, 
yea,  whether  there  be  any  sin  ?  The 
case  is  otherwise  with  every  one  who 
has  actually  performed  repentance  ;  his 
evils,  which  he  has  discovered  and  ac- 
knowledged, he  calls  sins,  and  therefore 
begins  to  shun  and  avoid  them,  and  at 
length  to  feel  their  delight  undelightful ; 
and,  as  far  as  this  is  the  case,  he  sees 
and  loves  what  is  good,  and  at  length 
feels  the  delight  of  this,  which  is  the 
delight  of  the  angels  of  heaven.  In  a 
word,  so  far  as  any  one  rejects  the  devil 
to  the  back,  he  is  adopted  by  the  Lord, 
and  by  Him  is  taught,  led,  withheld 
from  evil  and  held  in  good ;  this  is  the 


way,  and  there  is  no  other,  from  hell 
to  heaven."  It  is  strange  that  the  Re- 
formed have  a  certain  innate  repug- 
nance, abhorrence  and  aversion  to  ac- 
tual repentance,  which  is  so  great  that 
they  cannot  force  themselves  to  explore 
themselves  and  see  their  sins,  and  con- 
fess them  before  God  ;  it  is  as  if  a  horror 
seized  them,  when  they  intend  it.  I 
have  asked  a  good  many  in  the  spiritual 
world  about  it,  and  they  all  said,  that 
this  was  beyond  their  power.  When 
they  heard  that  the  Papists  still  do  this, 
that  is,  that  they  explore  themselves 
and  openly  confess  their  sins  before  a 
monk,  they  wondered  very  much ;  and 
still  more  that  the  Reformed  cannot  do 
it  in  secret  before  God,  although  it  is 
equally  enjoined  upon  them,  before  they 
come  to  the  holy  supper.  And  some 
there  inquired  why  this  should  be ;  and 
they  found  that  faith  alone  had  induced 
such  a  state  of  impenitence  and  such  a 
heart.  And  then  it  was  given  them  to 
see,  that  those  of  the  Papists  who  adore 
Christ  and  do  not  invoke  saints  are 
saved. 

After  this  there  was  heard,  as  it 
were,  thunder,  and  a  voice  speaking 
from  heaven,  saying,  "  We  wonder. 
Say  to  the  company  of  Protestants, 
'  Believe  in  Christ,  and  perform  repent- 
ance, and  you  will  be  saved.'  "  And  I 
said  so.  And  moreover  I  said,  "Is  not 
Baptism  a  sacrament  of  repentance, 
and  thence  an  introduction  into  the 
church?  What  else  do  the  sponsors 
promise  for  the  child  that  is  to  be  bap- 
tized, but  that  he  will  renounce  the 
devil  and  his  works  ?  Is  not  the  Holy 
Supper  a  sacrament  of  repentance,  and 
thence  an  introduction  into  heaven? 
Is  it  not  said  to  the  communicants, 
that  they  must  by  all  means  perform 
the  work  of  repentance  before  they 
come  to  it?  Is  not  the  Catechism  the 
universal  doctrine  of  the  Christian 
church  teaching  repentance?  Is  it 
not  said  there,  in  six  precepts  of  the 
second  table.  Thou  shall  not  do  this 
and  that  evil;  and  not,  Thou  shalt  do 
this  and  that  good  ?  Thence  you  may 
know,  that,  as  far  as  any  one  renounces 
and  avoids  evil,  so  far  he  desires  and 
loves  good  ;  and  that,  before,  he  does 


384 


Concerning  Repentance. 


not  know  what  good  is ;  yea,  nor  what 
evil  is." 

568.  Second  Relation.  What  wise 
and  pious  man  does  not  wish  to  know 
the  condition  of  his  life  after  death? 
Wherefore  I  will  manifest  the  general 
things,  that  he  may  know.  Every  man, 
after  death,  when  he  feels  that  he  still 
lives,  and  that  he  is  in  another  world, 
and  hears  that  heaven  is  above  him, 
where  are  eternal  joys,  and  that  hell  is 
below  him,  where  are  eternal  sorrows, 
is  first  let  again  into  his  externals,  in 
which  he  was  in  the  former  world ;  and 
then  he  believes  that  he  shall  certainly 
come  into  heaven,  and  he  speaks  intel- 
ligently and  acts  prudently.  And  some 
say,  "  We  have  lived  morally;  we  have 
followed  lionest  pursuits ;  we  have  not 
intentionally  done  evil."  Others  say, 
"  We  have  frequented  temples ;  we  have 
heard  masses;  we  have  kissed  holy 
images ;  we  have  uttered  prayers  on 
our  knees."  And  some  say,  "  We  have 
given  to  the  poor ;  we  have  helped  the 
needy  ;  we  have  read  books  of  piety,  and 
also  the  Word ;"  besides  many  other 
tilings.  And  after  tliey  have  said  tliese 
things,  the  angels  stand  by  them  and 
say,  "  All  those  things,  which  you  have 
mentioned,  you  did  in  externals,  but 
you  do  not  know  yet  what  you  are  in 
internals.  Now  you  are  spirits  in  a 
substantial  body,  and  the  spirit  is  your 
internal  man ;  it  is  tliis  in  you  which 
thinks  what  it  wills,  and  wills  what  it 
loves,  and  this  is  the  deliglit  of  its 
life.  Every  man  from  infancy  begins 
life  from  externals,  and  learns  to  act 
morally  and  to  speak  intelligently  ; 
and  when  he  has  got  an  idea  of  heaven 
and  of  the  blessedness  there,  lie  be- 
gins to  pray,  to  frequent  temples,  and 
to  perform  the  solemnities  of  worship  ; 
and  still,  when  evils  flow  from  tlieir 
native  fountain,  he  hides  them  in  the 
bosom  of  his  mind,  and  also  ingenious- 
ly veils  them  over  by  reasonings  from 
fallacies,  even  till  he  does  not  know 
that  evil  is  evil.  And  then,  because 
the  evils  are  veiled  over,  and  covered  as  it 
were  with  dust,  he  thinks  no  more 
about  them,  than  merely  to  take  care 
that  they  do  not  appear  before  the 
world.    Thus  he  only  studies  to  lead  a 


moral  life  in  externals,  and  so  becomes 
a  double  man ;  he  becomes  a  sheep  in 
externals,  and  a  wolf  in  internals ;  and 
as  it  were  a  golden  box  in  which  there 
is  poison  ;  and  he  becomes  like  a  per- 
son having  a  foul  breath  holding  some- 
thing fragrant  in  his  mouth,  that  it  may 
not  be  perceived  by  the  bystanders; 
and  like  the  skin  of  a  mouse,  which  is 
scented  with  balsam.  You  said  that 
you  had  lived  morally,  and  that  you  had 
followed  the  pursuits  of  piety.  But  I 
ask  whether  you  have  ever  explored 
your  internal  man,  and  perceived  any 
desires  of  revenging  even  to  death, 
and  of  indulging  lust  even  to  adultery, 
of  defrauding  even  to  theft,  and  of 
lying  even  to  false  testimony.  In  four 
precepts  of  the  decalogue  it  is  said, 
Thou  shall  not  do  these  things ;  and 
in  the  two  last.  Thou  shalt  not  covet 
them.  Do  you  believe  that  your  inter- 
nal man,  in  these  things,  was  like  your 
external  ?  If  you  do  believe  this,  per- 
haps you  are  deceived."  But  to  this 
tliey  replied,  "What  is  the  internal 
man  ?  Is  not  this  and  the  external  the 
same  one?  We  have  heard  from  our 
tninisters,  that  the  internal  man  is  noth- 
ing else  than  faith,  and  that  the  piety  of 
the  moutii  and  the  morality  of  the  life 
are  the  sign  of  it,  because  the  operation 
of  it."  To  which  the  angels  replied, 
"  Saving  faith  is  in  the  internal  man,  and 
.so  is  charity  ;  and  thence  are  Christian 
faithfulness  and  morality  in  tlieexternal ; 
but  if  the  above-mentioned  lusts  re- 
main in  the  internal  man,  thus  in  the 
will,  and  thence  in  the  thought — conse- 
quently, if  you  inwardly  love  them, 
and  yet  in  externals  act  and  speak 
otherwise — then  evil  with  you  is  above 
good,  and  good  is  below  evil ;  where- 
fore, howsoever  you  speak  as  from 
understanding,  and  act  as  from  love, 
within  tliere  is  evil,  and  this  thus  veiled 
over;  and  then  you  are  like  cunning 
apes,  which  perform  actions  similar  to 
those  of  men,  but  their  heart  is  far 
from  them.  But  what  your  internal 
man  is,  of  which  you  know  nothing, 
because  you  have  not  explored  your- 
selves and  afterwards  performed  repent- 
ance, you  will  see  after  a  while,  when 
you  are  stripped  of  the  external  man. 


Concerning  Repentance. 


386 


and  let  into  the  internal ;  and  when 
this  is  done,  you  will  no  longer  be  ac- 
knowledged by  your  associates,  nor  by 
yourselves.  I  have  seen  moral-evil 
men  then  like  wild  beasts,  looking  upon 
the  neighbor  witii  cruel  eyes,  burning 
with  deadly  hatred,  and  blaspheming 
God,  whom  in  the  external  man  they 
adored."  Having  heard  this,  they 
retired ;  and  the  angels  then  said, 
"  You  will  see  the  condition  of  your 
life  hereafter ;  for  in  a  short  time  your 
external  man  will  be  taken  from  you, 
and  you  will  enter  into  the  internal, 
which  is  now  your  spirit." 

569.  Third  Relation.  Every  love 
with  man  exhales  a  delight,  by  which 
it  makes  itself  felt,  and  it  exhales  it 
first  into  the  spirit  and  thence  into  the 
body ;  and  the  delight  of  one's  love, 
together  with  the  pleasantness  of  his 
thought,  makes  his  life.  Those  delights 
and  pleasures  are  felt  but  slightly  by 
man,  while  he  lives  in  the  natural  body, 
because  this  body  absorbs  and  blunts 
them ;  but  after  death,  when  the  ma- 
terial body  is  taken  away,  and  thus  the 
covering  or  clothing  of  the  spirit  is 
removed,  then  the  delights  of  his  love 
and  the  pleasures  of  his  thought  are 
fully  felt  and  perceived ;  and,  what  is 
wonderful,  sometimes  as  odors.  Thence 
it  is,  that  all  in  the  spiritual  world  are 
consociated  according  to  their  loves ; 
in  heaven  according  to  theirs,  in  hell 
according  to  theirs.  The  odors  into 
which  the  delights  of  the  loves  in  heaven 
are  turned,  are  all  perceived  like  such 
fragrances,  sweet  smells,  pleasant  ex- 
halations, and  delightful  perceptions, 
as  are  perceived  in  gardens,  flower-beds, 
fields  and  woods  in  mornings  in  the 
time  of  spring.  But  the  odors  into 
which  the  delights  of  those  loves  which 
are  in  hell,  are  turned,  are  perceived 
as  noisome,  fetid  and  putrid  stenches, 
such  as  from  privies,  dead  bodies,  pond 
holes  filled  with  filth  and  dung;  and, 
what  is  wonderful,  the  devils  and  satans 
there  perceive  them  as  balsams,  spices 
and  frankincense,  which  refresh  their 
nostrils  and  hearts.  In  the  natural 
world,  also,  it  is  given  to  beasts,  birds 
and  worms  to  be  consociated  according 
to  odors,  but  not  to  men  then  until  they 
49 


have  cast  off"  their  bodies,  as  slough. 
Thence  it  is,  that  heaven  is  arranged 
in  the  most  distinct  order,  according  to 
all  the  varieties  of  the  love  of  good  ;  and 
hell  as  an  opposite,  according  to  all  the 
varieties  of  the  love  of  evil.  It  is  on 
account  of  this  opposition,  that  there  is 
between  heaven  and  hell  a  gulf  which 
cannot  be  passed ;  for  those  who  are 
in  heaven  cannot  endure  any  odor  of 
hell,  for  it  excites  sickness  of  the  stom- 
ach and  vomiting,  and  threatens  those 
who  inhale  it  with  fainting.  The  like 
happens  to  those  who  are  in  hell,  if  they 
climb  up  over  the  middle  of  that  gulf. 
Once  I  saw  a  certain  devil,  appearing 
at  a  distance  like  a  leopard,  who,  some 
days  before,  was  seen  among  the  angels 
of  the  last  heaven,  and  was  skilled  in 
the  art  of  making  himself  an  angel  of 
light,  passing  the  middle  of  the  gulf, 
and  standing  between  two  olive-trees, 
and  not  perceiving  any  odor  offensive 
to  his  life.  The  reason  was,  because 
angels  were  not  present ;  but  as  soon 
as  they  came,  he  was  seized  with  con- 
vulsions, and  fell  down,  all  his  limbs 
being  contracted  ;  and  then  he  appear- 
ed like  a  great  serpent  writhing  himself 
into  folds,  and  at  length  tumbling  him- 
self down  through  a  chasm  ;  and  he 
was  taken  up  by  his  associates  and  car- 
ried away  into  a  cavern,  where,  from 
the  stinking  odor  of  his  delight,  he  re- 
vived. Once  also  I  saw  a  certain  satan 
punished  by  his  associates.  I  asked 
the  cause  ;  and  it  was  said,  that  he, 
having  stopped  up  his  nostrils,  went  to 
those  who  were  in  the  odor  of  heaven, 
and  that  he  returned,  and  brought  with 
him  that  odor  upon  his  clothes.  It  has 
happened  several  times,  that  a  stench, 
as  of  a  dead  body,  from  some  open 
cavern  of  hell,  has  grazed  my  nostrils, 
and  excited  vomiting.  Hence  it  may 
be  evident  whence  it  is,  that,  in  the 
Word,  smelling  signifies  perception ; 
for  it  is  often  said,  that  Jehovah  smelled 
a  grateful  odor  from  the  burnt-offerings ; 
and  also  that  the  oil  of  anointing,  and 
the  frankincense,  were  made  of  fragrant 
things  :  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  a 
charge  was  given  to  the  sons  of  Israel, 
that  the  unclean  things  of  their  camp 
should  be  carried  out  of  the  camp ;  and 


386 


Concerning  Repentance. 


that  they  should  dig  down,  and  cover 
up  their  excrements,  Deut.  xxiii.  14, 
15.  The  reason  was,  because  the  camp 
of  Israel  represented  heaven,  and  the 
desert  out  of  the  camp  represented  hell. 

570.  Fourth  Relation.  Once  I 
spoke  with  a  novitiate  spirit,  who, 
while  he  was  in  the  world,  meditated 
much  about  heaven  and  hell.  By  no- 
vitiate spirits  are  meant  men  lately  de- 
ceased, who,  because  they  are  then 
spiritual  men,  are  called  spirits.  He, 
as  soon  as  he  entered  into  the  spiritual 
world,  began  to  meditate  in  like  man- 
ner about  heaven  and  hell ;  and  he 
seemed  to  himself,  when  meditating 
about  heaven,  to  be  in  gladness,  and 
when  about  hell,  to  be  in  sadness. 
When  he  perceived  himself  to  be  in  the 
spiritual  world,  he  immediately  in- 
quired, where  heaven  was,  and  where 
hell  was ;  and  also,  what  the  one  was, 
and  what  the  other  was.  And  they  re- 
plied, "  Heaven  is  over  your  head,  and 
hell  is  under  your  feet ;  for  you  are 
now  in  the  world  of  spirits,  which  is  in 
the  middle  between  heaven  and  hell. 
But  what  heaven  is,  and  what  hell  is, 
we  cannot  describe  in  a  few  words." 
And  then,  because  he  was  inflamed 
with  the  desire  of  knowing,  he  threw 
himself  upon  his  knees  and  prayed  de- 
voutly to  God,  that  he  might  be  in- 
structed. And  io,  an  angel  appeared 
at  his  right  hand,  and  lifted  him  up  and 
said,  "  You  prayed  that  you  might  be 
instructed  concerning  heaven  and  hell. 
Inquire  and  learn  what  delight  is, 
AND  YOU  WILL  KNOW."  And  the  angel, 
having  said  these  words,  was  taken  up. 
Then  the  novitiate  spirit  said  with 
himself,  "What  does  this  mean?  In- 
quire and  learn  what  delight  is,  and 
you  will  know  what  heaven  and  hell 
are."  Then,  departing  from  that  place, 
he  wandered  about,  and,  addressing 
every  one  that  he  met,  he  said,  "  Tell 
me,  I  pray,  if  you  please,  what  delight 
is."  And  some  said,  "  Why,  what  a 
question  this  is !  Who  does  not  know 
what  delight  is?  Is  it  not  joy  and 
gladness  ?  Wherefore  delight  is  delight, 
one  just  like  another ;  wc  know  no 
distinction."  Others  said,  that  delight 
was  a  laughter  of  the  mind  ;  for  w  nile 


the  mind  laughs,  the  face  is  cheerful, 
the  speech  jovial,  the  gestures  playful, 
and  the  whole  man  in  delight.  But 
some  said,  "  Delight  is  nothing  else  than 
to  feast  and  to  eat  dainties,  and  to  drink 
and  to  be  intoxicated  with  generous 
wine,  and  then  to  tell  stories  about 
various  things,  especially  about  the 
sports  of  Venus  and  Cupid."  The  no- 
vitiate spirit,  hearing  these  things,  said 
to  himself  with  indignation,  "  These 
answers  are  clownish  and  not  civil ; 
these  delights  are  not  heaven  nor  hell. 
I  wish  I  could  meet  with  the  wise." 
And  he  went  away  from  them,  and 
asked  where  the  wise  were.  And 
then  he  was  seen  by  a  certain  angelic 
spirit,  who  said,  "  I  perceive  that  you 
are  inflamed  with  a  desire  of  knowing 
that  which  is  the  universal  of  heaven 
and  the  universal  of  hell ;  and  because 
this  is  delight,  I  will  conduct  you  to  the 
top  of  a  hill,  where  those  who  examine 
effects,  and  those  who  investigate 
causes,  and  tliose  who  explore  ends, 
meet  together  every  day.  Those  there 
who  examine  effects  are  called  spirits 
of  sciences,  and  abstractly,  sciences ; 
and  those  who  investigate  causes  are 
called  spirits  of  intelligence,  and  ab- 
stractly, intelligences;  and  those  who 
explore  ends  are  called  spirits  of  wisdom, 
and  abstractly,  wisdoms.  Directly  over 
tiiem,  in  heaven,  are  angels  who  from 
ends  see  causes,  and  from  causes  ef- 
fects ;  from  these  angels,  those  three 
companies  have  illustration."  Then, 
taking  the  novitiate  spirit  by  the  hand, 
he  led  him  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
to  the  company  which  was  of  those  who 
explore  ends,  and  are  called  wisdoms. 
To  these  he  said,  "  Pardon  me  for  com- 
ing up  to  you :  the  reason  is,  because 
I  have  from  my  childiiood  medit.ated 
about  heaven  and  hell  ;  and  I  lately 
came  into  this  world,  and  some  who 
were  then  associated  witli  me,  said  that 
here  heaven  is  over  my  bead,  and  hell 
is  under  my  feet;  but  they  did  not  say 
what  is  the  quality  of  the  one  and  the 
other ;  wherefore,  becoming  anxious, 
by  constant  thought  concerning  them, 
I  prayed  to  God ;  and  then  an  angel 
stood  by  me  and  said,  Inquire  and 

LEAKN  what  DELIGHT  I?,  AND  YOU  WILL 


Concerning  Repentance. 


387 


KNOW.  I  have  inquired,  but  hitherto 
in  vain.  I  ask,  therefore,  that  you 
would  teach  me,  if  you  please,  wiiat 
dehght  is."  To  this  the  wisdoms  re- 
pHed,  "  DeUght  is  the  all  of  life  to  all  in 
heaven,  and  the  all  of  life  to  all  in 
hell.  Those  who  are  in  heaven, 
have  the  delight  of  what  is  good  and 
true,  but  those  who  are  in  hell  have 
the  delight  of  what  is  evil  and  false ; 
for  all  delight  is  of  love,  and  love  is 
the  esse  of  the  life  of  man ;  wherefore, 
as  man  is  man  according  to  the  quality 
of  his  love,  so  he  is  man  according  to 
the  quality  of  his  delight.  The  activity 
of  love  makes  the  sense  of  delight;  the 
activity  of  it  in  heaven  is  with  wisdom, 
and  the  activity  of  it  in  hell  is  with  in- 
sanity ;  each  in  its  subjects  exhibits 
delight.  But  the  heavens  and  the  hells 
are  in  opposite  delights ;  the  heavens 
being  in  the  love  of  good,  and  thence 
in  the  delight  of  doing  good ;  but  the 
hells,  in  the  love  of  evil,  and  tlience  in 
the  delight  of  doing  evil.  If,  therefore, 
you  know  what  delight  is,  you  will 
know  what  heaven  and  hell  are.  But 
inquire  and  learn  furtlier  what  deliglit 
is,  from  those  who  investigate  causes, 
and  are  called  intelligences;  they  are 
to  the  right  from  this."  And  he  de- 
parted and  went  to  them,  and  told  the 
cause  of  his  coming,  and  requested 
that  they  would  instruct  him  about 
delight.  And  being  pleased  with  the 
question,  they  said,  "  It  is  true  that  he 
who  knows  delight,  knows  what  heaven 
and  hell  are.  The  will,  from  which 
man  is  man,  is  not  moved  even  a  sin- 
gle atom,  except  by  delight;  for  the 
will,  viewed  in  itself,  is  only  an  affection 
of  some  love,  thus  of  delight ;  for  it  is 
some  pleasure,  and  thence  satisfaction, 
which  causes  it  to  will;  and  because 
the  will  impels  the  understanding  to 
think,  there  is  not  given  the  least  of 
thought  but  from  the  influent  delight 
of  the  will.  The  reason  that  it  is  so, 
is  because  the  Lord,  by  influx  from 
Himself,  actuates  all  things  of  the  soul 
and  all  things  of  the  mind  with  angels, 
spirits  and  men ;  and  He  actuates  by 
an  influx  of  love  and  wisdom,  and  this 
influx  is  the  very  activity  from  which 
all  delight  is,  which  in  its  origin  is 


called  blessed,  prosperous  and  happy  ; 
and  in  its  derivation,  delightful,  agreea- 
ble and  pleasant;  and  in  a  universal 
sense,  good.  But  infernal  spirits  invert 
all  things  with  them :  thus  they  turn 
the  good  into  evil,  and  the  true  into 
false,  delight  still  remaining,  for  unless 
delight  remained,  they  would  not  have 
will,  nor  sensation,  thus  not  life. 
Hence  it  is  manifest, what  and  whence 
is  the  delight  of  hell,  and  also  what  and 
whence  is  the  delight  of  heaven."  After 
he  had  heard  this,  he  was  conducted 
to  the  third  company,  where  were  those 
who  examine  effects,  and  are  called 
sciences.  And  these  said,  "  Descend 
to  the  earth  below,  and  ascend  to  the 
earth  above  ;  in  these  you  will  perceive 
and  feel  the  delights  both  of  heaven  and 
of  hell."  But  lo,  at  a  distance  from 
tliem,  the  earth  then  opened,  and 
through  tlie  opening  three  devils  ascend- 
ed, appearing  ignited  from  the  delight 
of  their  love ;  and  because  the  angels 
who  were  consociated  with  the  no- 
vitiate spirit,  perceived  that  those  three 
providentially  ascended  from  hell,  they 
cried  to  the  devils,  "  Do  not  come  any 
nearer,  but  from  the  place  where  you 
are,  tell  .something  concerning  your 
delights."  And  they  replied,  "  Know 
that  every  one,  whether  he  be  called 
good  or  evil,  is  in  his  own  delight;  the 
good,  so  called,  in  his,  and  the  evil,  so 
called,  in  his."  And  the  angels  asked, 
"What  is  your  delight?"  They  said 
that  it  was  the  delight  of  committing 
whoredom,  of  revenging,  of  defrauding, 
and  of  blaspheming.  And  again  they 
asked,  "  What  is  the  quality  of  those 
delights  of  yours?"  They  said,  that 
they  were  perceived  by  others  as  fetid 
smells  from  dunghills,  as  putrid  smells 
from  dead  bodies,  and  as  noisome 
smells  from  stagnant  urine.  And  they 
asked,  "Are  those  things  delightful  to 
you?"  They  said,  "They  are  most 
delightful."  Then  said  they,  "You 
are  like  the  unclean  beasts  that  live  in 
them."  And  they  replied,  "  If  we  are, 
we  are ;  but  such  things  are  the  delight 
of  our  nostrils."  And  they  asked, 
"What  more?"  They  said,  "It  is 
lawful  for  every  one  to  be  in  his  own 
delight,  even  the  most  unclean,  as  they 


388 


Concerning  Repentance. 


call  it,  provided  he  do  not  infest  good 
spirits  and  angels ;  but  because,  from 
our  delight,  we  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  infest  them,  we  were  cast  into 
workhouses,  where  we  suffer  hard 
things.  The  hindering  and  withdraw- 
ing of  our  delights  there  are  what  are 
called  the  torments  of  hell ;  there  is 
also  interior  pain."  And  they  asked, 
"  Why  did  you  infest  the  good?"  They 
said  that  "They  could  not  do  otherwise. 
It  is  as  if  fury  seized  us,  when  we 
see  any  angel,  and  feel  the  divine 
sphere  of  the  Lord  around  him."  To 
which  we  said,  "  Then  you  are  also 
like  wild  beasts."  And  presently,  when 
they  saw  the  novitiate  spirit  with  the 


angels,  fury  came  upon  the  devils, 
which  appeared  like  the  fire  of 
hatred  ;  wherefore,  lest  they  should  do 
harm,  they  were  cast  back  into  hell. 
After  this  the  angels  appeared,  who 
from  ends  saw  causes,  and  through 
causes  effects,  who  were  in  heaven  over 
those  three  companies ;  and  they  were 
seen  in  a  bright  light,  which,  rolling  it- 
self down  by  spiral  flexures,  brought 
with  it  a  round  garland  of  flowers,  and 
placed  it  upon  the  head  of  the  novitiate 
spirit,  and  then  a  voice  came  to  him 
thence,  "This  laurel  is  given  to  you 
for  this  reason,  because  from  childhood 
you  have  meditated  about  heaven  and 
hell." 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration.  389 


CHAPTER  X. 


CONCERNING  REFORMATION  AND  REGENERATION. 


o7l.  After  Repentance  has  been 
treated  of,  Reformation  and  Regener- 
ation are  next  to  be  treated  of  in  their 
order,  because  these  follow  repentance, 
and  by  repentance  they  are  gradually 
promoted.  There  are  two  states  which 
man  is  to  enter  and  undergo,  while 
from  natural  he  becomes  spiritual ;  the 
first  state  is  called  Reform.\tion,  and 
the  other  Regeneration.  A  man  in 
the  first  state  looks  from  his  natural  to 
the  spiritual,  and  desires  this ;  in  the 
other  state,  he  becomes  spiritual-natu- 
ral. The  first  state  is  formed  by  the 
truths  which  will  be  of  faith,  by  which 
he  looks  to  charity ;  the  other  state  is 
formed  by  the  goods  of  charity,  and 
from  these  he  enters  into  the  truths  of 
faith ;  or,  what  is  the  same,  the  first 
state  is  of  thought  from  the  under- 
standing, but  the  other  is  of  love  from 
the  will.  When  this  state  begins  and 
advances,  a  change  is  effected  in  the 
mind ;  for  a  turn  is  made,  because  then 
the  love  of  the  will  flows  into  the  un- 
derstanding, and  impels  and  leads  it 
to  think  in  accordance  and  agreement 
with  its  love ;  wherefore,  as  far  as  the 
good  of  love  then  acts  the  first  part, 
and  the  truths  of  faith  the  second,  so 
far  the  man  is  spiritual,  and  is  a  new 
creature ;  and  then  he  acts  from  char- 
ity, and  speaks  from  faith,  and  feels  the 
good  of  charity,  and  perceives  the  truth 
of  faith,  and  is  then  in  the  Lord  and 
in  peace,  and  thus  regenerated.  The 
man  who  in  the  world  has  begun  the 
first  state,  aft^er  death  can  be  introduced 
into  the  other ;  but  he  who  has  not 
entered  into  the  first  state  in  the  world, 
cannot,  after  death,  be  introduced  into 
the  other,  thus  cannot  be  regenerated. 
These  two  states  may  be  compared 
with  the  progression  of  light  and  heat 


in  the  days  in  the  time  of  spring ;  the 
first  with  the  dawning  of  the  day  or 
the  time  of  cock-crowing ;  the  other 
with  the  morning  and  the  time  of  sun- 
rising  ;  and  the  progression  of  this 
state,  with  the  progression  of  the  day 
to  noon,  and  thus  into  light  and  heat. 
It  may  be  compared  also  with  a  crop 
of  corn,  which  is  first  an  herb,  then  it 
grows  into  prickly  heads  and  ears  of 
corn,  and  afterwards  in  these  the  grain 
is  formed  ;  and  also  with  a  tree,  which 
first  from  the  seed  grows  out  of  the 
earth  ;  afterwards  it  becomes  a  stalk, 
from  which  branches  shoot  forth,  and 
these  are  adorned  with  leaves,  and  then 
it  blossoms,  and  in  the  inmost  of  the 
flowers  it  begins  fruits,  which,  as  they 
ripen,  produce  new  seeds,  like  new 
races.  The  first  state,  which  is  that 
of  reformation,  may  be  compared  also 
with  the  state  of  a  silk- worm,  when  it 
draws  out  of  itself  and  unfolds  the 
threads  of  silk  ;  and,  after  its  industri- 
ous labor,  flies  away  into  the  air,  and 
nourishes  itself,  not  as  before  from 
leaves,  but  from  the  juices  in  flowers. 
572.  I.  That  a  Man,  unless  he  is 

BORN  again,  and  AS  IT  WERE  CREATED 
ANEW,  CANNOT  ENTER  INTO  THE  KING- 
DOM OF  God. 

That  a  man,  unless  he  is  born  again, 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God, 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord  in  John, 
where  are  these  words :  Jesus  said  to 
Nicodcmus,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  unless  a  man  he  horn  again,  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.  And 
again ;  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
unless  a  man  be  horn  of  water  and 
spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.  That  ivliich  is  horn  of 
flesh  is  flesh;  and  that  which  is  born 
of  spirit    is    spirit,    iii.    3,   5,  6. 


390  ^Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


By  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  meant  both 
heaven  and  the  church ;  for  the  king- 
dom of  God  on  earth  is  the  church. 
In  like  manner  in  other  places,  where 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  named,  as  Matt, 
xi.  11;  xii.  28;  xxi.  43;  Luke  iv.  43; 
vi.  20;  viii.  1,  10;  ix.  11,  60,  62; 
xvii.  21 ;  and  elsewhere.  To  be  horn 
by  water  and  spirit  signifies,  by  the 
truths  of  faith  and  a  life  according  to 
them.  That  water  signifies  truths,  may 
be  seen  in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed, 
n.  50,  614,  615,  685,  932.  That 
spirit  signifies  a  life  according  to  divine 
truths,  is  manifest  from  the  words  of 
the  Lord  in  John  vi.  63.  By  Verily, 
verily  (or  Amen,  amen),  is  signified 
that  it  is  truth  ;  and  because  the  Lord 
was  Truth  itself,  therefore  He  said  that 
so  often.  He  is  called  also,  the  Amen, 
Rev.  iii.  14.  The  regenerate  are 
called  in  the  Word  sons  of  God,  and 
horn  of  God,  and  regeneration  is 
described  by  a  new  heart  and  a  new 
spirit. 

573.  Since  to  be  created  also  signi- 
fies to  be  regenerated,  therefore  it  is 
said,  loho  is  born  again,  and  as  it 
were  created  aneio.  That  to  be  created 
signifies  this  in  the  Word,  is  evident 
from  these  passages :  Create  for  me 
a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  reneio  a 
firm  spirit  in  the  midst  of  me,  Psalm 
ii.  10.  Thoti  openest  thy  hand,  they 
are  satisfied  with  good;  Thou  scndest 
forth  thy  spirit,  they  are  created, 
civ.  28,  30.  The  people  that  shall  be 
created  will  praise  Jah,  cii.  18.  lie- 
hold  I  am  about  to  create  Jerusalem  an 
exultation,  Isaiah  Ixv.  18.  Thus  said 
Jehovah,  thy  Creator,  O  Jacob,  thy 
Former,  O  Israel,  I  have  redeemed 
thee ;  every  one  called  by  my  name,  for 
my  glory  I  have  created  him,  xliii. 
1,  7.  That  they  may  see,  know,  at- 
tend, and  understand ,  that  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel  hath  created  this,  xli. 
19 :  besides  in  other  places ;  and  where 
the  Lord  is  called  Creator,  Former 
and  Maker.  Thence  it  is  made  mani- 
fest, what  is  meant  by  these  words  of 
the  Lord  to  tlie  disciples;  Going  into 
all  the  world,  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
CREATURE,  Mark  xvi.  15.  By  creatures 
are  meant  all  who  can  be  regenerated ; 


and  also  in  Rev.  iii.  14;  2  Cor.  v. 
16,  17. 

574.  That  man  is  to  be  regener- 
ated, is  manifest  from  all  reason  ;  for 
he  is  born  into  evils  of  every  kind  from 
parents,  and  these  reside  in  his  natural 
man,  which  of  itself  is  diametrically 
opposite  to  the  spiritual  man  ;  and  yet 
he  is  born  for  heaven,  and  he  does  not 
come  to  heaven,  unless  he  become 
spiritual,  which  is  done  solely  by  regen- 
eration. Thence  it  necessarily  follows, 
that  the  natural  man  with  its  lusts  is  to 
be  subdued,  subjugated  and  inverted; 
and  that  otherwise  man  cannot  ap- 
proach a  single  step  towards  heaven, 
but  lets  himself  down  more  and  more 
into  hell.  Who  does  not  see  this,  who 
believes  that  he  is  born  into  evils  of 
every  kind,  and  acknowledges  that 
there  are  good  and  evil,  and  that  one 
is  contrary  to  the  other ;  and  if  he 
believes  a  life  after  death,  and  hell  and 
heaven,  and  that  evils  make  hell,  and 
goods  heaven.  The  natural  man, 
viewed  in  himself,  as  to  his  nature, 
differs  not  at  all  from  the  nature 
of  beasts ;  he  is  likewise  a  wild  beast, 
but  he  is  such  as  to  the  will ;  but  he 
differs  from  beasts  as  to  the  understand- 
ing; this  can  be  elevated  above  the  lusts 
of  the  will,  and  not  only  see  them,  but 
also  moderate  them.  Thence  it  is  that 
man  can  think  from  understanding,  and 
speak  from  thought,  which  beasts  can- 
not do.  What  man  is  from  birth,  and 
what  he  would  be  if  he  were  not  regen- 
erated, may  be  seen  from  savage  beasts 
of  every  kind;  that  he  would  be  a 
tiger,  a  panther,  a  leopard,  a  wild  boar, 
a  scorpion,  a  tarantula,  a  viper,  a  croc- 
odile, &-C. ;  wherefore,  unless  he  were 
transformed  by  regeneration  into  a 
sheep,  what  else  would  he  be  than  a 
devil  among  the  devils  in  hell  ?  And 
then,  if  the  laws  of  civil  government 
did  not  restrain  such,  would  they  not, 
from  innate  ferocity,  rush  one  upon 
another,  and  kill  each  other,  or  strip 
each  other  even  to  the  skin?  How 
many  arc  there  of  the  human  race,  who 
were  not  born  satyrs  and  priapuses  or 
four-footed  lizards  ?  And  which  of 
these  or  those,  unless  he  be  regener- 
ated, does  not  become  an  ape?  The 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration.  391 


external  morality,  which  is  acquired 
for  the  sake  of  covering  his  internals, 
does  this. 

575.  What  an  unregenerate  man  is, 
may  bo  further  described  by  these 
comparisons  and  similitudes  in  Isaiah  : 
The  cormorant  and  the  bittern  shall 

possess  it,  and  the  owl  and  the  raven 
shall  dwell  there.  He  shall  stretch  out 
over  it  the  line  of  emptiness,  and  the 
plumb-line  of  desolation ;  and  the  thorn 
shall  come  upon  its  altars,  the  thistle 
and  the  bramble  in  its  fortresses,  and  it 
shall  become  a  habitation  of  dragons, 
a  court  for  the  daughters  of  the  owl. 
And  the  ziim  shall  meet  with  the  ijim, 
and  the  satyr  shall  encounter  his  com- 
panion; yea,  the  lilith  shall  rest  there; 
the  black-bird  shall  build  her  nest  there, 
and  lay,  and  sit,  and  hatch  in  its  shade. 
Yea,  the  kites  shall  be  gathered  together 
there,  one  with  his  companion,  xxxiv. 
11,  13,  14,  15. 

576.  II.  That  the  new  Genera- 
tion OR  Creation  is  effected  by 
the  Lord  alone  by  Charity  and 
Faith,  as  the  two  Means,  with 
the  Cooperation  of  Man. 

That  regeneration  is  effected  by  the 
Lord  alone,  by  charity  and  faith,  fol- 
lows from  what  was  demonstrated  in 
the  chapters  concerning  Faith  and  con- 
cerning Charity,  and  particularly  from 
this  there ;  That  the  Lord,  charity 
and  faith  make  one,  like  life,  will  and 
understanding ;  and  that  if  they  are 
divided,  each  of  them  perishes,  like  a 
pearl  reduced  to  powder.  These  two, 
charity  and  faith,  are  called  means,  be- 
cause they  conjoin  man  with  the  Lord, 
and  cause  charity  to  be  charity,  and 
faith  to  be  faith  ;  and  this  cannot  be 
done  unless  man  also  have  a  part  in 
regeneration;  wherefore  it  is  said, 
with  the  cooperation  of  man.  In  the 
chapters  which  precede,  the  coopera- 
tion of  man  with  the  Lord  has  oc- 
casionally been  mentioned ;  but  be- 
cause the  human  mind  is  such,  that  it 
does  not  perceive  it  otherwise  than  that 
man  effects  it  from  his  own  power, 
therefore  it  shall  be  again  illustrat- 
ed. In  all  motion,  and  thence  in 
all  action,  there  is  an  active  and  a 
passive;  that  is,  there  is  something 


active  which  acts,  and  something  pas- 
sive which  acts  from  the  active,  thence 
from  both  one  action  is  produced  ;  com- 
paratively as  a  mill  moved  by  a  wheel, 
a  coach  drawn  by  a  horse,  motion  pro- 
duced by  an  effort,  an  effect  by  a  cause,  a 
dead  force  acted  upon  by  a  living  force ; 
in  general  as  the  instrumental  by  the 
principal ;  that  these  two  together  make 
one  action  every  one  knows.  As  to 
charity  and  faith,  the  Lord  acts,  and 
man  acts  from  the  Lord,  for  the  active 
of  the  Lord  is  in  the  passive  of  man  ; 
wherefore  the  power  of  acting  well  is 
from  the  Lord,  and  thence  the  will  of 
acting  is  as  it  were  man's,  because  he 
is  in  free  agency;  from  which  he  can 
act  together  with  the  Lord,  and  thus 
conjoin  himself,  and  he  can  act  from 
the  power  of  hell,  which  is  without, 
and  thus  separate  himself  The  ac- 
tion of  man,  concordant  with  the  action 
of  the  Lord,  is  what  is  here  meant  by 
cooperation ;  that  this  may  be  more 
clearly  perceived,  it  will  be  illustrated 
still  more  by  comparisons  below. 

577.  From  these  things  this  also  fol- 
lows, that  the  Lord  is  continually  in 
the  act  of  regenerating  man,  because 
He  is  continually  in  the  act  of  saving 
him;  and  no  one  can  be  saved,  unless 
he  be  regenerated,  according  to  the 
Lord's  own  words  in  John,  That  he 
icho  is  not  born  again,  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God,  iii.  3,  5,  6.  Re- 
generation, therefore,  is  the  means  of 
salvation,  and  charity  and  faith  are  the 
means  of  regeneration.  That  regen- 
eration follows  the  faith  of  the  present 
church,  which  is  without  the  cooper- 
ation of  man,  is  a  vanity  of  vanities. 
Action  and  cooperation,  such  as  have 
been  described,  may  be  seen  in  every 
thing  which  is  in  any  activity  and 
mobility.  Such  is  the  action  and  coop- 
eration of  the  heart  and  its  artery  ;  the 
heart  acts,  and  the  artery,  from  its  cov- 
erings or  coats,  cooperates  ;  thence  is 
circulation.  The  case  is  similar  with 
the  lungs ;  the  air  acts  from  its  incum- 
bency according  to  the  height  of  its 
atmosphere,  and  the  ribs  with  the 
lungs  first  cooperate,  and  presently 
afterwards  the  lungs  with  the  ribs ; 
thence  is  the  respiration  of  every  mem- 


392 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


brane  in  the  body  :  thus  the  meninges 
of  the  brain,  the  pleura,  the  peritonaeum, 
the  diaphragm,  and  the  other  mem- 
branes which  cov'er  the  viscera,  and 
which  inwardly  compose  them,  act  and 
are  acted  upon,  and  thus  cooperate,  for 
they  are  elastic  ;  thence  their  existence 
and  subsistence.  The  case  is  similar 
in  every  fibre  and  nerve,  and  in  every 
muscle,  yea  in  every  cartilage ;  that  in 
each  of  these  there  is  action  and  co- 
operation is  known.  There  is  such 
cooperation  also  in  every  sense,  for  the 
organs  of  sense,  like  the  organs  of 
motion  of  the  body,  consist  of  fibres, 
membranes  and  muscles ;  but  to  de- 
scribe the  cooperation  of  each  is  need- 
less, for  it  is  known  that  light  acts  in 
the  eye,  sound  in  the  ear,  odor  in  the 
nostril,  taste  in  the  tongue,  and  that 
tlie  organs  adapt  themselves  to  tliem, 
whence  is  sensation.  Who  cannot 
thence  perceive,  that  unless  there  were 
sucli  action  and  cooperation  with  the 
influent  life  in  the  spiritual  organism 
of  the  brain,  thought  and  will  could 
not  exist  ?  For  life  from  the  Lord  flows 
into  that  spiritual  organism,  and  be- 
cause this  cooperates,  that  which  is 
thought  is  perceived,  and  also  that 
which  is  there  weighed,  concluded  and 
determined  into  act.  If  life  alone 
acted,  and  man  did  not  cooperate  as  of 
himself,  he  would  not  be  able  to  think 
any  more  than  a  stock,  or  than  a  tem- 
ple when  the  minister  is  prcacliing ; 
this  indeed,  from  the  repercussion  of 
the  sound  from  its  doors,  may  feel  as  it 
were  an  echo,  but  nothing  of  tlie  ser- 
mon. Such  would  man  be,  unless  he 
cooperated  with  the  Lord,  as  to  charily 
and  faith. 

578.  It  may  be  illustrated  also  by 
comparisons,  what  man  would  be,  if  he 
did  not  cooperate  with  the  Lord  :  when 
he  perceives  and  feels  any  spiritual 
thing  of  heaven  and  the  ciiurch,  it 
would  be  as  if  something  disagreeable 
or  discordant  flowed  in,  and  as  stench 
into  the  nose,  discord  into  the  ear, 
deformity  into  the  eye,  and  something 
nasty  into  the  tongue.  If  the  delight 
of  charity  and  the  pleasantness  of  faith 
should  flow  into  the  spiritual  organism 
of  the  mind  of  those  who  are  in  the 


delight  of  evil  and  the  false,  these,  if 
those  delights  and  pleasantnesses  should 
be  intruded,  would  be  distressed  and 
tormented,  and  at  length  would  fall 
into  a  swoon ;  that  organism,  because 
it  consists  of  perpetual  spiral  lines, 
would  with  such  persons  involve  itself 
into  spires,  and  would  be  tortured  like 
a  serpent  upon  a  heap  of  ants.  That 
it  is  so,  has  been  made  evident  to  me 
from  much  experience  in  the  spiritual 
world. 

579.  III.  That,  because  all  have 

BEEN  REDEEMED,  ALL  CAN  BE  REGEN- 
ERATED,   EVERY    ONE    ACCORDING  TO 

HIS  State. 

That  these  things  may  be  under- 
stood, something  is  to  be  premised 
concerning  redemption.  The  Lord 
came  into  the  world  principally  for 
these  two  purposes,  that  He  might  re- 
move hell  from  angel  and  man,  and 
that  He  might  glorify  his  Human.  For 
before  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  hell  had 
grown  up  so  as  to  infest  the  angels  of 
heaven,  and,  by  interposition  between 
heaven  and  the  world,  to  intercept  the 
communication  of  the  Lord  with  the 
men  of  the  earth :  wiience  no  divine 
truth  and  good  could  pass  through  from 
the  Lord  to  men ;  thence  a  total  dam- 
nation threatened  the  whole  human 
race,  nor  could  even  the  angels  of 
heaven  have  long  subsisted  in  their  in- 
tegrity. Therefore,  that  hell  might  be 
removed,  and  thus  that  impending 
damnation  be  taken  away,  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world  and  removed  hell 
and  subjugated  it,  and  thus  opened 
heaven;  so  that  afterwards  He  could 
be  present  with  the  men  of  the  earth, 
and  save  those  who  would  live  accord- 
ing to  his  commandments,  coiusequent- 
ly  regenerate  and  save  them  ;  for  those 
are  saved  who  are  regenerated.  Thus 
this  is  understood,  l^kat  brraiisc  all 
have  been  redeemed,  all  ran  be  regener- 
ated; and  because  regeneration  and 
salvation  make  one,  that  all  can  be 
saved.  This,  therefore,  which  the 
church  teaches,  that  without  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  no  one  could  have 
been  saved,  is  to  be  thus  understood, 
that  no  one  without  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  could  have  been  regenerated. 


Ckmcerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration.  393 


As  to  the  other  end  for  which  the  Lord 
came  into  the  world,  which  is,  That 
He  might  glorify  his  Human,  it  was 
because  He  thus  became  Redeemer, 
Regenerator  and  Savior  to  eternity ; 
for  it  is  not  to  be  believed,  that  by  the 
redemption  once  wrought  in  the  world, 
all  after  it  were  redeemed,  but  that  He 
continually  redeems  those  who  believe 
in  Him  and  do  his  words.  But  more 
may  be  seen  concerning  these  things, 
in  the  chapter  concerning  Redemp- 
tion. 

580.  That  every  one  can  be  regen- 
erated, each  according  to  his  state,  is 
because  the  simple  and  the  learned  are 
to  be  regenerated  differently  ;  and  also 
those  who  are  engaged  in  different 
studies  and  in  different  offices ;  those 
who  are  inquisitive  about  the  externals 
of  the  Word,  differently  from  those  who 
are  inquisitive  about  its  internals ;  those 
who  from  parents  are  in  natural  good, 
differently  from  those  who  are  in  evil ; 
those  who  from  infancy  have  brought 
themselves  into  the  vanities  of  the 
world,  differently  from  those  who  have 
sooner  or  later  removed  themselves 
from  them ;  in  a  word,  those  who  con- 
stitute the  external  church,  differently 
from  those  who  constitute  the  internal. 
This  variety  is  infinite,  like  that  of 
faces  and  dispositions ;  but  still  every 
one,  according  to  his  state,  may  be  re- 
generated and  saved.  That  it  is  so, 
may  be  evident  from  the  heavens  into 
which  all  the  regenerate  come,  in  that 
they  are  three,  the  highest,  the  middle, 
and  the  last ;  and  into  the  highest  those 
come,  who  by  regeneration  receive  love 
to  the  Lord  ;  into  the  middle,  those 
who  receive  love  towards  the  neighbor ; 
into  the  last,  those  who  only  practise 
external  charity,  and  at  the  same  time 
acknowledge  the  Lord  as  God,  the 
Redeemer  and  Savior.  All  these  are 
saved,  but  in  various  ways.  That  all 
may  be  regenerated,  and  thus  saved,  is 
because  the  Lord  with  his  divine  good 
and  truth  is  present  with  every  man ; 
thence  is  the  life  of  every  one,  and 
thence  is  the  faculty  of  understanding 
and  willing,  and  these  have  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things.  These  things  are 
wanting  to  no  man;  and  also  means 
50 


are  given  ;  to  Christians,  in  the  Word  ; 
and  to  the  Gentiles,  in  each  one's  re- 
ligion, which  teaches  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  precepts  concerning  good  and 
evil.  Hence  this  follows,  that  every 
one  may  be  saved ;  consequently  that 
the  Lord  is  not  in  the  fault,  but  man, 
if  he  is  not  saved ;  and  man  is  in  the 
fault  because  he  does  not  cooperate. 

581.  That  redemption  and  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross  are  two  distinct  things, 
and  not  at  all  to  be  confounded,  and 
that  the  Lord  by  both  put  himself  into 
the  power  of  regenerating  and  saving 
men,  was  shown  in  the  chapter  con- 
cerning Redemption.  From  the  re- 
ceived faith  of  the  present  church  con- 
cerning the  passion  of  the  cross,  that  it 
was  redemption  itself,  have  arisen  le- 
gions of  horrible  falsities  concerning 
God,  concerning  Faith,  concerning 
Charity,  and  concerning  the  other 
things  which  necessarily  depend  on 
those  three ;  as  concerning  God,  that 
He  concluded  the  condemnation  of 
the  human  race,  and  that  He  was  will- 
ing to  be  brought  back  to  mercy  by  the 
condemnation  laid  upon  the  Son,  or 
taken  by  the  Son  upon  Himself ;  and 
that  those  only  are  saved  to  whom  the 
merit  of  Christ  is  given  either  by  fore- 
knowledge or  predestination.  From 
that  fallacy  this  tenet  also  of  that  faith 
was  hatched,  that  those  who  have  been 
gifted  with  that  faith,  were  regenerated 
all  at  once,  without  their  cooperating 
at  all ;  yea,  that  they  were  thus  ab- 
solved from  the  condemnation  of  the 
law,  and  that  they  are  no  more  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace  ;  and  this,  al- 
though the  Lord  said  that  He  took  not 
away  even  a  tittle  of  the  law.  Matt.  v. 
18,  19;  Luke  xvi.  17;  and  also  com- 
manded the  disciples  that  they  should 
preach  repentance  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  xxiv.'  47  ;  Mark  vi.  12 ;  and  also 
He  said.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  at 
hand;  repent  and  believe  the  gospel, 
Mark  i.  15.  By  the  gospel  is  meant, 
that  they  could  be  regenerated,  and 
thus  saved ;  which  could  not  have  been 
done,  unless  the  Lord  had  performed 
redemption,  that  is,  unless  He  had 
taken  away  power  from  hell  by  combats 
against  it  and  by  victories  over  it,  and 


394  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration, 


unless  He  had  glorified  his  Human, 
that  is,  made  it  Divine. 

582.  Tell  me  from  rational  thought, 
what  the  whole  human  race  would  be, 
if  the  faith  of  the  present  church  should 
continue,  which  is.  That  they  were 
redeemed  solely  by  the  passion,  of  the 
cross ;  and  that  those  who  have  been 
gifted  with  that  merit  of  the  Lord,  are 
not  under  the  condemnation  of  the  law ; 
and  also  that  that  faith,  concerning 
which  man  never  knows  whether  it  is 
in  him  or  not,  remits  sins  and  regener- 
ates ;  and  that  the  cooperation  of  man 
in  the  act  of  it,  which  is  while  it  is 
given  and  enters,  would  destroy  that 
faith,  and  with  it  would  take  away  sal- 
vation, since  he  would  mix  his  own 
merit  with  the  merit  of  Christ :  tell  me, 
I  say,  from  rational  thought,  whether 
the  whole  Word,  where  is  principally 
taught  regeneration  by  spiritual  wash- 
ing from  evils,  and  by  exercises  of 
charity,  would  not  thus  have  been  re- 
jected ?  What  then  is  the  decalogue, 
the  principle  of  reformation,  more  than 
the  paper  which  is  sold  at  the  shops  of 
hucksters,  and  is  formed  into  wrappers 
around  spices  ?  What  then  is  religion 
but  a  man's  lamentation  that  he  is  a 
sinner,  and  supplication  that  God  the 
Father  would  have  mercy  for  the  sake 
of  his  Son's  passion  1  Thus  something 
of  the  mouth  only  from  the  lungs,  and 
nothing  of  deed  from  the  heart.  And 
what  then  is  redemption,  but  a  papal 
indulgence,  or  more  than  the  flogging 
of  one  monk  for  the  whole  company, 
as  is  done.  If  that  faith  alone  regen- 
erated man,  and  not  repentance  and 
charity,  what  then  is  the  internal  man, 
which  is  his  spirit  that  lives  after  death, 
but  like  a  city  set  on  fire,  the  rubbish 
of  which  makes  the  external  man?  or 
like  a  field  or  a  plain  laid  waste  by 
palmer-worms  and  locusts  7  Such  a 
man  appears  before  the  angels  just  as 
if  he  cherished  a  serpent  in  his  bosom, 
and  put  his  garment  over  it  that  it 
might  not  appear ;  and  also  like  one 
who  sleeps  as  a  sheep  with  a  wolf ;  or 
like  one  who  lies  down,  under  a  beau- 
tiful coverlet,  in  a  shirt  woven  of  spi- 
ders' webs.  And  what  then  is  the  life 
after  death,  when  all  are  distinguished 


according  to  the  distinctions  of  regen- 
eration in  heaven,  and  according  to 
the  distinctions  of  its  rejection  in  hell, 
but  a  carnal  life,  thus  like  the  life  of  a 
fish  or  a  crab  ? 

583.  IV.  That  Regeneration  is 

EFFECTED,  COMPARATIVELY,  AS  MaN 
IS  CONCEIVED,  CARRIED  IN  THE  WoMB, 
BORN  AND  EDUCATED. 

There  is  with  man  a  perpetual  cor- 
respondence between  those  things 
which  are  done  naturally  and  those 
which  are  done  spiritually ;  or  those 
which  are  done  in  the  body  and  those 
which  are  done  in  the  spirit.  The 
reason  is,  because  man  is  born  spiritual 
as  to  the  soul,  and  is  clothed  with  a 
natural  which  constitutes  his  material 
body  ;  wherefore,  when  this  is  put  off, 
his  soul,  clothed  with  a  spiritual  body, 
comes  into  a  world  where  all  things 
are  spiritual,  and  is  there  associated 
with  its  like.  Now,  because  the  spir- 
itual body  is  to  be  formed  in  the  mate- 
rial body,  and  is  formed  by  the  truths 
and  goods  which  flow  in  from  the  Lord 
through  the  spiritual  world,  and  are  re- 
ceived by  man  inwardly  in  such  things 
of  him  as  are  from  the  natural  world, 
which  are  called  civil  and  moral,  it  is 
manifest  how  its  formation  is  effected. 
And  because,  as  was  said,  there  is  a 
perpetual  correspondence,  with  man, 
between  tliose  things  which  are  done 
naturally  and  those  which  are  done 
spiritually,  it  follows  that  there  is,  as 
it  were,  a  conception,  carrying  in  the 
womb,  birth  and  education.  It  is 
from  that  cause,  that  in  the  Word  by 
natural  births  are  meant  spiritual 
births,  which  are  of  good  and  truth ; 
for  whatever  is  extant  in  the  sense  of 
the  letter  of  the  Word,  which  is  natu- 
ral, involves  and  signifies  that  which  is 
spiritual.  That  in  all  and  every  part  of 
the  sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word, 
there  is  a  spiritual  sense,  was  fully 
shown  in  the  chapter  concerning  the 
Sacred  Scripture.  That  the  natural 
births  named  in  the  Word,  involve 
spirhual  births,  manifestly  appears  from 
these  passages  there  :  We  have  conceiv- 
ed, ICC  have  been  in  travail,  we  have  as 
it  were  brought  forth,  we  have  not 
wrought   salvation,    Isaiah  xxvi.  18. 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


395 


At  the  presence  of  the  Lord  the  earth 
bringcth  forth,  Psalm  cxiv.  7.  llath 
the  earth  brought  forth  in  one  day  1 
Shall  J  break  and  not  beget  7  Shall  I 
cause  to  bring  forth,  and  not  have  shut 
up?  Isaiah  Ixvi.  7  to  10.  Sin  is  in 
travail,  and  will  not  be  able  to  bring 
forth,  Ezek.  xxx.  15,  16.  The  pangs 
of  a  travailing  woman  shall  come  upon 
Ephraim ;  he  is  an  unwise  son,  because 
he  doth  not  stay  his  time  in  the  womb 
of  sons,  Hosea  xiii.  13 ;  and  likewise 
in  many  other  places.  Since  natural 
generations  in  the  Word  signify  spirit- 
ual ones,  and  these  are  from  the  Lord, 
thence  he  is  called  the  Former,  and 
Drawer-forth  from  the  womb,  which  is 
manifest  from  these  passages :  Jehovah, 
thy  Maker  and  Former  from  the  womb, 
Isaiah  xliv.  2.  He  that  drew  me  out 
from  the  womb,  Psalm  xxii.  9.  / 
have  been  laid  upon  Thee  from  the 
womb.  Thou  drcwest  me  out  from  the 
bowels  of  my  mother.  Psalm  Ixxi.  6. 
Hearken  ye  to  Me,  who  have  been  home 
from  the  womb,  carried  from  the  belly, 
Isaiah  xlvi.  3 ;  besides  in  other  places. 
Thence  it  is,  that  the  Lord  is  called 
Father,  as  Isaiah  ix.  6 ;  Ixiii.  16 ;  John 
X.  30;  xiv.  8,  9;  and  that  those  who 
are  in  goods  and  truths  from  Him,  are 
called  sons  and  born  of  God,  and 
among  themselves  brethren,  Matt, 
xxiii.  8 ;  and  also  that  the  church  is 
called  Mother,  Hosea  ii.  2,  5 ;  Ezek. 
xvi.  45. 

584.  Hence  now  it  is  manifest,  that 
there  is  a  correspondence  between  nat- 
ural generations  and  spiritual  genera- 
tions ;  and  because  there  is  a  correspon- 
dence, it  follows  that  conception,  car- 
rying in  the  womb,  birth  and  education 
may  not  only  be  predicated  of  the  new 
generation,  but  also  that  they  actually 
are ;  but  what  they  are,  is  exhibited  to 
view  in  their  order  in  this  article  con- 
cerning Regeneration.  Here  only, 
that  the  seed  of  man  is  conceived  in- 
wardly in  the  understanding,  and  is 
formed  in  the  will,  and  thence  is  trans- 
ferred into  the  testicle,  where  it  clothes 
itself  with  a  natural  covering ;  and 
thus  it  is  conveyed  into  the  womb,  and 
comes  into  the  world.  Moreover,  there 
is  a  correspondence  of  the  regeneration 


of  man  with  all  the  things  that  are  in 
the  vegetable  kingdom  ;  wherefore  also 
in  the  Word  man  is  described  by  a 
tree,  his  truth  by  the  seed,  and  his  good 
by  the  fruit.  That  a  bad  tree  may  be 
as  it  were  born  anew,  and  afterwards 
bear  good  fruit,  is  evident  from  engraft- 
ings  and  inoculations,  in  that  then, 
although  the  same  juice  ascends  from 
the  root  through  the  trunk  even  to  that 
which  is  engrafted  or  inoculated,  still 
it  is  turned  into  good  juice  and  makes 
a  good  tree.  The  case  is  similar  in 
the  church  with  those  who  are  engraft- 
ed into  the  Lord,  as  He  teaches  in 
these  words;  /  am  the  Vine,  ye  the 
branches.  He  that  abideth  in  Me,  and  I 
in  him,  the  same  beareth  much  fruit. 
Unless  a  man  abide  in  Me,  he  is  cast 
aioay  as  a  branch,  and,  being  dried,  is 
cast  into  the  fire,  John  xv.  5,  6. 

585.  That  the  vegetations  not  only 
of  trees,  but  also  of  all  shrubs,  corre- 
spond to  the  prolifications  of  men,  has 
been  taught  by  many  of  the  learned ; 
wherefore  I  shall  add  something  con- 
cerning these,  in  the  place  of  a  con- 
clusion. In  trees  and  in  all  other  sub- 
jects of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  there 
are  not  two  sexes,  the  male  and  the 
female,  but  every  one  there  is  male ; 
the  earth  alone,  or  the  ground,  is  the 
common  mother,  thus  as  it  were  the 
female ;  for  this  receives  the  seeds  of 
all  plants,  opens  them,  carries  them  as 
it  were  in  the  womb,  and  then  nour- 
ishes them,  and  brings  them  forth,  that 
is,  brings  them  into  open  day,  and  after- 
wards clothes  them  and  sustains  them. 
The  earth,  when  she  first  opens  the 
seed,  begins  from  the  root,  which  is 
like  a  heart ;  from  that  it  emits  and 
transmits  juice,  like  blood,  and  thus 
makes  as  it  were  a  body  furnished  with 
members ;  the  body  is  the  stalk  itself, 
and  the  branches  and  their  twigs  are 
its  members.  The  leaves  which  it  puts 
forth  immediately  after  birth  are  in 
the  place  of  lungs ;  for  as  the  heart 
without  the  lungs  does  not  produce 
sense  and  motion,  and  by  these  vivify 
man,  so  the  root  does  not  cause  the 
tree  or  shrub  to  vegetate  without  the 
leaves.  The  flowers  which  precede 
the  fruit,  are  the  means  of  decanting 


396  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


the  juice,  its  blood,  and  of  separating 
the  grosser  parts  of  it  from  the  purer, 
and  of  forming  for  the  influx  of  these 
in  their  bosom  a  new  little  stalk,  through 
which  the  decanted  juice  may  flow  in, 
and  thus  begin  and  successively  form 
the  fruit,  which  may  be  compared  to  a 
testicle  in  which  the  seeds  are  perfect- 
ed. The  vegetative  soul,  which  reigns 
most  inwardly  in  every  particle  of  the 
juice,  or  its  prolific  essence,  is  from  no 
other  source  than  from  the  heat  of  the 
spiritual  world,  which,  because  it  is 
from  the  spiritual  sun  tliere,  does  not 
breathe  after  any  thing  else  than  gen- 
eration, and  by  this  the  continuation 
of  creation  ;  and  because  it  essentially 
breathes  after  the  generation  of  man, 
therefore,  whatsoever  it  generates,  it 
induces  upon  it  a  certain  likeness  of 
man.  Lest  any  one  should  wonder 
that  it  was  said,  that  the  subjects  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom  are  only  male, 
and  that  the  earth  alone,  or  the  ground, 
is  as  a  common  mother,  or  as  the  fe- 
male, this  shall  be  illustrated  by  the 
like  in  bees.  These,  according  to  the 
observation  and  testimony  of  Sw.\mmer- 
DAM,  in  his  Books  of  Nature,  have 
only  one  common  mother,  from  whom 
all  the  offspring  of  the  whole  hive  are 
produced.  Since  these  little  animals 
have  only  one  common  mother,  why 
should  not  all  plants  ?  That  the  earth 
is  a  common  mother,  may  be  illustrated 
also  spiritually;  and  it  is  illustrated 
by  this,  that  the  earth  in  the  Word  sig- 
nifies the  church,  and  the  church  is  the 
common  mother,  as  she  is  also  called 
in  the  Word.  That  the  earth  signifies 
the  church,  consult  the  Apocalypse 
Revealed,  n.  265,  902,  where  it  is 
shown.  But  that  the  earth,  or  ground, 
can  enter  into  the  inmost  of  the  seed, 
even  to  its  prolific  principle,  and  draw 
this  out  and  carry  it  around,  is  because 
every  particle  of  du.st  or  pollen  exhales 
from  its  essence  something  fine,  like 
an  efiluvium,  which  penetrates ;  this  is 
done  from  tlie  active  force  of  the  heat 
fi-om  the  spiritual  world. 

536.  That  man  can  be  regenerated 
only  successively,  may  be  illustrated 'by 
all  and  each  of  the  things  that  exist  in 
the  natural  world.    A  tree  cannot  grow 


into  a  tree  in  one  day ;  but  it  grows  first 
from  the  seed,  afterwards  from  the  root, 
then  from  the  shoot,  from  which  is 
formed  the  stalk,  and  from  this  proceed 
branches  with  leaves,  and  at  last 
flowers  and  fruits.  Neither  does  wheat 
or  barley  rise  into  a  harvest  in  one 
day.  A  house  is  not  built  in  one  day ; 
neither  does  man  attain  to  his  stature 
in  one  day,  much  less  to  wisdom ;  nor  is 
the  church  instituted  and  perfected  in 
one  day ;  nor  is  there  any  progression 
to  an  end,  unless  there  be  a  beginning 
as  a  starting  point.  Those  who  con- 
ceive otherwise  of  regeneration,  do  not 
know  any  thing  concerning  charity  and 
faith,  and  concerning  the  growth  of 
each  according  to  the  cooperation  of 
man  with  the  Lord.  Hence  it  is  man- 
ifest, that  regeneration  is  effected,  com- 
paratively, as  man  is  conceived,  carried 
in  the  womb,  born  and  educated. 

5S7.  V.  That  the  first  Act  of 
THE  NEW  Generation  IS  called  Ref- 
ormation, WHICH  IS  OF  THE  UNDER- 
STANDING, AND  THAT  THE  SECOND  AcT 

IS  CALLED  Regeneration,  which  is 
OF  THE  Will,  and  thence  of  the 
Understanding. 

Since  reformation  and  regeneration 
are  treated  of  here  and  in  the  following 
articles,  and  reformation  is  ascribed  to 
the  understanding,  and  regeneration  to 
the  will,  it  is  necessary  that  the  dis- 
tinctions should  be  known  which  are 
between  the  understanding  and  the 
will,  and  these  have  been  described 
above,  n.  397  ;  wherefore  it  is  advised, 
that  that  be  first  read,  and  afterwards 
what  is  in  this  article.  That  the  evils 
into  which  man  is  born,  are  generated 
in  the  will  of  the  natural  man,  and 
that  the  will  brings  the  understanding 
to  favor  itself  by  thinking  in  agreement, 
was  also  there  shown  ;  wherefore,  that 
man  may  be  regenerated,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  this  should  be  done  by  the 
understanding,  as  by  a  mediate  cause, 
and  this  is  done  by  the  information 
which  the  understanding  receives,  first 
from  parents  and  masters,  afterwards 
from  the  reading  of  the  Word,  from 
preaching,  books  and  conversation. 
Those  things  which  the  understanding 
thence  receives,  are   called  truths; 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


397 


wherefore  it  is  the  same,  whether  it  be 
said,  that  reformation  is  effected  by  the 
understanding,  or  whether  it  be  said, 
that  it  is  effected  by  the  truths  which 
the  understanding  receives ;  for  truths 
teach  man  in  whom  and  what  he  should 
beheve,  and  also  what  he  should  do,  and 
thus  what  he  should  will ;  for  whatever 
any  one  does,  he  does  it  from  the  will 
according  to  the  understanding.  Since, 
therefore,  the  will  itself  of  man  is  evil 
from  nativity,  and  because  the  under- 
standing teaches  what  is  evil  and  good, 
and  he  is  able  to  will  the  one,  and  not 
to  will  the  other,  it  follows  that  man  is 
to  be  reformed  by  the  understanding. 
But  as  long  as  any  one  sees,  and  ac- 
knowledges in  his  mind,  that  evil  is 
evil,  and  good  good,  and  thinks  that 
good  is  to  be  chosen,  so  long  that  state 
is  called  reformation ;  but  when  he 
wills  to  shun  evil  and  do  good,  the  state 
of  regeneration  begins. 

588.  For  this  end  there  is  given  to 
man  the  faculty  of  elevating  the  under- 
standing almost  into  the  light  in  which 
the  angels  of  heaven  are,  that  he  may 
see  what  he  ought  to  will  and  thence 
to  do,  in  order  that  he  may  be  prosper- 
ous in  the  world  in  time,  and  blessed 
after  death  to  eternity.  He  becomes 
prosperous  and  blessed,  if  he  procures 
for  himself  wisdom,  and  keeps  his  will 
in  obedience  to  it;  but  unprosperous 
and  unhappy,  if  he  puts  his  understand- 
ing under  obedience  to  the  will ;  the 
reason  is,  because  the  will  from  nativity 
inclines  to  evils,  even  to  enormous 
ones ;  wherefore,  unless  it  were  re- 
strained by  the  understanding,  man, 
lefl  to  the  freedom  of  his  own  will, 
would  rush  into  wicked  deeds,  and,  from 
his  innate  savage  nature,  would  plunder 
and  massacre,  for  his  own  sake,  all 
who  do  not  favor  him  and  indulge  his 
inordinate  desires.  Moreover,  unless 
the  understanding  could  be  perfected 
separately,  and  the  will  by  it,  man 
would  not  be  man,  but  a  beast;  for 
without  that  separation,  and  without  the 
ascent  of  the  understanding  above  the 
will,  he  would  not  be  able  to  think,  and 
from  thought  to  speak,  but  only  to 
sound  his  affection ;  nor  would  he  be 
able  to  act  from  reason,  but  from  in- 


stinct ;  still  less  could  he  know  those 
things  which  are  of  God,  and  by  them 
God,  and  thus  be  conjoined  to  Him  and 
live  to  eternity.  For  man  thinks  and 
wills  as  of  himself,  and  this,  as  of  him- 
self, is  the  reciprocal  of  conjunction ; 
for  conjunction  without  a  reciprocal,  is 
not  possible ;  as  there  can  be  no  con- 
junction of  what  is  active  with  what  is 
passive  without  adaptation  or  applica- 
tion. God  alone  acts,  and  man  suffers 
himself  to  be  acted  upon,  and  cooper- 
ates in  all  appearance  as  from  himself, 
although  inwardly  from  God.  But 
from  these  things,  rightly  perceived,  it 
may  be  seen  what  the  love  of  man's 
will  is,  if  it  be  elevated  by  the  under- 
standing, and  also  what  it  is,  if  it  be 
not  elevated;  thus  what  man  is. 

589.  It  is  to  be  known  that  the  fac- 
ulty of  elevating  the  understanding 
even  to  the  intelligence  in  which  the 
angels  of  heaven  are,  is  from  creation 
inherent  in  every  man,  in  the  bad  as 
well  as  the  good  ;  yea,  also  in  every 
devil  in  hell,  for  all  who  are  in  hell 
were  men ;  this  has  often  been  shown 
to  me  by  lively  experience.  But  that 
they  are  not  in  intelligence,  but  in  in- 
sanity, in  spiritual  things,  is  because 
they  do  not  will  good,  but  evil ;  and 
thence  they  are  averse  to  know  and 
understand  truths,  for  truths  are  in  fa- 
vor of  good  and  against  evil.  Hence 
also  it  is  manifest,  that  the  first  thing 
of  the  new  generation,  is  the  reception 
of  truths  in  the  understanding,  and  that 
the  second  is,  that  he  wills  to  do  ac- 
cording to  truths,  and  at  length  to  do 
them.  But  yet  no  one  can  be  said  to 
be  reformed  by  the  mere  knowledges 
of  truths ;  for  man,  from  the  faculty  of 
elevating  the  understanding  above  the 
love  of  the  will,  can  apprehend  them, 
and  also  speak,  teach  and  preach  them ; 
but  he  is  reformed  who  is  in  the  affec- 
tion of  truth  for  the  sake  of  truth;  for 
this  affection  conjoins  itself  with  the 
will,  and,  if  it  goes  on,  conjoins  the 
will  to  the  understanding,  and  then 
regeneration  begins.  But  how  regen- 
eration progresses  and  is  perfected,  will 
be  told  in  what  follows. 

590.  But  what  the  man  is,  whose 
understanding  is  elevated,  and  the  love 


398 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


of  tlie  will  not  elevated  by  it,  will  be 
illustrated  by  comparisons.  He  is  like 
an  eagle  flying  on  high,  but  as  soon  as 
he  sees  food  below,  such  as  hens, 
young  swans,  yea,  lambs,  in  a  moment 
he  descends  and  devours  them.  He  is 
also  like  an  adulterer,  who  keeps  a 
harlot  concealed  below  in  the  cellar, 
and  by  turns  ascends  to  the  highest 
story  of  the  house,  and,  with  those  who 
stay  there,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife, 
he  speaks  wisely  concerning  chastity ; 
and  by  and  by  he  suddenly  retire's  from 
the  company  and  indulges  his  lascivi- 
ousness  below  with  the  harlot.  He  is 
also  like  the  flies  of  a  bog,  which  fly  in 
a  column  over  the  head  of  a  running 
horse, which,  when  the  horse  stops,  de- 
scend and  immerse  themselves  in  their 
bog.  Such  is  the  man  who  is  in  eleva- 
tion as  to  the  understanding,  but  the 
love  of  the  will  sinks  below  to  the  foot, 
immersed  in  the  unclean  things  of 
nature  and  the  libidinous  things  of  the 
senses.  But  because  they  shine  as 
from  wisdom,  as  to  the  understanding, 
and  the  will  is  contrary  to  it,  they  may 
be  likened  also  to  serpents,  which  shine 
with  scales,  and  to  Spanish  flies,  which 
glitter  as  from  gold,  and  also  to  the 
ignis  fatuus  in  marshes,  and  to  shining 
rotten  wood,  and  to  phosphorus.  There 
are  among  them  those,  who  can  coun- 
terfeit angels  of  light,  both  among  men 
in  the  world,  and  afl^er  death  among 
the  angels  of  heaven ;  but  these,  after 
a  short  examination,  are  deprived  of 
their  garments,  and  cast  down  naked. 
The  like,  however,  cannot  be  done  in 
the  world,  because  there  their  spirit  is 
not  open,  but  covered  over  with  a  mask, 
like  that  of  actors  on  the  theatre.  The 
reason  tliat  they  can  counterfeit  angels 
of  light,  and  also  a  proof  of  it,  is  that 
they  can  elevate  the  understanding 
almost  to  angelic  wisdom,  above  the  love 
of  the  will,  as  was  said.  Now,  because 
the  internal  and  the  external  of  man 
can  thus  go  contrary  ways,  and  because 
the  body  is  cast  away,  and  the  spirit 
remains,  it  is  evident  that  a  dusky 
spirit  may  dwell  under  a  white  face, 
and  a  fiery  one  under  a  smooth  mouth. 
Wherefore,  my  friend,  know  a  man  not 
from  his  mouth,  but  from  his  heart, 


that  is,  not  from  his  speech,  but  from 
his  deeds ;  for  the  Lord  says,  Beware 
of  false  prophets,  who  come  to  you  in 
sheep's  clothing,  but  iiiwardly  they  are 
ravening  wolves.  From  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them,  Matt.  vii.  15,  16. 

591.  VI.  That  the  Internal  Man 

IS    FIRST   TO   BE   REFORMED,   AND  BY 

THIS  THE  External,  and  that  Man 

IS  THUS  regenerated. 

That  the  internal  man  is  first  to  be 
regenerated,  and  by  it  the  external,  is 
commonly  said  in  the  church  at  this 
day  ;  but  by  the  internal  man  nothing 
else  is  thought  of,  than  faith,  which  is, 
that  God  the  Father  imputes  the  merit 
and  righteousness  of  his  Son,  and  sends 
the  Holy  Spirit.  This  faith,  they  be- 
lieve, makes  the  internal  man,  and  that 
from  it  flows  the  external,  which  is  the 
natural  moral  man,  and  that  this  is  an 
appendage  of  that;  comparatively,  like 
the  tail  of  a  horse  or  an  ox,  or  like  the 
tail  of  a  peacock  or  bird  of  paradise, 
which  is  continued  to  the  soles  of  its 
feet  without  cohering.  For  it  is  said 
that  charity  follows  that  faith,  but  if 
charity  from  the  will  of  man  enters, 
that  faith  perishes.  But  because  no 
other  internal  man  is  acknowledged  in 
the  church  at  this  day,  there  is  not 
any  internal  man,  for  no  one  knows 
whether  that  faith  be  given  to  him,  or 
not;  that  also  it  cannot  be  given,  and 
thence  is  imaginary,  was  shown  above. 
Thence  it  follows,  that,  at  this  day,  with 
those  who  have  confirmed  themselves 
in  that  faith,  there  is  no  other  internal 
man,  than  that  natural  man,  which 
from  nativity  overflows  with  evils  in  all 
abundance.  It  is  added  also,  that 
regeneration  and  sanctification  follow 
that  faith  of  themselves,  and  that  the 
cooperation  of  man,  by  which  alone 
regeneration  is  effected,  is  to  be  ex- 
cluded. Thence  it  is,  that  regenera- 
tion is  not  knowable  in  the  present 
church  ;  when  yet  the  Lord  says  that 
he  who  is  not  regenerated  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

592.  But  the  internal  and  the  exter- 
nal man  of  the  New  Church  are  alto- 
gether different ;  the  internal  man  is  of 
his  will,  from  which  he  thinks  when 
he  is  left  to  himself,  as  is  the  case  at 


Concerning  Reformation  ami  Regeneration. 


399 


home ;  but  the  external  man  is  Iiis 
action  and  speech,  w  hich  proceed  from 
him  in  company,  thus  abroad ;  conse- 
quently the  internal  man  is  charity, 
because  this  is  of  the  will,  and  at  the 
same  time  faith,  which  is  of  the  thought. 
Both  of  these,  before  regeneration,  make 
the  natural  man,  which  is  thus  divided 
into  internal  and  external ;  this  is  man- 
ifest from  this,  that  it  is  not  lawful  for 
a  man  to  act  and  speak  in  company  or 
abroad,  as  when  he  is  left  to  himself  or 
at  home.  The  cause  of  this  division 
is,  that  the  civil  laws  prescribe  punish- 
ments for  those  who  do  ill,  and  rewards 
for  those  who  do  well ;  and  thus  they 
force  themselves  to  separate  the  internal 
man  from  the  external ;  for  no  one 
wishes  to  be  punished,  and  every  one 
wishes  to  be  rewarded,  which  is  done  by 
riches  and  honors;  both  of  these  man 
does  not  attain,  if  he  does  not  live  ac- 
cording to  those  laws.  Thence  it  is 
that  there  is  morality  and  benevolence 
in  externals  with  those  who  have  no 
morality  and  benevolence  in  internals ; 
all  hypocrisy,  flattery  and  insincerity 
are  from  this  origin. 

598.  As  to  the  division  of  the  natural 
man  into  two  forms,  it  is  an  actual 
division,  both  of  tlie  will  and  of  the 
thought  there;  for  all  the  action  of 
man  proceeds  from  his  will,  and  all 
speech  from  his  thought ;  wherefore 
another  will  is  formed  by  man  below 
the  former,  and  also  another  thought, 
but  still  both  of  these  constitute  the 
natural  man.  This  will,  which  is 
formed  by  man,  may  be  called  the  cor- 
poreal will,  because  it  impels  the  body 
to  conduct  itself  morally ;  and  that 
thought  may  be  called  pulmonary 
thought,  because  it  impels  the  tongue 
and  lips  to  speak  such  things  as  are 
of  the  understanding.  This  thought 
and  that  will  together  may  be  compared 
to  the  thin  skin  which  inwardly  ad- 
heres to  the  bark  of  a  tree,  and  to  the 
membrane  which  adheres  to  the  shell 
of  an  egg,  within  which  is  the  internal 
natural  man,  which,  if  evil,  may  be 
compared  to  the  wood  of  a  rotten  tree, 
around  which  the  said  bark  with  its 
thin  skin  appears  entire ;  and  also  to  a 
rotten  egg  within  a  white  shell.  But 


what  the  internal  natural  man  is  from 
nativity  shall  be  told ;  his  will  inclines 
to  evils  of  every  kind,  and  the  thought 
thence  to  falses  also  of  every  kind ; 
this  internal  man,  therefore,  is  what  is 
to  be  regenerated ;  for,  unless  this  be 
regenerated,  there  is  nothing  but  hatred 
against  all  things  which  are  of  charity, 
and  thence  wrath  against  all  things  that 
are  of  faith.  Thence  it  follows,  that 
the  internal  natural  man  is  first  to  be 
regenerated,  and  by  it  the  external,  for 
this  is  according  to  order ;  but  to  re- 
generate the  internal  by  the  external 
is  contrary  to  order;  for  the  internal 
is  as  a  soul  in  the  external,  not  only  in 
general,  but  also  in  every  particular ; 
consequently  it  is  in  every  single  thing 
that  he  speaks,  without  the  man's 
knowing  it.  Thence  it  is,  that  the 
angels  perceive  from  one  action  of  a 
man  what  his  will  is,  and  from  one  ex- 
pression of  his  what  his  thought  is, 
whether  it  be  infernal  or  heavenly. 
Thence  they  know  the  whole  man ; 
from  the  sound  they  perceive  the  af- 
fection of  his  thought,  and  from  the 
gesture  or  form  of  action,  the  love  of 
his  will;  they  perceive  them,  however 
he  may  counterfeit  the  Christian  and 
the  moral  citizen. 

594.  The  regeneration  of  man  is 
described  in  Ezekiel  by  the  dry  bones, 
upon  which  were  brought  sinews,  after- 
wards flesh,  and  skin,  and  at  last 
breath  was  breathed  into  them,  by 
which  they  revived,  xxxvii.  1  to  14. 
That  regeneration  was  represented  by 
them,  is  clearly  manifest  from  these 
words  there ;  These  bones  are  the  whole 
house  of  Israel,  verse  11.  It  is  also 
compared  there  with  sepulchres,  for  it 
is  read,  that  He  would  open  the  sepul- 
chres, and  cause  the  bones  to  ascend 
thence,  and  put  spirit  in  them,  and  place 
them  upon  the  land  of  Israel,  verses 
12,  13,  14.  By  the  land  of  Israel, 
there  and  elsewhere,  is  meant  the 
church.  The  reason  why  a  represen- 
tation of  regeneration  was  made  by 
bones  and  sepulchres,  is  because  the 
unregenerate  man  is  called  dead,  and 
the  regenerate  alive :  for  in  the  latt«r 
there  is  spiritual  life,  but  in  the  former, 
spiritual  death. 


400  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


595.  In  every  created  thing  in  the 
world,  whether  living  or  dead,  there  is 
an  internal  and  an  external;  one  is 
not  where  the  other  is  not,  as  no  effect 
is  without  a  cause :  and  every  created 
thing  is  estimated  according  to  its  in- 
ternal goodness,  and  is  disesteemed 
from  its  internal  vileness;  and  so  is 
external  goodness  in  which  there  is 
internal  vileness.  Every  wise  man  in 
the  world,  and  every  angel  in  heaven, 
thus  judges.  But  what  the  unregen- 
erate  man  is,  and  what  the  regenerate 
is,  may  be  illustrated  by  comparisons. 
The  unregenerate  man,  who  counter- 
feits the  moral  citizen  and  the  Christian 
man,  may  be  compared  to  a  dead  body, 
which  is  wrapped  up  in  aromatics,  and 
which  still  spreads  a  stench,  by  which 
it  infects  the  aromatics  and  insinuates 
itself  into  the  nostrils  and  injures  the 
brain.  And  also  he  may  be  compared 
with  a  mummy  covered  with  gold,  or 
placed  in  a  silver  coffin,  on  looking  into 
which  an  ugly  black  corpse  comes  to 
view.  He  may.  be  compared  with 
bones  or  skeletons  in  a  sepulchre  built 
of  lajpis  lazuli,  and  adorned  with  other 
precious  things.  He  may  be  com- 
pared also  to  the  rich  man,  who  was 
clothed  with  purple  and  fine  linen, 
whose  internal,  nevertheless,  was  infer- 
nal, Luke  xvi.  He  may  further  be 
compared  to  poison  of  a  taste  like  that 
of  sugar ;  to  hemlock  when  in  bloom ; 
to  fruits  in  shining  shells,  the  kernels 
of  which  have  been  eaten  out  by 
worms ;  and  also  to  an  ulcer  covered 
over  with  a  plaster,  and  afterwards 
with  a  thin  skin,  in  which  there  is 
nothing  but  corrupted  matter.  The 
internal  may  be  estimated  from  the  ex- 
ternal in  the  world,  but  only  by  those 
who  have  not  a  good  internal  and  who 
therefore  judge  from  appearance.  But 
it  is  otherwise  in  heaven  ;  for  when  the 
body,  versatile  about  the  spirit  and 
flexible  from  evil  to  good,  is  separated 
by  death,  then  the  internal  remains, 
for  this  makes  his  spirit ;  and  then  it 
appears  at  a  distance  like  a  serpent 
that  has  cast  its  skin,  or  like  rotten 
wood  stripped  of  the  bark  in  which  it 
shone.  But  it  is  otherwise  with  a  re- 
generate man;  his  internal  is  good, 


and  his  external  similar  to  the  external 
of  another ;  the  external  of  this  differs 
from  that  of  the  former,  as  heaven  from 
hell,  since  there  is  a  soul  of  good  in  it. 
And  it  is  of  no  consequence  whether 
he  be  a  grandee,  and  live  in  a  palace, 
and  walk  in  state  surrounded  by 
guards,  or  whether  he  live  in  a  cot- 
tage, and  be  served  by  a  boy ;  yea, 
whether  he  be  a  primate,  arrayed  in  a 
robe  of  purple,  and  wear  a  cap  of  two 
degrees,  or  whether  he  be  the  shepherd 
of  a  few  sheep  in  the  woods,  and  be 
dressed  in  a  rustic  loose  gown,  and 
covered  as  to  the  head  with  a  hood. 
Gold  is  still  gold,  whether  it  glitter  by 
being  placed  near  the  fire,  or  become 
dusky  as  to  the  surface  by  exposure  to 
the  smoke ;  and  also  whether  it  be  cas* 
into  a  beautiful  form  as  of  an  infant, 
or  into  an  ugly  form  as  of  a  mouse. 
The  mice  made  of  gold,  and  placed 
near  the  ark,  also  were  accepted,  and 
they  appeased ;  1  Sam.  vi.  3,  4,  5,  and 
the  following  verses ;  for  gold  signifies 
internal  good.  A  diamond  and  a  ruby, 
in  whatever  matrix,  calcareous  or 
clayey,  when  taken  out,  are  estimated 
in  the  same  manner,  from  their  internal 
goodness,  as  those  in  the  necklace  of 
a  queen,  &-c.  Hence  it  is  manifest, 
that  the  external  is  estimated  from  the 
internal,  and  not  the  reverse. 

590.  VII.  That  when  tuis  takes 
PLACE,  A  Combat  arises  between 
THE  Internal  and  the  External 
Man,  and  then  that  which  con- 
quers RULES  over  the  OTHER. 

The  reason  that  a  combat  then 
arises,  is  because  the  internal  man  has 
been  reformed  by  truths,  and  from  these 
it  sees  what  is  evil  and  false,  and  these 
are  still  in  the  external  or  natural  man. 
Wherefore,  there  first  arises  a  dissen- 
sion between  the  new  will  which  is 
above,  and  the  old  will  which  is  below  ; 
and  because  it  is  between  the  wills,  it 
is  also  between  the  delights  of  both; 
for  it  is  known  that  the  flesh  is  contrary 
to  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  to  the  flesh, 
and  that  the  flesh  with  its  lusts  must 
be  subdued,  before  the  spirit  can  act 
and  the  man  become  new.  After  this 
dissension  of  the  wills,  a  combat  arises, 
which  is  what  is  called  spiritual  temp- 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration.  401 


tation ;  but  this  temptation  or  combat 
is  not  waged  between  goods  and  evils, 
but  between  the  truths  of  good  and  the 
faises  of  evil ;  for  good  of  itself  cannot 
fight,  but  it  fights  by  truths;  neither 
can  evil  fight  of  itself,  but  by  its  faises  ; 
as  the  will  cannot  fight  of  itself,  but  by 
the  understanding,  where  its  truths  are. 
Man  feels  that  combat  no  otherwise 
than  in  himself,  and  as  remorse  of  con- 
science ;  but  yet  it  is  the  Lord  and  the 
devil,  that  is,  hell,  that  fight  in  man, 
and  they  fight  for  dominion  over  man, 
or  which  shall  possess  him.  The  devil, 
or  hell,  assaults  man  and  calls  forth  his 
evils,  and  the  Lord  defends  him  and 
calls  forth  his  goods.  But  although 
that  combat  is  fought  in  the  spiritual 
world,  yet  still  it  is  fought  in  man  be- 
tween the  truths  of  good  and  the  faises 
of  evil  which  are  in  him ;  wherefore 
man  should  fight  altogether  as  fi-om 
himself,  for  he  is  in  free  agency  to  act 
for  the  Lord  and  also  to  act  for  the 
devil;  he  is  for  the  Lord,  if  he  remains 
in  truths  from  good,  and  for  the  devil, 
if  in  faises  from  evil.  Hence  it  follows, 
that  that  which  conquers,  whether  the 
internal  man  or  the  external,  rules  over 
the  other ;  just  like  two  enemies,  that 
contend  which  shall  be  the  master  of 
the  other's  kingdom ;  he  who  conquers 
takes  the  kingdom  and  puts  all  there 
under  obedience  to  him.  Here,  there- 
fore, if  the  internal  man  conquers,  he 
commands  and  subjugates  all  the  evils 
of  the  external  man,  and  then  regenera- 
tion is  continued  ;  but  if  the  external 
man  conquers,  he  commands  and  dis- 
sipates all  the  goods  of  the  internal 
man,  and  then  regeneration  perishes. 

597.  It  is,  indeed,  known  at  this 
day,  that  there  are  temptations,  but 
scarcely  any  one  knows  whence  they 
are,  and  what  they  are,  and  what  good 
they  produce ;  whence  and  what  they 
are,  was  shown  just  above,  and  also 
what  good  they  produce,  namely,  that 
when  the  internal  man  conquers,  the 
external  is  subjugated;  which  being 
subjugated,  lusts  are  dispersed,  and  in 
their  place  affections  of  good  and  truth 
are  implanted,  and  are  so  arranged  that 
the  goods  and  truths  which  man  wills 
and  thinks,  he  mg,y  also  do  them  and 
51 


speak  them  from  the  heart.  Besides 
this,  by  victory  over  the  external  man, 
man  becomes  spiritual,  and  then  he  is 
by  the  Lord  associated  with  the  angels 
of  heaven,  who  all  are  spiritual.  The 
reason  why  temptations  have  been 
hitherto  unknown,  and  why  scarcely 
any  one  has  known  whence  and  what 
they  are,  is  because  the  church  hitherto 
has  not  been  in  truths ;  no  one  is  in 
truths,  but  he  who  goes  immediately 
to  the  Lord,  and  rejects  the  former  faith 
and  embraces  the  new.  Thence  it  is, 
that  no  one  has  been  admitted  into 
any  spiritual  temptation  for  ages,  even 
from  the  age  when  the  Nicene  synod 
introduced  the  faith  of  three  Gods  ;  for 
if  any  one  had  been  admitted,  he  would 
have  fallen  immediately,  and  thus  would 
have  precipitated  himself  deeper  into 
hell.  The  contrition  which  is  said  to 
precede  the  present  faith,  is  not  temp- 
tation ;  I  have  asked  a  good  many 
about  it,  and  they  have  said  that  it  was 
a  word  and  nothing  else ;  unless  per- 
haps it  might  be  some  timid  thought 
about  the  fire  of  hell  with  the  simple. 

598.  Man,  after  temptation  has 
passed,  is,  as  to  the  internal  man,  in 
heaven,  and  by  the  external  in  the 
world ;  wherefore  by  temptations  in 
man  the  conjunction  of  heaven  and  the 
world  is  effected,  and  then  the  Lord 
with  him,  according  to  order,  governs 
his  world  from  heaven.  The  contrary 
takes  place,  if  man  remains  natural ; 
then  he  desires  to  govern  heaven  from 
the  world.  Such  every  one  becomes, 
who  is  in  the  love  of  ruling  from  the 
love  of  self ;  if  he  be  inwardly  explored, 
he  does  not  believe  in  any  God,  but  in 
himself;  and  after  death  he  believes 
him  to  be  God  who  is  preeminent  in 
power  over  others.  Such  insanity  there 
is  in  hell,  which  has  become  so  pro- 
found, that  some  say  that  they  are  God 
the  Father,  some  God  the  Son,  and 
some  God  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  among 
the  Jews,  some  that  they  are  the  Mes- 
siah. Thence  it  is  manifest  what  man 
becomes  after  death,  if  the  natural  man 
is  not  regenerated  ;  consequently  what 
he  would  become  in  his  fantasy  if  a 
new  church  were  not  instituted  by  the 
Lord,  in  which  genuine  truths  are 


402 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration-. 


taught.  This  is  what  is  meant  by 
these  words  of  the  Lord ;  In  the  con- 
summation of  the  age,  that  is,  in  the 
end  of  the  present  church,  there  shall 
be  such  afliction  as  has  not  been  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  neither  shall 
be.  Wherefore  unless  those  days  should 
be  shortened,  no  flesh  could  be  saved. 
Matt.  xxiv.  21,  22. 

599.  In  the  combats  or  temptations 
of  men,  the  Lord  performs  a  particular 
redemption,  as  He  did  a  general  one, 
when  He  was  in  the  world.  The  Lord 
in  the  world,  by  combats  and  tempta- 
tions, glorified  his  Human,  that  is, 
made  it  Divine ;  in  like  manner  now, 
with  every  individual  man,  when  he  is 
in  temptations,  He  fights  for  him  in 
them ,  and  overcomes  the  infernal  spirits 
wliich  infest  him,  and  glorifies  him 
after  temptation,  that  is,  renders  him 
spiritual.  The  Lord,  after  his  universal 
redemption,  reduced  all  things  in 
heaven  and  in  hell  into  order ;  in  like 
manner  He  does  with  man,  that  is,  He 
reduces  into  order  all  things  which  are 
of  heaven  and  the  world  with  him. 
The  Lord  after  redemption  instituted 
a  new  church  ;  in  like  manner  He  also 
institutes  those  things  which  are  of  the 
church  with  man,  and  makes  him  a 
church  in  particular.  The  Lord  after 
redemption  gave  peace  to  those  who 
believed  in  Him,  for  He  said.  My  peace 
I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  to 
you ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  to 
you,  John  xiv.  27.  In  like  manner 
He  gives  to  man  after  temptation  to 
feel  peace,  that  is,  gladness  of  mind, 
and  consolation.  Hence  it  is  manifest, 
that  the  Lord  is  a  Redeemer  to  eternity. 

600.  The  internal  man  being  regen- 
erated, and  the  external  at  the  same 
time  not  regenerated,  may  be  compared 
to  a  bird  flying  in  the  air  without  a 
seat  on  dry  ground,  but  only  in  a  bog 
where  it  is  infested  by  serpents  and 
frogs,  wherefore  it  flies  away  and  dies. 
It  may  be  compared  also  to  a  swan 
swimming  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
which  is  not  able .  to  reach  the  shore 
and  build  a  nest ;  wherefore  the  eggs 
which  she  lays  are  immersed  in  the 
water,  where  they  are  devoured  by  fishes. 
It  may  be  compared  also  to  a  soldier 


upon  a  wall,  who,  when  tiie  wall  is  un- 
dermined under  his  feet,  falls  down 
and  expires  in  the  ruins.  It  may  be 
compared  also  with  a  beautiful  tree 
transplanted  into  a  filthy  soil,  where 
worms  in  a  troop  eat  up  the  root,  from 
which  it  withers  and  perishes.  It  may 
be  compared  also  to  a  house  without  a 
foundation,  and  also  to  a  column  with- 
out a  pedestal.  Such  is  the  internal 
man,  when  it  only  is  reformed,  and  not 
the  external  at  the  same  time ;  for  it 
has  no  ultimate  for  doing  good. 

GOL  VIII.  That  THE  Regenerate 
Man  has  a  new  Will  and  a  new 
Understanding. 

That  the  regenerate  man  is  a  re- 
newed or  new  man,  the  church  at  this 
day  knows,  botli  from  the  Word  and 
from  reason.  From  the  Word,  from 
these  passages :  Make  to  yourselves  a 
new  heart  and  a  neto  spirit ;  why  icill 
ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel,  Ezek.  xviii. 
31.  I  will  give  you  a  new  heart,  and 
a  new  spirit  in  the  midst  of  you ;  and 
I  will  remove  the  heart  of  stone  out  of 
your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  a  heart 
of  flesh  ;  and  I  will  give  my  spirit  in 
the  midst  of  you,  xxxvi.  26,  27. 
Henceforth  we  know  no  one  according 
to  the  flesh;  wherefore,  f  any  one  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature,  2  Cor. 
V.  6,  7.  By  a  new  heart  there,  is 
meant  a  new  will,  and  by  a  new  spirit, 
a  new  understanding ;  for  heart,  in  the 
Word ,  .s igni fics  the  will ,  and  spirit,  when 
it  is  joined  vvitii  heart,  the  understand- 
ing. From  Re.\son  :  That  the  re- 
generate man  has  a  new  will  and  a 
new  understanding,  is  because  these 
two  faculties  make  man,  and  these  are 
what  are  regenerated.  Wherefore 
every  man  is  such  as  he  is  as  to  those 
faculties;  he  is  a  bad  man,  whose  will 
is  bad,  and  .still  worse  if  the  under- 
standing favors  it;  but  he  is  a  good 
man,  whose  will  is  good,  and  still  better 
if  the  understanding  favors  it.  Re- 
ligion alone  renews  and  regenerates 
man,  for  this  occupies  the  highest  seat 
in  the  human  mind,  and  sees  under  it 
the  civil  things  which  are  of  the  world, 
and  also  it  ascends  through  them,  as 
the  pure  juice  ascends  through  a  tree 
even  to  its  top,  and  from  that  height  it 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


403 


looks  around  upon  natural  things,  like 
one  who  from  a  tower  or  a  mountain 
looks  around  upon  the  plains  below. 

602.  But  it  should  be  known,  that 
man,  as  to  the  understanding,  may  rise 
almost  into  the  light  in  which  the  angels 
of  heaven  are ;  but  if  he  does  not  also 
rise  as  to  the  will,  he  is  still  an  old  and 
not  a  new  man.  But  how  the  under- 
standing elevates  the  will  to  higher  and 
hiorher  decrees  with  itself,  was  before 
shown  ;  wherefore  regeneration  is  pred- 
icated primarily  of  the  will,  and  sec- 
ondarily of  the  understanding ;  for  the 
understanding  with  man  is  like  the 
light  in  the  world,  and  the  will  like  the 
heat  there ;  that  light  without  heat 
does  not  produce  life  and  vegetation, 
but  light  joined  with  heat,  is  known. 
The  understanding  also,  as  to  the  lower 
region  in  the  mind,  is  also  actually  in 
the  light  of  the  world,  and  as  to  the 
higher  region,  in  the  light  of  heaven; 

too'  o  ' 

wherefore,  unless  the  will  be  elevated 
from  the  lower  region  to  the  higher, 
and  conjoined  there  to  the  understand- 
ing, it  remains  in  the  world ;  and  then 
the  understanding  flies  upwards  and 
downwards,  but  every  night  to  the 
will  below,  and  there  it  lies,  and  they 
join  themselves  together,  like  a  man 
and  a  harlot,  and  produce  a  two-head- 
ed offspring.  Hence  also  it  is  manifest, 
that  unless  man  has  a  new  will  and  a 
new  understanding,  he  is  not  regen- 
erated. 

603.  The  human  mind  is  distin- 
guished into  three  regions ;  the  lowest 
is  called  natural,  the  middle  spiritual, 
and  the  highest  celestial ;  man  by  re- 
generation is  elevated  from  the  lowest 
region  which  is  natural,  into  the  next 
higher  which  is  spiritual,  and  by  this 
into  the  celestial.  That  there  are 
three  regions  of  the  mind,  will  be  dem- 
onstrated in  the  following  article. 
Thence  it  is,  that  the  unregenerate  man 
is  called  natural,  and  the  regenerate 
spiritual ;  whence  it  is  manifest  that 
the  mind  of  the  regenerate  man  is  ele- 
vated into  the  spiritual  region,  and 
there,  from  a  higher  station,  sees  those 
things  which  are  passing  in  the  lower 
or  natural  mind.  That  there  is  a 
higher  and  a  lower  region  in  the  hu- 


man mind,  every  one  may  see  and  ac- 
knowledge from  a  slight  attention  to 
his  own  thoughts ;  for  he  sees  what  he 
thinks,  wherefore  he  says  that  he  was 
thinking  or  is  thinking  this  or  that ; 
this  could  not  be,  unless  there  were 
an  interior  thought,  which  is  called 
perception,  which  looks  into  the  lower, 
which  is  called  thought.  A  judge, 
when  he  has  heard  or  read  the  cases 
brought  together  in  a  long  series  by  an 
advocate,  collects  them  into  one  view 
in  the  higher  region  of  his  mind,  thus 
into  a  universal  idea,  and  afterwards 
looks  down  thence  into  the  lower  re- 
gion, which  is  of  the  natural  thought, 
and  there  disposes  the  arguments  in 
order,  and  according  to  the  higher 
pronounces  sentence  and  judges. 
Who  does  not  know  that  a  man  can 
think  and  conclude  in  a  moment  or 
two,  what  he  cannot  by  the  lower 
thought  express  in  the  space  of  an 
hour  ?  These  things  are  adduced  that 
it  may  be  known,  that  the  human  mind 
is  distinguished  into  lower  and  higher 
regions. 

604.  As  to  the  new  will,  this  is 
above  the  old  will  in  the  spiritual  re- 
gion, and  in  like  manner  the  new  un- 
derstanding, this  with  that  and  that 
with  this ;  in  that  region  they  join 
themselves  together,  and  conjointly  look 
into  the  old  or  natural  will  and  under- 
standing, and  dispose  all  things  there 
to  compliance  and  obedience.  Who 
cannot  see,  that,  if  there  were  only  one 
region  in  the  human  mind,  and  evils 
and  goods,  and  falses  and  truths  were 
put  there  and  mixed  together,  a  conflict 
would  ensue,  just  as  if  wolves  and 
sheep,  tigers  and  calves,  hawks  and 
doves  were  put  together  into  one  den  ? 
And  what  then  would  be  done  there  ? 
Would  there  not  be  a  cruel  butchery  ? 
Would  not  the  savage  animals  tear  in 
pieces  the  gentle  ones  ?  Wherefore  it 
is  provided  that  goods  with  their  truths 
should  be  collected  into  the  higher  re- 
gion, that  they  may  be  able  to  subsist 
in  safety,  and  repel  assault,  and  also 
by  chains  and  other  means  subjugate 
and  afterwards  disperse  evils  with  their 
falses.  This,  therefore,  is  what  was 
said  in  the  former  article,  that  the  Lord 


404 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


through  heaven  governs  those  things 
which  are  of  the  world  witli  the  regen- 
erate man.  The  higher  or  spiritual 
region  of  the  human  mind  is  also 
heaven  in  miniature,  and  the  lower  or 
natural  region  is  the  world  in  minia- 
ture ;  wherefore  man  was  called  by  the 
ancients  a  microcosm,  or  little  world, 
and  also  he  may  be  called  a  microura- 
Jios,  or  little  heaven. 

605.  That  a  man  who  is  regenerated, 
that  is,  renewed  as  to  the  will  and  un- 
derstanding, is  in  the  heat  of  heaven, 
that  is,  in  its  love,  and  at  the  same  time 
in  the  light  of  heaven,  that  is,  in  its 
wisdom ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
a  man  who  is  not  regenerated,  is  in  the 
heat  of  hell,  that  is,  in  its  love,  and  at 
the  same  time  in  the  darkness  of  hell, 
that  is,  in  its  insanity,  is  at  this  day 
known  and  yet  unknown.  The  reason 
is,  because  the  church  which  is  at  this 
day,  has  made  regeneration  an  appen- 
dage of  its  faith,  into  which  reason  is 
not  to  be  admitted;  consequently  not 
into  any  thing  which  is  of  this  appen- 
dage, which,  as  was  said,  is  regenera- 
tion and  renovation :  these,  with  the 
faith  itself,  are  to  them  like  a  house, 
whose  doors  and  windows  are  shut; 
wherefore  it  is  not  known  what  is  with- 
in that  house,  whether  it  be  entirely 
empty,  or  whether  it  be  full  of  genii 
from  hell,  or  of  angels  from  heaven. 
It  is  to  be  added,  that  a  fallacy  has 
confused  this,  which  is,  that  any  man 
may  by  the  understanding  ascend 
almost  into  the  light  of  heaven,  and 
thence  from  intelligence  think  and 
speak  concerning  spiritual  things, 
whatever  may  be  the  love  of  his  will. 
From  the  ignorance  of  this  truth,  every 
thing  that  concerns  regeneration  and 
renovation  has  become  unknown. 

606.  Hence  these  things  may  be 
concluded,  that  an  unregencrate  man  is 
like  one  who  sees  apparitions  in  the 
night,  and  believes  them  to  be  men ; 
and  then,  when  he  is  being  regenerat- 
ed, like  the  same  one  who  sees  those 
things,  which  he  saw  in  the  night,  at 
the  dawn  of  day,  that  they  were  mock- 
eries; and  afterwards,  when  he  has  be- 
come regenerated,  and  is  in  the  day, 
that  they  were  the  effects  of  delirium. 


The  unregenerate  man  is  like  one  who 
is  dreaming,  and  the  regenerate  man 
like  one  who  is  awake ;  in  the  Word, 
also,  natural  life  is  likeiied  to  sleep,  and 
spiritual  life  to  wakefulness.  The  un- 
regenerate man  is  meant  by  the  foolish 
virgins,  who  had  lamps  and  not  oil ; 
and  the  regenerate  man,  by  the  pru- 
dent virgins,  who  had  lamps  and  at  the 
same  time  oil.  By  lamps  are  meant 
such  things  as  are  of  the  understanding, 
and  by  oil  such  as  are  of  love.  The 
regenerate  are  like  the  lamps  of  the 
candlestick  in  the  tabernacle,  and  they 
are  like  the  bread  of  faces  with  frank- 
incense upon  it  there ;  and  they  are 
those  who  will  glitter  like  the  brightness 
of  the  expanse,  and  who  will  shine  like 
the  stars  for  ever  and  ever,  Dan.  xii.  3. 
An  unregenerate  man  is  like  one  who 
is  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  and  eats  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  and  is  therefore  cast  out  of  tlie 
garden ;  yea,  he  is  that  very  tree ;  but 
a  regenerate  man  is  like  one  who  is  in 
that  garden,  and  eats  of  the  tree  of  life. 
That  it  is  given  to  eat  of  it,  is  evident 
from  these  words  in  the  Revelation ; 
To  him  that  overcomcth,  I  will  give  to 
eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God,  ii.  7.  By 
the  garden  of  Eden,  is  meant  intelli- 
gence in  spiritual  things  from  the  love 
of  truth.  See  the  Apolcalypse  Re- 
VE.\LED,  n.  90.  In  a  word,  an  unre- 
generate man  is  a  son  of  the  evil  one, 
and  a  regenerate  man  is  a  son  of  the 
kingdom,  Matt.  xiii.  38.  The  son  of 
the  evil  one  tiiere,  is  a  son  of  the  devil, 
and  tiie  son  of  the  kingdom  there,  is  a 
son  of  the  Lord. 

607.  IX.  Th.\t  a  regenerate 
Man  is  in  Communion  with  the  An- 
gels OF  Heaven,  and  an  unregen- 
F.RATF.  Man  in  Communion  with  the 
Spirits  of  Hell. 

The  reason  that  every  man  is  in 
communion,  that  is,  in  consociation, 
with  angels  of  heaven,  or  with  spirits 
of  hell,  is,  because  he  is  born  that  he 
may  become  spiritual,  and  this  is  not 
possible,  unless  he  he  in  some  conjunc- 
tion with  those  who  are  spiritual. 
That  man  is  in  both  worlds,  the  natural 
and  the  spiritual,  as  to  the  mind,  is 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


405 


shown  in  the  book  concerning  Heaven 
AND  Hell.  But  neither  man,  nor  an- 
gel or  spirit,  knows  concerning  this 
conjunction,  because  a  man,  whue  he 
lives  in  the  world,  is  in  a  natural  state, 
and  an  angel  and  a  spirit  in  a  spiritual 
state ;  and  on  account  of  the  distinction 
between  natural  and  spiritual,  one  does 
not  appear  to  the  other;  this  distinction, 
what  it  is,  has  been  described  in  the 
book  concerning  Conjugial  Love,  in 
a  Relation  there,  n.  326  to  329  [see 
also  above,  n.  280] ;  from  which  it  is 
manifest,  that  they  are  not  conjoined  as 
to  thoughts,  but  as  to  affections,  and 
upon  these  scarcely  any  one  reflects, 
because  they  are  not  in  the  light  in 
which  the  understanding  is  and  thence 
its  thought,  but  in  the  heat  in  which 
the  will  is  and  thence  the  affection  of 
his  love.  The  conjunction,  by  the  affec- 
tions of  love,  between  men, and  angels 
and  spirits,  is  so  close,  that,  if  it  were 
severed,  and  hence  they  were  separated, 
men  would  instantly  fall  into  a  swoon, 
and  if  it  should  not  be  restored,  and  they 
conjoined,  men  would  expire.  By  what 
was  said,  that  man  by  regeneration 
becomes  spiritual,  it  is  not  meant  that 
he  becomes  as  spiritual  as  an  angel  is 
in  himself ;  but  that  he  becomes  spiritual- 
natural,  that  is,  that  there  is  a  spiritual 
within  his  natural,  just  as  thought  is  in 
the  speech,  and  as  will  in  the  action; 
for  when  one  ceases,  the  other  ceases. 
In  like  manner,  the  spirit  of  man  is  in 
every  thing  that  is  done  in  the  body, 
and  this  is  what  impels  the  natural  to 
do  what  it  does  ;  the  natural,  viewed  in 
itself,  is  only  passive,  or  a  dead  force, 
but  the  spiritual  is  active,  or  a  living 
force ;  the  passive,  or  the  dead  force, 
cannot  act  of  itself,  but  it  must  be  acted 
upon  by  the  active,  or  the  living  force. 
Since  man  lives  continually  in  com- 
munion with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
spiritual  world,  therefore  also,  when  he 
goes  out  of  the  natural  world,  he  is  im- 
mediately introduced  among  his  like, 
with  whom  he  had  been  in  the  world ; 
thence  it  is,  that  every  one  after  death 
seems  to  himself  as  if  he  were  still 
living  in  the  world,  for  then  he  comes 
into  consociation  with  his  like,  as  to 
the  affections  of  his  will,  whom  he  then 


acknowledges,  as  kindred  and  relations 
acknowledge  each  other  in  the  world ; 
and  this  is  what  is  said  in  the  Word 
concerning  those  who  die,  that  they 
were  collected  and  gathered  to  their 
own.  Hence  now  it  may  be  evident 
that  the  regenerate  man  is  in  commu- 
nion with  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  the 
unregenerate  with  the  spirits  of  hell. 

608.  It  is  to  be  known,  that  there 
are  three  heavens,  and  those  distin- 
guished from  each  other  according  to 
the  three  degrees  of  love  and  wisdom, 
and  that  man,  according  to  regeneration, 
is  in  communion  with  angels  from  those 
three  heavens;  and,  because  it  is  so, 
that  the  human  mind  is  distinguished 
into  three  degrees  or  regions,  according 
to  the  heavens.  But  concerning  these 
three  heavens,  and  liie  distinction  of 
them  according  to  the  three  degrees  of 
love  and  wisdom,  see  in  the  book  con- 
cerning Heaven  and  Hell,  n.  29  and 
the  following  ;  and  also  in  the  little  trea- 
tise concerning  the  Intercourse  be- 
tween THE  Soul  and  the  Body,  n. 
16,  17.  Her.e  it  is  only  to  be  illustrated 
by  some  similitude  what  those  three 
degrees  are,  according  to  which  those 
heavens  are  distinguished ;  they  are 
like  the  head,  body  and  feet  in  man ; 
the  highest  heaven  makes  the  head,  the 
middle  makes  the  body,  and  the  last 
makes  the  feet,  for  the  whole  heaven  is 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  as  one  man. 
That  it  is  so,  has  been  disclosed  to  me 
by  ocular  demonstration;  for  it  has 
been  given  me  to  see  one  society  of 
heaven,  which  consisted  of  a  myriad, 
as  together  one  man ;  why  not  the 
whole  heaven  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  1 
Concerning  this  lively  experience,  see 
in  the  book  concerning  Heaven  and 
Hell,  n.  59  and  the  following.  Hence 
also  it  is  manifest,  how  this,  which  is 
known  in  the  Christian  world,  is  to  be 
understood,  That  the  church  makes  the 
body  of  Christ,  and  that  Christ  is  the 
life  of  that  body.  By  that,  this  also 
may  be  illustrated,  that  the  Lord  is  the 
all  in  all  of  heaven,  for  He  is  the  life  in 
that  body.  In  like  manner  the  Lord 
is  the  church  with  those  who  acknowl- 
edge Ilim  for  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  believe  in  Him.    That  He 


406  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  He 
teaches  in  Matt,  xxviii.  18;  and  that 
men  should  believe  in  Him,  John  iii. 
.  15,  36 ;  vi.  40 ;  xi.  25,  26. 

609.  Those  three  degrees  in  which 
the  heavens  are,  consequently  in  which 
the  human  mind  is,  may  be,  in  some 
degree,  illustrated  by  comparisons  with 
material  things  in  the  world :  those 
three  degrees  are  in  excellence  like 
gold,  silver  and  copper,  with  which 
metals  also  a  comparison  is  made  in 
Nebuchadnezzar's  statue,  Dan.  ii.  31, 
and  the  following  verses.  Those  three 
degrees  also  are  distinguished  from 
each  other,  in  purity  and  goodness, 
like  a  ruby,  a  sapphire  and  an  agate, 
and  also  like  an  olive-tree,  a  vine  and 
a  fig-tree,  &/C.  Also  gold,  a  ruby 
and  an  olive-tree,  in  the  Word,  signify 
celestial  good,  which  is  the  good  of  the 
highest  heaven  ;  and  silver,  a  sapphire 
and  a  vine  signify  spiritual  good,  which 
is  the  good  of  the  middle  heaven ;  and 
copper,  an  agate  and  a  fig-tree,  natural 
good,  which  is  the  good  of  the  last 
heaven ;  that  there  are  three  degrees, 
the  celestial,  the  spiritual  and  the  nat- 
ural, was  said  above. 

610.  To  what  has  been  said  above, 
this  shall  be  added  ;  that  the  regenera- 
tion of  man  is  not  effected  in  a  moment, 
but  successively,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  life  in  the  world,  and  that 
after  this,  it  is  continued  and  perfected  ; 
and  because  man  is  reformed  by  com- 
bats and  victories  over  the  evils  of  his 
flesh,  therefore  the  Son  of  man  says  to 
each  of  the  seven  churches,  that  He 
will  give  gifts  to  him  that  overcomes ; — 
as,  to  the  church  of  Ephesus ;  To  him 
that  overcnmcth,  I  will  give  to  eat  of 
thr  tree  of  life,  Rev.  ii.  7 ; — to  the 
church  of  Smyrna  ;  He  that  overeometh 
shall  not  siiffir  harm  in  the  seeond death, 
ii.  1 1  ; — to  the  church  in  Pergamos ; 
To  him  that  overeometh,  I  will  give  to 
eat  of  the  hidden  manna,  ii.  17 ; — to  the 
church  in  Thyatira ;  To  him  that  over- 
eometh, I  will  give  power  over  the  na- 
tions, ii.  25  ; — to  the  church  in  Sardis ; 
He  that  overeometh  shall  be  clothed  in 
white  garments,  iii.  5 ; — to  the  church 
in  Philadelphia  ;  Him  that  overeometh, 
I  will  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of 


God,  iii.  12 ; — to  the  church  of  the  Lao- 
diceans  ;  To  him  that  overeometh,  I 
will  give  to  sit  with  Me  on  my  throne, 
iii.  21.  Lastly,  this  shall  be  added; 
that  as  far  as  man  is  regenerated,  or  as 
far  as  regeneration  is  perfected  in  him, 
so  far  he  does  not  attribute  any  thing  of 
good  and  truth,  that  is,  of  charity  and 
faith,  to  himself,  but  to  the  Lord ;  for 
the  truths  which  he  successively  im- 
bibes, manifestly  teach  that. 

611.  X.  That  as  far  as  Man  is 

REGENERATED,  SO  FAR  SiNS  ARE  RE- 
MOVED,  AND    THAT  THIS  ReMOVAL  IS 

THE  Remission  of  Sins. 

That  as  far  as  man  is  regenerated, 
so  far  sins  are  removed,  is,  because  re- 
generation is  to  restrain  the  flesh  that 
it  may  not  rule,  and  to  subdue  the  old 
man  with  his  lusts,  that  he  may  not 
rise  up  and  destroy  the  intellectual, 
which  being  destroyed,  man  is  no 
longer  capable  of  being  reformed ;  w  hich 
reformation  cannot  be  effigcted,  unless 
the  spirit  of  man,  which  is  above  the 
flesh,  be  instructed  and  perfected. 
Who  that  has  yet  a  sound  understand- 
ing, cannot  conclude  from  those  things, 
that  such  things  cannot  be  efiected  in 
one  moment,  but  successively,  as  man 
is  conceived,  carried  in  the  womb,  born 
and  educated,  according  to  what  was 
shown  above  ?  For  those  things  which 
are  of  the  flesh,  or  of  the  old  man,  are 
inherent  from  nativity,  and  they  build 
the  first  house  of  his  mind,  in  which 
lusts  dwell,  like  wild  beasts  in  their 
dens,  and  they  live  first  in  the  outer 
courts,  and  go  down  by  turns  as  it 
were  into  the  rooms  of  that  house  un- 
der ground,  and  afterwards  ascend  by 
stairs,  and  form  to  themselves  cham- 
bers ;  which  takes  place  successively 
as  the  infant  grows,  becomes  a  child, 
and  afterwards  a  young  man,  and  then 
begins  to  think  from  his  own  under- 
standing and  to  act  from  his  own  will. 
Who  does  not  see,  that  this  house,  thus 
far  built  in  the  mind,  in  which  lusts, 
Vike oehim,ghoim  and  satyrs, dance  hand 
in  hand,  cannot  be  destroyed  in  one  mo- 
ment, and  a  new  house  built  up  in  its 
place  ?  Must  not  the  lusts,  which  hold 
each  other  by  the  hand  and  sj)ort,  first 
be  removed,  and  new  desires,  which  are 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


407 


those  ol"  good  and  truth,  be  introduced 
instead  of  the  desires  which  are  those 
of  wliat  is  evil  and  false  ?  That  these 
things  cannot  be  done  in  a  moment, 
every  wise  man  may  see  from  this 
alone;  that  every  evil  is  composed  of 
innumerable  lusts,  and  that  it  is  like 
fruit,  which,  within  the  surface,  is  full  of 
worms  with  white  bodies  and  black 
heads ;  and  that  evils  are  numerous,  and 
joined  together  like  the  offspring  of  a 
spider  when  first  hatched;  wherefore, 
unless  one  evil  is  drawn  out  after 
another,  and  this  until  their  connection 
is  broken,  man  cannot  become  new. 
These  things  are  adduced  in  order  that  it 
may  be  known,  that  as  far  as  any  one 
is  regenerated,  so  far  sins  are  removed. 

612.  Man  from  nativity  inclines  to 
evils  of  every  kind,  and  from  inclina- 
tion he  lusts  after  them,  and  as  far  as 
he  is  in  freedom,  he  also  does  them ; 
for  irom  nativity  he  desires  to  rule  over 
others  and  to  possess  the  goods  of 
others,  which  two  destroy  all  love  to- 
wards the  neighbor;  and  then  he  hates 
every  one  that  opposes  him,  and  from 
hatred  breathes  revenge,  which  inward- 
ly cherishes  murder,  Thence  also  it 
is,  that  he  makes  light  of  adulteries,  and 
depredations,  which  are  clandestine 
thefts,  and  blasphemy,  which  also  is 
false  witness ;  and  he  who  makes  light 
of  these  and  those,  is  in  heart  an 
atheist.  Such  is  man  from  nativity ; 
whence  it  is  manifest,  that  from  nativity 
he  is  a  hell  in  miniature.  Now,  be- 
cause man,  as  to  the  interiors  of  his 
mind,  is  born  spiritual,  differently  from 
the  beasts,  consequently  is  born  for 
heaven,  and  yet  his  natural  or  external 
man  is,  as  was  said,  a  hell  in  miniature, 
it  follows  that  heaven  cannot  be  im- 
planted in  hell,  unless  this  be  removed. 

613.  He  who  knows  how  heaven  and 
hell  are  related  to  each  other,  and  how 
the  one  is  removed  from  the  other,  may 
know  how  man  is  regenerated.  That 
this  may  be  understood,  it  shall  be 
made  manifest  in  a  summary,  that  all 
who  are  in  heaven  look  to  the  Lord 
face  to  face,  and  all  who  are  in  hell 
turn  the  face  away  from  the  Lord; 
wherefore,  whf  n  hell  is  looked  into  from 
heaven,  they  appear  only  as  to  the 


hinder  part  of  the  head  and  the  back  ; 
yea,  they  also  appear  as  if  inverted, 
like  antipodes,  with  their  feet  upwards 
and  heads  downwards,  and  this  although 
tlicy  walk  upon  their  feet  and  turn 
around  their  faces  ;  for  it  is  the  opposite 
direction  of  the  interiors  of  their  mind 
whicii  produces  that  sight.  These 
wonderful  things  I  relate  from  my  own 
observation.  Hence  it  was  discovered 
to  me,  how  regeneration  is  effected,  and 
that  it  is  effected  as  hell  is  removed  and 
thus  separated  from  heaven ;  for,  as 
was  said  above,  man,  as  to  the  first 
nature,  which  he  derives  from  nativity, 
is  a  hell  in  miniature,  and  as  to  the 
other  nature,  which  he  derives  from  a 
second  nativity,  he  is  a  heaven  in  min- 
iature. Hence  it  follows  that  evils  are 
removed  and  separated,  as  heaven  and 
hell  are  in  a  great  effigy;  and  that  evils, 
as  they  are  removed,  turn  themselves 
from  the  Lord,  and  successively  invert 
themselves;  and  that  this  is  done  in 
that  degree  in  which  heaven  is  im- 
planted, that  is,  as  man  is  made  new. 
To  this  it  shall  be  added,  for  the  sake 
of  illustration,  that  every  evil  with  man 
has  conjunction  with  such  in  hell  as 
are  in  the  like  evil ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  every  good  with  man  has 
conjunction  with  such  in  heaven  as  are 
in  the  like  good. 

614.  From  what  has  been  adduced 
it  may  be  evident,  that  the  remission 
of  sins  is  not  an  extirpation  of  them, 
and  a  wiping  of  them  away,  but  that  it 
is  a  removal  and  thus  a  separation  of 
them ;  and  also  that  every  evil  which  a 
man  has  actually  appropriated  to  him- 
self remains ;  and  because  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  is  the  removal  and  separation 
of  them,  it  follows  that  man  is  withheld 
from  evil  and  held  in  good,  and  that 
this  is  what  is  given  to  man  by  regene- 
ration. Once  I  heard  a  certain  one 
in  the  last  heaven  say,  that  he  was 
free  fi-om  sins,  because  they  were 
wiped  away ;  he  added,  by  the  blood 
of  Christ ;  but  because  he  was  in  heav- 
en, and  from  ignorance  in  that  error, 
he  was  let  into  his  own  sins,  which, 
as  they  returned,  he  acknowledged; 
whence  he  received  a  new  faith,  which 
was,  that  every  man,  as  well  as  every 


408 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


angel,  is  of  the  Lord  withheld  from  evils 
and  held  in  goods.  Hence  it  is  mani- 
fest what  the  remission  of  sins  is  ;  that 
it  is  not  instantaneous,  but  that  it  fol- 
lows regeneration  according  to  its 
progress.  The  removal  of  sins,  which 
is  called  their  remission,  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  casting  of  filth  out  of 
the  camp  of  the  sons  of  Israel  into  the 
desert  which  was  around  it,  for  their 
camp  represented  heaven,  and  the  des- 
ert hell.  It  may  be  compared  also 
with  the  removal  of  the  nations  from 
the  sons  of  Israel  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, and  of  the  Jebusites  from  Jeru- 
salem, which  were  not  cast  out,  but 
separated.  It  may  be  compared  with 
Dagon,  the  god  of  the  Philistines, 
which,  when  the  ark  was  introduced, 
first  lay  upon  his  face  on  the  earth,  and 
afterwards,  with  his  licad  and  the 
palms  of  his  hands  cut  off",  upon  tlie 
threshold ;  thus  not  cast  out,  but  re- 
moved. It  may  be  compared  with  the 
demons  sent  by  the  Lord  into  tlie  swine, 
which  afterwards  immersed  themselves 
in  the  sea;  by  the  sea  here,  and  else- 
where in  the  Word,  is  signified  hell. 
It  may  be  compared  also  witii  the 
dragon's  crew,  wliich,  being  separated 
from  heaven,  first  invaded  the  earth, 
and  afterwards  was  cast  down  into  hell. 
It  may  be  compared  also  to  a  forest 
where  are  many  sorts  of  wild  beasts, 
which  being  cut  down,  the  wild  beasts 
flee  into  the  thickets  round  about ;  and 
then  the  land  in  the  midst,  being 
cleared  up,  is  cultivated  into  a  field. 
615.    XI.    TuAT  Regl;ner.\tion 

CANNOT  BE  EFFECTED  WITMOtT  FltKE 

Agency  in  Spiritual  TiiiNcis. 

Who  except  the  stupid  cannot  see, 
that  man,  with.out  free  agency  in  spir- 
itual things,  cannot  be  regenerated  ? 
Can  he  without  it  go  to  the  Lord,  and 
acknowledge  Him  as  tlie  Redeemer 
and  Savior,  and  as  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth,  as  He  teaciies.  Matt.  x.Kviii. 
18  1  Who,  without  that  free  agency, 
can  believe,  that  is,  from  faith  look  to 
and  worship  Him,  and  apply  himself  to 
receive  the  means  and  benefits  of  sal- 
vation from  Him,  and  cooperate  to  re- 
ceive them  from  him?  Who,  without 
free  agency,  can  do  any  good  to  the 


neighbor,  and  exercise  charity,  and 
bring  into  his  thought  and  will  many 
other  things  which  are  of  faith  and 
charity,  and  bring  them  out  and  put 
them  forth  into  act  ?  Otherwise,  what  is 
regeneration,  but  a  mere  word,  dropped 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  John 
iii.,  which  either  stops  in  the  ear,  or, 
falling  into  the  mouth  from  the  thought 
next  to  the  speech,  is  made  an  articu- 
late sound  of  only  twelve  letters,  which 
sound  cannot  by  any  sense  be  elevated 
into  any  higher  region  of  the  mind,  .but 
falls  into  the  air,  where  it  is  dissipated  ? 

616.  Say,  if  you  can,  whether  there 
can  be  any  blinder  stupidity  concern- 
ing regeneration,  than  there  is  with 
those  who  confirm  themselves  in  the 
present  faith,  which  is,  that  faith  is  in- 
fused into  man  when  he  is  like  a  stock 
or  a  stone,  and  that  then,  when  it  is  in- 
fused, it  is  followed  by  justification, 
which  is  the  remission  of  sins,  regener- 
ation and  many  other  gifts ;  and  that 
the  operation  of  man  is  to  be  entirely 
excluded,  in  order  that  it  may  not  do 
any  violence  to  the  merit  of  Christ. 
And,  that  tiiis  dogma  might  be  more 
firmly  established,  they  have  taken 
away  from  man  all  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things,  by  inducing  absolute 
impotence  in  them ;  and  then  as  if 
God  only  operated  on  his  part,  and  no 
power  were  given  to  man  of  cooperating 
on  his,  and  thus  of  conjoining  himself. 
What  then  is  man,  as  to  regeneration, 
but  as  one  bound,  as  to  his  hands  and 
feet,  like  those  who  are  bound  in  ves- 
sels called  galleys,  who  would  be  pun- 
ished and  condemned  to  death,  as  they 
would  if  they  should  free  themselves 
from  manacles  and  fetters,  that  is,  if 
from  free  agency  he  should  do  good  to 
the  neighbor,  and  of  himself  believe  in 
God,  for  the  sake  of  salvation  ?  What 
would  a  man  be,  who  is  confirmed  in 
such  things,  and  yet  is  in  a  pious  desire 
for  heaven,  but  like  a  phantom  standing 
in  vision  to  see  whether  that  faith  with 
its  benefits  has  been  infused  into  him  ; 
or,  if  not,  whether  it  may  be  infused; 
consequently,  whether  God  the  Father 
has  had  mercy  on  him,  or  whether  his 
Son  has  interceded,  or  "whether  the 
Holy  Ghost,  being  elsewhere  occupied, 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


409 


does  not  operate ;  and  at  length,  from 
entire  ignorance  concerning  this,  he 
would  go  away  and  comfort  himself  by 
this,  that  "  Perhaps  that  grace  may  be 
in  the  morality  of  my  life,  in  which  I 
am  and  remain  as  before,  and  thus  that 
in  me  may  be  holy,  but  in  those  who 
have  not  obtained  that  faith,  profane ; 
wherefore,  that  holiness  may  remain 
in  my  morality,  I  will  take  care  here- 
after that  I  do  not  operate  of  myself 
either  faith  or  charity."  Such  a  phan- 
tom, or,  if  you  please,  such  a  pillar  of 
salt,  every  one  becomes,  who  thinks 
about  regeneration  without  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things. 

617.  A  man  who  believes  regenera- 
tion to  take  place  without  any  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  thus  without 
cooperation,  becomes  as  to  all  the  truths 
of  the  church  as  cold  as  a  stone ;  or,  if 
warm,  he  is  like  a  brand  lighted  in  the 
fire,  which  burns  from  the  combustibles 
in  it,  because  he  is  warm  from  lusts. 
He  is  comparatively  like  a  palace  which 
sinks  down  into  the  earth  even  to  its 
roof,  and  is  overflowed  with  muddy 
waters,  and  after  this  the  occupant 
dwells  upon  the  bare  roof,  and  there 
makes  for  himself  a  tent  of  marshy 
reeds,  and  at  length  the  roof  also  sinks 
down,  and  he  is  drowned.  He  is  also 
like  a  ship,  in  which  are  precious  com- 
modities of  every  kind  taken  from  the 
Word  as  a  treasury ;  which  are  either 
devoured  by  mice  and  moths,  or  thrown 
out  by  the  sailors  into  the  sea,  and  thus 
the  merchants  are  defrauded  of  their 
goods.  The  learned,  or  those  who  are 
enriched  from  the  mysteries  of  that 
faith,  are  like  pedlers  in  shops  who  sell 
statues  of  idols,  fruits  and  flowers  made 
of  wax,  shells,  vipers  in  phials,  and 
other  such  things.  Those  who,  from 
no  spiritual  power  applied  and  given  to 
man  by  the  Lord,  are  not  willing  to 
look  upwards,  are  actually  like  beasts 
which  look  with  the  head  downwards, 
and  only  seek  for  pasture  in  the  woods ; 
and  if  they  come  into  gardens,  they 
are  like  worms  which  consume  the 
leaves  of  trees ;  and  if  they  see  fruits 
with  their  eyes,  and  especially  if  they 
feel  them  with  their  hands,  they  fill 
them  with  worms ;  and  at  length  they 
52 


become  like  scaly  serpents,  whose  fal- 
lacies sound  and  glitter  like  their 
scales. 

618.  XII.  That  Regeneration  can- 
not BE  EFFECTED  WITHOUT  TrUTHS, 

BY  WHICH  Faith  is  formed,  and  with 
WHICH  Charity  conjoins  itself. 

There  are  three  things  by  which 
man  is  regenerated — the  Lord,  faith 
and  charity ;  these  three  would  lie 
concealed,  like  the  most  precious  things 
buried  in  the  earth,  if  divine  truths 
from  the  Word  did  not  disclose  them ; 
yea,  they  would  lie  concealed  before 
those  who  deny  cooperation,  even  if 
they  should  read  the  Word  a  hundred 
or  a  thousand  times,  although  they 
stand  forth  there  in  clear  light.  As  to 
what  respects  the  Lord;  who,  that  is 
confirmed  in  the  present  faith,  sees 
with  an  open  eye  these  things  there ; 
that  He  and  the  Father  are  one ;  that 
He  is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth ; 
and  that  it  is  the  will  of  the  Father, 
that  they  should  believe  in  the  Son ; 
besides  many  similar  things  concern- 
ing the  Lord  in  both  covenants  ?  The 
reason  is,  because  they  are  not  in  truths, 
and  thence  not  in  the  light  from  which 
things  of  this  kind  can  be  seen ;  and  if 
light  were  given,  still  falses  would  ex- 
tinguish it,  and  then  those  things  would 
be  passed  by,  as  things  that  are  covered 
over  with  blots,  or  as  subterranean 
ditches,  which  are  trampled  on  and 
walked  over.  These  things  have  been 
said,  that  it  may  be  known,  that,  with- 
out truths,  this  primary  thing  of  regen- 
eration is  not  seen.  As  to  what  re- 
spects faith,  that  neither  can  exist 
without  truths,  for  faith  and  truth  make 
one  thing ;  for  the  good  of  faith  is  as  a 
soul,  and  truths  make  its  body  ;  where- 
fore, to  say  that  one  believes  or  has 
faith,  without  knowing  any  truths  of  it,  is 
like  drawing  the  soul  out  of  the  body, 
and  speaking  with  it  when  thus  invisi- 
ble. Besides,  all  truths  which  make 
the  body  of  faith,  send  forth  light  from 
themselves,  and  illustrate  and  set  forth 
its  face  to  be  seen.  The  case  is  simi- 
lar with  charity  ;  this  sends  forth  from 
itself  heat,  with  which  the  light  of 
truth  conjoins  itself,  as  heat  with  light 
in  the  time  of  spring  in  the  world ; 


410  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


from  the  conjunction  of  which  the  ani- 
mals and  vegetables  of  the  earth  return 
to  their  prolification.  The  case  is  sim- 
ilar with  spiritual  light  and  heat ;  these 
in  like  manner  conjoin  themselves  in 
man,  while  he  is  in  the  truths  of  faith 
and  at  the  same  time  in  the  goods  of 
charity ;  for,  as  was  said  above,  in  the 
chapter  concerning  faith,  from  each  of 
the  truths  of  faith  light  flows  forth, 
which  illustrates,  and  from  each  of  the 
goods  of  charity  heat  flows  forth,  which 
enkindles;  and  also,  that  spiritual  light 
in  its  essence  is  intelligence,  and  that 
spiritual  heat  in  its  essence  is  love; 
and  that  the  Lord  alone  conjoins  those 
two  in  mau,  when  He  regenerates  him. 
For  the  Lord  said.  The  words  which  I 
speak,  are  spirit  and  life,  John  vi.  63. 
Believe  in  the  light,  thai  ye  may  be 
sons  of  the  light.  I  am  come  a  light 
into  the  world,  xii.  36.  The  Lord  is 
the  sun  in  the  spiritual  world ;  thence 
is  nil  spiritual  light  and  heat;  and  that 
light  illustrates,  and  that  heat  enkindles, 
and  by  the  conjunction  of  both,  He  viv- 
ifies and  regenerates  man. 

619.  Hence  it  may  be  evident,  that 
without  truths  there  is  no  knowledge 
of  the  Lord,  and  also  that  without  truths 
tliere  is  no  faith,  and  thus  no  charity ; 
consequently  that  without  truths  there 
is  no  theology,  and  where  this  is  not, 
there  is  no  church.  Such  is  the  com- 
pany of  people  at  this  day,  who  call 
themselves  Christians,  and  say  that 
they  are  in  the  light  of  the  gospel, 
when  yet  they  are  in  thick  darkness 
itself ;  for  truths  lie  concealed  under 
falses,  like  gold,  silver  and  precious 
stones  buried  among  the  bones  in  the 
valley  of  Hinnom.  That  it  is  so,  was 
clearly  manifest  to  me  from  the  spheres 
in  the  spiritual  world,  which  flow  forth 
from  modern  Christendom,  and  spread 
themselves  around.  One  sphere  is 
concerning  the  Lord  ;  this  exhales  and 
pours  itself  forth  from  the  southern 
quarter,  where  the  learned  of  the  clergy 
and  the  erudite  of  the  laity  are.  This 
sphere,  wherever  it  goes,  enters  the 
ideas,  and  with  many  it  takes  away  faith 
concerning  the  divinity  of  the  Lord's 
Human  ;  with  many  it  weakens  it,  and 
with  many  it  makes  it  foolishness  ;  the 


reason  is,  because  it  brings  in  at  the 
same  time  the  faith  of  three  Gods,  and 
thus  it  is  confused.  Another  sphere 
which  takes  away  faith,  is  as  a  black 
cloud  in  the  time  of  winter,  which 
brings  on  darkness,  turns  the  rain  into 
snow,  strips  the  trees  bare,  freezes  the 
waters,  and  takes  all  pasture  away 
from  the  sheep ;  this  sphere,  conjoined 
to  the  former,  insinuates  as  it  were  a 
lethargy  concerning  the  one  God,  and 
concerning  regeneration,  and  concern- 
ing the  things  which  bring  salvation. 
The  third  sphere  is  of  the  conjunction 
of  faith  and  charity,  which  is  so  strong 
that  it  cannot  be  resisted,  but  at  this 
day  it  is  abominable,  and  infects  like  a 
pestilence  whomsoever  it  breathes  upon, 
and  rends  every  bond  between  those 
two  means  of  salvation  established  from 
the  creation  of  the  world,  and  renewed 
by  the  Lord.  This  sphere  also  invades 
men  in  the  natural  world,  and  extin- 
guishes the  nuptial  torches  at  the  mar- 
riage between  truths  and  goods.  I 
have  felt  this  sphere ;  and  at  the  time 
when  I  was  thinking  of  the  conjunction 
of  faith  and  charity,  it  interposed  itself 
between  them,  and  violently  endeavor- 
ed to  separate  them.  The  angels  com- 
plain much  of  tiiese  spheres,  and  pray 
to  the  Lord  that  they  may  be  dissi- 
pated ;  but  they  have  received  answer 
that  they  cannot  be  dissipated,  whilst 
the  dragon  is  upon  the  earth,  since  they 
arc  from  the  spirits  of  the  dragon ;  for 
it  is  said  of  the  dragon,  that  he  was 
cast  forth  into  the  earth,  and  then  thus; 
Therefore  rejoice,  yc  hcai'rns ;  and  iro 
to  those  who  inhabit  the  earth,  Rev. 
xii.  Those  three  .'spheres  are  like  at- 
mospheres driven  by  a  tempest  arising 
from  the  breathing  holes  of  the  dragons, 
which,  because  they  are  spiritual,  in- 
vade minds  and  force  them.  The 
spheres  of  spiritual  truths  there  are  as 
yet  few,  being  only  in  the  new  heaven, 
and  with  those  under  heaven  who  are 
separated  from  the  spirits  of  the  dragon  ; 
which  is  the  cause  that  those  truths 
are  at  this  day  as  invisible  to  men  in 
the  world,  as  ships  in  the  eastern  ocean 
are  to  pilots  and  captains  of  vessels 
who  are  sailing  in  the  western  ocean. 
620.  That  regeneration  cannot  be 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


411 


effected  without  truths  by  which  faith 
is  formed,  may  be  illustrated  by  tiiese 
comparisons.  It  cannot  be  effected 
any  more  than  the  human  mind  can 
exist  without  understanding,  for  the 
understanding  is  formed  by  truths,  and 
therefore  it  teaches  what  is  to  be  be- 
lieved, and  what  is  to  be  done,  and 
what  regeneration  is,  and  how  it  is 
effected.  Regeneration  without  truths 
can  no  more  be  effected  than  the  vivi- 
fication  of  animals  and  the  vegetation 
of  trees  without  Jight  from  the  sun  ;  for 
unless  the  sun  gave  light  at  the  same 
time  that  it  gives  heat,  the  sun  would 
become  as  it  is  described  in  the  Reve- 
lation, like  sackcloth  of  hair,  vi.  12 ; 
and  darkened,  Joel  ii.  10 ;  and  thus 
mere  darkness  would  be  on  the  earth, 
iii.  15.  Just  so  it  would  be  with 
man  without  truths  which  send  forth 
light  from  themselves ;  for  the  sun, 
from  which  the  light  of  truth  flows,  is 
the  Lord  in  the  spiritual  world ;  unless 
spiritual  light  flowed  thence  into  human 
minds,  the  church  would  be  in  mere 
darkness,  or  in  the  shade,  from  a  per- 
petual eclipse.  Regeneration,  which 
is  effected  by  faith  and  charity,  without 
truths  which  teach  and  lead,  would  be 
like  sailing  on  a  great  ocean  without  a 
rudder  or  without  a  mariner's  compass 
and  charts ;  and  it  would  be  like  riding 
on  horse-back  in  a  thick  forest  in  the 
time  of  night.  The  internal  sight  of 
the  mind  with  those  who  are  not  in 
truths,  but  in  falses,  and  believe  these 
to  be  truths,  may  be  compared  with 
the  sight  of  those  with  whom  the  optic 
nerves  are  obstructed,  and  the  eye  still 
appears  whole  and  seeing,  although  it 
sees  nothing;  which  blindness  is  called 
by  physicians  amaurosis  and  gutta  sc- 
rena.  For  with  them  the  rational  or 
intellectual  is  obstructed  above,  and 
opened  only  below ;  whence  the  rational 
light  becomes  like  the  light  of  the  eye, 
and  thence  all  judgments  are  only 
imaginary,  and  formed  from  mere  falla- 
cies; and  then  men  would  be  like  as- 
trologers standing  in  the  market-places 
with  long  telescopes  and  uttering  vain 
prophecies.  Such  would  all  become 
who  study  theology,  unless  genuine 


truths  from  the  Word  were  opened  by 
the  Lord. 


621.  To  the  above  will  be  added 
these  Relations.  First.  I  saw  a 
company  of  spirits  all  on  their  knees 
praying  to  God,  that  He  would  send  to 
them  angels  with  whom  they  might 
speak  mouth  to  mouth,  and  to  whom 
they  might  open  the  thoughts  of  their 
hearts.  And  when  they  rose  up,  three 
angels  in  fine  linen  were  seen  standing 
in  their  sight;  they  said,  "The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  heard  your  prayers, 
and  therefore  has  sent  us  to  you ;  open 
to  us  the  thoughts  of  your  hearts." 
And  they  answered,  "  The  priests  have 
told  us,  that  in  theological  subjects, 
the  understanding  does  not  avail,  but 
faith,  and  that  intellectual  faith  is  not 
profitable  in  those  things,  because  this 
savors  of  man,  and  is  derived  from  him, 
and  not  from  God.  We  are  English- 
men, and  we  have  heard  a  great  many 
things  from  our  sacred  ministry  which 
we  believed ;  but  when  we  spoke  with 
some  who  also  called  themselves  Re- 
formed, and  others  who  called  them- 
selves Roman  Catholics,  and  moreover 
with  sectaries,  they  all  appeared  learn- 
ed, and  yet  in  many  things  they  did 
not  agree  one  with  another,  and  still 
they  all  said.  Believe  us  ;  and  some, 
We  are  ministers  of  God,  and  we 
KNOW.  But  because  we  knew  that 
divine  truths,  which  are  called  truths 
of  faith,  and  are  of  the  church,  are  not 
derived  by  any  one  from  his  native  soil, 
nor  by  inheritance,  but  out  of  heaven 
from  God  ;  and  because  they  show  the 
way  to  heaven,  and  enter  life  together 
with  the  good  of  charity,  and  thus  lead 
to  eternal  life,  we  became  anxious,  and 
on  our  knees  prayed  to  God."  Then 
answered  the  angels,  "  Read  the  Word 
and  believe  in  the  Lord,  and  you  will 
see  truths  which  will  be  of  your  faith 
and  life.  All  in  the  Christian  world 
derive  their  doctrinals  from  the  Word, 
as  from  the  only  fountain."  But  two 
of  the  company  said,  "  We  have  read 
it,  but  did  not  understand  it."  And 
the  angels  replied,  "  You  did  not  go  to 


412 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


the  Lord,  who  is  the  Word,  and  also 
you  had  previously  confirmed  your- 
selves in  falses."  And  the  angels  said 
further,  "  What  is  faith  without  light  ? 
And  what  is  thinking  without  under- 
standing? This  is  not  human.  Crows 
and  magpies  also  can  learn  to  speak 
without  understanding.  We  can  as- 
sure you  that  every  man,  whose  soul 
desires  it,  can  see  the  truths  of  the 
Word  in  light.  There  is  no  animal 
that  does  not  know  the  food  of  its  life, 
when  it  sees  it ;  and  man  is  a  rational 
and  spiritual  animal,  and  he  sees  the 
food  of  his  life,  not  indeed  of  his  body 
but  of  his  soul,  wliich  is  the  truth  of 
faith,  if  he  hungers  for  it  and  asks  it 
of  the  Lord.  Whatever  also  is  not  re- 
ceived by  the  understanding,  this  is 
not  fixed  in  the  memory,  as  to  the  thing, 
but  only  as  to  the  words ;  wherefore, 
when  ive  have  looked  down  from  heav- 
en into  the  world,  we  have  not  seen 
any  thing,  but  only  have  heard  sounds 
most  of  them  unharmonious.  But  we 
will  mention  some  things  which  the 
learned  of  the  clergy  have  removed 
from  the  understanding,  not  knowing 
that  there  are  two  ways  to  the  under- 
standing, one  fi'om  the  world,  and  the 
other  from  heaven ;  and  that  the  Lord 
withdraws  the  understanding  from  the 
world,  when  He  illustrates  it.  But  if 
the  understanding  is  closed  from  reli- 
gion, the  way  to  it  from  heaven  is 
closed,  and  then  man  sees  no  more  in 
the  Word  than  if  lie  were  blind ;  we 
have  seen  a  good  many  such  fall  into 
pits,  from  which  they  did  not  rise.  Let 
examples  be  for  illustration.  Can  you 
not  understand  what  charity  is,  and 
what  faith  is?  That  charity  is  to  act 
well  with  the  neighbor,  and  that  faith 
is  to  think  aright  concerning  God  and 
concerning  the  essentials  of  the  church  ; 
and  thence  that  he  who  acts  well  and 
thinks  aright,  that  is,  he  who  lives  well 
and  believes  aright,  is  saved  ?"  To 
this  they  said  that  they  understood  it. 
Moreover  the  angels  said,  "  That  actu- 
al repentance  from  sins  must  be  per- 
formed in  order  that  man  may  be  saved  ; 
and  that  unless  man  performs  actual  rfe- 
pentance,  he  remains  in  the  sins  in 


which  he  was  born  ;  and  that  to  perform 
actual  repentance,  is,  not  to  will  evils, 
because  they  are  contrary  to  God  ;  and 
to  examine  one's  self  once  or  twice  in  a 
year,  to  see  his  evils,  to  confess  them 
before  the  Lord,  to  implore  help,  to 
desist  fi-om  them,  and  to  enter  a  new 
life ;  and  as  far  as  he  does  this,  and  be- 
lieves in  the  Lord,  so  far  sins  are  re- 
mitted." Then  some  of  the  company 
said,  "We  understand  this,  and  thus 
also  what  the  remission  of  sins  is."  And 
then  they  requested  the  angels  that  they 
would  inform  them  further ;  and  indeed 
now  concerning  God,  concerning  the 
Immortality  of  the  Soul,  concerning 
Regeneration,  and  concerning  Bap- 
tism. To  this  the  angels  replied, 
"  We  shall  not  say  any  thing  but 
what  you  understand,  otherwise  our  dis- 
course falls  like  rain  upon  the  sand,  or 
upon  the  reeds  there,  which,  although 
they  be  watered  from  heaven,  still  with- 
er and  perish."  And  they  said  con- 
cerning God,  "  AH  who  come  into 
heaven  obtain  a  place  there,  and  thence 
eternal  joy,  according  to  the  idea  of 
God,  because  this  idea  reigns  univer- 
sally in  all  things  of  worship.  An  idea 
concerning  God  as  a  spirit,  when  spirit 
is  believed  to  be  like  ether  or  wind,  is 
an  empty  idea ;  but  an  idea  concerniiig 
God  as  man  is  a  just  idea ;  for  God  is 
Divine  Love  and  Divine  Wisdom  with 
all  their  qualities,  and  the  subject  of 
these  is  man,  and  not  ether  or  wind. 
The  idea  of  God  in  heaven  is  the  idea 
of  the  Lord  the  Savior.  He  is  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earth,  as  He  taught.  Let 
your  idea  of  God  be  like  ours,  and  we 
shall  be  consociated."  When  they 
said  these  words  their  faces  shone. 
Concerning  the  Immortality  of  the 
Soul,  they  said,  "  Man  lives  to  eternity, 
because  he  can  be  conjoined  to  God 
by  love  and  faith ;  every  one  has  this 
ability ;  that  this  ability  makes  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  you  can  under- 
stand, if  you  think  concerning  it  a  little 
more  deeply."  Concerning  Rk.gkn- 
ERATioN ;  "Who  does  not  see  that 
every  man  has  liberty  to  think  about 
God,  or  not  to  think  about  Him,  provid- 
ed he  has  been  instructed  that  there  is 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


413 


a  God  ?  Thus  every  man  has  liberty  in 
spiritual  things  equally  as  in  civil  and 
natural  things.  The  Lord  gives  this 
continually  to  all ;  wherefore  man  be- 
comes guilty  if  he  does  not  think.  Man 
is  man  from  having  this  ability,  but  a 
beast  is  a  beast  from  not  having  it; 
wherefore  man  can,  as  of  himself,  re- 
form and  regenerate  himself,  provided 
he  in  heart  acknowledge  that  it  is  from 
the  Lord.  Every  one  who  performs 
actual  repentance,  and  believes  in  the 
Lord,  is  reformed  and  regenerated ; 
man  is  to  do  both  as  of  himself,  but 
the  AS  OF  HIMSELF,  is  from  the  Lord. 
It  is  true  that  man  of  himself  cannot 
contribute  any  thing  at  all  to  it,  but 
yet  you  were  not  created  statues,  but 
you  were  created  men,  that  you  may 
do  it  from  the  Lord  as  from  yourselves. 
This  is  the  only  reciprocal  of  love  and 
faith,  which  the  Lord  absolutely  wills 
to  be  done  to  Him  by  man.  In  a  word, 
do  of  yourselves,  and  believe  that  it  is 
from  the  Lord ;  thus  do  as  of  yourselves." 
But  then  they  asked,  "  Whether  to  do 
as  of  himself,  is  inherent  in  man  from 
creation."  The  angel  replied,  "  It  is  not 
inherent,  because  to  act  of  himself  is 
of  God  alone  ;  but  it  is  given  continually, 
that  is,  adjoined  continually ;  and  then  as 
far  as  man  does  good  and  believes  truth, 
as  of  himself,  he  is  an  angel  of  heaven ; 
but  as  far  as  he  does  evil,  and  thence 
believes  what  is  false,  which  also  is  as 
of  himself,  so  far  he  is  a  spirit  of  hell. 
You  wonder  that  this  also  is  as  of  him- 
self, but  still  you  see  it,  when  you  pray 
that  you  may  be  preserved  from  the 
devil,  lest  he  should  seduce  you,  lest  he 
should  enter  into  you,  as  into  Judas, 
should  fill  you  with  all  iniquity,  and 
destroy  both  soul  and  body.  But  every 
one  becomes  guilty,  who  believes  that 
he  does  of  himself,  whether  it  be  good 
or  whether  it  be  evil ;  but  he  does  not 
become  guilty,  who  believes  that  he 
does  as  of  himself ;  for  if  he  believes 
that  good  is  from  himself,  he  claims  to 
himself  that  which  belongs  to  God ;  and 
if  he  believes  that  evil  is  from  himself, 
he  attributes  to  himself  that  which  be- 
longs to  the  devil."  Concerning  Bap- 
tism they  said,  "  That  it  is  a  spiritual 
washing,  which  is  reformation  and  re- 


generation; and  that  an  infant  is  re- 
formed and  regenerated,  when,  having 
become  an  adult,  he  does  those  things 
which  the  sponsors  promised  for  him, 
which  are  two,  repentance  and  faith  in 
God.  Fox,  first,  they  promise  that  he 
shall  renounce  the  devil,  and  all  his 
works;  secondly,  that  he  shall  believe 
in  God.  All  infants  in  heaven  are  ini- 
tiated into  those  two,  but  to  them  the 
devil  is  hell,  and  God  is  the  Lord. 
Moreover,  baptism  is  a  sign  before  the 
angels  that  the  man  is  of  the  church." 
Having  heard  this,  some  of  the  com- 
pany said,  "  We  understand  this." 
But  then  a  voice  was  heard  at  the  side, 
crying,  "  We  do  not  understand ; " 
and  another  voice,  "  We  do  not  wish 
to  understand."  And  inquiry  was 
made  from  whom  those  voices  came ; 
and  it  was  discovered  that  they  came 
from  those  who  had  confirmed  in  them- 
selves the  falses  of  faith,  and  who  wish- 
ed to  be  believed  as  oracles,  and  thus 
to  be  adored.  The  angels  said,  "  Do 
not  wonder  ;  there  are  a  great  many 
such  at  this  day ;  they  appear  to  us. 
from  heaven  like  graven  images  made 
with  such  art,  that  they  can  move  their 
lips,  and  sound  like  organs,  and  they 
do  not  know  whether  the  breath  from 
which  they  sound  be  from  hell  or  from 
heaven,  because  they  do  not  know 
whether  it  be  false  or  true.  They  rea- 
son and  reason,  and  also  confirm  and 
confirm,  and  they  do  not  see  any  thing, 
whether  it  be  so.  But  you  must  know 
that  human  ingenuity  can  confirm 
whatever  it  will,  so  that  it  may  appear 
as  if  it  were  so ;  wherefore  heretics  can 
do  this,  the  wicked  can  do  it,  yea, 
atheists  can  confirm  their  doctrine  that 
there  is  no  God,  but  nature  alone." 
After  this  that  company  of  Englishmen, 
inflamed  with  the  desire  of  becoming 
wise,  said  to  the  angels,  "They  say 
things  so  various  concerning  the  Holy 
Supper,  tell  us  what  is  the  truth." 
The  angels  replied,  "  The  truth  is,  that 
the  man  who  looks  to  the  Lord,  and 
performs  actual  repentance,  by  that 
most  holy  medium  is  conjoined  to  the 
Lord,  and  introduced  into  heaven." 
But  some  of  the  company  said,  "  This 
is  a  mystery."    And  the  angels  replied, 


414 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


"  It  is  a  mystery,  but  still  such  that  it 
may  be  understood.  TKe  bread  and 
wine  do  not  effect  this,  nor  is  there  any 
thing  holy  from  them;  but  material 
bread  and  spiritual  bread  correspond 
to  each  other,  and  material  wine  and 
spiritual  wine ;  and  spiritual  bread  is 
the  holy  of  love,  and  spiritual  wine  is 
the  holy  of  faith,  both  from  the  Lord, 
and  both  the  Lord.  Hence  the  con- 
junction of  the  Lord  with  man,  and  of 
man  with  the  Lord,  not  with  bread  and 
wine,  but  with  the  love  and  faith  of  the 
man  who  has  performed  actual  repent- 
ance ;  and  conjunction  with  the  Lord 
is  also  an  introduction  into  heaven." 
And  after  the  angels  had  taught  them 
something  concerning  correspondence, 
some  of  the  company  said,  "  Now,  for 
the  first  time,  we  can  also  understand 
this."  And  when  they  said  this,  lo, 
a  flame  with  light  descending  from 
heaven  consociated  them  with  the  an- 
gels, and  they  loved  each  other. 

622.  Second  Relation.  All  who 
have  been  prepared  for  heaven,  which 
is  done  in  the  world  of  spirits,  which  is 
in  the  middle  between  heaven  and  hell, 
after  the  time  has  elapsed,  long  and 
sigh  for  heaven ;  and  presently  their 
eyes  are  opened,  and  they  see  a  way 
which  leads  to  some  society  in  heaven ; 
this  way  they  enter  and  ascend ;  and 
in  the  ascent  there  is  a  gate  and  a 
keeper  there ;  he  opens  the  gate,  and 
thus  they  enter.  Then  an  examiner 
meets  them,  who  says  to  them,  from  the 
governor,  that  they  may  enter  farther 
and  inquire  whether  there  are  any 
houses  any  where  which  they  recog- 
nize as  tlieirs,  for  there  is  a  new  house 
for  every  novitiate  angel ;  and  if  they 
find  one,  they  tell  of  it  and  stay  there ; 
but  if  they  do  not  find  any,  they  return 
and  say  that  they  did  not  see  any. 
And  then  exiimination  is  made  by  some 
wi.se  one,  whether  the  light  which  is  in 
them  agrees  with  the  light  which  is  in 
the  society,  and  especially  whether  the 
heat  does ;  for  the  light  of  heaven  in 
its  essence  is  divine  truth,  and  the  heat 
of  heaven  in  its  essence  is  divine  good, 
both  proceeding  from  the  Lord  as  the 
sun  there.  If  other  light  and  other 
heat  than  the  light  and  heat  of  that 


society  are  in  them,  that  is,  if  other 
good  and  truth,  they  are  not  received ; 
wherefore  they  depart  thence,  and  go 
in  the  ways  that  are  open  from  one 
society  to  another  in  heaven,  and  this 
until  they  find  a  society  altogether 
agreeable  to  their  affections,  and  there 
their  habitation  iS  made  for  ever ;  for 
there  they  are  among  their  own,  as 
among  relations  and  friends,  whom, 
because  they  are  in  similar  affection, 
they  love  fi-om  the  heart ;  and  there 
they  are  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their 
life,  and  in  the  highest  delight  of  their 
heart  from  peace  of  soul;  for  there  is  in 
the  heat  and  light  of  heaven  an  in- 
effable delight,  which  is  communicated. 
Thus  it  is  with  those  who  become 
angels.  But  those  who  are  in  evils  and 
falses,  are  by  permission  allowed  to 
ascend  into  heaven ;  but  when  they 
enter,  they  begin  to  draw  their  breath, 
and  to  respire  with  difficulty ;  and 
presently  their  sight  is  obscured,  and 
their  understanding  is  darkened,  and 
their  thought  ceases,  and  death  seems 
to  stare  them  in  the  face,  and  thus  they 
stand  like  stocks ;  and  then  the  heart 
begins  to  beat,  the  breast  to  be  strait- 
ened, and  the  mind  to  be  seized  with 
anguish,  and  to  be  tortured  more  and 
more,  and  in  that  state  they  twist 
themselves  about  like  snakes  brought 
near  the  fire ;  wherefore  they  roll 
themselves  away,  and  cast  themselves 
down  over  a  precipice,  which  then  ap- 
pears, nor  do  they  rest  till  they  are  in  . 
hell  with  their  like,  where  they  can 
breathe,  and  where  their  heart  vibrates 
freely.  Afterwards  they  hate  heaven, 
and  reject  the  Word,  and  in  heart 
blaspheme  the  Lord,  believing  that 
their  pains  and  torments  in  heaven 
were  from  Him.  From  these  few 
things  it  may  be  seen,  what  is  the  con- 
dition of  those  who  despise  the  truths 
which  arc  of  faith,  which  yet  make  the 
light  in  which  the  angels  of  heaven  are, 
and  who  despise  the  goods  which  are 
of  love  and  charity,  which  yet  make 
the  heat  of  life,  in  which  the  angels  of 
heaven  are.  Hence  also  it  may  be 
seen  how  much  they  err  who  believe 
that  every  one  can  enjoy  the  blessed- 
ness of  heaven,  provided  he  be  admitted 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


415 


into  heaven;  for  there  is  a  belief  at 
this  day,  that  to  be  received  into  heaven 
is  from  mercy  alone,  and  that  reception 
into  heaven,  is  like  one's  coming  into 
a  house  in  the  world,  where  there  is  a 
wedding,  and  then,  at  the  same  time, 
into  the  joy  and  gladness  there.  But 
they  should  know,  that,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  there  is  a  communication  of  the 
affections  of  love  and  of  the  thoughts 
thence,  since  man  is  then  a  spirit,  and 
the  life  of  the  spirit  is  the  affection  of 
love  and  the  thought  thence  ;  and  that 
homogeneous  affection  conjoins,  and 
heterogeneous  affection  separates,  and 
that  what  is  heterogeneous  tortures  a 
devil  in  heaveft,  and  an  angel  in  hell; 
therefore  they  are  separated  just  ac- 
cording to  the  diversities,  varieties  and 
differences  of  the  affections  which  are 
of  love. 

623.  Third  Relation.  Once  it 
was  given  me  to  see  three  hundred  of 
the  clergy  and  laity  together,  all  learned 
and  erudite,  because  they  knew  how 
to  confirm  faith  alone  even  to  justifica- 
tion, and  some  still  farther ;  and  because 
there  was  with  them  a  belief  that  there  is 
admission  to  heaven  from  favor  only,  per- 
mission was  given  them  to  ascend  into 
one  society  of  heaven,  which,  however, 
was  not  among  the  higher  ones ;  and 
when  they  ascended,  they  seemed  at  a 
distance  like  calves.  And  when  they 
entered  heaven,  they  were  received  by 
the  angels  civilly  ;  but  when  they  began 
to  converse  with  them,  they  were  seized 
with  tremor,  afterwards  with  horror, 
and  at  last  with  torture  as  it  were  of 
death ;  and  then  they  cast  themselves 
down  headlong,  and  in  their  descent 
they  seemed  like  dead  horses.  That 
they  appeared  like  calves  in  their  as- 
cent, was  because  the  natural  affection 
of  seeing  and  knowing,  leaping,  often 
appears  from  correspondence  like  a 
calf;  and  that,  in  their  descent,  they 
appeared  like  dead  horses,  was  because 
the  understanding  of  truth  appears  from 
correspondence  like  a  horse,  and  no 
understanding  of  the  truth  which  is  of 
the  church,  like  a  dead  horse. 

There  were  boys  below,  who  saw 
them  descending,  and  in  their  descent 
appearing  like  dead  horses ;  and  then 


they  turned  away  their  faces,  and  said 
to  their  master,  who  was  with  themi 
"  What  is  this  monstrous  thing  ?  We 
saw  men,  and  now,  instead  of  them, 
dead  horses ;  and  because  we  could  not 
look  at  them,  we  turned  away  our  faces. 
Master,  let  us  not  stay  in  this  place, 
but  let  us  go  away ; "  and  they  went 
away.  And  then  the  master  instructed 
them  in  the  way,  what  a  dead  horse 
signifies,  saying,  "  A  horse  signifies  the 
understanding  of  truth  from  the  Word. 
All  the  horses  that  you  have  seen  sig- 
nified that;  for  when  any  one  goes 
meditating  from  the  Word,  then  his 
meditation  at  a  distance  appears  like  a 
horse,  generous  and  lively,  as  he  med- 
itates spiritually ;  on  the  contrary,  mean 
and  dead,  as  he  meditates  materially.'' 
Then  the  boys  asked,  "What  is  it  to 
meditate  spiritually  and  materially  from 
the  Word?"  And  the  master  replied, 
"  I  will  illustrate  this  by  examples. 
Does  not  every  one,  while  he  is  devoutly 
reading  the  Word,  think  inwardly  in 
himself  about  God,  about  the  neighbor, 
and  about  heaven  ?  Every  one  who 
thinks  about  God  only  from  person,  and 
not  from  essence,  thinks  materially ; 
and  also  he  who  thinks  about  the 
neighbor  only  from  the  external  form, 
and  not  from  quality,  thinks  materially ; 
and  he  who  thinks  about  heaven  only 
from  place,  and  not  from  love  and  wis- 
dom, from  which  heaven  is  heaven,  he 
also  thinks  materially."  But  the  boys 
said,  "  We  have  thought  about  God 
from  person,  about  the  neighbor  from 
form,  that  he  is  a  man,  and  about 
heaven  from  place,  that  it  is  above  us; 
did  we,  therefore,  when  we  read  the 
Word,  appear  to  any  one  like  dead 
horses  1 "  The  master  said,  "  No ;  you 
are  yet  boys,  and  you  cannot  do  other- 
wise. But  I  have  perceived  in  you  an 
affection  of  knowing  and  understand- 
ing ;  and  because  this  is  spiritual,  you 
have  also  thought  spiritually,  for  some 
spiritual  thought  is  concealed  within 
your  material,  of  which  you  are  yet 
ignorant.  But  I  will  return  to  the 
former  things  which  I  said ;  that  he 
who  thinks  materially  while  he  reads 
the  Word,  or  meditates  from  the  Word, 
appears  at  a  distance  like  a  dead  horse, 


416  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


but  he  who  thinks  spiritually  appears 
like  a  live  horse ;  and  that  he  thinks 
materially  concerning  God,  who  thinks 
only  from  person,  and  not  from  essence. 
For  there  are  many  attributes  of  the 
Divine  Essence,  as  omnipotence,  om- 
niscience, omnipresence,  eternity,  love, 
wisdom,  mercy  and  grace,  and  others ; 
and  there  are  attributes  proceeding 
from  the  Divine  Essence,  which  are 
creation  and  preservation,  redemption 
and  salvation,  illustration  and  instruc- 
tion. Every  one  who  thinks  concerning 
God  from  person,  makes  three  Gods, 
saying,  that  one  God  is  the  Creator  and 
Preserver,  and  another  the  Redeemer 
and  Savior,  and  a  third,  the  Illustrator 
and  Instructer ;  but  every  one  who 
thinks  concerning  God  from  essence, 
makes  one  God,  saying,  God  created 
us,  and  the  same  has  redeemed  and 
saves,  and  also  illustrates  and  instructs 
us.  Hence  the  reason  why  those  who 
think  concerning  the  trinity  of  God 
from  person,  and  thus  materially,  cannot, 
from  the  ideas  of  their  thought,  which 
is  material,  do  otherwise  than  make 
three  of  one  God ;  but  still,  contrary  to 
their  thought,  they  are  obliged  to  say 
that  there  is  a  union  of  those  three  by 
essence,  because,  as  it  were  through  a 
latticed  window,  they  also  have  thought 
concerning  God  from  essence.  Where- 
fore, my  scholars,  think  from  essence, 
and  from  this  concerning  person ;  for 
to  tliink  from  person  concerning  es- 
sence, is  to  think  materially  also  con- 
cerning essence  ;  but  to  think  from  es- 
sence concerning  person,  is  to  think 
spiritually  also  concerning  person. 
The  ancient  Gentiles,  because  they 
thought  materially  concerning  God, 
and  thus  also  concerning  the  attributes 
of  God,  not  only  made  three  Gods,  but 
many  more,  even  to  a  hundred ;  for 
of  each  attribute  they  made  a  God. 
You  should  know  that  the  material 
does  not  enter  into  the  spiritual,  but 
the  spiritual  into  the  material.  The 
case  is  similar  with  thinking  concern- 
ing the  neighbor  from  his  external 
form,  and  not  from  his  quality ;  as  also 
with  thinking  concerning  heaven  from 
place,  and  not  from  love  and  wisdom, 
from  which  heaven  is.    The  case  is 


similar  with  all  and  every  thing  that  is 
in  the  Word  ;  wherefore  he  who  cher- 
ishes a  material  idea  concerning  God, 
and  also  concerning  the  neighbor,  and 
concerning  heaven,  cannot  understand 
any  thing  there ;  the  Word  is  to  him 
a  dead  letter,  and  he  himself  appears 
at  a  distance,  while  he  is  reading  it,  or 
meditating  from  it,  like  a  dead  horse. 
Those  whom  you  saw  descending  from 
heaven,  appearing  before  your  eyes 
like  dead  horses,  were  those,  who  had 
shut  up  the  rational  sight,  as  to  theo- 
logical things,  or  the  spiritual  things  of 
the  church  with  themselves  and  with 
others,  by  the  peculiar  dogma,  '  that 
the  understanding  is  to  be  kept  under 
obedience  to  their  faith  ; '  not  thinking 
that  the  understanding,  shut  up  by  re- 
ligion, is  as  blind  as  a  mole,  and  in  it 
has  mere  thick  darkness,  and  such 
thick  darkness  as  rejects  from  itself 
all  spiritual  light,  stops  the  influx  of  it 
from  the  Lord  and  from  heaven,  and 
puts  before  it  an  obstruction  in  the  cor- 
poreal sensual,  far  below  the  rational 
in  the  things  of  faith ;  that  is,  it  puts 
it  near  the  nose,  and  fixes  it  in  its  car- 
tilage, on  account  of  which  it  cannot 
afterwards  even  smell  the  odor  of  spir- 
itual things ;  whence  some  have  be- 
come such,  that,  as  soon  as  they  per- 
ceive the  odor  of  spiritual  things,  they 
fall  into  a  swoon  ;  by  odor  I  mean  per- 
ception. These  are  they  who  make 
God  three ;  they  say  indeed  from  es- 
sence that  God  is  one,  but  still,  when 
they  pray  according  to  their  faith,  which 
is,  that  God  tlie  Father  has  mercy  for 
the  sake  of  the  Son,  and  sends  the 
Holy  Ghost,  they  manifestly  make  three 
Gods.  They  cannot  do  otherwise  ;  for 
they  pray  to  one,  that  he  would  have 
mercy  for  the  sake  of  another,  and  send 
a  third."  And  then  their  master  taught 
them  concerning  the  Lord,  that  He  is 
the  one  God,  in  whom  is  a  Divine 
Trinity. 

624.  Fourth  Relation.  In  the 
middle  of  the  night,  being  awaked  from 
sleep,  I  saw,  at  some  height  towards  the 
east,  an  angel  holding  in  his  right  hand 
a  paper,  wliich  from  the  sun  appeared 
in  a  bright  whiteness,  in  the  middle  of 
which  there  was  a  writing  from  golden 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


417 


letters ;  and  I  saw  written,  The  Mar- 
riage OF  THE  Good  and  the  True. 
From  the  writing  there  issued  a  bright 
radiance,  which  went  off  into  a  broad 
circle  around  the  paper ;  that  circle  or 
border  appeared  then  as  the  light  of 
the  morning  appears  in  the  time  of 
spring.  After  this  I  saw  the  angel, 
with  the  paper  in  his  hand,  descending, 
and  as  he  descended,  the  paper  appear- 
ed less  and  less  lucid,  and  the  writing, 
which  was  The  Marriage  of  the 
Good  and  the  True,  converted  from 
a  golden  color  into  a  silver,  and  then 
into  a  copper,  afterwards  into  an  iron, 
and  finally  into  a  ferruginous  and  rusty 
color ;  and  at  last  the  angel  was  seen 
to  enter  into  a  dark  cloud,  and  through 
the  cloud  upon  the  earth ;  and  there 
that  paper,  although  it  was  still  held  in 
the  angel's  hand,  was  not  seen.  This 
was  in  the  world  of  spirits,  into  which 
all  men  after  death  first  come  together. 
And  then  the  angel  spoke  to  me,  say- 
ing, "  Ask  those  who  come  hither 
whether  they  see  me,  or  any  thing  in 
my  hand."  There  came  a  multitude, 
a  company  from  the  east,  a  company 
from  the  south,  a  company  from  the 
west,  a  company  from  the  north ;  and  I 
asked  those  who  came  from  the  east 
and  south,  who  were  such  as  in  the 
world  were  devoted  to  learning,  whether 
they  saw  any  one  with  me,  or  any  thing 
in  his  hand.  They  all  said  that  they 
saw  nothing  at  all.  Then  I  asked 
those  who  came  from  the  west  and  the 
north,  who  were  such  as  had  believed 
in  the  words  of  the  learned  in  the 
world.  These  said  that  they  neither 
saw  any  thing.  But  yet  the  last  of 
these,  who  in  the  world  had  been  in 
simple  faith  from  charity,  or  in  some 
truth  from  good,  after  the  former  had 
gone  away,  said  that  they  saw  a  man 
with  a  paper,  a  man  in  a  handsome 
dress,  and  a  paper  upon  which  letters 
were  written ;  and  when  they  viewed 
it  more  closely,  they  said  that  they 
read.  The  Marriage  of  the  Good 
and  the  True.  And  they  spoke  to 
the  angel,  requesting  that  he  would 
tell  what  this  meant.  And  he  said, 
"That  all  things  that  are  in  the  whole 
53 


heaven,  and  all  that  are  in  the  whole 
world,  are  from  creation  nothing  but  a 
marriage  of  the  good  and  the  true ; 
since  all  and  every  thing,  as  well  those 
which  live  and  breathe,  as  those  which 
do  not  live  and  breathe,  were  created 
from  the  marriage  of  the  good  and  the 
true,  and  into  it ;  there  is  not  any  thing 
created  into  truth  alone,  nor  any  thing 
into  good  alone ;  this  or  that  alone  is 
not  any  thing ;  but  by  marriage  they 
exist  and  become  something,  such  as 
is  the  marriage.  In  the  Lord  God 
the  Creator,  there  is  Divine  Good  and 
Divine  Truth  in  their  substance  itself; 
the  esse  of  substance  itself  is  the  Di- 
vine Good,  and  the  existerc  of  substance 
itself  is  the  Divine  Truth ;  and  also 
they  are  in  their  union  itself,  for  in 
Him  they  infinitely  make  one.  Since 
those  two  in  God  himself,  the  Creator, 
are  one,  therefore  also  they  are  one  in 
all  and  every  thing  created  by  Him ; 
by  this  also  the  Creator  is  conjoined, 
in  an  eternal  covenant,  like  that  of  mar- 
riage, with  all  the  things  created  by 
Him.  Further,  the  angel  said,  that  the 
Sacred  Scripture,  which  was  dictated 
by  the  Lord,  is,  in  general  and  in  par- 
ticular, a  marriage  of  the  good  and  the 
true  (see  above,  n.  248  to  253) ;  and 
because  the  church,  which  is  formed 
by  truths  of  doctrine,  and  religion, 
which  is  formed  by  goods  of  life  accord- 
ing to  truths  of  doctrine,  with  Christians 
are  solely  from  the  Sacred  Scripture,  it 
may  be  evident  that  the  church  also, 
in  general  and  in  particular,  is  a 
marriage  of  the  good  and  the  true." 
The  same  that  was  said  above 
concerning  the  marriage  of  the  good 
and  the  true,  was  said  also  concerning 
the  Marriage  of  Charity  and  Faith, 
since  good  is  of  charity,  and  truth  is  of 
faith.  After  these  things  were  said, 
the  angel  raised  himself  from  the  earth, 
and,  passing  through  the  cloud,  ascended 
into  heaven ;  and  then  the  paper,  ac- 
cording to  the  degrees  of  ascent,  shone 
as  before ;  and  behold,  then  the  circle, 
which  before  appeared  like  the  light 
of  the  morning,  descended  and  dispelled 
the  cloud  which  brought  darkness  on 
the  earth,  and  a  bright  sun-shine  ensued. 


418  Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


625.  Fifth  Relation.  Once,  when 
I  was  meditating  oh  the  second  coming 
of  the  Lord,  suddenly  there  appeared  a 
beam  of  light,  powerfully  striking  upon 
my  eyes ;  wherefore  I  looked  up,  and 
lo,  the  whole  heaven  above  me  ap- 
peared luminous,  and  from  the  east  to 
the  west  there  was  heard  in  a  long 
series  a  Glorification  ;  and  an  angel 
stood  by  and  said,  "  That  glorification 
is  a  glorification  of  the  Lord,  on  ac- 
count of  his  coming,  and  it  is  made  by 
the  angels  of  the  eastern  and  western 
heaven."  From  the  southern  and 
northern  heaven,  nothing  was  heard  but 
a  soft  murmur.  And  because  the 
angel  heard  all,  he  said  to  me,  first, 
that  those  glorifications  and  celebrations 
of  the  Lord  were  made  from  the  Word. 
And  presently  he  said,  "  Now  they  are 
glorifying  and  celebrating  the  Lord, 
particularly  by  these  words,  which  are 
in  the  prophet  Daniel :  Thou  sawest 
iron  mixed  with  miry  clay,  but  they 
shall  not  cohere.  And  in  those  days  tot II 
the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom, 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed;  it  shall 
break  up  and  consume  all  those  king- 
doms, but  it  shall  stand  for  ever,  ii.  13, 
44."  After  this  I  heard,  as  it  were,  the 
voice  of  singing ;  and  farther  in  the 
east  I  saw  a  coruscation  of  light 
brighter  than  the  former ;  and  I  asked 
the  angel,  "  What  are  they  glorifying 
there?"  He  said,  "By  these  words  in 
Daniel :  /  was  seeing  in  the  visions  of 
the  night,  and  behold  the  Son  of  Man 
was  coming  with  the  clouds  of  heaven ; 
and  to  Him  was  given  dominion,  and  a 
kingdom,  and  all  people  and  nations 
shall  worship  Him.  His  dominion  is 
the  dominion  of  an  age  which  shall  not 
pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which 
shall  not  be  destroyed,  vii.  13,  14. 
Moreover,  they  are  celebrating  the 
Lord  from  these  words  in  the  Revela- 
tion :  To  Jesus  Christ  be  glory  and 
strength.  Behold,  He  comcth  with 
clouds.  He  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Ome- 
ga, the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the 
Eirst  and  the  Last ;  who  is,  who  teas, 
and  who  is  to  come,  the  Almighty.  I 
John  heard  this  from  the  Son  of  Man, 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  seven  candle- 


sticks. Rev.  i.  5,  6,  7,  10,  11,  12,  13; 
xxii.  13,  also  from  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  31." 
I  looked  again  into  the  eastern  heaven, 
and  a  light  shone  on  the  right  side, 
and  it  entered  into  the  southern  ex- 
panse, and  I  heard  a  sweet  sound ;  and 
I  asked  the  angel,  "  What  of  the  Lord 
are  they  glorifying  there  ? "  He  said, 
"By  these  words  in  the  Revelation: 
IsaiD  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth ;  and 
I  saw  the  holy  city.  New  Jerusalem,  com- 
ing downf-om  God  out  of  heaven,  pre- 
pared as  a  Bride  for  her  Husband. 
And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven, 
saying.  Behold  the  tabernacle  of  God 
with  Men,  and  He  will  dwell  icith  them. 
And  the  angel  spoke  with  me  and  said, 
Come,  I  wiU  show  thee  the  Bride,  the 
Lamb's  Wife.  And  he  carried  me 
away  i?i  the  spirit  on  to  a  great  moun- 
tain, and  showed  me  the  holy  city  Je- 
rusalem, Rev.  xxi.  1,2,  3,  9,  10.  Also 
by  these  words :  /  Jesus  am  the  bright 
and  morning  Star ;  and  the  Spirit  and 
the  Bride  say,  Come.  And  He  said, 
I  COME  QUICKLY.  Amen;  even  so, 
COME  Lord  Jesus,  xxii.  16,  17,  20." 
After  these  and  many  more,  there  was 
heard  a  general  glorification  from  the 
east  to  the  west  of  heaven,  and  also 
from  t!ie  south  to  the  north :  and  I 
asked  the  angel,  "What  now?"  And 
he  said,  "They  are  these  words  from 
the  prophets :  yl/Z  f  csh  shall  know  that 
I  Jehovah  am  tiiv  Savior  and  thy 
Redeemer,  Isaiah  xlix.  26.  Thus 
said  Jehovah,  the  King  of  Israel,  and 
his  Redee.mer,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  I 
AM  the  First  and  the  L.\st,  and 
BESIDE  Me  there  is  no  God,  xliv.  6. 
It  shall  be  said  in  that  day,  Lo,  this 
IS  OUR  God,  whom  ice  have  expected  to 
deliver  us ;  This  is  Jehovah,  w  hom  we 
have  expected,  XXV.  9.  The  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  desert.  Prepare  ye 
a  way  for  Jehovah.  Behold  the 
Lord  Jehovih  cometh  in  the 
Mighty  One.  He  will  feed  his  fiock 
like  a  Shepherd,  xl.  3,  5,  10,  11.  A 
Child  is  born  to  vs,  a  Son  is  given  to 
us,  whose  name  is  Wonderful,  Coun- 
sellor, God,  Hero,  the  Father  of 
eternity,  the  Prince  of  peace,  ix. 
6.    Behold  the  days  will  come,  and  I 


Concerning  Reformation  and  Regeneration. 


419 


shall  raise  unto  David  a  rightioiis 
Branch,  who  shall  reign  a  King ;  and 
this  is  his  name,  Jehovah  ouk  right- 
EousA'Ess,  Jer.  xxiii.  5,  G;  xxxiii.  lo, 
16.  Jehovah  of  Hosts  is  his  name, 
AND  thy  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One 
OF  Israel,  the  God  of  the  whole 

EARTH,  SHALL  He  BE  CALLED,  Isaiah, 

liv.  5.  In  THAT  DAY  Jehovah  shall  be 
FOR  A  King  over  the  whole  earth  ; 


IN  THAT  DAY  THERE  SHALL  BE  ONE  Je- 
HOVAIl,  AND  HIS  NAME  ONE,  Zecll.  xiv. 

9."  Hav  ing  heard  and  understood  these 
things,  my  heart  exuUed,  and  1  went 
home  with  joy,  and  tliere  I  r  turned 
from  tlie  state  of  the  spirit  into  tlie  state 
of  the  body,  in  which  I  wrote  down 
these  things  which  were  seen  and 
heard. 


420 


Concerning  Imputation. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


CONCERNING  IMPUTATION. 


626.  I.  That  the  Faith  of  the 

PRESENT  Church,  which  alone  is  said 

TO  JUSTIFY,  AND  IMPUTATION,  MAKE 
ONE. 

That  the  faith  of  the  present  church, 
whicli  alone  is  said  to  justify,  is  impu- 
tation, or  that  faith  and  imputation,  in 
the  present  church,  make  one,  is  be- 
cause one  is  of  the  other,  or  one  enters 
into  the  other,  mutually  and  recipro- 
cally, and  causes  it  to  be;  for  if  faith 
is  spoken  of,  and  imputation  is  not 
added,  faith  is  merely  a  sound  ;  and  if 
imputation  is  spoken  of,  and  faith  is  not 
added,  it  is  also  merely  a  sound ;  but 
if  those  two  are  spoken  of  conjointly, 
something  articulate  is  produced,  but  as 
yet  without  a  meaning.  Wherefore,  that 
the  understanding  may  perceive  some- 
thing, a  third  must  necessarily  be  added, 
which  is,  the  merit  of  Christ;  thence 
a  sentence  is  made,  which  a  man  can 
speak  witli  some  reason ;  for  the  faith 
of  the  present  church  is,  that  God  the 
Father  imputes  the  righteousness  of 
his  Son,  and  sends  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
operate  the  effects  of  it. 

627.  These  three,  therefore — faith, 
imputation,  and  the  merit  of  Christ — in 
the  present  church,  are  one,  and  may 
be  called  a  triune ;  for  if  one  of  those 
three  were  taken  away,  the  present 
theology  would  become  not  any  thing, 
for  it  depends  on  those  three  perceived 
as  one,  just  as  a  long  chain  depends  on 
a  fixed  hook;  so  that  if  either  faith,  or 
imputation,  or  the  merit  of  Christ,  were 
taken  away,  all  fliat  is  said  concerning 
justification,  concerning  the  remission 
of  sins,  concerning  vivification,  renova- 
tion, regeneration,  sanctification,  and 
concerning  tlie  gospel,  concerning  free 
agency,  concerning  charity  and  good 
works,  yea,  concerning  eternal  life, 


would  become  like  desolate  cities,  or 
like  the  rubbish  of  a  temple  ;  and  faith 
itself,  which  stands  in  front,  would  not 
be  any  thing,  and  thus  the  whole 
church  would  be  a  desert  and  a  deso- 
lation. Hence  it  is  manifest  on  what 
pillar  the  house  of  God  at  this  day  is 
founded  ;  and  if  this  were  pulled  away, 
the  house  would  fall,  like  that  in  which 
the  lords  of  the  Pliilistines,  together 
with  three  thousand  of  the  people,  were 
sporting,  who  then  died  and  were  slain, 
when  Samson  pulled  away  the  two 
pillars  of  the  house ;  Judges  xvi.  20. 
This  is  said,  because  it  was  shown  in 
what  precedes,  and  is  to  be  shown  in 
the  appendix,  that  that  faith  is  not 
Christian,  because  it  difliers  from  the 
Word,  and  that  the  imputation  of"  that 
faith  is  vain,  because  the  merit  of  Christ 
is  not  imputable. 

628.    II.  Th.\t  the  Imputation 

WHICH  IS  OF  THE  PRESENT  FaITH,  IS 
TWO-FOI.D,  ONE  PaRT  OF  THE  MeRIT  OP 

Christ,  and  the  other  of  Salvation 
THENCE.  It  is  taught  in  the  whole 
Christian  church,  that  justification,  and 
thence  salvation,  are  efl^ected  by  God 
the  Father  by  means  of  the  im])utation 
of  the  merit  of  Chri.st  his  Son  ;  and  that 
imputation  is  made  from  grace,  ■when 
AND  where  He  wills,  thus  arbitrarily; 
and  that  those  to  whom  the  merit  of 
Christ  is  imputed,  are  adopted  into  the 
ntmibcr  of  the  sons  of  God  :  and  because 
the  leaders  of  the  church  have  not 
moved  on  a  step  beyond  that  imputa- 
tion, or  elevated  their  minds  above  it, 
from  having  decreed  that  the  election 
of  God  is  merely  arbitrary,  they  have 
fallen  into  enormous  and  fanatical 
errors,  and  at  length  into  the  detestable 
one  concerning  predestination,  and 
also  into  this  abominable  one,  that  God 


Concerning  Imputation. 


421 


does  not  attend  to  the  deeds  of  a  man's 
life,  but  only  to  the  faith  inscribed  on 
the  interiors  of  his  mind;  wherefore, 
unless  the  error  concerning  imputation 
should  be  abolished,  atheism  would 
invade  the  whole  of  Christendom,  and 
then  the  king  of  the  abyss  would  reign 
over  them,  whose  name  in  Hebrew  is 
Abaddon,  but  in  Greek  he  hath  the 
name  ApoUyon,  Rev.  ix.  11.  By 
Abaddon  and  Apolhjon  is  signified  a 
destroyer  of  the  church  by  falses ;  and 
by  the  abyss  is  signified  where  those 
falses  are;  see  the  Apoc.\lypse  Re- 
vealed, n.  421,  440,  442.  Whence 
it  is  manifest,  that  that  false  principle, 
and  the  falses  thence  following  in  an 
extended  series,  are  the  things  over 
which  that  destroyer  reigns;  for,  as 
was  said  above,  the  whole  theological 
system  at  this  day  depends  on  that  im- 
putation, as  a  long  chain  on  a  fixed 
hook,  and  as  man  with  all  his  members 
on  the  head :  and  because  that  impu- 
tation every  where  reigns,  it  is  as  Isaiah 
says;  The  Lord  will  cut  off  from  Israel 
head  and  tail ;  he  that  is  honored  is  the 
head,  and  the  teacher  of  falsehood  the 
tail,  ix.  14,  15. 

629.  It  is  said,  that  the  imputation 
taught  by  the  present  faith,  is  twofold, 
but  not  so  twofold  as  God  and  mercy 
towards  all,  but  as  God  and  mercy 
towards  some ;  or  not  as  a  parent  and 
his  love  towards  all  his  offspring,  but 
as  a  parent  and  his  love  towards  one  or 
another  of  his  offspring ;  or  not  as  the 
divine  law  and  its  command  to  all,  but 
as  the  divine  law  and  its  command  to  a 
few.  Wherefore  one  doubleness  is 
extended  and  undivided,  and  the  other 
is  restricted  and  divided,  and  this  is 
doubleness,  but  that  is  unity ;  for  it  is 
taught  that  the  imputation  of  the  merit 
of  Christ  is  from  an  arbitrary  election, 
and  that  to  these  there  is  imputation 
of  salvation,  thus  that  some  are  adopted 
and  the  rest  rejected  ;  which  would  be 
as  if  God  should  elevate  some  into 
Abraham's  bosom,  and  deliver  some  to 
the  devil  as  food,  when  yet,  the  truth 
is,  the  Lord  rejects  and  delivers  up  no 
one,  but  man  himself 

630.  It  is  added,  that  the  imputa- 
tion at  this  day  takes  away  from  man 


all  power  from  any  free  agency  in 
spiritual  things,  and  does  not  leave  him 
even  so  much  that  he  can  shake  off  fire 
from  his  clothes,  keep  his  body  from 
harm,  or  extinguish  his  house,  when  on 
fire,  by  water,  and  rescue  his  family ; 
when  yet  the  Word,  from  beginning  to 
end,  teaches  that  every  one  should  shun 
evils,  because  they  are  of  the  devil  and 
from  the  devil,  and  do  goods,  because 
they  are  of  God  and  from  God,  and 
that  he  is  to  do  them  from  himself,  the 
Lord  operating.  But  the  imputation 
at  this  day  proscribes  the  power  for  so 
doing,  as  destructive  to  faith  and  thence 
to  salvation,  for  this  reason,  lest  some- 
thing of  man  should  enter  the  imputa- 
tion, and  thus  the  merit  of  Christ;  from 
which  being  established,  this  satanical 
tenet  has  flowed  forth,  that  man  is  ab- 
solutely destitute  of  power  in  spiritual 
things,  which  is  like  saying,  "Walk 
on,"  although  you  have  no  feet,  not 
even  one ;  "Wash  yourself,"  and  yet 
both  your  hands  are  cut  off ;  or,  "  Do 
good,  but  sleep  ;  "  or,  "  Feed  yourself," 
but  without  a  tongue.  It  is  also  like 
having  a  will  given  which  is  not  a  will. 
Cannot  one  say,  "  I  cannot,  any  more 
than  the  statue  of  Lot's  wife ;  nor  any 
more  than  Dagon,  the  god  of  the  Phi- 
listines, when  the  ark  of  God  was  in- 
troduced into  his  temple ;  I  am  afraid 
that  I  should  fare  as  he  did  when  his 
head  was  broken  off,  and  the  palms  of 
his  hands  thrown  upon  the  threshold, 
1  Sam.  v.  4 ;  nor  more  than  Beelzebub, 
the  god  of  Ekron,  who,  from  the  sig- 
nification of  his  name,  can  only  drive 
away  flies."  That  such  impotence  in 
spiritual  things  is  believed  at  this  day, 
may  be  seen  from  what  was  collected 
above  concerning  Free  Agency,  n. 
464. 

6-31.  As  to  what  concerns  the  first 
part  of  that  twofold  imputation  con- 
cerning the  salvation  of  man,  which  is, 
the  imputation  of  the  merit  of  Christ 
arbitrarily,  and  thence  the  imputation 
of  salvation,  the  doctors  differ :  some 
teach  that  that  imputation  is  absolute 
from  free  power,  and  is  made  to  those 
whose  external  or  internal  form  is  well 
pleasing ;  or  that  the  imputation  ia 
made  from  foreknowledge  to  those  in 


422 


Concerning  Imputation. 


whom  grace  is  infused  and  that  faith 
can  be  applied ;  but  still  those  two 
opinions  aim  at  one  mark,  and  are  like 
the  two  eyes,  which  have  for  their 
object  one  stone,  or  like  the  two  ears, 
which  have  for  their  object  one  song. 
At  first  sight  it  appears  as  if  they  went 
away  fi-om  each  other,  but  still  in  the 
end  they  unite  and  play  together :  for 
since  on  both  sides  entire  impotency  in 
spiritual  things  is  taught,  and  every 
thing  of  man  is  excluded  from  faith,  it 
follows  that  the  grace  receptive  of  faith, 
infused  arbitrarily  or  of  foreknowledge, 
is  a  similar  election :  for  if  that  grace, 
which  is  called  preventing  grace,  were 
universal,  man's  application,  from  some 
power  of  his  own,  must  be  added, 
which  yet  is  rejected  as  a  leprosy. 
Thence  it  is,  that  no  one  knows 
whether  that  faith  has  been  given  to 
nim  of  grace,  any  more  than  a  stock  or 
a  stone,  such  as  he  was  when  it  was 
infused  ;  for  there  is  no  sign  testifying 
it,  when  charity,  piety,  the  desire  of  a 
new  life,  and  the  free  faculty  of  doing 
good  as  well  as  evil,  are  denied  to 
man :  the  signs  which  are  mentioned 
as  testifying  that  faith  in  man,  are  all 
ludicrous,  and  not  different  from  the 
auguries  of  the  ancients  from  the  flying 
of  birds,  or  the  prognostications  of  as- 
trologers from  the  stars,  or  of  players 
fi'om  dice.  Things  of  this  kind,  and 
those  still  more  ludicrous,  follow  from 
the  imputed  righteousness  of  the  Lord, 
which,  together  with  the  faith  which  is 
called  that  righteousness,  is  infused 
into  a  man  who  is  elected. 

632.  III.  That  the  Faith  which 
IS  imputative  of  the  Merit  and 
Righteousness  of  Christ  the  Re- 
deemer, first  arose  from  the  De- 
crees OF  THE  NiCENE  SyNOD  CON- 
CERNING three  Divine  Persons  from 
Eternity,  which  Faith,  from  that 
Time  to  the  present,  has  been 
received  by  the  whole  Christian 
World. 

As  it  respects  the  Nicene  synod  it- 
self, the  emperor  Constantine  the  Great, 
by  the  advice  of  Alexander,  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  held  it  in  his  palace  at 
Nice,  a  city  of  Bithynia  ;  where  all  the 
bishops  in  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe 


were  called  together,  that  they  might 
from  the  Sacred  Scriptures  refute  and 
condemn  the  heresy  of  Arius,  a  pres- 
byter of  Alexandria,  who  denied  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  was 
done  in  the  year  of  Christ  325.  That 
those  called  together  concluded  that 
there  were  from  eternity  three  divine 
persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  may  be  very  evident  from 
the  two  creeds,  called  the  Nicene  and 
Athanasian.  In  the  Nicene  it  is  read, 
/  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Al- 
mighty, Maker  of  heaven  and  earth; 
and  in  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God,  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Fa- 
ther, born  before  all  ages,  God  of  God, 
of  the  same  substanre  irith  the  Father, 
who  came  down  from  heaven,  and  became 
incarnate  by  the  Holy  Ghost  from  the 
virgin  Mary ;  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life,  tcho  pro- 
ceeds from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  who, 
together  with  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
is  worshipped  and  glorifed.  In  the 
Athanasian  Creed  are  these  words: 
The  Catholic  faith  is  this.  That  wc 
icorship  one  God  in  trinity,  and  the 
trinity  in  unity,  neither  confounding 
the  persons,  jwr  dividing  the  substance. 
But  whereas  we  are  compelled  by  the 
Christian  verity  to  corf  ess  each  person 
singly  to  he  God  and  Lord,  so  7re  are 
forbidden  by  the  Catholic  religion  to 
say  three  Gods  or  three  Lords:  that  is, 
it  is  lawful  to  confess  three  Gods  and 
three  Lords,  but  not  to  say  it ;  and 
this  is  not  lawful  brcan.<:e  religion  for- 
bids, but  that  is  because  tlie  Iriilli  dictates 
it.  This  Athanasian  Creed  was  writ- 
ten, soon  after  the  council  of  Nice  was 
held,  by  one  or  more  of  those  who  had 
been  present  at  the  council,  and  also 
it  was  received  as  ecumenical  or  Cath- 
olic. Thence  it  is  manifest,  that  it 
was  then  decreed,  that  three  divine 
persons  from  eternity  are  to  be  acknowl- 
edged ;  and,  although  each  person  singly 
by  himself  be  God,  that  still  they  are 
not  to  be  called  three  Gods  and  Lords, 
but  one. 

6;33.  That  the  faith  of  three  divine 
persons  has  been  received  from  that 
time,  and  confirmed  and  preached  by 
all  bishops,  prelates,  rulers  of  the  church, 


Comcrning  Imputation, 


423' 


and  presbyters,  even  to  the  present 
time,  is  known  in  the  Christian  world  : 
and  because  there  has  emanated  tlience 
a  mental  persuasion  of  three  Gods,  no 
other  faith  could  be  devised,  than  that 
which  might  be  applied  to  those  three 
in  their  order  ;  which  is,  that  God  the 
Father  is  to  be  approached  and  implored 
to  impute  the  righteousness  ot"  his  Son, 
or  to  show  mercy  on  account  of  the 
Son's  passion  of  the  cross,  and  to  send 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  work  the  mediate 
and  ultimate  effects  of  salvation.  This 
faith  is  a  fetus  born  of  those  two  creeds : 
but  when  the  swaddling  clothes  are 
taken  off,  there  comes  to  view  not  one, 
but  three ;  at  first  joined  together,  as  it 
were  in  an  embrace,  but  presently  sep- 
arated ;  for  tliey  decree,  that  essence 
joins  them  together,  but  the  properties, 
which  are  creation,  redemption  and 
operation,  or  imputation,  imputed  right- 
eousness, and  effectual  application, 
separate  them ;  which  is  the  cause, 
that  altliougli  they  have  made  up  one 
God  out  of  three,  yet  still  out  of  three 
persons  they  have  not  made  one,  lest 
the  idea  of  three  Gods  should  be  oblit- 
erated :  for  while  each  person  singly  is 
believed  to  be  God,  as  it  is  said  in  the 
creed,  if  then  consequently  the  three 
persons  should  be  made  one,  the  whole 
house,  founded,  as  it  were,  upon  three 
pillars,  would  fall  down  in  a  heap. 
The  reason  why  that  synod  introduced 
three  divine  persons  from  eternity,  was 
because  they  did  not  rightly  search  the 
Word,  and  thence  they  did  not  find 
any  other  asylum  against  the  Arians  ; 
but  the  reason  why  they  brought  to- 
gether into  one  God  those  three  per- 
sons, each  of  whom  is  a  God  by  himself, 
was  because  they  were  afraid  of  being 
censured  and  reproached  by  every  ra- 
tional religious  man  in  the  three  parts 
of  the  world  for  a  faith  of  three  Gods. 
The  reason  that  they  taught  a  faith 
applied  to  the  three  in  order,  was  be- 
cause no  other  could  flow  from  that 
principle  :  to  this  it  may  be  added,  that 
if  one  of  those  three  were  omitted,  a 
third  would  not  be  sent,  and  thus  all 
the  operation  of  divine  grace  would 
come  to  nothing. 

634.  But  the  truth  shall  be  declared  : 


When  a  faith  in  three  Gods  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Christian  churches, 
which  was  done  at  the  Nicene  synod, 
all  the  good  of  charity  and  all  the  truth 
of  faith  were  exiled  ;  for  those  two  can 
never  consist  with  the  mental  worship 
of  three  Gods,  and  at  the  same  time 
with  the  oral  worship  of  one  God  ;  for 
the  mind  denies  what  the  mouth  speaks, 
and  the  mouth  denies  what  the  mind 
thinks ;  thence  it  comes  to  pass,  that 
there  is  neither  a  faith  of  three  Gods, 
nor  a  faith  of  one.  Hence  it  is  manifest, 
that  the  Christian  temple  has,  since  that 
time,  not  only  been  shattered,  but  also 
has  fallen  in  ruins  ;  and  that,  since  that 
time,  the  pit  of  the  abyss  has  been 
open,  from  which  smoke  as  of  a  great 
furnace  has  ascended,  and  the  sun  has 
been  darkened,  and  the  air,  and  from 
which  locusts  came  forth  into  the  earth. 
Rev.  ix.  2,  3.  See  the  explanation  of 
those  things  in  the  Apocalypse  Re- 
vealed. Yea,  from  that  time  the  des- 
olation foretold  by  Daniel  began  and 
has  increased,  Matt.  xxiv.  15 ;  and  to 
that  faith,  and  the  imputation  of  it,  the 
eagles  have  been  gathered  together, 
verse  28  of  the  same  chapter ;  by  ea- 
gles there  are  meant  leaders  of  the 
church,  who  are,  as  it  were,  lynx-eyed. 
If  it  is  said,  that  the  councU,  in  which 
so  many  bishops  and  laurelled  men  sat, 
decreed  that,  by  their  unanimous  suf- 
frages, what  confidence  is  to  be  put  in 
councils,  when  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
cils have  also,  by  their  unanimous  suf- 
frages, decreed  the  vicarship  of  the  pope, 
the  invocation  of  saints,  the  veneration 
of  images  and  bones,  the  division  of 
the  holy  eucharist,  purgatory,  indul- 
gences, &-C.  ?  What  confidence  is  to  be 
put  in  councils,  when  that  of  Dort  also, 
by  their  unanimous  suffrages,  decreed 
a  detestable  predestination,  and  extolled 
it  as  the  palladium  of  religion.  But, 
my  reader,  do  not  trust  to  councils,  but 
to  the  Holy  Word,  and  go  to  the  Lord, 
and  you  will  be  enlightened  ;  for  He  is 
the  Word,  that  is,  the  Divine  Truth 
itself  there. 

635.  Finally,  this  arcanum  shall  be 
disclosed.  In  seven  chapters  in  the 
Revelation  the  consummation  of  the 
present  church  is  described,  in  like 


424 


Concerning  Imputation. 


manner  as  the  devastation  of  Egypt  is 
described,  and  both  by  similar  plagues, 
each  of  which  spiritually  signifies  some 
false,  which  promoted  its  devastation 
even  to  destruction  ;  wherefore  also 
this  church,  which  has  at  this  day  been 
destroyed,  is  called  Egypt,  spiritually 
understood,  Rev.  xi.  8.  The  plagues 
in  Egypt  were  these  :  That  the  waters 
were  turned  into  blood,  whence  every 
fish  died,  and  the  river  stank,  Exod. 

vii.  In  like  manner  it  is  said  in  Rev. 

viii.  8 ;  xvi.  3.  By  blood  is  signified 
divine  truth  falsified ;  see  the  Apoca- 
lypse Revealed,  n.  379,  404,  681, 
687,  688 ;  and  by  the  fishes  which  then 
died,  the  truths  in  the  natural  man  also 
dead,  n.  290,  405.  In  the  land  of 
Egypt  frogs  were  produced,  Exod.  viii. 
Something  concerning  frogs  also  is  said 
in  Rev.  xvi.  13.  'By  frogs  are  signi- 
fied reasonings  from  the  desire  of  falsi- 
fying truths.  See  Apoc.  Rev.  n.  702. 
In  Egypt  noxious  ulcers  came  upon 
man  and  beast,  Exod.  ix.  In  like 
manner,  in  Rev.  xvi.  2.  By  ulcers  are 
signified  interior  evils  and  falses  de- 
structive of  the  good  and  truth  in  the 
church.  See  Apoc.  Rev.  n.  678.  In 
Egypt  there  was  hail  mingled  with  fire, 
Exod.  ix.  In  like  manner  in  Rev.  viii. 
7;  xvi.  21.  //o*/ signifies  the  infernal 
false.  See  Apoc.  Rev.  n.  399,  714. 
Upon  Egypt  was  sent  the  locust,  Exod. 
X.  In  like  manner  in  Rev.  ix.  1  to  11. 
Locusts  signify  falses  in  the  outermost 
things.  See  Apoc.  Rev.  n.  424,  430. 
Upon  Egypt  a  grievous  darkness  was 
brought,  Exod.  x.  In  like  manner  in 
Rev.  viii.  12.  Darkness  signifies  falses 
arising  cither  from  ignorance,  or  from 
falses  of  religion,  or  from  evils  of  life. 
See  Apoc.  Rev.  n.  110,  413,  695. 
That  at  length  the  Egyptians  perished 
in  the  Red  sea,  Exod.  xiv.  ;  but  in  the 
Revelation,  the  dragon  and  the  false 
prophet,  in  the  lake  of  fire  and  brim- 
stone, xix.  20 ;  XX.  10.  Both  the  Red 
sea  and  that  lake  signify  hell.  The 
reason  why  similar  things  are  said  con- 
cerning Egypt,  and  concerning  the 
church,  whose  consummation  and  end 
are  described  in  the  Revelation,  is  be- 
cause by  Egypt  is  meant  a  church, 
which  in  its  beginning  was  excellent ; 


wherefore  Egypt,  before  its  church  was 
devastated,  is  compared  to  the  garden 
of  Eden,  and  the  garden  of  Jehovah, 
Gen.  xiii.  10 ;  Ezek.  xxxi.  8 ;  and  also 
it  is  called  the  corner-stone  of  the  tribes, 
the  son  of  the  wise,  and  of  the  kings  of 
antiquity,  Isaiah  xix.  11,  13.  More 
may  be  seen  concerning  Egypt  in  its 
primeval  state,  and  in  its  devastated 
state,  in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed,  n. 
503. 

636.  IV.  That  the  Faith  imputa- 
tive OF  THE  Merit  of  Christ  was 

NOT  KNOWN  IN  THE  ApOSTOLIC  ChuRCH, 
which  PRECEDED,  AND  IS  NO  WHERE 
MEANT  IN  THE  WoRD. 

The  church  which  preceded  the 
Nicene  synod,  was  called  the  Apostolic 
church  ;  that  this  was  large,  and  propa- 
gated into  the  three  parts  of  the  world, 
Asia,  Africa  and  Europe,  is  evident  not 
only  from  Constantine  the  Great,  and  his 
monarchy  over  not  only  many  kingdoms 
of  Europe,  afterwards  divided,  but  also 
over  the  nearer  ones  out  of  Europe,  in 
that  he  was  a  Christian,  and  a  zealot 
for  religion  ;  wherefore,  as  was  said 
above,  he  called  together  the  bishops 
from  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe  to  his 
palace  at  Nice,  a  city  of  Bithynia,  that 
he  might  cast  the  scandals  of  Arius 
out  of  his  empire.  This  was  done 
from  the  divine  providence  of  the  Lord, 
since,  if  the  divinity  of  the  Lord  is 
denied,  the  Christian  church  dies,  and 
becomes  like  a  sepulchre  adorned  with 
this  epitaph,  "  Here  lies."  The  church 
which  was  before  this  time  was  called 
Apostolic,  and  the  eminent  writers  of 
that  church  were  called  fathers,  and 
true  Christians  at  their  side,  brethren. 
That  this  church  did  not  acknowledge 
three  divine  persons,  and  thence  neither 
a  Son  of  God  from  eternity,  but  only 
the  Son  of  God  born  in  time,  is  evident 
from  the  creed  which  from  their  church 
was  called  Apostolic,  where  these  words 
are  read :  /  bdievc  in  God  the  Father 
Almighty,  Creator  of  heai^en  and 
earth  ;  and  in  Jesvs  Christ,  his  only 
Son  our  Lord,  who  was  conceived  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  virgin 
Mary.  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost; 
the  holy  Catholic  church;  the  commu- 
nion of  saints.    Whence  it  is  manifest, 


Concerning  Imputation. 


425 


that  they  did  not  acknowledge  any 
other  Son  of  God  than  that  conceived 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  born  of  the  virgin 
Mary,  and  not  at  all  any  Son  of  God 
born  from  eternity.  This  creed,  like 
the  two  others,  has  been  acknowledged 
as  the  genuine  Catholic,  by  the  whole 
Christian  church  to  the  present  day. 

637.  That  in  that  primeval  time,  all 
in  that  Christian  world  acknowledged 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  God, 
to  whom  is  given  all  power  in  heaven 
and  in  eartii,  and  power  over  all  flesh, 
according  to  his  own  words,  Matt,  xxviii. 
IS ;  John  xvii.  2 ;  and  that  they  be- 
lieved in  Him  according  to  his  com- 
mand from  God  the  Father,  John  iii. 
15,  16,  36  ;  vi.  40  ;  xi.  25,  26.  The 
same  is  also  very  manifest  from  the  con- 
vocation of  all  the  bishops  by  the  em- 
peror Constantine  the  Great,  for  the 
purpose  of  convicting  and  condemning, 
from  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  Arius  and 
his  followers,  who  denied  the  divinity  of 
the  Lord  the  Savior,  born  of  the  virgin 
Mary.  This,  indeed,  was  done;  but 
they,  in  order  to  avoid  a  wolf,  fell  upon 
a  lion ;  or,  as  it  is  said  in  the  proverb. 
Wishing  to  avoid  Charybdis,  he  fell 
upon  Scylla ;  by  feigning  a  Son  of 
God  from  eternity,  who  descended  and 
assumed  the  Human,  believing  that 
thus  they  should  vindicate  and  restore 
divinity  to  the  Lord  ;  not  knowing  that 
God  himself,  the  Creator  of  the  uni- 
verse, descended,  that  He  might  become 
Redeemer,  and  thus  Creator  anew,  ac- 
cording to  these  manifest  declarations 
in  the  Old  Testament :  Isaiah  xxv.  9 ; 
xl.  3,  5,  10,  11;  xliii.  24;  xliv.  6,  24; 
xlvii.  4  ;  xlviii.  17;  xlix.  7,26;  Ix.  16; 
Ixiii.  16 ;  Jer.  1.  34 ;  Hos.  xiii.  4 ; 
Psalm  xix.  15 :  to  these  add  John 
ix.  15. 

638.  That  Apostolic  church,  be- 
cause it  worshipped  the  Lord  God 
Jesus  Christ,  and  at  the  same  time  God 
the  Father  in  Him,  may  be  likened  to 
the  garden  of  God ;  and  Arius,  who  then 
arose,  to  the  serpent  sent  from  hell ;  and 
theNicene  council, to  Adam's  wife,  who 
presented  the  fruit  to  her  husband  and 
persuaded  ;  after  the  eating  of  which, 
they  appeared  to  themselves  naked,  and 
covered  their  nakedness  with  leaves  of 

54 


the  fig-tree ;  by  their  nakedness  is  meant 
the  innocence  in  which  they  were  be- 
fore ;  and  by  leaves  of  the  Jig-tree,  the 
truths  of  the  natural  man,  which  were 
successively  falsified.  That  primitive 
church  may  be  compared  also  to  the 
dawning  of  the  day  and  the  morning, 
from  which  the  day  proceeded  to  the 
tenth  hour ;  but  then  a  thick  cloud  in- 
tervened ,  under  which  the  day  proceeded 
to  the  evening,  and  after  this  into  the 
night,  in  which  the  moon  arose,  for 
some,  from  the  light  of  which  some  saw 
something  from  the  Word  ;  and  the  rest 
went  on  into  the  thick  darkness  of 
night,  so  far,  that  they  saw  nothing  of 
divinity  in  the  Lord's  humanity ;  al- 
though Paul  says,  that  in  Jesus  Christ 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelleth 
bodily,  Coloss.  ii.  9 ;  and  John,  that 
The  Son  of  God  sent  into  the  world  is 
the  true  God  and  eternal  life,  1  John 
v.  20.  The  primitive  or  Apostolic 
church  never  could  have  conceived  that 
a  church  could  succeed,  which  would 
worship  several  Gods  with  the  heart, 
and  one  with  the  mouth,  which  would 
separate  charity  from  faith,  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  from  repentance  and  the 
desire  of  a  new  life,  and  which  would 
introduce  a  total  impotence  in  spiritual 
things ;  and  least  of  all  that  any  Arius 
should  lift  up  his  head,  and  when  he 
had  died  should  rise  again  and  rule  se- 
cretly even  to  the  end. 

639.  That  no  faith  imputative  of  the 
merit  of  Christ  was  meant  in  the 
Word,  is  clearly  manifest  from  this, 
that  that  faith  was  not  known  in  the 
church  before  the  Nicene  synod  intro- 
duced three  divine  persons  from  eternity ; 
and  when  this  faith  was  introduced, 
and  had  pervaded  the  whole  Christian 
world,  all  other  faith  was  rejected  into 
darkness ;  wherefore,  whoever  then 
reads  the  Word,  and  sees  faith,  imputa- 
tion and  the  merit  of  Christ,  falls  of 
himself  into  that  which  he  had  believed 
the  only  thing ;  like  one  who  sees  the 
writing  of  one  page,  and  stops  there, 
and  does  not  turn  it  over  and  see  any 
thing  else ;  or  like  one  who  persuades 
himself  that  this  is  true,  although  it  is 
false,  and  confirms  it  alone ;  then  he 
sees  the  false  as  true,  and  the  true  as 


426 


Concerning  Imputation. 


false ;  he  would  afterwards  press  his 
teeth  together,  and  hiss  with  his  mouth 
at  every  one  who  opposes  it,  and  would 
say,  "  You  are  not  intelligent."  His 
mind  is  wholly  in  it,  covered  over  with 
a  hard  shell,  which  rejects  as  heterodox 
every  thing  that  is  not  consonant  to  his 
orthodoxy  so  called ;  for  his  memory  is 
like  a  tablet  on  which  only  this  ruling 
theological  tenet  is  written ;  if  any 
thing  else  enters,  it  has  no  place  where 
it  could  be  inserted  ;  wherefore  it  casts 
it  out,  as  the  mouth  does  froth.  For 
example,  say  to  a  confirmed  naturalist, 
who  either  believes  that  nature  created 
herself,  or  that  God  existed  after  na- 
ture, or  that  nature  and  God  are  one, 
that  it  is  altogether  contrary;  would  he 
not  look  upon  you  either  as  deluded  by 
the  fables  of  presbyters,  or  as  simple, 
or  as  dull,  or  as  a  dunce?  The  case 
is  similar  with  all  things  that  persua- 
sion and  confirmation  fix,  which  at 
last  appear  like  painted  tapestry  fastened 
with  many  nails  to  a  wall  glued  together 
of  decayed  little  stones. 

640.  V.  Th.\t  TirE  Imput.\tion  of 
THE  Merit  and  Righteousness  of 
Christ  is  impossible. 

That  it  may  be  known  that  the  im- 
putation of  the  merit  and  righteousness 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  impossible,  it  is 
necessary  to  know  what  his  merit  and 
righteousness  are.  The  merit  of  our 
Lord  the  Savior  is  redemption,  and 
what  this  was,  may  be  seen  above  in 
its  chapter,  n.  114  to  133;  which  is 
there  described  to  have  been  a  subju- 
gation of  the  hells,  the  establishment 
of  order  in  the  heavens,  and  afterwards 
the  institution  of  a  church ;  and  thus 
that  redemption  was  a  work  purely 
divine.  It  was  also  shown  there,  that 
by  redemption  the  Lord  took  to  himself 
the  power  of  regenerating  and  saving 
the  men  who  believe  in  Him  and  do 
his  commandments,  and  that  without 
that  redemption  no  flesh  could  have 
been  saved.  Since,  now,  redemption 
was  a  work  purely  divine,  and  of  the 
Lord  alone,  and  that  is  his  merit,  it 
follows  that  this  cannot  be  applied, 
ascribed  and  ihiputed  to  any  man, 
any  more  than  the  creation  and  pres- 
ervation of  the  universe.  Redemption 


also  was  a  certain  creation  of  the 
angelic  heaven  anew,  and  also  of  the 
church.  That  the  church  at  this  day 
attributes  that  merit  of  the  Lord  the 
Redeemer  to  those  who  by  grace  ob- 
tained faith,  is  manifest  from  their 
dogmas,  among  which  this  is  the  prin- 
cipal ;  for  it  is  said  by  the  dignitaries 
of  this  church,  and  by  their  dependants, 
as  well  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
as  in  the  churches  of  the  Reformed, 
that  by  the  imputation  of  the  merit  of 
Christ,  those  who  have  obtained  faith 
are  not  only  reputed  just  and  holy,  but 
that  they  are  so ;  and  that  their  sins 
are  not  sins  in  the  sight  of  God,  because 
they  are  remitted,  and  they  themselves 
are  justified,  that  is,  reconciled,  renew- 
ed, regenerated,  sanctified  and  enrolled 
in  heaven.  That  the  universal  Chris- 
tian church  at  this  day  teaches  those 
same  things,  is  manifestly  evident  from 
tiie  council  of  Trent,  the  Augustan 
and  Augsburg  confessions,  and  from 
the  commentaries  attached  to  them, 
and  also  received.  From  the  things 
above  said  and  transferred  into  that 
faith,  what  else  Hows,  than  that  the 
])ossession  of  that  faith  is  that  merit 
and  that  righteousness  of  the  Lord  ? 
consequently  that  the  possessor  of  it  is 
Christ  in  another  person  ?  For  it  is  said 
that  Christ  himself  is  righteousness, 
and  that  that  faith  is  righteousness,  and 
that  imputation,  by  which  also  is  meant 
ascription  and  application,  causes  them 
not  only  to  be  reputed  just  and  holy, 
but  to  be  so.  Add  only  Tr  anscription 
to  imputation,  application  and  ascrip- 
tion, and  you  will  be  a  vicarious  pope. 

641.  Since,  therefore,  the  merit  and 
righteousness  of  the  Lord  are  purely 
divine,  and  since  things  purely  divine 
are  such  that,  if  they  were  applied  and 
ascribed,  man  would  die  in  an  instant, 
and,  like  a  fire-brand  thrown  into  the 
naked  sun,  would  be  so  consumed  that 
scarcely  any  spark  would  remain  of 
him ;  therefore  the  Lord  with  his  Di- 
vine approaches  to  angels  and  to  men 
by  light  tempered  and  moderated  ac- 
cording to  the  faculty  and  ijuality  of 
each,  thus  by  what  is  adeciuate  and  ac* 
commodated ;  in  like  manner  Ho  ap- 
proaches by  heat.     In   the  spiritual 


Concerning  Imputation. 


437 


world  there  is  a  sun,  in  the  midst  of 
which  is  the  Lord  ;  from  that  sun  He 
flows  in  by  light  and  heat  into  the 
whole  spiritual  world,  and  into  all  who 
are  there ;  all  the  licfht  and  all  the  heat 
there  are  thence.  The  Lord  from  that 
sun  flows  in  with  the  same  light  and 
the  same  heat  also  into  the  souls  and 
minds  of  men  ;  that  heat  in  its  essence 
is  his  divine  love,  and  that  light  in  its 
essence  is  his  divine  wisdom  ;  this  light 
and  that  heat  the  Lord  adapts  to  the 
faculty  and  quality  of  the  recipient  an- 
gel and  man,  which  is  done  by  means 
of  spiritual  awas  or  atmospheres  which 
convey  and  transfer  them :  the  Divine 
itself,  immediately  encompassing  the 
Lord,  makes  that  sun.  This  sun  is  dis- 
tant from  the  angels,  as  the  sun  of  the 
natural  world  is  from  men,  in  order 
that  it  may  not  touch  them  with  its 
naked  rays,  and  thus  immediately  ;  for 
thus  they  would  be  consumed  like  a  fire- 
brand thrown  into  the  naked  sun,  as  was 
said.  Hence  it  may  be  evident,  that 
the  merit  and  righteousness  of  the  Lord, 
because  they  are  purely  divine,  cannot 
possibly  be  introduced  by  imputation 
into  any  angel  or  man  ;  yea,  if  any  drop 
of  it,  without  being  thus  moderated,  as 
was  said,  should  touch  them,  they  would 
instantly  be  tortured  like  those  laboring 
with  death,  struggling  with  their  feet, 
staring  with  their  eyes,  and  they  would 
expire.  This  was  made  known  in  the 
Israelitish  church  by  this,  that  no  one 
could  see  God  and  live.  The  sun  of 
the  spiritual  world,  such  as  it  is  since 
Jehovah  God  assumed  the  Human,  and 
added  to  it  redemption  and  new  right- 
eousness, is  also  described  by  these 
words  in  Isaiah  :  The  light  of  the  sun 
shall  be  seven-fold,  as  the  light  of  seven 
days,  in  the  daij  lohcn  Jehovah  shall 
bind  up  the  breach  of  his  people,  xxx. 
26  ;  in  which  chapter,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end,  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
is  treated  of  It  is  also  described, 
what  the  case  would  be  if  the  Lord 
should  descend  and  approach  to  any 
wicked  man,  by  these  words  in  the  Rev- 
elation :  They  hid  themselves  in  the 
caves  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains, 
and  said  to  the  mountains  and  to  the 
rocks,  Hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him 


that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from 
the  anger  of  the  Lamb,  vi.  15  ;  it  is 
said,  the  anger  of  the  Lamb,  because 
the  terror  and  torment  appear  so  to  them, 
when  the  Lord  approaches.  This  again 
may  be  evidently  concluded  from  this, 
that  if  any  wicked  person  is  introduced 
into  heaven,  where  charity  and  faith  in 
the  Lord  reign,  his  eyes  are  seized  with 
darkness,  his  mind  with  dizziness  and 
insanity,  his  body  with  pain  and  tor- 
ment, and  he  becomes  as  it  were  lifeless. 
What  then,  if  the  Lord  himself  with 
his  divine  merit,  which  is  redemption, 
and  with  his  divine  righteousness,  should 
enter  man  1  The  apostle  John  himself 
could  not  sustain  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  ;  for  it  is  read,  that  wheii  he  saw 
the  Son  of  Man  in  the  midst  of  the 
seven  candlesticks,  he  fell  at  his  feet 
as  dead,  Rev.  i.  17. 

642.  It  is  said  in  the  decrees  of  the 
councils,  and  in  the  articles  of  the  con- 
fessions to  which  the  Reformed  swear, 
that  God,  by  the  merit  of  Christ  being 
infused,  justifies  the  wicked  ;  when  yet 
the  good  of  any  angel  cannot  even  be 
communicated,  still  less  conjoined,  to 
a  wicked  man,  without  being  rejected 
and  rebounding,  like  an  elastic  ball 
thrown  against  the  wall,  or  absorbed, 
like  a  diamond  sent  into  a  bog  ;  yea, 
if  any  thing  truly  good  were  thrust  in, 
it  would  be  as  if  a  pearl  were  tied  to  a 
swine's  snout.  For  who  does  not  know, 
that  clemency  cannot  be  injected  into 
unmercifulness,  innocence  into  revenge, 
love  into  hatred,  concord  into  discord  ; 
which  would  be  like  mixing  together 
heaven  and  hell.  A  man  not  born 
again  is,  as  to  his  spirit,  like  a  panther, 
or  like  an  owl,  and  may  be  likened  to  a 
brier  and  a  nettle ;  but  a  man  born 
again  is  like  a  sheep,  or  like  a  dove, 
and  may  be  likened  to  an  olive-tree  or 
a  vine.  Think,  I  pray,  if  you  please, 
how  can  a  man-panther  be  converted 
into  a  man-sheep,  or  an  owl  into  a 
dove,  or  a  brier  into  an  olive-tree,  or  a 
nettle  into  a  vine,  by  any  imputation, 
ascription,  or  application  of  divine 
righteousness,  which  would  rather  con- 
demn than  justify  him.  In  order  that 
the  conversion  may  be  effected,  must 
not  the  savageness  of  the  panther  and 


428 


Concerning  Imputation. 


the  owl,  and  the  noxiousness  of  the 
brier  and  the  nettle  be  taken  away,  and 
that  which  is  truly  human  and  harmless 
be  implanted  in  their  place  ?  How  this  is 
done,  the  Lord  also  teaches  in  John  xv. 
1  to  7. 

643.  VI.  That  there  is  Impcta- 
TioN,  BUT  OF  Good  and  of  Evil,  and 

AT  THE  SAME  TIME  OF  FaITH. 

That  it  is  the  imputation  of  good  and 
evil  which  is  meant  in  the  Word,  when 
it  is  named,  is  evident  from  innumera- 
ble passages  there,  which  indeed  have 
been,  in  part,  adduced  before ;  but  that 
every  one  may  be  certain,  that  there  is 
no  other  imputation,  some  things  here 
also  shall  be  adduced  from  the  Word ; 
which  are,  The  Son  of  Man  is  about 
to  come,  and  then  He  will  render  to 
every  one  according  to  his  deeds,  Matt, 
xvi.  27.  Those  who  have  done  goods 
shall  come  forth  to  the  resurrection  of 
life,  but  those  who  have  done  evils  to  the 
resurrection  of  judgment,  John  v.  29. 
A  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book 
of  life,  and  they  were  all  judged  ac- 
cording to  their  works,  Rev.  xx.  12, 
13.  Behold,  I  come  quickly,  and  my 
reward  is  with  Me,  that  I  may  give  to 
every  one  according  to  his  work,  xxii. 
12.  /  loill  visit  according  to  his  ways. 
I  will  reward  him  according  to  his 
works,  Hosea  iv.  9 ;  Zech.  i.  6  ; 
Jer.  XXV.  14 ;  xxxii.  19.  God,  in  the 
day  of  his  anger  and  just  judgment, 
will  render  to  every  one  according  to 
his  works,  Rom.  ii.  5,  C.  We  all 
must  appear  before  the  judgment  scat  of 
Christ,  that  every  one  may  receive  the 
things  which  he  hath  done  in  the  body, 
according  to  what  he  hath  done,  whether 
good  or  evil,  2  Cor.  v.  10.  There 
was  no  other  law  of  imputation  at  the 
begiiming  of  the  church,  nor  is  there 
to  be  any  other  at  the  end  of  it.  That 
there  was  no  other  at  the  beginning  of 
the  church,  is  manifest  from  Adam  and 
his  wife ;  that  because  ihey  did  evil, 
in  eating  from  the  tree  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil,  they  were  con- 
demned. Gen.  ii.  and  iii. ;  and  that 
there  is  to  be  no  other  at  the  end  of 
the  church,  is  manifest  from  these  words 
of  the  Lord  :  When  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father, 


then  He  will  sit  upon  the  throne  of  Ms 
glory.  And  He  will  say  to  the  sheep  on 
his  right  hand.  Come,  yc  blessed,  and 
possess,  as  an  inheritance,  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world.  For  I  was  hungry,  and 
ye  gave  Me  to  eat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and 
ye  gave  Me  to  drink ;  Iicas  a  stranger, 
and  ye  took  Me  in  ;  I  teas  naked,  and 
yc  clothed  Me  ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visit- 
ed Me;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
to  Me.  But  to  the  goats  on  his  left 
hand,  because  they  did  not  do  goods, 
He  said.  Depart  from  Mc,  ye  cursed, 
into  everlasting  jire  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels.  Matt.  xxv.  33, 
and  following  verses.  Hence  every 
one,  with  open  eyes,  may  see  that  there 
is  an  imputation  of  good  and  of  evil. 
That  there  is  also  an  imputation  of 
faith,  is  because  charity,  which  is  of 
good,  and  faith,  which  is  of  truth,  are 
together  in  good  works  ;  and  that  un- 
less they  are  together,  the  works  are 
not  good,  may  be  seen  above,  n.  373 
to  377;  wherefore  James  says.  Was 
not  Abraham  our  father  jnstifed  by 
works  ichen  he  offered  his  son  upon  the 
altar  7  Seest  thou  not  that  faith  cooper- 
ated with  works,  and  by  the  works  the 
faith  ivas  known  to  be  perfect?  And 
the  Scripture  was  fulfilled,  which  saitk, 
Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  im- 
puted to  him  for  righteousness,  James 
ii.  21,  22,  23. 

()44.  The  cause  that  the  leaders  of 
the  Christian  churches,  and  thence 
their  subalterns,  by  imputation  in  the 
Word,  have  understood  an  imputation 
of  the  faith  on  which  the  riglitcous- 
ness  and  merit  of  Christ  are  inscribed, 
and  thus  ascribed  to  man,  is  because, 
for  fourteen  centuries,  that  is,  since  the 
time  of  the  Nicene  synod,  they  have 
not  been  willing  to  know  of  any  other 
faith  ;  wherefore  that  alone  was  fixed 
in  their  memory,  and  thence  in  their 
mind,  as  if  it  were  organized;  which 
from  that  time  borrowed  a  light  such  as 
there  is  from  fire  in  the  time  of  night, 
from  which  light  that  faith  was  seen 
as  the  very  theological  trutli,  on  which 
all  the  rest  depend  in  a  connected  se- 
ries, which  would  fall  to  pieces,  if  that 
head,  or  that  pillar,  were  moved  away. 


Concerning  Imputation, 


429' 


Wherefore,  if  they  had  thought  of  any 
other  faith  than  that  imputative  faith, 
when  they  read  the  Word,  that  light, 
together  with  every  thing  of  their  theol- 
ogy, would  have  been  extinguished, 
and  darkness  would  have  arisen,  by 
which  the  whole  Christian  church  would 
have  vanished  ;  wherefore  that  was  left 
as  a  stump  of  roots  in  the  earth,  when 
the  tree  was  cut  down  and  destroyed, 
until  seven  times  should  pass  over  it, 
Dan.  iv.  20.  Who  among  the  con- 
firmed leaders  of  the  church  at  this 
day,  when  that  faith  is  attacked,  does 
not  stop  his  ears  as  with  cotton,  on 
hearing  any  thing  against  it  ?  But,  my 
reader,  open  your  ears  and  read  the 
Word,  and  you  will  clearly  perceive 
another  faith  and  another  imputation, 
than  what  you  had  before  persuaded 
yourself  to  believe. 

645.  It  is  wonderful,  that  although 
the  Word,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  is  full  of  testimonies  and  confir- 
mations, that  to  every  one  his  good  or 
evil  is  imputed,  still  the  dogmatical 
teachers  of  the  Christian  religion  have 
stopped  up  their  ears  as  with  wax,  and 
anointed  their  eyes  as  with  eye-salve, 
so  that  they  have  not  heard  or  seen, 
nor  do  they  hear  or  see,  any  other  im- 
putation, than  that  of  their  faith  above 
mentioned :  and  yet  that  faith  may  be 
rightly  compared  with  the  disease  of 
the  eye  which  is  called  gutta  serena, 
yea,  it  ought  to  be  named  so,  which  is 
an  absolute  blindness  of  the  eye  arising 
from  an  obstruction  of  the  optic  nerve, 
and  yet  the  eye  appears  as  if  it  saw 
perfectly.  In  like  manner,  those  who 
are  in  that  faith  go  as  with  open  eyes, 
and  appear  to  others  as  if  they  saw  all 
things,  when  yet  they  see  nothing; 
since  man  knows  nothing  about  that 
faith  when  it  enters,  for  he  is  then  like 
a  stock;  neither  does  he  know  after- 
wards whether  it  is  in  him,  nor  does 
he  know  whether  there  is  any  thing  in 
it;  and  afterwards  they  also,  as  with 
clear  eyes,  see  that  faith  begetting  and 
bringing  forth  the  noble  offspring  of 
justification,  namely,  the  remission  of 
sins,  vivification,  renovation,  regenera- 
tion and  sanctification,  when  yet  they 


neither  have  seen  nor  can  see  a  sign 
of  any  of  them. 

646.  That  good  which  is  charity, 
and  evil  which  is  iniquity,  are  imputed 
after  death,  has  been  made  evident  to 
me  by  ail  my  experience  concerning 
the  condition  of  those  who  pass  from 
this  world  into  the  other.  Every  one, 
after  he  has  been  there  some  days,  is 
examined  as  to  what  he  is,  thus  as  to 
what  he  was  in  the  former  world  as  to 
religion ;  which  being  done,  the  exami- 
ners report  this  to  heaven,  and  then  he 
is  transferred  to  those  who  are  like  him, 
thus  to  his  own ;  thus  imputation  is 
effected.  That  there  is  an  imputation 
of  good  to  all  who  are  in  heaven,  and 
an  imputation  of  evil  to  all  who  are  in 
hell,  was  manifest  to  me  from  the  ar- 
rangement of  both  by  the  Lord.  All 
heaven  is  arranged  into  societies  accord- 
ing to  all  the  varieties  of  the  love  of 
good,  and  all  hell  according  to  all  the 
varieties  of  the  love  of  evil.  In  like 
manner  the  church  on  earth  is  arranged 
by  the  Lord,  for  this  corresponds  to 
heaven ;  its  religion  is  good.  More- 
over, ask  any  men  you  please,  who  are 
endued  with  religion,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  reason,  whether  they  be  of  this 
or  of  the  two  other  parts  of  the  world, 
who  they  believe  will  goto  heaven, and 
who  to  hell,  and  they  will  answer  unan- 
imously, that  those  who  do  good  will 
go  to  heaven,  and  those  who  do  evil  to 
hell.  Besides,  who  does  not  know, 
that  every  true  man  loves  a  man,  a 
company  of  men,  a  state,  and  a  king- 
dom, from  their  good ;  yea,  not  only 
men,  but  also  beasts,  and  even  inan- 
imate things,  as  houses,  possessions, 
fields,  gardens,  trees,  woods,  and  lands, 
yea, metals  and  stones,  fiom  their  good- 
ness and  use ;  good  and  use  are  one. 
Why  should  not  the  Lord  love  man 
and  the  church  from  good? 

647.  VII.  That  the  Faith  and 
Imputation  of  the  New  Church 
cannot  be  together  with  the  Faith 

AND     ImPUT.A.TION     OF     THE  FORMER 

Church  ;  and  that  if  they  are 
together,  such  a  collision  and  con- 
flict ensue,  that  every  thing  op 
THE  Church  with  Man  perishes. 


430 


Concerning  Imputation. 


The  reason  why  the  faith  and  impu- 
tation of  the  New  Church  cannot  be 
together  with  the  faith  and  imputation 
of  the  former  or  still  subsisting  church, 
is  because  they  do  not  agree  in  one 
third,  nor  even  in  one  tenth ;  for  the 
faith  of  the  former  church  teaches  that 
there  existed  from  eternity  three  divine 
persons,  each  of  whom,  singly  or  by 
himself,  was  God,  also  as  many  Crea- 
tors ;  but  the  faith  of  the  New  Church 
is,  that  there  was  from  eternity  only 
one  Divine  Person,  thus  one  God,  and 
that  beside  Him  there  is  no  other  God. 
Wherefore  the  faith  of  the  former 
church  taught  a  Divine  Trinity  divided 
into  three  persons,  but  the  faith  of  the 
New  Church  teaches  a  Divine  Trinity 
united  in  one  person.  The  faith  of 
the  former  church  was  in  a  God  who 
is  invisible,  inaccessible,  and  incapable 
of  conjunction  ;  the  idea  of  whom  was 
like  that  of  spirit,  which  is  like  that  of 
ether  or  wind :  but  the  faith  of  the 
New  Church  is  in  a  God  who  is  visible, 
accessible,  and  capable  of  conjunction, 
in  whom,  as  the  soul  in  the  body,  is  the 
God  invisible,  inaccessible,  and  incapa- 
ble of  conjunction  ;  the  idea  of  whom 
is  that  of  a  man,  because  the  one  God, 
who  was  from  eternity,  became  Man  in 
time.  The  faith  of  the  former  church 
attributes  all  power  to  an  invisible  God, 
and  denies  it  to  the  visible  God  ;  for  it 
teaches  that  God  the  Father  im- 
putes faith,  and  by  it  gives  eternal  life  ; 
and  that  the  visible  only  intercedes; 
and  that  both,  or,  according  to  the 
Greek  church,  God  the  Father,  gives 
to  the  Holy  Ghost  (who  is  the  third  in 
order,  a  God  by  himself)  all  power  of 
working  the  effects  of  that  faith  :  but 
the  faith  of  the  New  Church  attributes 
to  the  visible  God,  in  whom  is  the  in- 
visible, all  power  of  imputing  and  also 
of  working  the  effects  of  salvation. 
The  faith  of  the  former  church  is  pri- 
marily in  God  the  Creator,  and  not  at 
the  same  time  in  Him  as  Redeemer 
and  Savior ;  but  the  faith  of  the  New 
Church  is  in  one  God,  who  at  the 
same  time  is  Creator,  Redeemer  and 
Savior.  The  faith  of  the  former  church 
is,  that  when  faith  is  given  and  imput- 


ed, repentance,  remission  of  sins,  ren- 
ovation, regeneration,  sanctificatioR 
and  salvation  follow  it  of  themselves, 
without  any  thing  of  man  being  mixed 
or  conjoined  with  them ;  but  the  faith 
of  the  New  Church  teaches  repentance, 
reformation,  regeneration,  and  thus 
remission  of  sins,  with  man's  coopera- 
tion. The  faith  of  the  former  church 
teaches  the  imputation  of  Christ's 
merit,  which  the  faith  given  embraces; 
but  the  faith  of  the  New  Church 
teaches  an  imputation  of  good  and  of 
evil,  and  at  the  same  time  of  faith  ;  and 
that  this  imputation  is  according  to  the 
Sacred  Scripture,  but  that  contrary  to 
it.  The  former  church  teaches  the 
giving  of  faith  in  which  is  the  merit  of 
Christ,  when  man  is  like  a  stock  and 
a  stone,  and  also  it  teaches  a  total  im- 
potence in  spiritual  things ;  but  the 
New  Church  teaches  altogether  another 
faith,  which  is  not  in  the  merit  of 
Christ,  but  in  Jesus  Christ  himself  as 
God,  Redeemer  and  Savior,  and  free 
agency  both  for  applying  one's  self  to 
reception  and  for  cooperating.  The 
former  church  adjoins  charity  to  its 
faith,  as  an  appendage,  but  not  as 
saving,  and  thus  it  makes  religion  :  but 
the  New  Church  conjoins  faith  in  the 
Lord  and  charity  towards  the  neighbor, 
as  two  inseparable  things,  and  thus  it 
makes  religion :  besides  many  other 
discordances. 

648.  From  this  brief  review  of  their 
discordances  or  disagreements,  it  is 
manifest  that  the  faith  and  imputation 
of  the  New  Church  cannot  possibly  be 
together  with  the  faith  and  imputation 
of  the  former  or  still  subsisting  church. 
And  because  there  is  such  a  discord 
and  disagreement  between  the  faith  and 
imputation  of  the  two  churches,  there 
is  a  complete  heterosreneity  ;  wherefore, 
if  they  were  together  in  the  mind  of  a 
man,  such  a  collision  and  conflict 
would  ensue,  that  every  thing  of  the 
church  would  perish,  and  man,  in  spir- 
itual things,  would  fall  either  into  a 
delirium  or  into  a  swoon,  whence  he 
would  not  know  what  the  church  is, 
and  whether  there  be  any  church. 
Would  he  then  know  any  thing  about 


Concerning  Imputation. 


431 


God,  any  thing  about  faith,  and  any 
thing  about  charity  ?  The  faith  of  the 
former  church,  because  it  excludes 
every  thing  of  light  from  reason,  may 
be  likened  to  an  owl ;  but  the  faith  of 
the  New  Church  may  be  likened  to  a 
dove,  which  flies  in  the  day  time,  and 
sees  from  the  light  of  heaven ;  where- 
fore their  conjunction  in  one  mind 
would  be  like  the  conjunction  of  an 
owl  and  a  dove  in  one  nest,  where  the 
owl  would  lay  her  eggs  and  the  dove 
hers,  and,  after  sitting,  the  young  ones 
would  be  hatched,  and  then  the  owl 
would  tear  the  dove's  young  ones  in 
pieces,  and  give  them  to  her  own  young 
ones  for  food  ;  for  the  owl  is  a  voracious 
bird.  Because  the  faith  of  the  former 
church  is  described  in  Rev.  xii.  by  the 
dragon,  and  the  faith  of  the  New 
Church  by  the  woman  encompassed 
with  the  sun,  upon  whose  head  was  a 
crown  of  twelve  stars,  it  may  be  con- 
cluded from  the  comparison  what 
would  be  the  state  of  a  man's  mind,  if 
they  should  be  together  in  one  house  ; 
namely,  that  the  dragon  would  stand 
by  the  woman  about  to  bring  forth, 
with  the  intention  of  devouring  her 
child  ;  and  that  after  she  flew  away  into 
the  desert,  he  would  pursue  her,  and 
cast  water  as  a  flood  upon  her,  that 
she  might  be  swallowed  up. 

649.  The  like  would  happen,  if  any 
one  should  embrace  the  faith  of  the 
New  Church,  and  retain  the  faith  of  the 
former  church  concerning  the  imputa- 
tion of  the  Lord's  merit  and  righteous- 
ness ;  for  from  this,  as  their  root,  all 
the  dogmas  of  the  former  church,  as 
shoots,  have  sprung  up.  If  this  should 
be  the  case,  it  would  be  comparatively 
as  if  one  should  rescue  himself  from 
five  horns  of  the  dragon,  and  entangle 
himself  in  his  remaining  five ;  or  as  if 
one  should  escape  from  a  wolf,  and  fall 
upon  a  tiger  ;  or  as  if  one,  coming  out 
of  a  pit  where  there  was  no  water, 
should  fall  into  a  pit  where  there  was 
water,  and  be  drowned.  For  thus  he 
would  easily  return  into  all  things  of 
the  former  faith ;  and  what  these  are, 
.  has  been  explained  above  ;  and  then 
into  this  damnable  error,  that  he  might 
impute  and  apply  to  himself  the  very 


divine  things  of  the  Lord,  which  are 
redemption  and  righteousness,  which 
may  be  adored  and  not  applied ;  for  if 
man  should  impute  and  apply  them  to 
himself,  he  would  be  consumed,  as  if 
he  were  cast  into  the  naked  sun,  from 
the  light  and  heat  of  which,  however, 
he  sees,  and,  as  to  the  body,  lives.  That 
the  merit  of  the  Lord  is  redemption, 
and  that  his  redemption  and  his  right- 
eousness are  two  divine  things,  which 
cannot  be  conjoined  to  man,  was  shown 
above.  Let  every  one,  therefore,  be- 
ware of  transcribing  the  imputation  of 
the  former  church  into  the  imputation 
of  the  New,  since  tragical  things  would 
thence  arise,  which  might  hinder  his 
salvation. 

650.  VIII.  That  the  Lord  imputes 

Good  to  every  Man,  and  that  Hell 
IMPUTES  Evil  to  every  Man. 

That  the  Lord  imputes  good  to  man, 
and  not  any  evil,  and  that  the  devil,  by 
which  is  meant  hell,  imputes  evil  to 
man,  and  not  any  good,  is  new  in  the 
church ;  the  reason  that  it  is  new,  is 
because  it  is  read  in  the  Word  many 
times,  that  God  is  angry,  that  He 
avenges,  hates,  condemns,  punishes, 
casts  into  hell,  tempts;  which  all  are  of 
evil, and  thence  evils.  But  that  the  sense 
of  the  letter  of  the  Word  is  composed 
of  such  things  as  are  called  appearances 
and  correspondences,  in  order  that 
there  may  be  a  conjunction  of  the  ex- 
ternal church  with  its  internal,  thus  of 
the  world  with  heaven,  was  shown  in 
the  chapter  concerning  the  Sacred 
Scripture  ;  and  there  also,  that  when 
such  things  in  the  Word  are  read,  the 
appearances  of  truth  themselves,  while 
they  are  passing  from  man  to  heaven, 
are  turned  into  genuine  truths,  which 
are,  that  the  Lord  never  is  angry,  never 
avenges,  hates,  condemns,  punishes, 
casts  into  hell,  tempts;  consequently, 
that  He  does  evil  to  no  man.  This 
change  and  turning  I  have  often  ob- 
served in  the  spiritual  world. 

651.  Reason  itself  assents  to  this, 
that  the  Lord  cannot  do  evil  to  any 
man,  and  consequently  cannot  impute 
it  to  him ;  for  He  is  Love  itself,  Mercy 
itself,  thus  Good  itself,  and  these  are 
of  his  Divine  Essence :  wherefore  to 


432 


Concerning  Imputation. 


attribute  evil,  or  any  thing  of  evil,  to 
the  Lord,  would  be  contrary  to  his  Di- 
vine Essence,  and  thus  contradictory; 
and  this  would  be  as  inexpressibly 
wicked,  as  it  is  to  conjoin  the  Lord 
and  the  devil,  or  heaven  and  hell,  when 
yet  between  them  there  is  a  great  gulf 
Jixed,  so  that  those  who  would  pass 
from  this  to  that,  or  from  that  to  this, 
cannot,  Luke  xvi.  26.  Not  even  an 
angel  of  heaven  can  do  evil  to  any  one, 
because  the  essence  of  good  from  the 
Lord  is  in  him  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  spirit  of  hell  cannot  but  do  evil 
to  another,  because  the  nature  of  evil 
from  the  devil  is  in  him  ;  the  essence 
or  nature  which  any  one  has  appropri- 
ated to  himself  in  the  world,  cannot  be 
changed  after  death.  Think,  I  pray, 
what  the  Lord  would  be,  if  He  looked 
upon  the  evil  from  auger,  and  upon  the 
good  from  clemency  (the  evil  are  myri- 
ads of  myriads,  and  the  good  are  myri- 
ads of  myriads  in  number).  If  He 
saved  these  from  grace,  and  condemned 
those  from  vengeance  ;  or  looked  upon 
these  and  those  with  an  eye  so  different, 
gentle  and  severe,  or  mild  and  stern, 
what  then  would  be  the  character  of 
the  Lord  God  1  Who  that  is  instructed 
by  preaching  in  temples  does  not  know, 
that  all  good  which  is  in  itself  good  is 
from  God  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
all  evil  which  is  in  itself  evil,  is  from 
the  devil  ?  If,  therefore,  any  man  should 
receive  both  good  and  evil,  good  from 
the  Lord,  and  evil  from  the  devil,  both 
of  them  in  the  will,  would  he  not  be- 
come neither  cold  nor  hot,  but  hike- 
warm,  which  would  be  spewed  out, 
according  to  the  words  of  the  Lord  in 
Rev.  iii.  15,  16. 

652.  That  the  Lord  imputes  good 
to  every  man,  and  not  evil  to  any  one, 
consequently  that  He  does  not  judge 
any  one  to  hell,  but  elevates  all,  so  far 
as  man  follows,  to  heaven,  is  evident 
from  these  his  words :  Jesus  said, 
^Vhcn  I  am  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  I 
will  draw  all  to  myself,  John  xii.  ;J2. 
God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
judge  the  world,  but  that  the  world 
might  be  saved  by  Him.  He  that  bi- 
lieveth  in  Him  is  not  judged;  but  hr 
thai  bclievcth  not,  is  already  judged. 


iii.  18.  If  any  one  hear  my  words, 
and  yet  believe  not,  I  judge  him  not ; 
for  I  came  not  to  judge  the  world,  but 
to  save  the  world.  He  that  despiseth 
Me,  and  receiveth  not  my  words,  hath 
one  that  judgeth  hitn ;  the  Word  which 
I  have  spoken  shall  judge  him  at  the 
last  day,  xii.  47,  48.  Jesus  said,  I 
judge  no  one,  viii.  15.  By  judgment 
here  and  elsewhere  in  the  Word,  is 
meant  judgment  to  hell,  which  is  con- 
demnation ;  but  resurrection  to  life, 
and  not  judgment,  is  predicated  of  sal- 
vation, John  V.  24,  29 ;  iii.  18.  By  the 
Word  which  will  judge,  is  meant  the 
truth,  and  it  is  a  truth  that  all  evil  is 
from  hell,  and  thus  that  evil  and  hell 
are  one  ;  wherefore,  when  an  evil  per- 
son is  elevated  by  the  Lord  towards 
heaven,  then  his  evil  draws  him  down, 
and  because  he  loves  evil,  he  follows  of 
his  own  accord.  It  is  also  a  truth  in 
the  Word,  that  good  is  heaven  ;  where- 
fore when  a  good  person  is  elevated  by 
the  Lord  towards  heaven,  he  ascends 
as  of  his  own  accord,  and  is  introduced  ; 
these  are  said  to  be  written  in  the  book 
of  life,  Dan.  xii.  I  ;  Rev.  xii.  8,  12, 
23;  xvii.  8  ;  xxi.  G.  There  is  actually 
a  sphere  elevating  all  to  heaven,  which 
continually  proceeds  from  the  Lord,  and 
fills  all  the  spiritual  world  and  all  the 
natural  world  ;  and  it  is  like  a  strong 
current  in  the  ocean  which  secretly 
draws  the  ship.  All  those  who  believe 
in  the  Lord,  and  live  according  to  his 
commandments,  enter  that  sphere  or 
current,  and  are  elevated  ;  but  those 
who  do  not  believe,  are  not  willing  to 
enter,  but  remove  themselves  to  the 
sides,  and  there  are  carried  away  by  a 
stream  which  leads  to  hell. 

65;J.  Who  docs  not  know  that  a 
lamb  cannot  act  otherwise  than  as  a 
lamb,  and  a  sheep  not  otherwise  than 
as  a  sheep ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
a  wolf  cannot  act  otherwise  than  as  a 
wolf,  and  a  tiger  than  as  a  tiger  ?  If 
those  beasts  were  mixed  together,  would 
not  the  wolf  devour  the  lamb,  and  the 
tiger  the  sheep  !  AVherefore  there  are 
shepherds  for  guards.  Who  does  not 
know  that  a  fountain  of  sweet  water 
cannot  send  forth  from  its  vein  bitter 
waters ;  and  that  a  good  tree  cannot 


Concerning  iinputatio7i. 


433 


produce  bad  fruit ;  and  that  a  vine  can- 
not prick  like  a  thorn,  the  flower  of  a 
lily  gall  like  a  brier,  and  a  hyacinth 
sting  like  a  thistle  ;  and  the  reverse  ? 
Wherefore  those  noxious  plants  are 
rooted  up  out  of  fields,  vineyards  and 
gardens,  and,  being  collected  into  heaps, 
they  are  cast  into  the  fire.  The  like  is 
done  with  the  evil  who  flow  into  the 
spiritual  world,  according  to  the  words 
of  the  Lord,  Matt.  xiii.  30 ;  John 
XV.  6.  The  Lord  also  said  to  the  Jews, 
O  offspring  of  vipers,  how  can  yc  speak 
good  things,  when  ye  arc  evil?  A  good 
man,  from  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart, 
sends  forth  good  things;  and  an  evil 
man,  from  the  evil  treasure,  sends  forth 
evil  things.  Matt.  xii.  34,  35. 

654.  IX.  That  Faith,  WITH  WHAT- 
soever it  conjoins  itself,  makes  a 
Sentence  :  if  true  Faith  conjoins 
itself  with  good,  a  sentence  is 
m.\de  for  eternal  Life  ;  but  if 
Faith  conjoins  itself  with  Evil, 
A  Sentence  is  made  for  eternal 
De.\th. 

The  works  of  charity  which  are 
done  by  a  Christian,  and  those  which 
are  done  by  a  heathen,  in  the  external 
form  appear  similar  ;  for  one  as  well 
as  the  other  does  the  goods  of  civility 
and  morality  to  a  companion,  which 
are  in  some  degree  similar  to  the  goods 
of  love  towards  the  neighbor  ;  yea,  he 
can  give  to  the  poor,  help  the  needy, 
and  hear  sermons  in  temples  ;  but  who 
can  thence  judge,  whether  those  ex- 
ternal goods  are  similar  in  the  internal 
form,  or  whether  the  natural  are  also 
spiritual  1  Concerning  this,  it  can  be 
concluded  only  from  faith,  for  faith 
qualifies  them  ;  for  faith  causes  God  to 
be  in  them,  and  conjoins  them  with 
itself  in  the  internal  man ;  thence  nat- 
ural goods  become  inwardly  spiritual. 
That  it  is  so,  may  be  more  clearly  seen 
from  what  was  said  in  the  chapter  con- 
cerning Faith,  where  the  following 
things  are  demonstrated  :  That  Faith 
is  not  living  before  it  is  conjoined  to 
Charity.  That  Charity  is  made  spirit- 
ual by  Faith,  and  Faith  by  CJtarity. 
That  Faith  without  Charity,  because  it 
is  not  spiritual,  is  not  Faith  ;  and  that 
Charity  without  Faith,  because  it  is 
55 


not  living,  is  not  Charity.  That  Faith 
and  Charity  apply  and  conjoin  them- 
selves to  each  other  reciprocally.  That 
the  Lord,  Charity  and  Faith  make  one, 
like  life,  will  and  understanding ;  but  if 
they  are  divided,  each  perishes,  like  a 
pearl  reduced  to  powder. 

655.  From  the  things  adduced,  it 
may  be  seen,  that  faith  in  the  one  and 
true  God  causes  good  to  be  good  also 
in  the  internal  form  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  faith  in  a  false  god  causes 
good  to  be  good  only  in  the  external 
form,  which  is  not  good  in  itself;  as 
the  faith  of  the  Gentiles  formerly  in 
Jupiter,  Juno  and  Apollo ;  of  the  Phi- 
listines in  Dagon ;  and  of  others  in  Baal 
and  Baal-peor ;  and  of  Balaam  the  ma- 
gician in  his  god  ;  and  of  the  Egyptians 
in  many.  It  is  altogether  different 
with  faith  in  the  Lord,  who  is  the  true 
God  and  eternal  Life,  according  to 
John,  1  Epist.  v.  20 ;  and  in  whom  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dweUeth 
bodily,  according  to  Paul,  Coloss.  ii.  9. 
What  is  faith  in  God  but  the  sight  of 
Him,  and  tiience  His  presence,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  confidence  that  He 
helps?  And  what  is  true  faith  but 
that,  and  at  the  same  time  a  confidence 
that  all  good  is  from  Him,  and  makes 
one's  good  to  be  saving?  Wherefore 
if  this  faith  conjoin  itself  with  good, 
a  sentence  is  made  for  eternal  life ; 
altogether  otherwise  if  it  do  not  con- 
join itself  with  good,  and  especially  if 
it  conjoin  itself  with  evil. 

656.  What  the  conjunction  of  charity 
and  faith  is,  with  those  who  believe  in 
three  gods,  and  yet  say  that  they  believe 
in  one,  was  shown  above,  namely,  that 
charity  conjoins  itself  with  faith  only 
in  the  external  natural  man  ;  the  reason 
is,  because  his  mind  is  in  the  idea  of 
three  gods,  and  his  mouth  in  the  con- 
fession of  one  God  ;  wherefore  if  the 
mind  at  that  moment  should  infuse 
itself  into  the  confession  of  the  mouth, 
it  would  expunge  the  enunciation  of 
one  God,  and  would  open  the  lips  and 
force  out  its  three  gods ! 

657.  That  evil  and  faith  in  the  one 
and  true  God  cannot  be  together,  every 
one  may  see  from  reason,  for  evil  is 
against  God,  and  faith  is  for  God ;  and 


434 


Concerning  Imputation. 


evil  is  of  the  will,  and  faith  is  of  the 
thought,  and  the  will  flows  into  the 
understanding  and  causes  it  to  think, 
but  not  conversely  ;  the  understanding 
only  teaches  what  is  to  be  willed  and 
to  be  done.  Wherefore  the  good 
which  such  a  man  does,  is  in  itself 
evil ;  it  is  like  a  shining  bone,  the  mar- 
row of  which  is  rotten ;  it  is  like  an 
actor  upon  the  stage,  who  personates 
a  grandee ;  and  it  is  like  the  handsome 
face  of  an  antiquated  harlot ;  and  it  is 
like  a  butterfly,  flying  with  silver  wings, 
which  lays  little  eggs  on  the  leaves  of  a 
good  tree,  from  which  all  its  fruit  per- 
ishes ;  it  is  like  fragrant  smoke  from  a 
poisonous  herb ;  yea,  it  is  like  a  moral 
robber  and  a  pious  sycophant.  Where- 
fore the  good  of  such  a  man,  which  in 
itself  is  evil,  is  in  a  chamber  within  ; 
but  his  faith,  walking  in  the  porch  and 
reasoning,  is  a  mere  chimera,  a  spectre 
and  a  bubble.  Hence  the  truth  of  the 
proposition  is  manifest,  that  faith  makes 
sentence  concerning  the  good  and  the 
evil  which  is  conjoined  to  it. 

658.  X.  Th.\t  Thought  IS  i.MPUTED 

TO  NO  ONE,  BUT  WiLL. 

Every  man  of  erudition  knows  that 
there  are  two  faculties  or  parts  of  the 
mind,  the  will  and  the  understanding; 
but  few  know  how  to  distinguish  them 
accurately,  and  to  survey  their  proper- 
ties separately,  and  afterwards  to  con- 
join them.  Those  who  cannot  do  this, 
cannot  get  for  themselves  any  other 
than  a  very  obscure  notion  concerning 
the  mind  ;  wherefore,  unless  the  prop- 
erties of  each  by  itself  be  first  de- 
scribed, this  will  not  be  comprehended. 
That  thought  is  imputed  to  no  one,  but 
will.  The  properties  of  both,  in  a  sum- 
mary, are  these  :  1.  That  love  itself,  and 
the  things  which  are  of  love,  reside  in 
the  will ;  and  that  science,  intelligence 
and  wisdom  reside  in  the  understand- 
ing ;  and  that  the  will  inspires  its  love 
into  these,  and  produces  favor  and 
assent :  thence  it  is,  that  as  the  love  is, 
and  the  intelligence  thence,  such  is  the 
man.  2.  From  this  it  also  follows,  that 
all  good,  and  also  all  evil,  is  of  the  will ; 
for  whatever  proceeds  from  the  love,  is 
called  good,  although  it  be  evil ;  for 
delight,  which  makes  the  life  of  love. 


produces  this ;  the  will  by  this  delight 
enters  the  understanding,  and  produces 
consent.  3.  The  will,  therefore,  is  the 
esse  or  the  essence  of  the  life  of  man, 
but  the  understanding  is  the  existcre 
or  the  existence  thence ;  and  because 
essence  is  not  any  thing  unless  it  be 
in  a  certain  form,  so  the  will  is  not  any 
thing  unless  it  be  in  the  understanding; 
wherefore  the  will  forms  itself  in  the 
understanding,  and  thus  comes  forth 
into  the  light.  4.  Love  in  the  will  is 
the  end,  and  in  the  understanding  it 
seeks  and  finds  causes  by  which  it  may 
promote  itself  to  the  effect ;  and 
because  the  end  is  the  purpose,  and 
this  intends,  purpose  also  is  of  the  will, 
and  through  the  intention  it  enters  the 
understanding  and  causes  it  to  consider 
and  revolve  the  means,  and  to  conclude 
such  as  tend  to  effects.  5.  All  the 
proprium  of  man  is  in  the  will,  and 
this  is  evil  from  his  first  nativity,  and 
becomes  good  by  a  second ;  the  first 
nativity  is  from  parents,  but  the  other 
is  from  the  Lord.  From  these  few 
things  it  may  be  seen,  that  there  is  one 
property  of  the  will,  and  another  of  the 
understanding,  and  tliat  from  creation 
they  are  joined  together,  like  esse  and 
existcre ;  consequently  that  man  is  man 
primarily  from  the  will,  and  secondarily 
from  the  understanding.  Thence  it 
is  that  will  is  imputed  to  man,  but  not 
tiiought;  consequently  evil  and  good, 
because  these,  as  was  said,  reside  in  the 
will,  and  thence  in  the  thought  of  the 
understanding. 

659.  The  reason  that  no  evil  is  im- 
puted to  man,  which  he  thinks,  is 
because  man  is  so  created  that  he  can 
understand  and  thence  think  good  cr 
evil,  good  from  the  Lord  and  evil  from 
hell ;  for  he  is  in  the  midst,  and  in  the 
faculty  of  choosing  one  or  the  other, 
from  free  agency  in  spiritual  things, 
which  has  been  treated  of  in  its  chap- 
ter :  and  because  he  is  in  the  faculty 
of  choosing  from  freedom,  he  can  will 
and  not  will,  and  w  hat  he  wills  is  re- 
ceived by  the  will  and  ap|)ropriated, 
but  wliat  he  does  not  will  is  not  re- 
ceived and  thus  is  not  appropriated. 
All  the  evils  to  which  a  man  inclines 
from  nativity,  are  inscribed  on  the  will 


Concerning  Imputation. 


435 


of  his  natural  man ;  those,  as  far  as 
he  takes  from  them,  flow  into  the 
thoughts ;  in  like  manner  goods  with 
truths  from  above  flow  into  them  from 
the  Lord,  and  there  they  are  poised 
like  weights  in  the  scales  of  a  balance  ; 
if  then  a  man  adopt  evils,  they  are 
received  by  the  old  will,  and  add  them- 
selves to  those  ;  but  if  he  adopt  goods 
with  truths,  there  is  formed  by  the 
Lord  a  new  will  and  a  new  under- 
standing above  the  old,  and  there  the 
Lord  successively  implants  goods  by 
means  of  truths,  and  by  them  He  sub- 
jugates the  evils  which  are  below,  and 
removes  them,  and  disposes  all  things 
in  order.  Hence  also  it  is  manifest, 
that  the  thought  is  a  purificatory  and 
excretory  of  the  evils  inherited  from 
parents ;  wherefore  if  the  evils  which 
man  thinks  were  imputed,  reforma- 
tion and  regeneration  could  not  be 
effected. 

660.  Since  good  is  of  the  will,  and 
truth  is  of  the  understanding,  and 
many  things  in  the  world  correspond 
to  good,  as  fruits  and  uses,  and  impu- 
tation itself  to  estimation  and  price,  it 
follows,  that  the  things  which  are  here 
said  concerning  imputation  may  be 
compared  with  all  created  things ;  for, 
as  was  shown  before,  here  and  there, 
all  things  in  the  universe  refer  them- 
selves to  good  and  truth,  and,  on  the 
contrary,  to  what  is  evil  and  false.  A 
comparison,  therefore,  may  be  made 
with  the  church,  in  that  it  is  estimated 
from  charity  and  faith,  and  not  from 
the  rituals  which  are  adjoined.  A 
comparison  may  be  made  also  with  a 
minister  of  the  church,  in  that  he  is 
estimated  from  his  will  and  love,  and 
at  the  same  time  from  his  understand- 
ing in  spiritual  things,  and  not  from  his 
aff'ability  and  dress.  There  is  also  a 
comparison  given  with  worship,  and 
with  the  temple  in  which  it  is  performed  : 
worship  itself  is  performed  in  the  will 
and  in  the  understanding,  as  in  its 
temple ; .  and  the  temple  is  called  holy, 
not  from  itself,  but  from  the  Divine 
which  is  there  taught.  And  also  a 
comparison  is  given  with  a  government, 
which  is  loved  when  good  reigns  and 
at  the  same  time  truth,  but  not  when 


truth  reigns  and  not  good.  Who 
judges  of  a  king  by  his  guards,  horses 
and  chariots,  and  not  from  the  royalty 
which  they  know  to  be  in  him  ?  Roy- 
alty consists  of  the  love  and  prudence 
of  governing.  Who,  in  a  triumph, 
does  not  look  at  the  conqueror,  and 
from  him  to  the  pomp,  and  not  from 
the  pomp  to  the  conqueror ;  consequent- 
ly from  the  essential  to  the  formal,  and 
not  from  the  formal  to  the  essential? 
Will  is  the  essential,  and  thought  is 
the  formal,  and  no  one  can  impute  to  the 
formal  except  what  it  derives  from  the 
essential,  consequently  to  the  latter, 
and  not  to  the  former. 


66L  To  the  above  I  shall  add 
these  Relations.  First.  In  a  higher 
northern  quarter,  near  to  the  east  in 
the  spiritual  world,  there  are  places  of 
instruction  for  boys,  some  for  youths, 
and  some  for  men,  and  some  for  old 
men.  All  who  have  died  infants  are 
sent  to  these  places,  and  are  educated 
in  heaven  ;  and  also  all  are  sent  thither, 
who  newly  come  from  the  world,  and 
desire  knowledges  concerning  heaven 
and  hell.  That  tract  is  near  the  east, 
that  all  may  be  instructed  by  influx 
from  the  Lord ;  for  the  Lord  is  east, 
because  He  is  in  the  sun  there,  which 
from  Him  is  pure  love.  Thence  the 
heat  from  that  sun  in  its  essence  is  love, 
and  the  light  from  it  in  its  essence  is 
wisdom ;  these  are  inspired  into  them 
by  the  Lord  fi-om  that  sun,  and  they 
are  inspired  according  to  reception, 
and  the  reception  is  according  to  the 
love  of  becoming  wise.  After  the  times 
of  instruction,  those  are  sent  forth 
thence,  who  have  become  intelligent, 
and  they  are  called  disciples  of  the 
Lord ;  they  are  sent  forth  thence  first 
to  the  west,  and,  those  who  do  not  con- 
tinue there,  to  the  south,  and  some 
through  the  south  to  the  east,  and  are 
introduced  into  societies,  where  their 
mansions  will  be.  Once,  when  I  was 
meditating  about  heaven  and  hell,  I 
began  to  desire  universal  knowledge 
concerning  the  state  of  both,  knowing 
that  he  who  knows  the  universals  can 
afterwards  comprehend  the  particulars, 


436 


Concerning  Imputation. 


because  these  are  in  those,  as  the  parts 
are  in  a  whole.    In  this  desire  I  looked 
towards   that  tract,  in   the  northern 
quarter  near  to  the  east,  where  the 
places  of  instruction  were,  and,  by  a 
way  then  opened  to  me,  I  went  thither, 
and  entered  into  a  college  where  the 
young  men  were  ;  and  I  went  there  to 
the  head  teachers,  who  were  instruct- 
ing, and  asked   them   whether  they 
knew  the  universals  concerning  heaven 
and  hell.    And  they  replied  "  That 
they  knew  something,  not  much ;  but  if 
we  look  towards  the  east  to  the  Lord, 
we  shall  be  illustrated  and  shall  know." 
And  they  did  so,  and  said,  "  The  uni- 
versals of  hell  are  three,  but  these  are 
diametrically  opposite  to  the  universals 
of  heaven.    The  universals  of  hell  are 
these  three  loves — the  love  of  ruling 
from  the  love  of  self,  the  love  of  pos- 
sessing the  goods  of  others  from  the 
love  of  the  world,  and  scortatory  love. 
The  universals  of  heaven  opposite  to 
those,  are  these  three  loves — the  love 
of  ruling  from  the  love  of  use,  the  love 
of  possessing  the  goods  of  the  world 
from  the  love  of  doing  uses  by  them, 
and  truly  conjugial  love."    When  they 
had  said  these  things,  after  wishing 
them  peace,  I  departed  and  returned 
home.    When  I  was  at  home,  it  was 
said    to   me  from  heaven,  "  Survey 
those  three  universals  above  and  below, 
and  afterwards  we  shall  see  them  on 
your  hand ;  it  was  said  on  the  hand, 
because  every  thing  that  a  man  surveys 
with  the  understanding,  appears  to  the 
angels  as  if  inscribed  on  the  hands. 
Wherefore  it  is  said  in  the  Revelation, 
that  thry  received  a  mark  upon  the 
forehead  and  upon  the  hand,  xiii.  10  ; 
xiv.  9  ;  XX.  4. 

After  this  I  surveyed  the  first  univer- 
sal love  of  hell,  which  was  the  love  of 
ruling  from  the  love  of  self;  and  after- 
wards the  universal  love  of  heaven 
corresponding  to  it,  which  was  the  love 
of  ruling  from  the  love  of  uses ;  for  it 
was  not  lawful  for  me  to  survey  one 
love  without  the  other,  because  the  un- 
derstanding does  not  perceive  one  love 
without  the  other,  for  they  are  opposite  : 
wherefore,  that  both  may  be  perceived, 
they  must  be  set  in  opposition  one 


against  the  other ;  for  a  fair  and  beati- 
tiful  face  appears  more  conspicuous, 
when  an  ugly  and  deformed  face  is 
opposed  to  it.    When  I  was  canvass- 
ing the  love  of  ruling  from  the  love  of 
self,  it  was  given  me  to  perceive  that 
this  love  was  supremely  infernal,  and 
thence  with  those  who  are  in  the  deep- 
est hell  ;  and  that  the  love  of  ruling 
from  the  love  of  uses  was  supremely 
heavenly,  and  thence  with  those  who 
are  in  the  highest  heaven.    That  the 
love  of  ruling  from  the  love  of  self  is 
supremely  infernal,  is  because  to  rule 
from  the  love  of  self  is  from  proprium, 
and  the  proprium  of  man  from  nativity 
is  evil  itself,  and  evil  itself  is  diamet- 
rically opposed  to  the  Lord  ;  wherefore, 
the  more  men  advance  into  that  evil, 
the  more  they  deny  God  and  the  holv 
things  of  the  church,  and  adore  them- 
selves and  nature.    Let  those  who  are 
in  that  evil  only  explore  it  in  them- 
selves, and  they  will  see.    This  love 
also  is  such,  that,  so  far  as  the  reins 
are  given  to  it,  which  is  the  case  when 
no  impossibility  stands  in  the  way,  it 
rushes  on  from  one  degree  to  another, 
and  even  to  the  highest ;  and  there  it 
is  not  terminated,  but  if  a  higher  de- 
gree is  not  given,  it  grieves  and  groans. 
This  love  with  statesmen  ascends  so 
far,  that  they  wish  to  be  kings,  and  em- 
perors, and,  if  possible,  to  rule  over  all 
things  of  the  world,  and  to  be  called 
kings  of  kings,  and  emperors  of  em- 
perors ;  but  the  same  love  with  clergy- 
men ascends  so  far,  that  they  wish  to  be 
gods,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  rule  over 
all  things  of  heaven,  and  to  be  called 
gods.    Tiiat  these  and  those  in  heart 
do  not  acknowledge  any  God,  will  be 
seen  in  what  follows.     But,  on  the 
other  hand,  those  who  wish  to  rule 
from  the  love  of  uses,  do  not  wish  to 
rule  from  themselves,  but  from  the  Lord, 
since  the  love  of  uses  is  from  the  Lord, 
and  is  the  Lord  himself ;  these  look 
upon  dignities  only  as  means  for  doing 
uses,  which  they  place  far  above  dig- 
nities, but  the  former  place  dignities 
far  above  uses. 

When  I  was  meditating  on  these 
things,  it  was  said  to  me  by  an  angel 
from  the  Lord,  "  Now,  now,  you  will  see. 


Concerning  Imputation. 


437 


and  from  sight  be  confirmed,  what  that 
infernal  love  is."  And  then  on  a  sud- 
den the  earth  opened  itself  on  the  left 
hand,  and  I  saw  a  devil  ascending  from 
hell,  who  had  on  his  head  a  square  cap 
pressed  down  over  the  forehead  even 
to  the  eyes ;  his  face  full  of  pimples  as 
of  a  burning  fever ;  his  eyes  fierce,  his 
breast  swelling  into  a  rhombus  ;  from 
his  mouth  he  belched  forth  smoke  like 
a  furnace  ;  his  loins  were  completely 
ignited ;  instead  of  feet  he  had  long 
ankles  without  flesh,  and  from  his  body 
there  was  exhaled  a  foul  and  stinking 
heat.  On  seeing  him  I  was  terrified, 
and  cried  to  him,  "  Do  not  come 
here ;  tell  whence  you  are."  And  he 
replied,  with  a  hoarse  voice,  "  I  am 
from  the  lower  regions,  and  there  in  a 
society  with  two  hundred,  which  is  the 
most  supereminent  of  all  societies. 
There  we  all  are  emperors  of  emperors, 
kings  of  kincrs,  dukes  of  dukes,  and 
princes  of  princes;  no  one  there  is 
barely  an  emperor,  nor  barely  a  king, 
a  duke  and  a  prince.  We  sit  there 
upon  thrones  of  thrones,  and  thence 
send  forth  mandates  into  all  the  world 
and  beyond."  Then  I  said  to  him, 
"  Do  you  not  see  that  you  are  insane 
from  the  fantasy  of  supereminence  T  " 
And  he  answered,  "  How  can  you  talk 
so !  because  we  absolutely  seem  to  our- 
selves, and  also  are  acknowledged  by 
our  companions,  as  such."  On  hear- 
ing this,  I  did  not  wish  to  say  again, 
"  You  are  insane,"  because  he  was  in- 
sane from  fantasy.  And  it  was  given 
me  to  know  that  that  devil,  when  he 
lived  in  the  world,  was  only  the  stew- 
ard of  a  certain  house ;  and  that  then 
he  was  so  elated  in  spirit,  that  he  de- 
spised all  the  human  race  in  comparison 
with  himself,  and  indulged  the  fantasy 
that  he  was  of  more  dignity  than  a 
king,  and  even  than  an  emperor ;  in 
consequence  of  which  pride,  he  had 
denied  God,  and  accounted  all  the  holy 
things  of  the  church  as  of  no  impor- 
tance for  him,  but  as  something  for 
the  stupid  common  people.  At  length 
I  asked  him,  "  How  long  do  you  two 
hundred  there,  thus  glory  among  your- 
selves"!" He  said,  "Forever;  but 
that  those  of  us  who  torture  others  on 


account  of  denying  supereminence, 
sink  down  ;  for  it  is  lawful  for  us  to 
glory,  but  not  to  do  evil  to  any  one." 
I  asked  again,  "  Do  you  know  what  is 
the  condition  of  those  who  sink  down  1 " 
He  said,  "  They  sink  down  into  a  cer- 
tain prison,  where  they  are  called  viler 
than  the  vile,  or  the  most  vile,  and 
where  they  labor."  Then  I  said  to 
that  devil,  "  Beware,  then,  lest  you  also 
sink  down." 

After  this  the  earth  again  opened 
itself,  but  to  the  right ;  and  I  saw  another 
devil  rising  up,  upon  whose  head  there 
was,  as  it  were,  a  mitre  encompassed 
with  folds  as  of  a  snake,  the  head  of 
which  rose  up  from  the  top ;  his  face 
was  leprous  from  the  forehead  to  the 
chin,  and  also  both  of  his  hands;  his 
loins  were  naked  and  black  as  soot, 
through  which  appeared  a  dusky  fire 
as  of  a  fire  hearth  ;  and  the  ankles  of 
his  feet  were  like  two  vipers.  The 
former  devil,  seeing  this,  cast  himself 
upon  his  knees  and  adored  him.  I 
asked,  "  Why  so  ?  "  He  said,  "  He  is 
the  god  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  he  is 
omnipotent."  And  then  I  asked  him, 
"  What  do  you  say  to  this  ?  "  He 
answered,  "  What  shall  I  say  ?  I  have 
all  power  over  heaven  and  hell ;  the 
lot  of  all  souls  is  in  my  hand."  And 
I  again  asked,  "  How  can  he  who  is 
emperor  of  emperors,  submit  himself 
thus,  and  you  receive  adoration  ?"  He 
answered,  "  He  is  still  my  slave.  What 
is  an  emperor  in  the  sight  of  God  ?  In 
my  hand  is  the  thunderbolt  of  excom- 
munication." And  then  I  said  to  him, 
"  How  can  you  be  so  insane  ?  You 
were  in  the  world  only  a  priest ;  and 
because  you  labored  under  the  fantasy 
that  you  had  the  keys,  and  thence  the 
power  of  binding  and  loosing,  you 
worked  up  your  spirit  to  this  degree  of 
madness,  that  you  now  believe  that  you 
are  God  himself."  At  this  being  indig- 
nant, he  swore  that  he  was,  "  and  that 
the  Lord  had  not  any  power  in  heaven, 
because  He  has  transferred  it  all  to  us. 
We  have  only  to  give  command,  and 
heaven  and  hell  obey  with  reverence. 
If  we  send  any  one  to  hell,  the  devils 
immediately  receive  him,  and  so  do  the 
angels  him  whom  we  send  to  heaven." 


438 


Concerning  Imputation. 


I  asked  further,  '*  How  many  are  there 
of  you  in  your  society  ? "  He  said, 
"  Three  hundred,  and  we  all  there  are 
gods,  but  I  am  the  god  of  gods."  After 
this  the  earth  opened  under  the  feet  of 
both,  and  they  sunk  down  deep  into 
their  hells  ;  and  it  was  given  me  to  see, 
that,  under  their  hells,  tiiere  were  work- 
houses, into  which  those  would  fall 
who  do  harm  to  others ;  for  to  every 
one  in  hell  is  left  his  fantasy,  and  also 
his  glorying  in  it,  but  it  is  not  lawful  to 
do  evil  to  another.  The  reason  that 
they  are  such  there,  is  because  man 
then  is  in  his  spirit,  and  the  spirit,  after 
it  is  separated  from  the  body,  comes 
into  the  full  liberty  of  acting  according 
to  its  affections  and  the  thoughts  thence. 
Afterwards  it  was  given  to  look  into 
their  hells;  and  the  hell  where  the 
emperors  of  emperors  and  kings  of 
kings  were,  was  full  of  all  uncleanness, 
and  they  seemed  like  various  wild 
beasts  with  fierce-looking  eyes  :  and  also 
in  the  other  hell,  where  were  the  gods 
and  the  god  of  gods  ;  and  in  this  there 
appeared  direful  birds  of  night,  which 
are  called  orhim  and  ijim,  flying  around 
them  ;  the  images  of  their  fantasy  thus 
appeared  to  me.  Hence  it  was  mani- 
fest what  political  self-love  is,  and  what 
ecclesiastical  self-love  is ;  that  this  is, 
that  they  wish  to  be  gods,  but  that,  that 
they  wish  to  be  emperors ;  and  that 
they  thus  wish,  and  also  aspire  after 
what  they  wish  for,  so  far  as  the  reins 
are  given  to  those  loves. 

After  these  sad  and  horrible  things 
had  been  seen  by  me,  I  looked  around 
and  saw  two  angels  not  far  from  me 
standing  and  talking  together :  one 
was  clad  in  a  woollen  robe,  shining  from 
a  bright  purple,  and  a  tunic  of  shining 
fine  linen  tnidcr  it:  the  other  in  similar 
garments  of  scarlet,  with  a  mitre  in 
which  some  carbuncles  were  inserted 
on  the  right  side.  I  went  up  to  them 
and  gave  the  salutation  of  peace ;  and 
with  reverence  I  asked,  "  Why  are  you 
here  below?"  They  answered,  "We 
have  let  ourselves  down  from  heaven  to 
this  place,  at  the  command  of  the  Lord, 
to  speak  with  you  concerning  the  happy 
lot  of  those  who  wish  to  rule  from  the 
love  of  uses.    We  are  worshippers  of 


the  Lord ;  I  am  the  prince  of  a  society, 
and  the  other  the  high-priest  there." 
And  the  prince  said  that  he  was  the 
servant   of  his   society,  because  he 
served  it  in  doing  uses ;  and  the  other 
said  that  he  was  the  minister  of  the 
church  there,  because  in  serving  them 
he  ministered  holy  things  for  the  uses 
of  their  souls ;   and  that  both  are  in 
perpetual  joys  from  the  eternal  happi- 
ness which  was  in  them  from  the  Lord ; 
and  that  every  thing  in  that  society  was 
splendid    and   magnificent ;  splendid 
from  gold    and  precious  stones,  and 
magnificent  from  palaces  and  paradises. 
"  The  reason  is,  because  our  love  of 
ruling  is  not  from  the  love  of  self,  but 
from  the  love  of  uses  ;  and  because  the 
love  of  uses  is  from  the  Lord,  therefore 
all  good  uses  in  the  heavens  are  splen- 
did and  refulgent;  and  because  we  all 
in  our  society  are  in  this  love,  therefore 
the  atmosphere  there  appears  gilded, 
from  the  light  there,  which  partakes  of 
the  flammeous  of  the  sun,  and  the  flam- 
meous  of  the  sun  corresponds  to  that 
love."    When  they  had  said  this,  there 
appeared  also  to  me  a  similar  sphere 
around  them,  and  an  aromatic  odor 
was  perceived  from  it,  which  also  I 
mentioned  to  them ;  and  I  requested 
that  they  would  add  something  more  to 
what  had  been  said  respecting  the  love 
of  use.    And  they  continued  by  saying, 
"  The  dignities  in  which  we  are,  we 
sought  for,  indeed,  but  for  no  other  end 
than  that  we  might  be  able  more  fully 
to  do  uses  and  to  extend  them  more 
widely.    And  also  we  are  surrounded 
with  honor,  and  we  receive  it,  not  for 
the  sake  of  ourselves,  but  for  the  good 
of  the  society ;  for  our  brethren  and 
companions,  who  are  of  the  common 
people  there,  scarcely  know  but  that 
the  honors  of  our  dignities  are  in  us, 
and  thence  that  the  uses  which  we  do 
are  from  us  :  but  we  fcol  otherwi.se ;  we 
feel  that  the  honors  of  our  dignities  are 
out  of  us,  and  that  they  are  like  the 
garments  with  which  we  are  clothed ; 
but  that  the  uses  which  we  perform  are 
from  the  love  of  them  within  us  from 
the  Lord,  and  this  love  receives  its 
blessedness  from  communication  with 
others  by  uses.    And  we  know  by  ex- 


Concerning  Imputation, 


439 


perience,  that  as  far  as  we  do  uses  from 
the  love  of  them,  so  far  that  love  in- 
creases, and  with  the  love  wisdom, 
from  which  the  communication  is 
made ;  but  that  as  far  as  we  retain  the 
uses  in  ourselves,  and  do  not  communi- 
cate them,  so  far  the  blessedness  per- 
ishes ;  and  then  the  use  becomes  like 
food  retained  in  the  stomach,  which,  not 
being  diffused,  does  not  nourish  the 
body  and  its  parts,  but  remains  undi- 
gested, by  which  sickness  of  the  stomach 
is  occasioned.  In  a  word,  the  whole 
heaven  is  a  continent  of  uses  from  first 
to  last :  what  is  use  but  actual  love  of 
the  neighbor?  and  what  holds  the 
heavens  together  but  this  love?" 
Having  heard  this,  I  asked,  "  How  can 
any  one  know  whether  he  does  uses 
from  the  love  of  self,  or  from  the  love 
of  uses?  Every  man,  whether  good  or 
bad,  does  uses,  and  he  does  them  from 
some  love.  Let  it  be  supposed  that  in 
the  world  there  is  a  society  composed 
of  mere  devils,  and  a  society  composed 
of  mere  angels ;  and  I  am  of  opinion 
that  the  devils  in  their  society,  from  the 
fire  of  self-love  and  from  the  splendor 
of  their  own  glory,  would  do  as  many 
uses  as  the  angels  in  theirs  :  who  then 
can  know  from  what  love  and  from 
what  origin  the  uses  are  ? "  To  this 
the  two  angels  replied,  "  The  devils 
do  uses  for  the  sake  of  themselves,  and 
for  the  sake  of  fame,  that  they  may  be 
promoted  to  honors  or  may  gain  riches; 
but  the  angels  do  uses,  not  for  the  sake 
of  those  things,  but  for  the  sake  of 
uses  from  the  love  of  them.  Man  can- 
not distinguish  those  uses,  but  the  Lord 
distinguishes  them.  Every  one  who 
believes  in  the  Lord,  and  shuns  evils 
as  sins,  does  uses  from  the  Lord  ;  but 
every  one  who  does  not  believe  in  the 
Lord,  nor  shun  evils  as  sins,  does  uses 
from  himself  and  for  the  sake  of  him- 
self This  is  the  distinction  between 
the  uses  done  by  devils  and  the  uses 
done  by  angels."  The  two  angels, 
after  saying  these  words,  departed,  and 
at  a  distance  they  seemed  to  be  carried 
in  a  fiery  chariot,  like  Elijah,  and 
taken  up  into  their  heaven. 

662.  Another  Rel.vtion.  After  a 
certain  space  of  time,  I  entered  a  cer- 


tain grove,  and  there  w  alked  about  in 
meditation  on  those  who  are  in  the 
lust,  and  thence  in  the  fantasy,  of  pos- 
sessing the  things  which  are  of  the 
world;  and  then,  at  some  distance 
from  me,  I  saw  two  angels  talking 
together,  and  by  turns  looking  at  me; 
wiierefore  I  went  up  nearer.  As  I 
approached,  they  spoke  to  me  and 
said,  "  We  perceive  in  ourselves  that 
you  are  meditating  on  what  we  are 
speaking,  or  that  we  are  speaking  what 
you  are  meditating,  which  is  from  the 
reciprocal  communication  of  affections." 
I  asked,  therefore,  what  they  were  talk- 
ing about.  They  said,  "  About  fantasy, 
about  lust,  and  about  intelligence  ;  and 
now  about  those  who  delight  themselves 
with  the  vision  and  imagination  of  pos- 
sessing all  the  things  in  the  world." 
And  tlien  I  requested  that  they  would 
express  their  mind  respecting  those 
three — respecting  lust,  fantasy  and  in- 
telligence. And,  commencing  their 
discourse,  they  said,  "  That  every  one 
is  inwardly  in  lust  from  nativity,  but 
outwardly  in  intelligence  from  educa- 
tion; and  that  no  one  is  in  intelligence, 
still  less  in  wisdom,  inwardly,  thus  as 
to  the  spirit,  but  from  the  Lord ;  for 
every  one  is  withheld  from  the  lust  of 
evil,  and  held  in  intelligence,  according 
as  he  looks  to  the  Lord,  and  is  at  the 
same  time  in  conjunction  with  Him. 
Without  this,  man  is  nothing  but  lust ; 
but  still,  in  externals,  or  as  to  the  body, 
he  is  in  intelligence  from  education  ; 
for  man  lusts  for  honors  and  riches,  or 
eminence  and  opulence,  and  these  two 
things  he  does  not  obtain,  unless  he 
appears  moral  and  spiritual,  thus  intel- 
ligent and  wise ;  and  to  appear  thus  he 
learns  from  infancy,  which  is  the 
reason  that,  as  soon  as  he  comes 
among  men,  or  into  company,  he  in- 
verts his  spirit,  and  removes  it  from  lust, 
and  acts  and  speaks  from  the  principles 
of  decency  and  honor,  which  he  has 
learned  from  his  infancy,  and  retains  in 
the  memory  of  his  body ;  and  he  takes 
the  greatest  precaution  that  nothing 
may  come  forth  from  the  madness  of 
the  lust  in  which  his  spirit  is.  Thence 
every  man,  who  is  not  inwardly  led  by 
the  Lord,  is  a  dissembler,  a  sycophant 


440 


Concerning  Imputation. 


and  a  hypocrite,  and  thus  an  apparent 
man,  and  yet  not  a  man  ;  of  whom  it 
may  be  said,  that  his  shell  or  body  is 
wise,  but  his  kernel  or  spirit  is  insane; 
and  that  his  external  is  that  of  a  man, 
and  his  internal  that  of  a  wild  beast. 
Such  with  the  hinder  part  of  the  head 
look  upwards,  and  with  the  forehead 
look  downwards ;  thus  they  walk  as  if 
oppressed  with   heaviness,  the  head 
hanging  with  the  face   towards  the 
ground.    When  they  put  off  the  body, 
and  become  spirits,  and  are  then  man- 
umitted, they  become  each  the  madness 
of  his  own  lust ;  for  those  who  are  in 
the  love  of  self,  desire  to  rule  over  the 
universe,  yea,  to  extend  the  limits  of  it, 
in  order  to  enlarge  their  dominion  ;  they 
nowhere  see  an  end.  Those  who  are  in 
the  love  of  the  world,  desire  to  possess 
every  thing  in  it,  and  they  are  sorrow- 
ful and  envious,  if  any  treasures  are 
concealed  by  any  ;  wherefore,  lest  such 
should  become  merely  lusts,  and  thus 
not  men,  it  is  given  them,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  to  think  from  the  loss  of  fame, 
and  thus  of  honor  and  gain,  as  also 
from  the  fear  of  the  law  and  its  penalty  ; 
and  it  is  also  given  to  .ipply  the  mind 
to  some  study  or  work,  by  which  they 
are  kept  in  externals,  and  thus  in  a 
state  of  intelligence,  however  delirious 
and  insane  they  may  be  inwardly." 
After  this  I  asked,  whether  all  those 
who  are  in  lust,  are  also  in  its  fantasy. 
They  replied,  "That  those  are  in  the 
fantasy  of  their  lust,  who  think  inwardly 
in  themselves,  and  indulge  their  imagi- 
nation too  much  in  talking  with  them- 
selves ;  for  they  almost  separate  their 
spirit  from  its  connection  with  the  body, 
and  from  vision  overwhelm  the  under- 
standing, and  foolishly  entertain  them- 
selves as  with  the  possession  of  the 
universe.    Into  this  delirium  the  man 
is  let  after  death,  who  has  abstracted 
his  spirit  from  the  body,  and  has  not 
been  willing  to  recede  from  the  delight 
of  the  delirium,  by  thinking  any  thing 
from  religion    concerning   evils  and 
falses,  and  least  of  all  any  thing  con- 
cerning the  unbridled  love  of  self,  that 
it  is  destructive  of  love  to  the  Lord, 
and  concerning  the  unbridled  love  of 


the  world,  that  it  is  destructive  of  love 
towards  the  neighbor. 

After  this  there  came  upon  the  two 
angels,  and  also  upon  me,  a  desire  of 
seeing  those  who  are  in  the  visionary 
lust  or  fantasy  of  possessing  all  wealth, 
from  the  love  of  the  world  ;  and  we 
perceived  that  that  desire  was  inspired, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  known. 
Their  abodes  were  under  the  ground  of 
our  feet,  but  above  hell  ;  w-herefore  we 
looked  at  each  other  and  said,  "  Let 
us  go."    And  an  opening  was  seen, 
and  a  ladder  there  ;   by  this  we  de- 
scended.   And  it  was  said  that  they 
must  be  approached  from  the  east,  lest 
we  should  enter  into  the  cloud  of  their 
fantasy,  and  be  beclouded  as  to  the 
understanding,  and  then,  at  the  same 
time,  as  to  the  sight.    And  behold,  a 
house  was  seen,  built  of  reeds,  thus  full 
of  chinks,  standing  in  the  cloud  which, 
like  smoke,  continually  issued  through 
the  chinks  of  the  walls  on  three  sides. 
We  entered  ;  and  there  were  seen  fifty 
here,  and    fifty   there,  sitting  upon 
benches ;  and,  being  turned  from  the 
east  and  south,  they  were  looking  to- 
wards the  west  and  north.    Before  each 
one  there  was  a  table,  and  upon  the 
table  purses  filled  full,  and  around  the 
purses  a  plenty  of  gold  coin.    And  we 
asked,  "  Are  those  the  riches  of  all 
in  the  world  ?  "    They  said,   "  Not  of 
all  in  the  world,  but  of  all  in  the  king- 
dom."   The  sound  of  their  voice  was 
like  hissing,  and  they  appeared  with 
round  faces,  which  glittered  like  the 
shell  of  a  cockle,  and  the  pupil  of  the 
eye,  in  a  green  plane,  as  it  were  spar- 
kled, which  was  from  the  light  of  fan- 
tasy.   We  stood  in  the  midst  of  them 
and  said,  "  Do  you  believe  that  you 
possess  all  the  riches  in  the  kingdom  1 " 
And  they  replied,  "We  do."  Then 
we  asked,  "  Which  of  you  ?  "  They 
said,  "  Every  one."    And  wc  asked, 
"How,  everyone?  there  are  many  of 
you."    They  said,   "  Every  one  of  us 
knows  that  all  his  is  mine ;  it  is  not 
lawful  for  any  one  to  think,  still  less  to 
say,  3Iinc  is  not  thine ;  but  it  is  lawful 
to  think  and  to  say,  Thinr  is  mi)ir." 
The  coin  on  the  tables  appeared  as  of 


Concerning  Imputation. 


441 


pure  gold,  even  in  our  sight ;  but  when 
we  let  in  light  from  the  east,  they  were 
little  grains  of  gold,  which,  by  their  com- 
mon united  fantasy,  they  had  thus  mag- 
nified. They  said  that  every  one  that 
came  in  must  bring  with  him  some  gold, 
which  they  cut  into  little  pieces,  and 
these  into  little  grains,  and,  by  the  unan- 
imous power  of  fantasy,  they  enlarge 
them  into  coins  of  larger  size.  And 
then  we  said,  "  Were  you  not  born 
men  of  reason  ?  Whence  have  you 
this  visionary  infatuation  ? "  They 
said,  "  We  know  that  it  is  an  imagina- 
ry vanity;  but  because  it  delights  the 
interiors  of  our  minds,  we  come  in  here 
and  are  delighted  as  with  the  possession 
of  all  things.  But  we  stay  here  only  a 
few  hours,  after  which  we  go  out,  and 
then  a  sound  mind  returns  to  us ;  but 
still  our  visionary  recreation  comes 
upon  us  again,  and  causes  us  to  come 
in  and  to  go  out  by  turns  ;  thus  we  are 
by  turns  wise  and  insane.  We  know 
also  that  a  hard  lot  awaits  those  who, 
by  artifice,  defraud  others  of  their  goods." 
We  asked,  "  What  lot  ?  "  They  said, 
"  They  are  swallowed  up  and  thrust 
naked  into  some  infernal  prison,  where 
they  are  obliged  to  labor  for  clothes  and 
for  food,  and  afterwards  for  some  little 
pieces  of  money,  which  they  collect, 
and  in  which  they  place  the  joy  of  their 
heart ;  but  if  they  do  evil  to  their  com- 
panions, they  must  give  a  part  of  their 
money  for  a  fine. 

663.  Third  Relation.  Once  I  was 
in  the  midst  of  angels  and  heard  their 
discourse;  their  discourse  was  concern- 
ing intelligence  and  wisdom,  that  man 
does  not  feel  or  perceive  otherwise  than 
that  they  both  are  in  himself,  and  thus 
that  whatever  he  wills  and  thinks  is 
from  himself ;  when  yet  not  a  particle 
of  them  is  from  man,  but  only  the 
faculty  of  receiving  them.  Among 
the  many  things  which  they  mentioned, 
there  was  also  this,  that  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  in  the  gar- 
den of  Eden  signified  the  faith,  that 
intelligence  and  wisdom  were  fi-om 
man ;  and  that  the  tree  of  life  signified 
that  intelligence  and  wisdom  were  from 
God ;  and  because  Adam,  by  the  per- 
suasion of  the  serpent,  ate  of  the  (br- 
56 


mer  tree,  thus  believing  that  he  should 
be,  or  should  become,  like  God,  there- 
fore he  was  driven  out  of  the  garden 
and  condemned.  While  the  angels 
were  in  this  discourse,  there  came  two 
priests,  together  with  a  man  who  in  the 
world  had  been  an  ambassador  of  a 
kingdom,  and  I  related  to  them  what 
I  had  heard  from  the  angels  concern- 
ing intelligence  and  wisdom ;  on  hear- 
ing which,  those  three  began  to  dispute 
about  each  of  them,  and  also  about 
prudence,  whether  they  are  from  God 
or  from  man.  The  dispute  was  warm ; 
the  three  believed  alike,  that  they  are 
from  man,  because  sensation  itself  and 
thence  perception  confirm  it ;  but  the 
priests,  who  then  were  in  theological 
zeal,  insisted  that  nothing  of  intelli- 
gence and  wisdom  and  thus  nothing  of 
prudence  was  from  man,  and  this  they 
confirmed  from  these  things  in  the 
Word ;  A  man  cannot  take  any  thing, 
unless  it  be  given  to  him  from  heaven, 
John  iii.  27 ;  and  from  these,  Jesus 
said  to  the  disciples,  Without  Me  ye  can- 
not do  any  thi7ig,  xv.  5.  But  then,  be- 
cause it  was  perceived  by  the  angels, 
that,  although  the  priests  spoke  thus, 
still  in  heart  they  believed  the  same  as 
the  ambassador,  therefore  the  angels 
said  to  them,  "  Put  off  your  garments, 
and  put  on  the  garments  of  ministers 
of  state,  and  believe  that  you  are  such." 
And  they  did  so ;  and  then  they  thought 
from  their  interior  selves,  and  spoke 
fi-om  the  arguments  which  they  inwardly 
cherished,  which  were,  that  all  intelli- 
gence and  wisdom  dwell  in  man,  and 
that  they  are  his  ;  saying,  "  Who  has 
ever  yet  felt,  that  they  flowed  in  from 
God?"  And  they  looked  each  other  in 
the  face,  and  confirmed  each  other. 
It  is  something  peculiar  in  the  spiritual, 
that  a  spirit  thinks  himself  to  be  such, 
as  the  garment  upon  him  is :  the  rea- 
son is,  because  the  understanding 
clothes  every  one  there.  At  that  mo- 
ment there  appeared  a  tree  near  them, 
and  it  was  said  to  them,  "  It  is  the  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil ; 
beware  that  you  do  not  eat  from  it." 
But  still,  being  infatuated  with  their 
own  intelligence,  they  burned  with  the 
desire  of  eating  from  it ;  and  they  said 


442 


Concerning  Imputation. 


one  to  another,  "  Why  not  ?  Is  not  the 
fruit  good  ?  "  And  they  went  up  and 
ate.  When  the  ambassador  observed 
this,  they  went  together  and  became 
cordial  friends;  and,  holding  each  other 
by  the  hand,  they  went  together  the 
way  of  their  own  intelligence,  which 
led  towards  hell ;  but  still  I  saw  them 
returning  thence,  because  they  were 
not  yet  prepared. 

664.  Fourth  Relation.  Once  I 
looked  into  the  spiritual  world  to  the 
right,  and  observed  some  of  the  elect 
conversing  together  ;  and  I  went  up  to 
them,  and  said,  "  I  saw  you  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  around  you  a  sphere  of  heav- 
enly light,  from  which  I  knew  that  you 
were  of  those  who  in  the  Word  are 
called  the  elect ;  wherefore  I  came  up 
for  the  sake  of  hearing  on  what  heaven- 
ly subject  you  are  conversing."  And 
they  replied,  "  Why  do  you  call  us  the 
elect  ?  "  I  answered,  "  Because  in 
the  world,  where  I  am  in  the  body,  they 
know  no  otherwise  than  that  by  the 
elect  in  the  Word  are  meant  those  who 
are  elected  by  God,  before  they  were 
born  or  after  they  were  born,  and  pre- 
destinated to  heaven  ;  and  that  to  them 
alone  faith  is  given,  as  the  badge  of 
election,  and  that  the  rest  are  repro- 
bated and  left  to  themselves,  that  they 
may  go  whatever  way  they  please  to 
hell ;  when  yet  I  know,  that  no  elec- 
tion is  made  before  nativity  nor  after  it, 
but  that  all  are  elected  and  predesti- 
nated, because  all  are  called,  to  heaven  ; 
and  that  the  Lord,  after  death,  elects 
those  who  have  lived  well  and  believed 
aright,  and  elects  them  after  they  have 
been  explored.  That  it  is  so,  has  been 
given  me  to  know  from  much  experi- 
ence ;  and  because  I  saw  you  encircled 
as  to  your  heads  with  a  sphere  of  heav- 
enly light,  I  perceived  that  you  were  of 
the  elect,  who  are  being  prepared  for 
heaven."  To  this  they  replied,  "  You 
relate  things  not  heard  before.  Who 
does  not  know,  that  there  is  not  any 
man  born,  who  is  not  called  to  heaven  ; 
and  that  out  of  them,  after  death,  those 
are  elected,  who  had  believed  in  the 
Lord,  and  lived  according  to  his  com- 
mandments ;  and  that  to  acknowledge 
any  other  election,  is  to  accuse  the 


Lord  himself  not  only  of  inability  to 
save,  but  also  of  injustice  ?" 

665.  After  this  a  voice  was  heard 
out  of  heaven,  from  the  angels  who 
were  immediately  above  us,  saying, 
"  Come  up  hither,  and  we  will  ask  one 
of  you,  who  is  still  in  the  natural  world 
as  to  the  body,  what  they  know  there 
about  Conscience."  And  we  went 
up ;  and  after  entering,  some  wise  ones 
came  to  meet  us,  and  they  asked  me, 
"  What  do  they  know  in  your  world 
about  conscience  1 "  And  I  replied, 
"  Let  us  go  down,  if  you  please,  and 
call  together,  both  from  the  laity 
and  from  the  clergy,  a  number  of  those 
who  are  believed  to  be  wise  ;  and  we 
will  stand  directly  under  you  and  ques- 
tion them,  and  thus  you  will  hear  with 
your  ears  what  they  will  answer." 
And  it  was  done  so ;  and  one  of  the 
elect  took  a  trumpet,  and  sounded  it 
towards  the  south,  the  north,  the  east 
and  the  west ;  and  then,  after  an  hour's 
time,  there  came  so  many  that  they 
almost  filled  up  the  space  of  a  furlong. 
And  the  angels  from  above  arranged 
them  all  into  four  companies,  one  of 
which  consisted  of  politicians,  another 
of  scholars,  the  third  of  physicians, 
and  the  fourth  of  clergymen  ;  to  whom, 
being  thus  arranged,  we  said,  "  Par- 
don us,  that  you  have  been  called 
together ;  the  reason  is,  because  the 
angels  who  are  directly  above  us  have 
an  ardent  desire  to  know  what  you 
thought,  in  the  world  in  which  you  were 
before,  concerning  conscience,  and 
thence  what  you  still  think  concerning 
it,  since  you  still  retain  the  former  ideas 
concerning  such  tilings ;  for  it  has  been 
related  to  the  angels,  that  the  knowledge 
concerning  conscience  is  among  the 
knowledges  that  have  been  lost  in  the 
world."  After  this  we  began ;  and 
first  we  turned  ourselves  to  the  com- 
pany which  consisted  of  politicians, 
and  requested  that  they  would  say  from 
the  heart,  if  they  pleased,  what  they 
had  thought,  and  thence  what  they  still 
thought,  concerning  Conscience.  To 
this  they  replied  one  after  another; 
whose  answers,  being  collected  into 
one,  were,  "  That  they  knew  no  other 
than  that  conscience  was  to  know  in 


Concerning  Imputation. 


443 


one's  self,  thus  to  be  conscious,  what 
he  has  intended,  thought,  done  and 
spoken."  But  we  said  to  them,  "  We 
did  not  ask  about  the  etymology  of  the 
word  conscience,  but  about  conscience." 
And  they  replied,  "  What  else  is  con- 
science, but  a  pain  arising  from  the 
fearful  anticipation  of  the  losses  of 
honor  or  of  wealth,  and  also  of  reputation 
on  account  of  those  two  ?  But  that  pain 
is  removed  by  feasts,  and  by  cups  of 
noble  wine,  and  by  talk  about  the  sports 
of  Venus  and  her  boy."  To  this  we 
said,  "  You  are  jesting ;  tell  us,  if  you 
please,  whether  any  of  you  has  ever 
felt  any  anxiety  from  any  other  source." 
They  replied,  "  Why  from  any  other 
source  ?  is  not  the  whole  world  like  a 
theatre,  upon  which  every  one  acts  his 
part,  as  comedians  do  upon  theirs  1 
We  have  eluded  and  circumvented  a 
multitude,  each  one  by  his  own  lust ; 
these  by  mockeries,  these  by  flatteries, 
these  by  knaveries,  these  by  pretended 
friendship,  these  by  feigned  sincerity, 
and  these  by  other  politic  artifice  and 
intrigue.  We  have  thence  no  pain 
of  mind,  but  on  the  contrary  cheerful- 
ness and  gladness,  which  we  silently 
and  yet  fully  exhale  from  an  expanded 
breast.  We  have  heard,  indeed,  from 
some  of  our  sodality,  that  anxiety  and 
straitness,  as  it  were,  of  the  heart  and 
breast,  and  thence,  as  it  were,  a  con- 
traction of  the  mind,  have  at  times 
come  upon  them ;  but  when  they  asked 
the  apothecaries  about  these  things, 
they  were  instructed  that  they  were 
from  a  melancholy  humor  arising  from 
things  undigested  in  the  stomach,  or 
from  a  disordered  state  of  the  spleen ; 
but  with  respect  to  some  of  these,  we 
have  heard  of  their  being  restored  to 
their  former  cheerfulness  by  drugs." 
After  we  had  heard  this,  we  turned 
ourselves  to  the  company  which  con- 
sisted of  scholars,  among  whom  there 
were  also  several  skilled  in  natural 
philosophy ;  and,  addressing  them,  we 
said,  "  You,  who  have  studied  the 
sciences,  and  are  thence  believed  to  be 
oracles  of  wisdom,  tell,  if  you  please, 
what  conscience  is."  And  they  re- 
plied, "Why,  what  a  proposition  this 
is !  We  have  heard,  indeed,  that  there 


is,  with  some,  sadness,  sorrow  and 
anxiety,  infesting  not  only  the  gastric 
regions  of  the  body,  but  also  the  habi- 
tations of  the  mind ;  for  we  believe  that 
the  two  brains  are  those  habitations, 
and,  because  these  consist  of  connected 
fibres,  that  there  is  some  acrid  humor, 
which  twitches,  bites  and  gnaws  the 
fibres  there,  and  thus  so  compresses 
the  sphere  of  the  thoughts  of  the  mind, 
that  it  cannot  be  diffused  into  any 
agreeable  recreations  from  varieties; 
thence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  man 
attends  only  to  one  thing,  by  which  the 
tensibility  and  elasticity  of  those  fibres 
are  destroyed,  whence  their  obnixity 
and  stiffness,  from  which  arises  an  ir- 
regular motion  of  the  animal  spirits, 
which  is  called  by  physicians  ataxy, 
and  also  a  defect  in  their  functions, 
which  is  called  lipothymy.  In  a  word, 
the  mind  then  sits  as  if  it  were  beset 
with  hostile  troops,  nor  can  it  turn 
itself  hither  and  thither  any  more  than 
a  wheel  fastened  with  nails,  or  than  a 
ship  fixed  on  quicksands.  Such  strait- 
nesses  of  the  mind,  and  thence  of  the 
breast,  arise  in  those  with  whom  the 
reigning  love  suffers  loss;  for  if  this  is 
opposed,  the  fibres  of  the  brain  contract 
themselves,  and  that  contraction  pre- 
vents the  mind  from  expatiating  freely, 
and  enjoying  delights  in  various  forms: 
these  persons,  when  they  are  in  this 
crisis,  are  seized,  each  according  to  his 
temperament,  with  various  kinds  of 
fantasy,  madness  and  delirium,  and 
some  with  brain-sick  scruples  in  reli- 
gious matters,  which  they  call  stings  of 
conscience."  After  this  we  turned 
ourselves  to  the  third  company,  which 
consisted  of  physicians,  among  whom 
there  were  also  surgeons  and  apotheca- 
ries; and  we  said,  "  You  perhaps  know 
what  conscience  is,  whether  it  is  a 
troublesome  pain  which  seizes  both  the 
head  and  the  parenchyma  of  the  heart, 
and  thence  the  epigastric  and  hypogas- 
tric regions  situated  below,  or  some- 
thing else."  And  they  replied,  "  Con- 
science is  nothing  but  such  pain ;  we 
know  the  origins  of  it  better  than  others, 
for  they  are  contingent  diseases,  which 
infest  the  organic  parts  of  the  body,  and 
also  the  organic  parts  of  the  head,  con- 


444 


Concerning  Imputation. 


sequently  also  the  mind,  for  this  sits  in 
the  organs  of  the  brain,  like  a  spider  in 
the  centre  of  the  threads  of  her  web, 
through  which  she  runs  back  and  forth 
in  like  manner.  These  diseases  we 
call  organic  diseases,  and  those  of  them 
which  at  times  return,  chronic  diseases. 
But  such  pain  as  is  described  to  us  by 
sick  people,  as  the  pain  of  conscience, 
is  nothing  else  than  a  hypochondriac 
disease,  which  primarily  deprives  the 
spleen,  and  secondarily  the  pancreas 
and  mesentery,  of  their  proper  func- 
tions ;  thence  are  derived  diseases  of 
the  stomach,  among  which  is  cacochy- 
my ;  for  a  compression  is  made  about 
the  orifice  of  the  stomach,  which  is 
called  cardialgy;  from  these  are  derived 
humors  impregnated  with  black,  yellow 
or  green  bile,  by  which  the  smallest 
blood-vessels,  which  are  called  capil- 
lary, are  obstructed,  whence  cachexy, 
atrophy  and  symphesis,  and  likewise 
a  spurious  peripneumony  from  sluggish 
phlegm,  and  an  ichorous  and  corrosive 
lymph  in  the  whole  mass  of  the  blood. 
The  same  things  also  flow  from  the 
falling  of  purulent  matter  into  the 
blood  and  its  serum,  from  opened 
empyemas,  abscesses,  and  imposthumes 
in  the  body;  which  blood,  when  it  rises 
through  the  carotids  into  the  head,  frets, 
corrodes  and  consumes  the  medullaries, 
corticals  and  meninges  of  the  brain, 
and  thus  excites  pains,  which  are  called 
the  pains  of  conscience."  On  hearing 
these  things,  we  said  to  them,  "  You 
speak  in  the  language  of  Hippocrates 
and  Galen.  Those  things  are  Greek 
to  us ;  we  do  not  understand  them. 
Wc  did  not  ask  about  these  diseases, 
but  about  conscience,  which  is  of  the 
mind  alone."  And  they  said,  "The 
diseases  of  the  mind  and  the  diseases 
of  the  head  are  the  same ;  and  these 
ascend  from  the  body,  for  they  cohere 
like  two  stories  of  one  house,  between 
which  there  are  stairs  for  ascending 
and  descending ;  wherefore  we  know 
that  the  state  of  the  mind  depends  in- 
separably on  the  state  of  the  body. 
But  those  heavinesses  or  headaches, 
which  we  took  you  to  mean  by  con- 
science, we  have  cured,  some  by  plas- 
ters and  cupping-glasses,  some  by  in- 


fusions and  emulsions,  and  some  by 
condiments  and  by  anodynes."  When, 
therefore,  we  still  heard  the  like  things 
from  them,  we  turned  ourselves  away 
from  them,  and  towards  the  clergymen, 
and  said,  "  You  know  what  conscience 
is;  tell,  therefore,  and  instruct  these 
who  are  present."  And  they  replied, 
"  What  conscience  is,  we  know  and 
we  do  not  know.  We  believed  that 
it  was  the  contrition  which  precedes 
election,  that  is,  the  moment  when  man 
is  gifted  with  faith,  by  which  a  new 
heart  and  a  new  spirit  is  made  for  him, 
and  he  is  regenerated  ;  but  we  perceived 
that  that  contrition  happened  to  few ; 
to  some  only  dread  and  thence  anxiety 
on  account  of  hell-fire,  and  scarcely  to 
any  on  account  of  sins  and  thence  the 
just  anger  of  God ;  but  those  we 
confessors  healed  by  the  gospel,  that 
Christ,  by  the  passion  of  the  cross,  took 
away  condemnation,  and  thus  extin- 
guished hell-fire,  and  opened  heaven  to 
those  who  are  blessed  with  faith,  on 
which  is  inscribed  the  imputation  of 
the  merit  of  the  Son  of  God.  Besides, 
there  are  conscientious  persons  of  va- 
rious religions,  both  true  and  fanatical, 
who  make  for  themselves  scruples  in 
things  of  salvation,  not  only  those  which 
are  essential,  but  also  those  which  are 
formal,  and  even  in  those  which  are 
indifferent.  Wherefore,  as  we  said 
above,  we  know  that  conscience  is ; 
but  what  it  is,  or  what  true  conscience, 
which  must  be  altogether  spiritual,  is, 
wc  do  not  know." 

G()6.  All  these  things,  which  were  said 
by  the  four  companies,  the  angels  who 
were  above  them  heard  ;  and  they  said 
one  to  another,  "  We  perceive  that  no 
one  in  Christendom  knows  what  con- 
science is ;  wherefore  we  will  send  down 
one  from  us  who  may  instruct."  And 
then  immediately  there  stood  in  the 
midst  of  them  an  angel  in  white  rai- 
ment, about  whose  head  there  a|)peared 
a  lucid  girdle  in  which  were  small  stars ; 
and,  addressing  fbe  four  companies,  he 
said,  "  We  heard  in  heaven  that  you 
brought  forth  your  sentiments  in  or- 
der concerning  Conscience,  and  that 
all  supposed  that  it  is  a  certain  pain  of 
mind,  which  infests  the  head  with  heavi- 


Concerning  Imputation. 


445 


ness  and  thence  the  body,  or  the  body 
and  thence  the  head  ;  but  conscience, 
viewed  in  itself,  is  not  any  pain,  but  it 
is  a  spiritual  willingness  to  do  accord- 
ing to  the  things  which  are  of  religion 
and  faith.  Thence  it  is,  that  those  who 
enjoy  conscience  are  in  the  tranquillity  of 
peace  and  in  internal  blessedness,  when 
they  do  according  to  conscience,  and  in 
a  certain  intranquillity  when  they  do 
contrary  to  it.  But  the  pain  of  mind 
which  you  believed  to  be  conscience, 
is  not  conscience,  but  it  is  temptation, 
which  is  a  combat  of  the  spirit  and  the 
flesh  ;  and  this,  when  it  is  spiritual, 
derives  its  source  from  conscience,  but 
if  it  is  only  natural,  it  derives  its  origin 
from  the  diseases  which  the  physicians 
just  recounted.  But  what  conscience 
is  may  be  illustrated  by  examples.  A 
priest,  who  has  a  spiritual  willingness 
to  teach  truths  for  the  end  that  his 
flock  may  be  saved,  he  has  conscience  ; 
but  he  who  does  so  for  any  other  rea- 
son as  an  end,  has  no  conscience.  A 
judge,  who  looks  only  at  justice,  and 
does  it  with  judgment,  he  has  con- 
science ;  but  he  who  primarily  looks 
at  reward,  friendship  and  favor,  has  no 
conscience.  Again,  every  man  who 
has  the  goods  of  another  in  his  posses- 
sion, without  the  other's  knowledge, 
and  thus  can  gain  them  without  fear  of 
the  law,  and  of  the  loss  of  honor  and 
fame,  if  still  he  returns  them  to  the 
other,  because  they  are  not  his  own, 
he  has  conscience,  for  he  does  what  is 
just  for  the  sake  of  what  is  just.  Sup- 
pose also  there  be  one,  who  can  come 
to  an  office,  but  he  knows  that  another, 
who  also  seeks  it,  would  be  more  useful 
to  society ;  if  he  gives  place  to  the 
other  for  the  good  of  society,  he  has  a 
good  conscience  ;  and  so  in  other  cases. 
All  those  who  have  conscience,  speak 
from  the  heart  whatever  they  speak, 
and  do  from  the  heart  whatever  they 
do ;  for  they  have  not  a  divided  mind, 


for  they  do  and  speak  according  to  that 
which  they  understand  and  believe  to 
be  true  and  good.  Hence  it  follows, 
that  a  more  perfect  conscience  may  be 
given  with  those  who  are  in  the  truths 
of  faith  more  than  others,  and  who  are 
in  a  clearer  perception  than  others,  than 
with  those  who  are  less  illustrated,  and 
in  obscure  perception.  The  spiritual 
life  itself  of  man  is  in  a  true  conscience, 
for  there  his  faith  is  conjoined  to  chari- 
ty ;  wherefore  to  do  from  conscience, 
is  to  them  to  do  from  their  spiritual 
life,  and  to  do  contrary  to  conscience, 
is  to  them  to  do  contrary  to  their  spirit- 
ual life.  Besides,  who  does  not  know, 
from  common  discourse,  what  con- 
science is  ?  As,  when  it  is  said  of  any 
one,  '  He  has  a  conscience,'  is  it  not 
then  also  understood,  he  is  a  just  man? 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  when  it  is  said 
of  any  one,  '  He  has  no  conscience,' 
is  it  not  then  also  understood,  he  is  an 
unjust  man?"  When  the  angel,  had 
said  these  things,  he  was  suddenly  ta- 
ken up  into  his  heaven  ;  and  the  four 
companies  came  together  into  one,  and 
after  they  had  conversed  together  some 
time  about  the  things  which  the  angel 
had  spoken,  behold,  they  were  again 
divided  into  four  companies,  but  into 
other  ones  than  before;  into  one,  where 
were  those  who  comprehended  the  words 
of  the  angel,  and  assented  to  them; 
into  another,  where  were  those  who  did 
not  comprehend,  but  still  favored  ;  into 
a  third,  where  were  those  who  did  not 
wish  to  comprehend,  saying,  "  What 
have  we  to  do  with  conscience  ?  "  into 
a  fourth,  where  were  those  who  mocked, 
saying,  "  What  is  conscience  but  a 
puff?  "  And  I  saw  them  withdrawing 
from  each  other,  and  then  the  two  for- 
mer companies  going  off"  to  the  right, 
and  the  two  latter  companies  to  the  left, 
and  these  descending,  but  those  ascend- 
ing. 


446 


Concerning  Baptism. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


CONCERNING  BAPTISM. 


667.  That  without  Knowledge 

CONCERNING  THE  SPIRITUAL  SeNSE  OF 

THE  Word,  no  one  can  know  what 
THE  TWO  Sacraments,  Baptism  and 
THE  Holy  Supper,  involve  and  ef- 
fect. 

That  there  is  a  spiritual  sense  in  all 
and  every  part  of  the  Word,  and  that 
this  sense  has  been  hitherto  unknown, 
and  that  it  is  at  this  day  opened  for  the 
sake  of  the  New  Church  which  is  to 
be  instituted  by  the  Lord,  was  shown  in 
the  chapter  concerning  the  Sacred 
Scripture.  What  that  sense  is,  may 
be  seen  not  only  there,  but  also  in  the 
chapter  concerning  the  Decalogue, 
which  was  also  explained  according  to 
that  sense.  Unless  that  sense  had 
been  opened,  who  would  think  any 
thing  else  concerning  the  two  sacra- 
ments, baptism  and  the  holy  supper, 
than  according  to  the  natural  sense, 
which  is  the  sense  of  the  letter  1  And 
thence  any  one  might  say  or  mutter  to 
himself,  "What  is  baptism  but  the 
pouring  of  water  upon  the  head  of  an 
infant?  and  what  is  this  to  salvation?  " 
And  also,  "  What  is  the  holy  supper 
but  the  taking  of  bread  and  wine?  and 
what  is  this  to  salvation  ?  And  besides, 
where  is  there  any  thing  holy  in  them, 
except  from  this,  that  they  have  been 
received  and  enjoined  from  the  eccle- 
siastical order  as  holy  and  divine,  and 
that  in  themselves  they  are  nothing 
more  than  ceremonies,  concerning 
which  the  churches  say,  that  when  the 
Word  of  God  comes  to  those  elements, 
they  become  sacraments?"  I  appeal  to 
the  laity  and  also  to  the  clergy,  whether 
they  have  perceived  in  spirit  and  heart 
any  thing  else  concerning  those  sacra- 
ments ;  and  that  they  have  worshipped 
them  as  divine  for  various  causes  and 


reasons ;  when  yet  those  two  sacraments, 
viewed  in  the  spiritual  sense,  are  the 
most  holy  things  of  worship  :  that  they 
are  such,  will  be  evident  from  what 
follows,  where  their  uses  will  be  ex- 
plained. But  because  the  uses  of  these 
sacraments  can  never  come  into  the 
mind  of  any  one,  unless  the  spiritual 
sense  disclose  and  unfold  them,  it  fol- 
lows that,  without  that  sense,  no  one  can 
know  but  that  they  are  ceremonies, 
which  are  holy  because  they  were  in- 
stituted by  command. 

668.  That  baptism  was  commanded, 
is  manifestly  evident  from  the  baptism 
of  John  in  the  Jordan,  to  which  all 
Judea  and  Jerusalem  came,  Matt.  iii. 
5,  6 ;  Mark  i.  4,  5 ;  and  also  that  the 
Lord  himself  our  Savior  was  baptized  by 
John,  Matt.  iii.  13  to  17;  and  moreover 
that  He  commanded  the  disciples,  that 
they  should  baptize  all  nations,  xxviii. 
19.  Who  does  not  see,  if  he  is  will- 
ing to  see,  that  there  is  something  divine 
in  that  institution,  which  has  hitherto 
been  concealed,  because  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  Word  was  not  before  re- 
vealed ?  And  this  is  now  revealed, 
because  the  Christian  church,  such  as  it 
is  in  itself,  is  now  first  commencing ; 
the  former  church  was  Christian  only 
in  name,  but  not  in  essence  and  re- 
ality. 

669.  The  two  sacraments,  baptism 
and  the  holy  supper,  are,  in  the  Chris- 
tian church,  like  two  jewels  on  the  scep- 
tre of  a  king  ;  but  if  their  uses  are  not 
known,  they  are  like  two  figures  of 
ebony  on  a  staff.  Those  two  sacra- 
ments in  the  Christian  church  may  also 
be  compared  with  two  rubies  or  car- 
buncles in  the  robe  of  an  emperor  ;  but 
if  their  uses  be  unknown,  they  are  like 
two  carnelians  or  crystals  in  any  gown. 


Concerning  Baptism. 


447 


Without  the  uses  of  those  two  sacra- 
ments, revealed  by  means  of  the  spirit- 
ual sense,  mere  conjectures  would  be 
spread  concerning  them,  such  as  are 
with  those  who  divine  from  the  stars, 
yea,  such  as  were  with  those  formerly 
who  presaged  from  the  flying  of  birds 
or  from  the  entrails  of  beasts.  The  uses 
of  those  two  sacraments  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  temple,  which,  from  its  an- 
tiquity, has  sunk  down  into  the  earth, 
and  lies  covered  with  ruins  even  to  its 
roof,  over  which  the  young  and  the 
old  walk  and  ride  in  coaches  and  on 
horses,  not  knowing  that  any  such  tem- 
ple is  under  their  feet  and  concealed,  in 
which  are  altars  of  gold,  walls  within 
of  silver,  and  decorations  of  precious 
stone  ;  which  cannot  be  dug  up  and 
brought  forth  into  the  light, except  by 
means  of  the  spiritual  sense,  which  is 
at  this  day  disclosed  for  the  New  Church, 
on  account  of  its  use  in  the  worship  of 
the  Lord.  Those  sacraments  also  may 
be  compared  to  a  double  temple,  one  of 
which  is  below  and  the  other  above  ; 
and  in  the  lower  of  which  the  gospel 
concerning  the  new  advent  of  the 
Lord  is  preached,  and  also  concerning 
regeneration  and  thence  salvation  by 
Him.  From  this  temple,  around  the 
altar,  there  is  an  ascent  into  the  upper 
temple,  in  which  the  holy  supper  is  cel- 
ebrated, and  thence  a  passage  into 
heaven,  where  the  Lord  receives  them. 
They  may  be  compared  to  the  taberna- 
cle, in  which,  behind  the  entrance,  ap- 
peared the  table  upon  which  the  bread 
of  faces  was  arranged  in  order ;  and 
also  the  golden  altar  for  incense,  and  in 
the  midst  the  candlestick  with  the  lamps 
lighted,  by  which  all  those  things  come 
into  view ;  and  at  length,  for  those  who 
suffer  themselves  to  be  illuminated,  the 
veil  is  opened  to  the  holy  of  holies, 
where,  in  the  place  of  the  ark,  in  which 
the  decalogue  had  been,  the  Word  is 
laid  up,  over  which  was  the  propitia- 
tory with  cherubs  of  gold.  These  are 
representations  of  those  two  sacraments 
with  their  uses. 

670.  IL  That   by  the  Washing 

WHICH   IS  CALLED  BaPTISM,  IS  MEANT 

SPIRITUAL  Washing,  which  is  Purifi- 


cation FROM  Evils  and  Falses,  and 
THUS  Regeneration. 

That  washings  were  enjoined  upon 
the  sons  of  Israel,  is  known  from  the 
statutes  made  by  Moses,  as  that  Aaron 
should  wash  himself  before  he  put  on 
the  garments  of  the  ministry.  Lev. 
xvi.  4,  24  ;  and  before  he  came  to  the 
altar  to  minister,  Exod.  xxx.  18  to  21 ; 
xl.  30,  31  ;  in  like  manner  the  Levites, 
Num.  viii.  6,  7 ;  and  also  others  who 
became  unclean  by  sins  ;  and  that  they 
are  said  to  be  sanctified  by  washings,  Ex. 
xix.  14;  xl.  12;  Lev.  viii.  6:  where- 
fore, that  they  might  wash  themselves, 
a  brazen  sea  and  many  lavers  were 
placed  near  the  temple,  1  Kings  vii. 
23  to  39 :  yea,  that  they  washed  vessels 
and  utensils,  as  tables,  benches,  beds, 
dishes  and  cups.  Lev.  xi.  32 ;  xiv.  8, 
9;  XV.  5  to  12;  xvii.  1.5,  16;  Mark 
vii.  4.  But  washings  and  many  such 
like  things  were  commanded  and  en- 
joined upon  the  sons  of  Israel,  because 
the  church  instituted  with  them  was 
a  representative  church,  and  this  was 
such,  that  it  prefigured  the  Christian 
church  which  was  about  to  come. 
Wherefore,  when  the  Lord  came  into 
the  world.  He  abrogated  the  representa- 
tives, which  all  were  external,  and  in- 
stituted a  church,  of  which  all  things 
should  be  internal ;  thus  the  Lord  put 
away  the  figures,  and  revealed  the  effi- 
gies themselves  ;  as  one  removes  a  veil 
or  opens  a  door,  and  causes  the  things 
within  not  only  to  be  seen,  but  also  to 
be  approached.  Of  all  those  things  the 
Lord  retained  only  two,  which  should 
contain,  in  one  complex,  all  things  of  the 
internal  church  ;  which  two  things  are 
baptism  instead  of  washings,  and  the 
holy  supper  instead  of  the  lamb,  which 
was  sacrificed  every  day,  and  fully  at 
the  feast  of  the  passover. 

671.  That  the  washings  above  men- 
tioned figured  and  shadowed  forth,  that 
is,represented,  spiritual  washings,  which 
are  purifications  from  evils  and  falses, 
is  manifestly  evident  from  these  :  Wlien 
the  Lord  shall  have  tcashed  aicay  the 
jilth  of  the  daughters  of  Zion,  and  the 
blood,  hy  the  spirit  of  judgment,  and 
by  the  spirit  of  cleansing,  Isaiah  iv.  4. 


448 


Concerning  Baptism. 


Though  thou  wash  thyself  with  nitre, 
and  apply  to  thyself  much  soap,  still 
thy  iniquity  will  retain  spots,  Jer.  ii. 
22  ;  Job  ix.  30,  31.  Wash  me  from 
my  iniquity,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than 
snow,  Psalm  li.  2, 7.  Wash  thy  heart 
from  wickedness,  O  Jerusalem,  that  thou 
may  est  be  saved,  Jer.  iv.  14.  PFas/t 
yourselves,  make  yourselves  clean ;  re- 
move the  loickedness  of  your  works  from 
my  eyes;  cease  to  do  evil,  Isaiah  i.  16. 
That  the  washing  of  the  spirit  of  man 
was  meant  by  the  washing  of  his  body, 
and  that  the  internal  things  of  the 
church  were  represented  by  external 
things,  such  as  were  in  the  Israelitish 
church,  manifestly  appears  from  these 
words  of  the  Lord :  The  Pharisees 
and  scribes,  seeing  that  his  disciples  ate 
bread  with  unwashed  hands,  found 
fault;  {for  the  Pharisees  and  all  the 
Jews,  unless  they  loash  their  hands  up 
to  the  wrist,  eat  7iot ;  beside  many 
other  things  which  they  have  received 
to  hold,  as  the  washing  of  cups,  and 
earthen  and  brazen  vessels,  and  beds;) 
to  whom  and  to  the  multitude  the  Lord 
said,  Hear  Me,  all  of  you,  and  under- 
stand;  there  is  nothing  out  of  a  man, 
which,  entering  into  him,  can  make  him 
unclean;  but  the  things  which  go  out  of 
him  make  him.  unclean,  Mark  vii.  1,  2, 
3,  4,  14,  15;  Matt.  xv.  2,  11,  17,  18, 
19,  20.  And  in  otiier  places ;  as,  Wo  to 
you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  because  you 
make  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the 
platter  clean,  but  the  insidvs  arc  full 
of  rapine  and  excess.  Blind  Pharisee, 
first  make  the  inside  of  the  cup  and  of 
the  platter  clean,  that  the  outside  may 
be  made  clean  also.  Matt,  xxiii.  25, 
26.  From  these  it  is  evident,  that  by 
the  washing  which  is  called  baptism, 
spiritual  washing  is  meant,  which  is 
purification  from  evils  and  falses. 

672.  What  man  of  sound  reason 
cannot  see,  that  the  washing  of  the 
face,  of  the  hands  and  feet,  and  of  all 
the  limbs,  yea,  of  the  whole  body  in  a 
bath,  effects  nothing  else  than  that  the 
dirt  is  washed  off,  so  that,  in  the  sight 
of  men,  in  the  human  form  they  may 
appear  clean  ?  And  who  cannot  under- 
stand that  no  washing  enters  into  the 


spirit  of  man  and  makes  this  equally 
clean  ?  For  every  villain,  robber  or 
murderer  can  wash  himself  even  to 
neatness  :  is  the  disposition  of  the  vil- 
lain, the  robber  and  the  murderer  thus 
wiped  away?  Does  not  the  internal 
flow  into  the  external,  and  work  the 
effects  of  its  will  and  understanding; 
but  not  the  external  into  the  internal? 
for  this  is  contrary  to  nature,  because 
contrary  to  order ;  but  that  is  according 
to  nature,  because  according  to  order. 

673.  Hence  it  follows,  that  washings, 
and  baptisms  also,  unless  the  internal 
of  man  be  purified  from  evils  and  falses, 
effect  nothing  more  than  the  platters 
and  plates  cleansed  by  the  Jews;  and, 
as  it  also  follows  there,  than  the  sepul- 
chres, which  outwardly  appear  beautiful, 
but  within  are  full  of  the  bones  of  the 
dead,  and  of  all  uncleanness,  Mati. 
xxiii.  25  to  28;  which  is  still  more 
manifest  from  this,  that  the  hells  are 
full  of  satans  from  men  as  well  baptized 
as  not  baptized.  But  what  good 
baptism  effects,  will  be  seen  in  what 
follows.  Wherefore,  without  its  uses 
and  fruits,  it  conduces  no  more  to  sal- 
vation, than  the  triple  cap  on  the  pope's 
head,  and  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his 
shoes,  to  his  pontifical  supereminence ; 
nor  more  than  the  purple  robe  about  a 
cardinal  to  his  dignity,  or  the  cloak 
about  a  bishop  to  the  true  discharge  of 
his  ministry  ;  nor  more  than  the  throne, 
crown,  sceptre  and  robe  of  a  king,  to 
his  regal  power  ;  nor  more  than  the  cap 
of  silk  upon  the  head  of  a  laurelled 
doctor  to  his  intelligence ;  nor  more 
than  the  standards  before  troops  of 
horsemen  to  their  bravery  in  war. 
Yea,  it  may  further  be  said,  that  it  does 
not  purify  man  any  more  than  the 
washing  of  a  sheep  and  a  lamb  before 
shearing ;  for  the  natural  man,  separate 
from  the  spiritual  man,  is  merely  an  ani- 
mal ;  yea,  as  was  before  shown,  he  is 
more  of  a  wild  beast  than  the  wild 
beast  of  the  forest.  Wherefore,  if  you 
are  washed  with  the  water  of  rain,  with 
the  water  of  dew,  with  the  waters  of 
the  mo.st  excellent  fountains,  or,  as  the 
prophets  say,  if  you  are  cleansed  with 
nitre,  hyssop  or  soap  every  day,  still 


Concerning  Baptism. 


449 


you  are  not  purified  fi-om  iniquities, 
except  by  means  of  regeneration,  con- 
cernmg  which  we  have  treated  in  the 
chapters  concerning  Repentance  and 
concerning  Reformation  and  Regen- 
eration. 

674.  III.  That  Baptism  was  in- 
stituted IN  THE  ROO.M  OF  ClRCUM- 
cision;  because  by  the  Circumcision 
OF  THE  Foreskin,  was  represented 
the  Circumcision  of  the  Heart,  in 
order  th.it  an  Internal  Church 
might  succeed  the  External 
Church,  which  in  all  and  every 
Thing  figured  forth  the  Internal 
Church. 

It  is  known  in  the  Christian  world, 
that  there  is  an  internal  and  an  exter- 
nal man,  and  that  the  external  is  the 
same  with  the  natural  man,  and  the 
internal  the  same  with  the  spiritual 
man,  because  his  spirit  is  in  it ;  and, 
because  the  church  consists  of  men,  that 
there  is  given  an  internal  church  and 
an  external  church ;  and,  if  the  succes- 
sions of  churches  from  ancient  times  to 
the  present,  be  traced,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  former  churches  were  external 
churches,  that  is,  that  their  worship 
consisted   in  external  things,  which 
represented  the  internal  things  of  the 
Christian  church,  which  was  founded 
by  the  Lord  when  he  was  in  the  world, 
and  now  is  first  being  built  up  by  Him. 
The  primary  thing  which  distinguished 
the  Israelitish  church  from  the  rest  in 
the  Asiatic  world,  and  afterwards  from 
the  Christian,  was  circumcision  ;  and 
because,  as  has  been  said,  all  the  things 
of  the  Israelitish  church,  which  were  ex- 
ternal, figured  forth  all  the  things  of 
the  Christian  church,  which  are  inter- 
nal, therefore  the  primary  sign  of  that 
church  was  inwardly  similar  to  the  sign 
of  the  Christian  church ;  for  circum- 
cision signified  the  rejection  of  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  and  thus  purification  from 
evils ;  baptism  also  signifies  the  like. 
Whence  it  is  manifest,  that  baptism 
was  commanded  in  the  room  of  circum- 
cision, in  order  both  that  the  Christian 
church  might  be  distinguished  from 
the  Jewish  church,  and  that  the  inter- 
nal   church    might   thus   be  better 
known ;  and  this  is  known  from  the 
57 


uses  of  baptism,  which  will  be  treated 

of  in  what  follows. 

675.  That  circumcision  was  insti- 
tuted for  a  sign  that  the  men  of  the 
Israelitish  church  were  of  the  posterity 
of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  is  evi- 
dent from  these  words :  God  said  to 
Abraham,  This  is  the  covenant  with 
Me,  which  yt  shall  observe  between  Me 
and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee ;  cir- 
cumcise every  male  among  you,  and  ye 
shall  circumcise  the  flesh  of  your  fore- 
skin, that  it  may  be  for  a  sign  of  the 
covenant  between  Me  and  you,  Gen. 
xvii.  10,  11 ;  which  covenant,  or  its 
sign,   was   afterwards   confirmed  by 
Moses,  Lev.  xii.  1,  2,  3.    And  because 
that  church  was  distinguished  from  the 
rest  by  that  sign,  therefore,  before  the 
sons  of  Israel  passed  over  the  Jordan, 
it  was  commanded  that  they  should  be 
circumcised  again.  Josh.  v.    The  rea- 
son was,  because  the  land  of  Canaan 
represented  the  church,  and  the  river 
Jordan    introduction    into  it.  And 
moreover,  that  they  might  remehiber 
that  sign  in  the  land  of  Canaan  itself, 
this  was  commanded  :  When  ye  shall 
have  come  into  the  land,  and  shall  have 
planted  every  tree  for  food,  ye  shall 
circumcise  the  foreskin  of  its  fruit; 
three  years  it  shall  be  to  you  uncircum- 
cised,  it  shall  not  be  eaten,  Lev.  xix. 
23.     That  circumcision  represented, 
and  thence  signified,  the  rejection  of 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  thus  purifica- 
tion from  evils,  the  same  as  baptism,  is 
evident  from  the  passages  in  the  Word 
where  it  is  said,  that  they  should  cir- 
cumcise the  heart,  as  in  these :  Moses 
said.  Circumcise  the  foreskin  of  your 
heart ;  harden  not  your  neck,  Deut. 
x.  16.  Jehovah  God  will  circumcise  thy 
heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed,  that 
thou    mayest  love  Jehovah  thy  God 
from  thy  whole  heart,  and  from  thy 
tohole  soul,  that  thou  inayest  live,  xxx. 
6.  And  in  Jeremiah  :  Circumcise  your- 
selves to  Jehovah,  that  He  may  remove 
the  foreskins  of  your  heart,  ye  men  of 
Judah  and  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
lest  my  anger  go  forth  like  fire,  on  ac- 
count of  the  unrkedness  of  your  works, 
iv.  4.    And  in  Paul :  In  Jesus  Christ 
neither  circumcision  availcth  any  thing, 


450 


Concerning  Baptism, 


nor  uncircumcision,  but  faith  working 
hij  charity;  and  a  new  creature,  Gal. 
V.  6;  vi.  15.  From  these  now  it  is 
manifest,  that  baptism  was  instituted  in 
the  place  of  circumcision,  because,  by 
the  circumcision  of  the  flesh,  the  cir- 
cumcision of  the  heart  was  represented, 
which  also  signifies  purification  from 
evils  ;  for  evils  of  every  kind  arise  from 
the  flesh,  and  the  foreskin  signifies  its 
filthy  loves.  Since  circumcision  and 
the  washing  of  baptism  signify  the  same 
thing,  therefore  it  is  said  in  Jeremiah, 
Circumcise  yourselves  to  Jehovah,  that 
He  may  remove  the  foreskins  of  your 
heart,  iv.  4 ;  and  a  little  after,  O  Je- 
rusalem, wash  thy  heart  from  wicked- 
ness, that  thou  mayest  be  saved,  verse 
14.  What  the  circumcision  and  wash- 
ing of  the  heart  are,  the  Lord  teaches 
in  Matt.  xv.  18,  19. 

676.  There  were  many  among  the 
sons  of  Israel,  and  there  are  at  this  day 
many  among  the  Jews,  who  believe 
themselves  to  have  been  elected  in  pref- 
erence to  all  others,  because  they  have 
been  circumcised ;  and  among  Chris- 
tians, because  they  have  been  baptized; 
when  yet  both  circumcision  and  bap- 
tism were  given  only  for  a  sign  and  for 
a  memorial,  that  they  should  be  puri- 
fied from  evils,  and  thus  become  elect. 
What  is  an  external  without  an  internal 
with  man,  but  like  a  temple  without 
worship,  which  is  not  for  any  use,  un- 
less it  may  serve  for  a  stable  ?  And 
further,  what  is  an  external  without  an 
internal,  but  like  a  field  of  mere  straw 
and  stalks  without  any  corn?  or  like 
a  vineyard  of  mere  branches  and  leaves 
without  any  grapes?  or  like  a  fig-tree 
without  its  fruit,  which  the  Lord 
cursed  ?  Matt.  xxi.  19 ;  or  like  the 
lamps  in  the  hands  of  the  foolish  virgins 
without  oil  ?  Matt.  xxv.  ;} ;  yea,  what, 
but  like  a  habitation  in  a  mausoleum, 
where  dead  bodies  are  under  the  feet, 
bones  about  the  walls,  and  nocturnal 
spectres  flying  under  the  roof?  or 
like  a  coach  drawn  by  leopards,  upon 
which  a  wolf  sits  as  co.ichman,  and  an 
ideot  rides  in  it  ?  For  the  external 
man  is  not  the  man,  but  only  the  figure 
of  a  man  ;  for  the  internal,  which  is, 
to  be  wise  from  God,  makes  the  man. 


So  it  is  with  one  who  is  circumcised 
and  baptized,  unless  he  circumcise  or 
wash  his  heart. 

677.  IV.  That  the  first  Use  of 
Baptism  is  Introduction  into  the 
Christian  Church,  and  at  the  same 
Time  Insertion  among  Christians  in 
the  Spiritual  World. 

That  baptism  is  an  introduction  into 
the  Christian  church,  is  evident  from 
many  things,  as  from  these  :  (1.)  That 
baptism  was  instituted  in  the  place  of 
circumcision,  and  that  as  circumcision 
was  a  sign  that  they  were  of  the  Isra- 
elitish  church,  so  baptism  is  a  sign  that 
they  are  of  the  Christian  church,  as 
was  shown  in  the  preceding  article ; 
and  a  sign  does  nothing  else  than  that 
they  may  be  known,  like  swaddling 
clothes  of  diverse  colors  put  on  the  in- 
fants of  two  mothers,  that  they  may  be 
distinguished  from  each  other,  and  may 
not  be  changed.  (2.)  That  it  is  only  a 
sign  of  introduction  into  the  church,  is 
manifestly  evident  from  the  baptizing 
of  infants,  who  are  partakers  of  no 
reason  at  all,  and  are  not  as  yet  more 
fit  for  receiving  any  thing  of  faith,  than 
young  shoots  in  any  tree.  (3.)  That 
not  only  infants  are  baptized,  but  also 
all  foreign  proselytes  who  are  converted 
to  the  Christian  religion,  both  small 
and  great,  and  this  before  they  have 
been  instructed,  merely  from  the  con- 
fession that  they  wish  to  embrace  Chris- 
tianity, into  which  they  are  inaugurated 
by  baptism ;  which  also  the  apostles 
did,  according  to  the  words  of  the  Lord, 
that  thry  should  make  disciples  of  nil 
nations,  and  baptize  them.  Matt,  xxviii. 
19.  (4.)  That  John  baptized  all  that 
came  to  him  from  Judca  and  Jerusalem, 
in  the  Jordan,  iii.  6  ;  Mark  i.  9.  The 
reason  why  he  baptized  in  the  Jordan 
was,  because  the  entrance  into  the 
land  of  Canaan  was  through  that  river  ; 
and  by  the  land  of  Canaan  was  signi- 
fied the  church,  because  it  was  there; 
and  thence,  by  the  Jordan,  introduction 
into  it.  That  that  land  signified  the 
church,  and  the  Jordan  introduction 
into  it,  may  be  seen  in  the  Apocalypse 
Revealed,  n.  285.  But  this  is  done 
on  earth ;  but  in  the  heavens,  infants 
are  introduced  by  baptism  into  the 


Concerning  Baptism. 


451 


Christian  heaven,  and  angels  are  there 
assigned  to  them  by  the  Lord,  to  take 
care  of  them.  Wherefore,  as  soon  as 
infants  are  baptized,  angels  are  ap- 
pointed over  them,  by  whom  they  are 
kept  in  a  state  of  receiving  faith  in  the 
Lord ;  and  as  they  grow  up,  and  come 
to  the  exercise  of  their  own  right  and 
their  own  reason,  the  guardian  angels 
leave  them,  and  they  associate  to  them- 
selves such  spirits  as  make  one  with 
their  life  and  faith.  Whence  it  is 
manifest,  that  baptism  is  an  insertion 
among  Christians  also  in  the  spiritual 
world. 

678.  That  not  only  infants,  but  also 
all,  are  inserted  by  baptism  among  Chris- 
tians in  the  spiritual  world,  is  because 
people  and  nations  in  that  world  are 
distinguished  according  to  their  reli- 
gions ;  Christians  are  in  the  middle, 
Mahometans  around  them,  idolaters  of 
various  kinds  behind  them,  and  Jews 
at  the  sides.  Moreover,  all  of  the  same 
religion  are  arranged  into  societies  in 
heaven  according  to  the  affections  of 
love  to  God  and  towards  the  neighbor  ; 
in  hell  into  congregations  according  to 
the  affections  opposite  to  those  two  loves, 
thus  according  to  the  lusts  of  evil.  In 
the  spiritual  world,  by  which  we  mean 
both  heaven  and  hell,  all  things  are 
most  distinctly  arranged,  in  the  whole 
and  in  every  part,  or  in  general  and  in 
every  particular.  On  the  distinct  ar- 
rangement there,  the  preservation  of 
the  whole  universe  depends,  and  this 
distinction  cannot  be  effected,  unless 
every  one,  after  he  is  born,  be  known  by 
some  sign,  indicating  to  what  religious 
assembly  he  belongs ;  for  without  the 
Christian  sign,  which  is  baptism,  some 
Mahometan  spirit,  or  some  one  of  the 
idolaters,  might  apply  himself  to  Chris- 
tian infants  newly  born,  and  also  to 
children,  and  infuse  into  them  an  in- 
clination for  his  religion,  and  thus  draw 
away  their  mind  and  alienate  them 
from  Christianity,  which  would  be  to 
distort  and  destroy  spiritual  order. 

679.  Every  one,  who  traces  effects  to 
causes,  may  know  that  the  consistence 
of  all  things  depends  on  order  ;  and 
that  there  are  manifold  orders,  general 
and  particular ;  and  that  there  is  one, 


which  is  the  most  universal  of  all,  and 
on  which  the  general  and  particular 
ones  depend  in  a  continued  series  ;  and 
that  the  most  universal  one  enters  into 
all,  as  the  essence  itself  into  forms  ;  and 
that  thus,  and  thus  only,  they  make  one : 
this  oneness  is  what  causes  the  preser- 
vation of  the  whole,  which  otherwise 
would  fall  to  pieces,  and  not  only  re- 
lapse into  the  first  chaos,  but  into 
nothing.  How  would  it  be  with  man, 
unless  all  and  every  thing  in  his  body 
were  most  distinctly  arranged,  and  the 
whole  of  them  depended  on  one  heart 
and  lungs  ?  What  else  but  a  confused 
something?  Could  the  stomach  then 
exercise  its  functions,  the  liver  and  pan- 
creas theirs,  the  mesentery  and  meso- 
colon theirs,  the  kidneys  and  intestines 
theirs  !  It  is  from  the  order  in  them 
and  among  them,  that  all  and  each  of 
them  appear  before  man  as  one.  With- 
out distinct  order  in  the  mind  or  spirit 
of  man,  and  unless  the  whole  of  it  de- 
pended on  the  will  and  understanding, 
what  could  it  be,  but  a  confused  and 
indigested  something  1  Without  that 
order,  would  a  man  be  able  to  think  and 
will  any  more  than  his  picture  on  a 
tablet,  or  his  statue  in  the  house  ?  What 
would  man  be  without  the  most  orderly 
influx  from  heaven,  and  the  reception  of 
it  ?  And  what  would  this  influx  be, 
without  one  most  universal,  on  which 
the  government  of  the  whole  and  of  all 
its  parts  depends,  thus  unless  it  were 
from  God,  and  unless  in  Him  and  from 
Him  all  things  existed,  lived  and  moved  ? 
These  things  may  be  illustrated  to  the 
natural  man  by  innumerable  things,  as 
by  these  :  What  would  an  empire  or 
kingdom  be  without  order,  but  a  gang 
of  robbers,  many  of  whom  being  gath- 
ered together  would  slay  thousands,  and 
at  length  a  few,  these  many  ?  What 
would  a  state  be  without  order  ?  yea, 
what  would  a  house  be  without  order  ? 
And  what  would  a  kingdom,  state,  or 
house  be,  unless  some  one  in  each 
should  act  as  supreme  ? 

680.  Besides,  what  is  order  without 
distinction  1  and  what  is  distinction  with- 
out indications?  and  what  are  indica- 
tions without  signs,  by  which  the  qual- 
ities are  known  ?  For  without  a  knowl- 


452 


Concerning  Baptism. 


edge   of  the  qualities,  order   is  not 
known  as  order.    The  signs  or  signa- 
tures in  empires  and  in  kingdoms  are 
titles  of  dignities  and  rights  of  admin- 
istration annexed  to  them ;  thence  are 
subordinations,  by  means  of  which  all 
are  arranged  together  as  into  one  :  in 
this  manner  a  king  exercises,  according 
to  order,  his  regal  power  distributed 
among  many,  whence  a  kingdom  be- 
comes a  kingdom.    The  case  is  similar 
in  very  many  other  things,  as  in  armies  : 
what  valor  would  they  have,  unless  they 
were  distinguished  in  an  orderly  man- 
ner into  phalanxes,  these  into  cohorts, 
and  these  into  companies ;  and  subordi- 
nate leaders  were  appointed  over  each, 
and  one  over   all,  who  is  supreme  1 
And  what  would  those  arrangements 
be,  without  the  signs,  which  are  called 
standards,  to  show  in  what  station  every 
one  is  to  be  ?    By  such  means  all  act 
in  battles  as  one,  and  without  them  they 
would  rush  against  the  enemy,  like 
troops  of  dogs,  with  open  mouths,  howl- 
ing and  empty  fury  ;  and  then  all  with- 
out strength  would  be  cut  to  pieces  by 
the  enemy  arranged  in  the  proper  order 
of  battle  ;  for  what  can  the  divided  do 
against  the  united  ?    By  these  things 
is  illustrated  this  first  use  of  baptism, 
which  is  a  sign  in  the  spiritual  world, 
that  he  is  of  Christians,  where  every 
one  is  inserted  among  societies  and 
congregations  there,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  Christianity  in  him  or 
out  of  him. 

681.  V.  The  second  Use  op  Bap- 
tism   IS    THAT    THE     CHRISTIAN  MAY 

know  and  acknowledge  the  lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Redeemer  and 
Savior,  and  follow  Him. 

This  other  use  of  baptism,  which  is, 
that  one  may  know  the  Lord,  the  Re- 
deemer and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  in- 
separably follows  the  first,  which  is, 
that  there  may  be  introduction  into  the 
Christian  church,  and  insertion  among 
Christians  in  the  spiritual  world  ;  and 
wlint  is  that  first  u.se  without  this  other, 
but  only  a  name  ?  It  is  like  a  subject 
who  attaches  himself  to  a  king,  and  yet 
disobeys  his  laws  or  those  of  his  coun- 
try, and  attaches  himself  to  a  foreign 
king,  and  serves  him  ;  or  like  a  servant 


who  engages  himself  to  some  master, 
and  receives  a  livery  as  his  badge,  and 
runs  away  and  in  his  livery  serves  an- 
other ;  or  like  a  standard-bearer  who 
goes  off  with  the  standard,  and  cuts  it 
in  pieces,  and  throws  the  pieces  of  it 
either  into  the  air,  or  under  the  soldiers' 
feet,  that  they  may  be  trampled  upon. 
In  a  word,  the  name  that  one  is  a  Chris- 
tian, that  is,  that  he  is  of  Christ,  and 
not  to  acknowledge  Him  and  follow 
Him,  that  is,  to  live  according  to  his 
commandments,  is  as  empty  as  a 
shadow,  as  smoke,  and  as  a  blackened 
picture ;  for  the  Lord  says,  W/ii/  call 
ye  Me  Lord,  and  do  not  the  things 
that  I  say  ?  Luke  vi.  4G,  and  the 
following.  Many  will  say  to  Me  in  that 
day,  Lord,  Lord;  but  then  I  shall  con- 
fess to  them,  I  know  you  not,  Matt.  vii. 
22,  23. 

682.  By  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  nothing  else  is  meant  in  the 
Word,  than  an  acknowledgment  of  Him, 
and  a  life  according  to  his  command- 
ments. The  reason  why  His  name 
signifies  those  things,  you  may  see  in 
the  explanation  of  the  second  com- 
mandment of  the  decalogue,  Thou  shall 
not  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain. 
Nothing  else  is  meant  by  the  name  of 
the  Lord  in  these  passages :  Jesus 
said.  Ye  will  be  hated  by  all  nations  on 
account  of  my  name.  Matt.  x.  22;  xxiv. 
9,  10.  IVJicre  two  or  three  are  gath- 
ered together  in  my  name,  there  am  I 
in  the  midst  of  them,  xviii.  20.  As 
many  as  received  Ilim,  to  them  He 
gave  power  that  they  might  be  sons  of 
God,  believing  in  his  name,  John  i.  12. 
Many  believed  in  his  name,  ii.  23.  He 
that  belicveth  not  is  already  judged, 
because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  iii. 
17,  18.  Believing,  they  shall  have 
life  in  his  name,  xx.  31.  On  account 
of  my  name  thou  hast  labored  and  hast 
not  fainted.  Rev.  ii.  3;  and  elsewhere. 
Who  cannot  see,  that  by  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  in  those  passages,  is  not  meant 
the  name  only,  but  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  Him,  that  He  is  the  Redeemer 
and  Savior,  and  at  the  same  time 
obedience,  and  at  length  faith  in  Himt 
for  at  baptism  an  infant  receives  the 


Concerning  Baptism. 


453 


sign  of  the  cross  upon  the  forehead  and 
breast,  which  is  a  sign  of  inauguration 
into  the  acknowledgment  and  worship 
of  the  Lord.  By  name  also  is  meant 
the  quality  of  any  person  ;  the  reason 
is,  because,  in  the  spiritual  world,  every 
one  is  named  according  to  his  quality ; 
wherefore  by  the  name  that  one  is  a 
Christian,  is  meant  his  quality,  that  he 
has  faith  in  Christ,  and  charity  towards 
the  neighbor,  from  Christ.  This  is 
meant  by  name  in  the  Revelation.  The 
Son  of  Man  said,  /  have  a  few  names 
in  Sardis,  that  have  not  defiled  their 
garments,  and  they  shall  loalk  tvith  Me 
in  white,  because  they  are  worthy,  Rev. 
iii.  4.  By  walking  with  the  Son  of 
Man  in  white,  is  signified  to  follow  the 
Lord,  and  to  live  according  to  the  truths 
of  his  Word.  The  like  is  meant  by 
name  in  John :  Jesus  said,  The  sheep 
hear  my  voice,  and  I  call  my  own  sheep 
by  name,  and  lead  them  out.  I  go  be- 
fore them,  and  the  sheep  follow  Me,  be- 
cause they  know  my  voice  ;  but  a  stran- 
ger they  do  not  folloio,  because  they 
know  not  the  voice  of  strangers,  x.  3, 
4,  5.  By  name  is  by  the  quality,  in 
that  they  are  Christians  ;  and  to  follow 
Him  is  to  hear  his  voice,  that  is,  to 
obey  his  commands.  This  name  all 
receive  at  baptism,  for  it  is  in  the  sign. 

6S3.  What  is  a  name  without  the 
thing,  but  a  something  vain,  and  a 
sound,  such  as  rebounds  from  the  trees 
of  a  forest,  or  from  arched  roofs,  which 
is  called  an -echo?  or  like  the  almost 
inanimate  sound  from  persons  dream- 
ing ?  or  like  the  sound  of  the  wind  of 
the  sea,  or  of  a  machine,  in  which  there 
is  nothing  of  use  ?  Yea,  what  is  the 
name  of  being  a  king,  a  duke,  a  consul, 
a  bishop,  an  abbot,  a  monk,  without 
the  office  which  adheres  to  the  name, 
but  vanity  ?  Thus  what  is  the  name 
of  being  a  Christian,  when  yet  the  man 
Jives  like  a  barbarian,  and  contrary  to 
the  precepts  of  Christ,  but  like  looking 
at  the  sign  of  Satan  instead  of  the  sign 
of  Christ,  whose  name,  nevertheless, 
was  interwoven  in  golden  threads  at 
baptism?  What  are  those,  who,  after 
they  have  received  the  signature  of 
Christ,  laugh  at  his  worship,  scoff  at  his 
name,  and  profess  Him,  not  as  the  Son 


of  God,  but  as  the  son  of  Joseph,  but 
rebels  and  regicides  ?  And  what  are 
their  speeches,  but  blasphemies  against 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which  cannot  be  for- 
given in  this  world  nor  in  the  future? 
These,  like  dogs  with  open  mouths,  bite 
the  Word,  and  tear  it  to  pieces  with  their 
teeth.  With  these,  who  are  opposed  to 
Christ  and  his  worship,  all  the  tables  are 
foil  of  the  vomit  of  eating,  Isaiah  xxviii. 
8 ;  xlviii.  26  ;  when  yet  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  the  Most  High 
God,  Luke  i.  32,  35;  the  Only-begot- 
ten, John  i.  18;  iii.  16;  the  true  God 
and  eternal  Life,  1  John  v.  20,  21 ; 
in  whom  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
dvvelleth  bodily,  Coloss.  ii.  9;  and  that 
He  is  not  the  son  of  Joseph,  Matt.  i. 
25 ;  besides  in  thousands  of  other 
places. 

684.  VI.  That  the  third  Use  of 

B.\PTISM,  WHICH  IS  THE  FIN.AL  UsE,  IS, 
THAT  Man  MAY  BE  REGENERATED. 

This  use  is  the  very  use  for  the  sake 
of  which  baptism  was  instituted,  thus 
the  final  use ;  the  reason  is,  because 
he  who  is  truly  a  Christian,  knows  and 
acknowledges  the  Lord  the  Redeemer 
Jesus  Christ,  who,  because  He  is  the 
Redeemer,  is  also  the  Regenerator. 
That  redemption  and  regeneration 
make  one,  may  be  seen  in  the  chapter 
concerning  Reformation  and  Regen- 
eration, art.  iii.  And  also  a  Christian 
possesses  the  Word,  in  which  the  means 
of  regeneration  are  fully  described ;  and 
the  means  there  are  faith  in  the  Lord, 
and  charity  towards  the  neighbor. 
This  is  the  same  with  what  is  said  con- 
cerning the  Lord,  that  He  baptizeth 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  fire,  Matt.  iii. 
11;  Mark  i.  9  to  11;  Luke  iii.  16; 
John  i.  33.  By  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
meant  the  divine  truth  of  faith,  and  by 
fire  the  divine  good  of  love  or  charity, 
both  proceeding  from  the  Lord.  That 
the  divine  truth  of  faith  is  meant  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  may  be  seen  in  the 
chapter  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit  : 
and  that  the  divine  good  of  love  is 
meant  by  fire,  may  be  seen  in  the 
Apocalypse  Revealed,  n.  468,  395; 
and  by  means  of  these  two,  all  regene- 
ration is  effected  by  the  Lord.  The 
reason  that  the  Lord  himself  was  bap- 


454 


Concerning  Baptism. 


tized  by  John,  (Matt.  iii.  13  to  17; 
Mark  i.  9;  Luke  iii.  21,  22,)  was  not 
only  that  He  might  institute  baptism  for 
the  future,  and  go  before  as  an  example, 
but  also  because  He  glorified  his  Hu- 
man, and  made  it  Divine,  as  He  regen- 
erates man,  and  makes  him  spiritual. 

685.  From  what  has  been  said  before 
and  now,  it  may  be  seen,  that  the  three 
uses  of  baptism  cohere  as  one ;  in  like 
manner  as  the  first  cause,  the  mediate 
cause,  which  is  the  efficient,  and  the 
ultimate  cause,  which  is  the  effect,  and 
the  end  itself  for  the  sake  of  which  the 
former  were.  For  the  first  use  is,  that 
one  may  be  named  a  Christian ;  the 
second,  following  from  this,  is,  that  he 
may  know  and  acknowledge  the  Lord 
the  Redeemer,  Regenerator  and  Sa- 
vior ;  and  the  third  is,  that  he  may  be 
regenerated  by  Him,  and  when  this  is 
done,  he  is  redeemed  and  saved.  Since 
these  three  uses  follow  in  order,  and 
join  themselves  together  in  the  last, 
and  thence,  in  the  idea  of  the  angels, 
cohere  as  one,  therefore,  when  baptism 
is  performed,  read  in  the  Word,  and 
named,  the  angels  who  are  present  do 
not  understand  baptism,  but  regenera- 
tion ;  wherefore  by  these  words  of  the 
Lord,  Whosoever  hclievcth  and  is  bap- 
tized, shall  be  saved,  but  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  not  shall  be  condemned,  Mark 
xvi.  16,  this  is  understood  by  the  angels 
in  heaven,  that  he  who  acknowledges 
tlie  Lord  and  is  regenerated  is  saved. 
Thence  also  it  is,  that  baptism  is  called 
by  Christian  churches  on  earth  the 
Laver  of  Re(;eneration.  Let  the 
Christian,  therefore,  know  that  whoso- 
ever doth  not  believe  in  the  Lord  cannot 
be  regenerated,  although  he  has  been 
baptized ;  and  tliat  baptizing,  without 
faith  in  the  Lord,  does  nothing  at  all, 
may  be  seen  above  in  this  chapter,  art. 
ii.  n.  673.  That  baptism  involves 
purification  from  evils,  and  thus  regen- 
eration, may  be  very  well  known  to 
every  Christian ;  for  when  the  priest,  as 
an  infant  is  baptized,  makes  with  his 
finger  a  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  fore- 
head and  on  the  breast,  as  a  memorial 
of  the  Lord,  he  afterwards  turns  him- 
self to  the  sponsors,  and  asks  whether 
he  renounces  the  devil  and  all  his 


works,  and  whether  he  receives  faith ; 
to  which,  instead  of  the  infant,  it  is 
answered  by  the  sponsors,  "  Yes." 
Renunciation  of  the  devil,  that  is,  of 
the  evils  which  are  from  hell,  and  faith 
in  the  Lord,  perfect  regeneration. 

686.  It  is  said  in  the  Word,  that  the 
Lord  God  our  Redeemer  baptizes  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  fire :  that  by  this 
is  meant,  that  the  Lord  regenerates 
man  by  the  divine  truth  of  faith,  and 
by  the  divine  good  of  love  or  charity, 
may  be  seen  above  in  this  article,  n. 
684.  Those  who  have  been  regenerat- 
ed by  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  is,  by  the 
divine  truth  of  faith,  are  in  the  heav- 
ens distinguished  from  those  who  have 
been  regenerated  by  fire,  that  is,  by 
the  divine  good  of  love.  Those  who 
have  been  regenerated  by  the  divine 
truth  of  faith,  go  in  heaven  in  white 
garments  of  fine  linen,  and  are  called 
spiritual  angels ;  but  those  who  have 
been  regenerated  by  the  divine  good 
of  love,  go  in  purple  garments,  and  are 
called  celestial  angels.  Those  who  go 
clothed  in  white  garments,  are  meant 
by  these  :  They  follow  the  Lamb,  clothed 
in  Jine  linen  white  and  clean,  Rev.  xix. 
14.  Thei/  shall  walk  with  Me  in  white, 
iii.  4 ;  and  also  vii.  14.  The  angels  at 
the  Lord's  sepulchre,  seen  in  white  and 
shining  garments,  {Malt,  xxviii.  3  ;  Luke 
xxiv.  4,)  were  of  this  kind;  for  fine 
linen  signifies  the  righteousiicss  of  the 
saints,  Rev.  xix.  8,  where  this  is  openly 
said.  That  garments,  in  the  Word, 
signify  truths,  and  white  and  fine  linen 
garments,  divine  truths,  may  be  seen 
in  the  Apoc.  Revealed,  n.  379,  where 
that  is  shown.  That  those  who  have 
also  been  regenerated  by  the  divine 
good  of  love  are  in  purple  garments,  is 
because  purple  is  the  color  of  love, 
which  it  derives  from  the  fire  of  the 
sun  and  its  redness,  by  which  is  signi- 
fied love :  see  the  Apocalypse  Re- 
vealed, n.  468,  725.  Since  garments 
signify  truths,  therefore  he  who  was 
found  among  the  guests  not  clothed 
with  wedding  garments,  was  cast  out 
and  cast  into  outer  darkness.  Matt, 
xxii.  II,  12,  13. 

687.  Besides,  baptism,  like  regenera- 
tion, is  represented,  both  in  heaven  and 


Concerning  Baptism. 


455 


in  the  world,  by  many  things.  In  heaven, 
as  has  now  been  said,  by  wliite  and 
purple  garments,  and  besides  by  the 
marriage  of  the  church  with  the  Lord ; 
and  also  by  the  new  heaven  and  new 
earth,  and  the  New  Jerusalem  descend- 
ing thence,  concerning  which,  He  that 
sat  upon  the  throne  said.  Behold  I 
make  all  thingf:  new,  Rev.  xxi.  1  to  4, 
5;  and  by  the  river  of  living  water 
proceeding  from  the  throne  of  God  and 
of  the  Lamb,  xxii.  1,  2;  and  also  by 
the  five  prudent  virgins,  who  had  lamps 
and  oil,  and  went  in  with  the  bride- 
groom to  the  wedding.  Matt.  xxv.  1, 
2,  10.    One  baptized,  that  is,  regen- 
erated, is  meant  by  creature,  Mark  xvi. 
15;  Rom.  viii.  19,  20,  21 ;  and  by  a  new 
creature,  2  Cor.  v.  17  ;  Gal.  vi.  15 :  for 
creature  is  said  from  to  be  created,  by 
which  also  is  signified  to  be  regenerat- 
I    ed  :  see  the  Apocalypse  Reve.\led, 
I    n.  254.    In  the  world,  regeneration  is 
]    represented  by  various  things,  as  by 
the  blossomings  of  all  things  of  the 
°    earth  in  the  time  of  spring,  and  by 
their  successive  growth  even  to  fructifi- 
cations ;  in  like  manner,  by  the  growth 
i    of  every  tree,  shrub  and  flower,  from 
the  first  month  of  heat  even  to  the  last 
(    of  it.   It  is  represented  also  by  the  pro- 
j    gressive  ripening  of  all  fruits  from  the 

I first   stamen  to  full  maturity :    it  is 
represented  then  by  morning  and  even- 
ing showers  and  by  dews,  at  the  coming 
of  which  the  flowers  open  themselves, 
and  at  the  darkness  of  night  they  con- 
tract themselves ;  again,  by  the  fra- 
grances from  gardens  and  fields,  and 
also  by  the  rainbow  in  the  cloud.  Gen. 
ix.  14  to  17 ;  as  also  by  the  splendid 
colors  of  the  morning  before  sunrise ; 
\    and,  in  general,  by  the  continual  reno- 
I    vation  of  all  things  in  bodies,  by  means 
i    of  the  chyle,  and  by  means  of  the  ani- 
mal spirit,  and  thence  the  blood,  the 
';  purification  of  which  from  useless  things, 
I  and  renovation,  and  as  it  were  regen- 
I  j  eration,  is  perpetual.    If  attention  be 
'    given  to  the  vilest  things  in  the  earth, 
an  image  of  regeneration  is  presented 
in  the  wonderful  transformation  of  silk- 
worms and  many  other  worms  into 
nymphs  and  butterflies,  and  in  that  of 
otherSjWhich  in  time  are  furnished  with 


wings.  To  which  we  may  add  things 
still  more  trivial ;  it  is  represented  by 
the  desire  of  certain  birds  of  immersing 
themselves  in  waters  for  the  sake  of 
washing  and  cleansing  themselves, 
after  which  they  return,  like  the  nightin- 
gales, to  their  songs.  In  a  word,  the 
whole  world,  from  the  firsts  to  the  lasts 
of  it,  is  full  of  representations  and  types 
of  regeneration. 

683.  VII.  That  by  Means  of  the 
Baptism  of  John,  a  Way  was  pre- 
pared,  THAT    Jehovah    the  Lord 

MIGHT   be   able   TO   COME  DOWN  INTO 

THE  World  and  perform  Redemp- 
tion. 

It  is  read  in  Malachi,  Behold  I  send 
my  angel,  who  will  prepare  the  way 
before  Me;  and  suddenly  the  Lord 
whom  ye  seek  will  come  to  his  temple, 
even  the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  whom 
ye  desire.  Who  will  be  able  to  bear 
the  day  of  his  coming,  and  who-  will 
stand  lohen  He  shall  appear  ?  iii.  1,  2. 
And  again  ;  Behold  I  icill  send  to  you 
Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  Jehovah  cometh, 
lest  I  come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a 
curse,  iv.  5,  6.  And  Zachariah  the 
father,  prophesying  concerning  his  son 
John:  Thou  child  shalt  be  called  the 
prophet  of  the  Most  High ;  thou  shalt 
go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  to  pre- 
pare his  ways,  Luke  i.  76.  And  the 
Lord  himself,  concerning  John  :  This 
is  he  of  whom  it  is  written.  Behold  J 
send  my  angel  before  my  face,  who  will 
prepare  thy  way  before  Thee,  Luke  vii. 
27.  From  these  it  is  evident,  that  John 
was  that  prophet  who  was  sent  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  Jehovah  God,  that  He 
might  come  down  into  the  world,  and 
perform  redemption ;  and  that  he  pre- 
pared that  way  by  baptism,  and  then 
the  annunciation  of  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  that  without  that  prepara- 
tion, all  there  would  have  been  smitten 
with  a  curse,  and  would  have  perished. 

689.  The  reason  why  a  way  was 
prepared  by  the  baptism  of  John  was, 
because,  by  means  of  that,  as  was 
shown  above,  they  were  introduced 
into  the  future  church  of  the  Lord,  and 
in  heaven  were  inserted  among  those 
there,  who  expected  and  desired  the 


466 


Concerning  Baptism. 


Messiah,  and  thus  were  guarded  by 
angels,  so  that  devils  from  hell  might 
not   break  forth   and   destroy  them. 
Wherefore  it  is  said  in  Malachi,  Who 
will  be  able  to  bear  the  day  of  his  com- 
ing? and,  Z,es<  Jehovah  come  and  smite 
the  earth  with  a  curse,  iii.  2,  and  iv.  6. 
In  like  manner  in  Isaiah;  ^e/(oZrf  the 
day  of  Jehovah  cometh,  cruel,  and  of 
indignation,  and  of  wrath,  and  of  an- 
ger.   I  ivill  shake  the  heaven,  and  the 
earth  shall  tremble  out  of  its  place,  in 
the  day  of  the  wrath  of  his  anger,  xiii. 
6,  9,  13 ;  xxii.  5,  12.    Likewise  in 
Jeremiah,  that  day  is  called  a  day  of 
wasting,  of  vengeance,  and  of  destruc- 
tion, iv.  9  ;  vii.  32  ;  xlvi.  10,  21 ;  xlvii. 
4;  xlix.  8,  26:   in  Ezekiel,  a  day 
of  anger,  of  cloud  and  thick  darkness, 
xiii.  5;  xxx.  2,  3,  9;  xxxiv.  11,  12; 
xxxviii.  14,  16,  18,  19  :   and  also  in 
Amos,  V.  13,  18,  20;  viii.  3,  9,  13:  in 
Joel,  the  great   and  terrible  day  of 
Jehovah,  and  who  leill  be  able  to  bear 
it?   ii.  1,  2,   11  ;  iii.  2,  4 :   and  in 
Zephaniah  ;  In  that  day  there  shall  be 
the  voice  of  a  cry ;  the  great  day  of 
Jehovah  is  near,  this  day  a  day  of  wrath, 
a  day  of  trouble  and  distress,  a  day  of 
wasting  and  devastation.    In  the  day 
of  Jehovah's  wrath  the  whole  earth  shall 
be  devoured,  and  He  will  make  a  consum- 
mation  with  all  the  inhabitants  ojf  the 
earth,  i.  7  to  18 :   besides  in  other 
places.  From  which  it  is  manifest,  that 
unless  a  way  had  been  prejjared  for 
Jehovah  coming  down  into  the  world, 
by  baptism,  the  effect  of  which  in  heav- 
en was,  that  the  hells  were  closed,  and 
the  Jews  preserved  from  total  destruc- 
tion, [they  must  have  perished].  Jeho- 
vah also  said  to  Moses,  In  one  moment, 
if  I  should  come  up  into  the  midst  of 
thee,  I  shoidd  consume  the  people,  Exod. 
xxxiii.  5.    That  it  is  so,  is  clearly  man- 
ifest from  the  words  of  John  to  the  nuii- 
titudes  coming  out  to  be  baptized  by 
him  *.     O  generation  of  vipers,  who 
hath  learned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come  ?    Matt.  iii.  7  ;    Luke  iii.  7. 
That  John  also  taught  Christ  and  his 
coming,  when  he  baptized,  may  be  seen 
Luke  iii.  16;  John  i.  25,26,31,32, 
33 ;  iii.  26.    Hence  it  is  manifest  how 
John  prepared  the  way. 


690.  As  to  what  concerns  the  bap- 
tism of  John,  it  represented  the  cleans- 
ing of  the  external  man  ;  but  the  bap- 
tism which  is  at  this  day  with  Chris- 
tians, represents  the  cleansing  of  the 
internal  man,  which  is  regeneration  : 
wherefore  it  is  read,  that  John  baptized 
with  water,  but  that  the  Lord  baptizes 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  fire ;  and 
therefore  the  baptism  of  John  is  called 
the  baptism  of  repentance,  Matt.  iii.  2  ; 
Mark  i.  4,  and  the  following  ;  Luke 
iii.  3,  16 ;  John  i.  25,  26,  33 ;  Acts 
i.  22;  x.  37;  xviii.  25.  The  Jews 
who  were  baptized  were  merely  exter- 
nal men,  and  the  external  man  cannot 
become  internal  without  faith  in  Christ. 
That  those  who  were  baptized  with  the 
baptism  of  John  became  internal  men, 
when  they  received  faith  in  Christ,  and 
then  were  baptized  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  may  be  seen  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  xix.  3  to  6. 

691.  Moses  said  to  Jehovah,  Shoiv 
me  thy  glory ;  to  whom  Jehovah  said, 
Thou  canst  not  sec  my  face,  because  no 
man  shall  .irr  3Ic  and  live.  And  He 
said,  Behold  there  is  a  place  where  thou 
shalt  stand  upon  a  rock,  and  I  will  put 
thee  in  a  hole  of  the  rock,  and  I  will 
cover  thee  with  my  hand,  until  1  shcdl 
have  passed  by  ;  and  when  I  shall  have 
removed  my  hand,  thou  shalt  see  my 
back  parts,  but  my  face  shall  not  be 
seen,  Exod.  xxxiii.  18  to  23.  The 
reason  why  man  cannot  see  God  and 
live,  is,  because  God  is  Love  itself,  and 
Love  itself  or  the  Divine  Love,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  appears  before  the  an- 
gels as  a  sun,  distant  from  them  as 
the  sun  of  our  world  is  distant  from 
men.  Wherefore,  if  God,  who  is  in  the 
midst  of  that  sun,  should  approach  near 
to  the  angels,  they  would  perish,  as 
men  would  if  the  sun  of  the  world 
should  approach  to  them,  for  it  is  equally 
burning ;  for  which  reason  there  are 
perpetual  temperatives,  which  modify 
and  moderate  the  heat  of  that  love,  lest 
it  should  flow  in,  as  it  is  in  itself,  into 
heaven,  for  then  the  angels  would  be 
consumed.  And  therefore,  when  the 
Lord  exhibits  Himself  more  immediate- 
ly present  in  heaven,  the  wicked  who 
are  under  heaven  begin  to  lament,  to  be 


Concerning  Baptism. 


457 


tortured,  and  to  become  inanimate ; 
wherefore  they  flee  away  into  caves  and 
clefts  of  the  mountains,  crying,  Fall 
upon  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of 
Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  Rev. 
vi.  16;  Isaiah  ii.  19,21.  The  Lord 
himself  does  not  descend,  but  an  angel 
with  a  sphere  of  love  from  the  Lord 
around  him.  I  have  several  times  seen 
the  wicked  terrified  by  that  descent,  as 
if  they  saw  death  itself  before  their 
eyes ;  some  who  precipitated  themselves 
deeper  and  deeper  into  hell,  and  some 
driven  to  madness.  Thence  it  was 
that  the  sons  of  Israel  prepared  them- 
selves for  three  days,  before  the  descent 
of  Jehovah  the  Lord  upon  mount  Sinai ; 
and  that  the  mount  was  hedged  around, 
lest  any  one  should  approach  and  die, 
Exod.  xix.  It  was  similar  with  the 
holiness  of  Jehovah  the  Lord  in  the 
decalogue,  then  promulgated  and  written 
upon  two  tables  with  the  finger  of  God, 
and  afterwards  laid  up  in  the  ark,  over 
which,  in  the  tabernacle,  the  mercy-seat 
was  placed,  and  upon  this  the  cherubs, 
that  no  one  might  touch  that  holiness 
immediately  with  the  hand  or  eye ;  to 
which  neither  could  Aaron  come  but 
once  in  a  year,  after  he  had  expiated 
himself  by  sacrifices  and  incense. 
Thence  it  was  that  the  Ekronites  and 
Bethshemites  to  several  thousands  died, 
only  because  they  saw  the  ark  with 
their  eyes,  1  Sam.  v.  11,  12;  vi.  19: 
and  also  Uzzah,  because  he  touched  it, 
2  Sam.  vi.  6,  7.  From  these  few  things 
it  has  been  illustrated,  with  what  a 
curse  and  destruction  the  Jews  would 
have  been  smitten,  unless  they  had 
been  prepared,  by  means  of  the  bap- 
tism of  John,  for  receiving  the  Messiah, 
who  was  Jehovah  God  in  the  human 
form,  and  unless  He  had  assumed  the 
Human,  and  thus  revealed  Himself ;  and 
that  they  were  prepared  by  this,  that  in 
heaven  they  were  enrolled  and  num- 
bered among  those  who,  in  heart,  ex- 
pected and  desired  the  Messiah ;  whence 
angels  were  then  sent  and  made  their 
guardians. 

692.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  these 
Relations.     First.     When  I  was 
going  home  from  the  school  of  wisdom, 
S8 


I  saw  in  the  way  an  angel  in  a  violet- 
colored  garment.  He  joined  himself 
to  my  side,  and  said,  "  I  see  that  you 
have  come  from  the  school  of  wisdom, 
and  that  you  were  delighted  with  the 
things  heard  there ;  and  because  I 
perceive  that  you  are  not  fully  in  this 
world,  because  you  are  at  the  same 
time  in  the  natural  world,  and  are 
therefore  ignorant  of  our  Olympiac  gym- 
nasiums, where  the  ancient  sages  meet 
together,  and  learn  of  the  new  comers 
from  your  world  what  changes  of  state 
and  successions  wisdom  has  under- 
gone and  still  undergoes ;  if  you  please, 
I  will  conduct  you  to  a  place  where 
several  of  the  ancient  sages  and  their 
sons,  that  is,  their  disciples,  dwell." 
And  he  conducted  me  to  the  confines 
between  the  north  and  east ;  and  when, 
from  an  elevated  place,  I  looked  forward 
thither,  behold,  there  appeared  a  city, 
and  on  one  side  of  it  two  hills,  and  the 
one  next  to  the  city  lower  than  the 
other  ;  and  he  said  to  me,  "  That  city 
is  called  AthenEum,  the  lower  hill 
Parnassium,  and  the  higher  Heli- 
conaeum.  They  are  so  called,  because 
the  ancient  wise  men  in  Greece,  as  Py- 
thagoras, Socrates,  Aristippus,  Xeno- 
phon,  with  their  disciples  and  scholars, 
reside  in  the  city  and  around  it."  And 
I  inquired  about  Plato  and  Aristotle. 
He  said  that  they  and  their  followers 
dwelt  in  another  region,  because  they 
taught  rational  things,  which  are  of  the 
understanding ;  but  the  former,  moral 
things,  which  are  of  life.  He  said  that 
students  were  frequently  sent  away 
from  the  city  Athenaeum  to  the  learned 
of  the  Christians,  that  they  might  tell 
what  they  think  at  this  day  concerning 
God,  concerning  the  creation  of  the 
universe,  concerning  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  concerning  the  state  of 
man  relative  to  the  state  of  beasts,  and 
concerning  other  subjects  which  are  of 
interior  wisdom.  And  he  said  that 
the  herald  had  announced  a  meeting 
to-day,  an  indication  that  the  emissaries 
had  found  new  comers  from  the  earth, 
from  whom  they  have  heard  curious 
things.  And  we  saw  many  going  out 
of  the  city  and  from  the  vicinity,  some 
having  laurels  upon  their  heads,  some 


458 


Concerning  Baptism. 


holding  palms  in  their  hands,  some 
with  books  under  their  arms,  and  some 
with  pens  under  the  hair  of  the  left 
temple.  We  joined  them,  and  went  up 
together  with  them  ;  and  behold,  upon 
the  hill  an  octagonal  palace,  which  they 
called  the  Palladium  ;  and  we  entered, 
and  behold  there  eight  hexangular 
apartments,  in  each  of  which  there  was 
a  library,  and  also  a  table,  at  which  the 
laurelled  ones  sat  down ;  and  in  the 
Palladium  itself  were  seen  seats  carved 
out  of  stone,  upon  which  the  rest  seated 
themselves.  And  then  a  door  was 
opened  to  the  left,  through  which  two 
new  comers  from  the  earth  were  intro- 
duced, and  after  they  had  been  saluted, 
one  of  the  laurelled  ones  asked  them, 
"  What  news  from  the  e.\rth  ? " 
And  they  said,  "  The  news  is,  that  they 
have  found  in  the  woods  men  like 
beasts,  or  beasts  like  men  ;  but  that 
from  the  face  and  body  they  know  that 
they  were  born  men,  and  in  the  second 
or  third  year  of  their  age  lost  or  left  in 
the  woods.  They  said  that  they  could 
not  express  any  thing  of  thought,  nor 
learn  to  articulate  sound  into  any  word ; 
that  they  did  not  know  the  food  con- 
venient for  them,  as  beasts  do,  but  that 
they  put  wild  fruits  both  clean  and  un- 
clean into  their  mouth ;  beside  many 
other  things;  from  which  some  of  the 
learned  with  us  conjectured,  and  some 
concluded,  many  things  concerning  the 
state  of  men  relative  to  the  state  of 
beasts."  On  hearing  this,  some  of  the 
ancient  sages  asked,  "  What  do  they 
conjecture  and  conclude  from  them  ? " 
And  the  two  new  comers  answered, 
"  Many  things,  which,  however,  may  be 
referred  to  these:  1.  That  man,  from 
his  nature,  and  also  from  nativity,  is 
more  stupid,  and  thence  more  vile,  than 
any  beast,  and  that  he  becomes  so,  if 
he  is  not  instructed.  2.  That  he  can 
be  instructed,  because  he  has  learned 
to  sound  articulately,  and  thence  to 
speak  ;  and  that  by  this  means  he  began 
to  utter  thoughts,  and  this  successively 
more  and  more,  until  he  could  express 
the  laws  of  society,  many  of  which, 
however,  are  impressed  upon  beasts 
from  nativity.  3.  That  beasts  have 
rationality  as  well  as  men.    4.  Where- 


fore, if  beasts  could  speak,  they  would 
reason  on  any  subject  as  ingeniously 
as  men  ;  a  proof  of  which  is,  that  they 
think  from  reason  and  prudence  as  well 
as  men.  5.  That  understanding  is 
only  a  modification  of  light  from  the 
sun,  heat  cooperating,  by  means  of 
ether,  so  that  it  is  only  the  activity  of 
interior  nature,  and  that  this  can  be 
exalted  so  that  it  may  appear  as  wisdom. 

6.  That  it  is  therefore  vain  to  believe 
that  man  lives  after  death,  any  more 
than  a  beast ;  except  that  he  may,  per- 
haps, for  several  days  after  his  decease, 
from  an  exhalation  of  the  life  of  the 
body,  appear  as  a  thick  cloud  under 
the  form  of  a  ghost,  before  he  is  dissi- 
pated into  nature  ;  scarcely  otherwise 
than  as  a  twig,  taken  out  of  the  ashes, 
appears  in  the  likeness  of  its  own  form. 

7.  Consequently  that  religion,  which 
teaches  a  life  after  death,  was  invented, 
that  the  simple  may  be  held  inwardly 
in  bondage  by  its  laws,  as  they  are 
held  outwardly  by  the  laws  of  the  state." 
To  this  they  added,  that  the  merely  in- 
genious reason  thus,  but  not  the  intelli- 
gent. And  they  asked,  "How  do  the 
intelligent? "  They  said  that  they  had 
not  heard,  but  that  they  thought  so. 

On  hearing  these  things,  all  who  sat 
at  the  tables  said,  "Oh!  what  times 
now  upon  the  earth !  Alas !  what 
changes  has  wisdom  undergone !  Is  it 
not  turned  into  an  infatuated  ingenuity? 
The  sun  is  set,  and  it  is  under  the 
earth  diametrically  opposite  to  its  me- 
ridian. From  the  case  of  those  who 
were  left  and  found  in  the  woods,  who 
may  not  know  that  man  uninstructed 
is  such  ?  Is  he  not  as  he  is  instructed  ? 
Is  he  not  born  in  ignorance  more  than 
the  beasts  ?  Must  he  not  learn  to  walk 
and  to  speak?  If  he  did  not  learn  to 
walk,  would  he  raise  himself  up  on  his 
feet  ?  If  he  did  not  learn  to  speak, 
would  he  utter  any  thing  of  thought  ? 
Is  not  every  man  just  as  he  is  instruct- 
ed, insane  from  fal.^es,  and  wise  from 
truths  ?  And  is  not  he  who  is  insane 
from  falses,  in  the  full  persuasion  that 
he  is  wiser  than  one  who  is  wise  from 
truths?  Are  there  not  idiots  and  in- 
sane persons,  who  arc  no  more  men 
than  those  found  in  the  woods  ?  Are 


Concerning  Baptism. 


459 


not  those  who  are  deprived  of  memory 
like  these  ?  From  all  these  cases  we 
have  concluded,  that  man,  without  in- 
struction, is  not  a  man  nor  a  beast,  but 
a  form  which  can  receive  into  itself 
that  which  makes  a  man  ;  and  thus  that 
he  is  not  born  a  man,  but  that  he  be- 
comes a  man  ;  and  that  man  is  born  such 
a  form,  that  he  may  be  an  organ  recep- 
tive of  life  from  God,  in  order  that  he 
may  be  a  subject  into  which  God  can 
put  every  good,  and,  by  union  with  him- 
self, make  him  happy  for  ever.  We 
perceive,  from  your  discourse,  that  wis- 
dom at  this  day  is  so  far  extinguished 
or  infatuated,  that  they  know  nothing 
at  all  concerning  the  state  of  the  life  of 
men  relative  to  the  state  of  the  life  of 
beasts ;  thence  it  is,  that  they  do  not 
know  the  state  of  the  life  of  man  after 
death.  But  those  who  could  know  this, 
but  are  not  willing  to  know  it,  and 
thence  deny  it,  as  many  of  you  Chris- 
tians do,  we  can  liken  to  those  found 
in  the  woods  ;  not  that  they  became  so 
stupid  from  want  of  instruction,  but 
that  they  have  made  themselves  so  stu- 
pid by  means  of  the  fallacies  of  the 
senses,  which  are  the  darkness  of 
truths." 

But  then  a  certain  one,  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  Palladium,  holding 
in  his  hand  a  palm,  said,  "  Unfold,  I 
pray,  this  mystery,  how  man,  cre- 
ated a  form  of  God,  could  be  changed 
into  the  form  of  the  devil.  I  know  that 
the  angels  of  heaven  are  forms  of  God, 
and  that  the  angels  of  hell  are  forms  of 
the  devil ;  and  the  two  are  opposite  to 
each  other,  these  insanities,  and  those 
wisdoms.  Tell,  therefore,  how  a  man, 
created  a  form  of  God,  could  pass  from 
day  into  such  night  as  to  be  able  to 
deny  God  and  eternal  life."  To  this 
the  teachers  answered  in  order,  first 
the  Pythagoreans,  then  the  Socratics, 
and  afterwards  the  rest.  But  among 
them  there  was  a  certain  Platonist :  he 
spoke  last,  and  his  opinion  prevailed, 
which  was,  "  That  the  men  of  the 
Saturnian  or  the  golden  age  knew  and 
acknowledged,  that  they  were  forms  re- 
ceptive of  life  from  God,  and  that,  there- 
fore, wisdom  was  inscribed  upon  their 
souls  and  hearts ;  and  thence,  that  from 


the  light  of  truth  they  saw  truth,  and  by 
means  of  truths  perceived  good  from 
the  delight  of  the  love  of  it.  But  as 
the  human  race,  in  the  following  ages, 
receded  from  the  acknowledgment  that 
all  the  truth  of  wisdom,  and  thence 
the  good  of  love  with  them,  continually 
flowed  in  from  God,  they  ceased  to  be 
habitations  of  God  ;  and  then  also  ceas- 
ed communion  with  God,  and  consocia- 
tion with  angels ;  for  the  interiors  of 
their  mind  were  bent  out  of  their 
direction,  which  had  been  elevated  up- 
wards to  God  by  God,  into  a  direction 
more  and  more  oblique  outwards  into 
the  world,  and  thus  to  God  by  God 
through  the  world ;  and  at  length  turn- 
ed about  into  the  opposite  direction, 
which  is  downwards  to  themselves. 
And  because  God  cannot  be  looked  at 
by  man  interiorly  inverted,  and  thus 
averted,  men  separated  themselves 
from  God  and  became  forms  of  hell, 
and  thus  of  the  devil.  Hence  it  follows, 
that  in  the  first  ages  they  acknowledged, 
in  heart  and  soul,  that  they  had  all  the 
good  of  love,  and  thence  the  truth  of 
wisdom,  from  God,  and  also  that  these 
were  of  God  in  them,  and  thus  that  they 
were  mere  receptacles  of  life  from  God, 
and  thence  called  images  of  God,  sons 
of  God,  and  born  of  God  ;  but  that  in 
succeeding  ages  they  did  not  acknowl- 
edge that  in  heart  and  soul,  but  with  a 
certain  persuasive  faith,  and  then  with 
an  historical  faith,  and,  at  last,  only 
with  the  mouth ;  and  to  acknowledge 
such  a  thing  only  with  the  mouth,  is  not 
to  acknowledge  it,  yea,  it  is  to  deny  it 
in  heart.  Hence  it  may  be  seen,  what 
sort  of  wisdom  there  is  at  this  day  on 
the  earth  with  Christians ;  although 
from  a  written  revelation  they  could  be 
inspired  by  God,  yet  they  do  not  know 
the  distinction  between  man  and  beast; 
and  thence  many  believe,  that  if  man 
lives  after  death,  beasts  will  live  also ; or, 
because  a  beast  does  not  live  after  death, 
that  man  will  not.  Has  not  our  spirit- 
ual light,  which  enlightens  the  sight  of 
the  mind,  with  them  become  thick 
darkness  ?  And  has  not  their  natural 
light,  which  enlightens  only  the  sight 
of  the  body,  become  to  them  bright- 
ness ?  " 


460 


Concerning  Baptism. 


After  this,  they  all  turned  themselves 
towards  the  two  new  comers,  and  thank- 
ed them  for  coming  and  telling  the 
news,  and  requested  that  they  would  re- 
late to  their  brethren  the  things  which 
they  had  heard.  And  the  new  comers 
replied,  that  they  would  confirm  their 
brethren  in  this  truth,  that,  as  far  as  they 
attribute  all  the  good  of  charity  and 
truth  of  faith  to  the  Lord,  and  not  to 
themselves,  so  far  they  are  men,  and  so 
far  they  become  angels  of  heaven. 

693.     Second    Relation.  After 
some  weeks,  I    heard  a  voice  from 
heaven,  saying,  "  Behold,  again  a  meet- 
ing in  Parnassium  ;  come  hither,  we 
will  show  the  way."    I  went  up,  and 
when  I  was  near,  I  saw  a  certain  one 
upon    Heliconffium  with    a  trumpet, 
with  which   he  announced  and  pro- 
claimed the  meeting.    And  I  saw  them 
going  up  from  the  city  Athenaeum  and 
its  confines,  as  before  ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  them,  three  new  comers  from  the 
world.    Those  three  were   from  the 
Christians ;  one  was  a  priest,  another 
a  politician,  and  the  third  a  philosopher ; 
these  they  entertained  in  the  w^y  with 
various  conversation,  especially  concern- 
ing the  ancient  wise  men,  whom  they 
named.    They  asked  if  they  should 
see  them.    They  said  that  they  should, 
and,  if  they  wished,  they  might  speak 
to  them,  since  they  were  affable.  They 
asked  about  Demosthenes,  Diogenes, and 
Epicurus.    They  said,  "Demosthenes 
is  not  here,  but  with  Plato.  Diogenes, 
with  his  scholars,  resides  under  Hcli- 
conJBum,  because  he  reputes  the  things 
of  the  world  as  of  no  account,  and  re- 
volves in  his  mind  only  heavenly  things. 
Epicurus  dwells  to  the  west,  on  the 
boundary  ;  nor  does  he  come  in  to  us, 
because  we  distinguish  between  good 
affections  and  evil  affections,  and  say 
that  good  affections  are  in  agreement 
with  wisdom,  and  evil  affections  are 
contrary  to  wisdom."    When  they  had 
ascended  the  hill   Parnassium,  some 
guards  there  brought  water  from  the 
fountain  there,  in  crystal    cups,  and 
said  it  was  water  from  the  fountain, 
concerning  which  the  ancients  fabled 
that  it  was  broken  through  by  the  hoof 
of  the  horse  Pegasus,  and  afterwards 


consecrated  to  the  nine  virgin?.  But 
by   the   winged   horse   Pegasus  the 
ancients  understood  the  understanding 
of  truth,  by  which  is  wisdom ;  by  the 
hoofs  of  his  feet  they  understood  ex- 
periments, by  which  is  natural  intelli- 
gence; and  by  the  nine  virgins,  they 
understood  knowledges  and  sciences 
of  every  kind.    These  things  are  at 
this  day  called  fables,  but  they  were 
correspondences,  from  which  the  prime- 
val people  spoke.     The  companions 
said  to  the  three  new  comers,  "  Do  not 
wonder;   the  guards   have   been  in- 
structed to  speak  thus ;  and  we  under- 
stand, by  drinking  water  from  a  foun- 
tain,to  be  instructed  concerning  truths, 
and,  by  means  of  truths,  concerning 
goods,  and  thus  to  be  wise."    After  this 
they  entered  the  Palladium,  and  with 
them  the  three  new  comers  from  the 
world — the  priest,  the  politician  and  the 
philosopher.    And  then  the  laurelled 
ones  who  sat  at  the  tables  asked,  "What 
NEWS  FROM  THE  EARTH  ?  "    And  they 
answered,  "  This  is  new,  that  a  cer- 
tain man  affirms  that  he  speaks  with 
angels,  and  has  his  sight  open  into  the 
spiritual  world  equally  as  he  has  it  open 
into  the  natural  world  ;  and  he  brings 
thence  many  new  things,  among  which 
are  these  :  That  man  lives  a  man  after 
death,  just  as  he  did  before  in  the  world  ; 
that  he  sees,  hears,  speaks,  as  before  in 
the  world  ;  that  he  is  clothed  and  adorn- 
ed as  before  in  the  world  ;  that  he  hun- 
gers and  thirsts,  eats  and  drinks,  as 
before  in  the  world  ;   that  he  enjoys 
conjugial  delight  as  before  in  the  woHd  ; 
that  he  sleeps  and  awakes  as  before 
in  the    world ;  that   there   are  there 
lands  and  lakes,  mountains  and  hills, 
plains  and  valleys,  fountains  and  rivers, 
paradises  and  groves ;  and  also  that 
there  are  there  palaces,  and  houses,  and 
cities,  and  villages,  as  in  the  natural 
world  ;  as  also  that  there  are  writings  and 
books,  and  that  there  are  employments 
and  tradings,  and  also  precious  stones, 
gold  and  silver :  in  a  word,  that  there  are 
all  things  and  every  thing  that  there  is 
in  the  earth  ;  and  those  in  the  heavens 
are  infinitely  more  perfect,  with  the 
diflference  only,  that  all  the  things  that 
are  in  the  spiritual  world  are  from  a 


Concerning  Baptism. 


461 


spiritual  origin,  and  thence  spiritual,  be- 
cause they  are  from  the  sun  there,  which 
is  pure  love  ;  and  that  all  the  things 
that  are  in  the  natural  world  are  from  a 
natural  origin,  and  thence  natural  and 
material,  because  they  are  from  the  sun 
there,  which  is  pure  fire  ;  in  a  word, 
that  man  after  death  is  perfectly  man, 
yea,  more  perfectly  man  than  before  in 
the  world ;  for  before,  in  the  world,  he 
was  in  a  material  body,  but  in  this  he 
is  in  a  spiritual  body." 

After  these  things  were  said,  the 
ancient  wise  men  asked,  "  What  do 
they  think  about  those  things  upon 
earth  ?  "  The  three  said,  "  We  know 
that  they  are  true,  because  we  are  here, 
and  have  surveyed  and  explored  them 
all ;  wherefore  we  will  tell  how  they 
talked  and  reasoned  about  them  upon 
the  earth."  And  then  the  Priest  said, 
"  Those  who  are  of  our  order,  at  first, 
when  they  heard  those  things,  called 
them  visions,  then  fictions,  afterwards 
that  he  may  have  seen  spectres,  and  at 
last  they  hesitated  and  said,  '  Believe 
if  you  will ;  we  have  hitherto  taught 
that  man  is  not  to  be  in  a  body  after 
death,  be/ore  the  day  of  the  last  judg- 
ment.'" And  they  asked,  "Are  there 
not  some  intelligent  ones  among  them, 
who  can  demonstrate  and  convince 
them  of  the  truth,  that  man  lives  a  man 
after  death  ?  "  The  priest  said,  "  There 
are  those  who  demonstrate,  but  they  do 
not  convince.  Those  who  demonstrate, 
say  that  it  is  contrary  to  sound  reason 
to  believe  that  man  does  not  live  a  man 
before  the  day  of  the  last  judgment, 
and  that  in  the  mean  time  he  is  a  soul 
without  a  body.  What  is  the  soul,  and 
where  is  it,  in  the  mean  time  1  Is  it 
breath,  or  something  of  wind  fly- 
ing about  in  the  air,  or  an  entity  hid  in 
the  middle  of  the  earth  ?  Where  is  its 
location?  (Pu)  Are  the  souls  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  and  of  all  after  them  now  for 
six  thousand  years,  or  sixty  centuries, 
flying  about  in  the  universe,  or  kept 
shut  up  in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  and 
in  expectation  of  the  last  judgment  ? 
What  is  more  anxious  and  miserable 
than  such  expectation  ?  May  not  their 
condition  be  compared  with  the  condi- 
tion of  those  who  are  bound  with  chains 


and  fetters  in  prisons  1  If  such  were 
the  condition  of  men  after  death,  would 
it  not  be  better  to  be  born  an  ass  than 
a  man  ?  Is  it  not  also  contrary  to  rea- 
son to  believe,  that  the  soul  can  be 
reinvested  with  its  body?  Is  not  the 
body  eaten  up  by  worms,  mice  and 
fishes  ?  And  can  a  bony  skeleton,  burnt 
up  by  the  sun  or  reduced  to  dust,  be 
put  into  that  new  body  ?  How  will 
those  cadaverous  and  stinking  things 
be  collected  and  united  to  the  souls  ? 
But  to  such  things,  when  they  hear 
them,  they  do  not  answer  any  thing 
from  reason,  but  stick  to  their  faith, 
saying,  '  We  keep  reason  under  obedi- 
ence to  faith.'  To  the  collecting  of 
all  from  the  sepulchres  at  the  day  of 
the  last  judgment  they  say,  '  This  is 
the  work  of  omnipotence.'  And  when 
they  name  omnipotence  and  faith,  rea- 
son is  banished  ;  and  I  can  say,  that 
then  sound  reason  is  as  nothing,  and  to 
some  as  a  spectre ;  yea,  they  can  say 
to  sound  reason,  '  You  are  insane.' " 
Having  heard  these  things,  the  wise 
men  of  Greece  said,  "Are  not  those 
paradoxes,  as  contradictions,  dissipated 
by  themselves  ?  And  yet,  at  this  day, 
they  cannot  be  dissipated  in  the  world 
by  sound  reason.  What  more  paradox- 
ical can  be  believed,  than  that  which  is 
told  about  the  last  judgment  ? — that 
then  the  universe  is  to  be  destroyed, 
and  that  then  the  stars  of  heaven  are 
to  fall  down  upon  the  earth,  which  is 
smaller  than  the  stars ;  and  that  then 
the  bodies  of  men,  whether  carcasses 
or  mummies  eaten  up  by  men,  or  float- 
ing atoms,  are  to  be  reunited  to  their 
souls  ?  When  we  were  in  the  world, 
we  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the 
souls  of  men,  from  the  inductions  which 
reason  afforded  us,  and  also  we  desig- 
nated places  for  the  blessed,  which 
we  called  the  Elysian  fields ;  and  we 
believed  them  to  be  human  effigies  or 
shapes,  but  delicate  because  spiritual." 
After  these  things  were  said,  they  turned 
.themselves  about  to  another  new  comer, 
who  in  tiie  world  had  been  a  Politi- 
cian. He  confessed  that  he  had  not 
believed  in  a  life  after  death,  and  that 
he  had  thought  concerning  the  new 
things  which  he  heard  about  it,  that 


462 


Concerning  Baptism. 


they  were  fictions  and  inventions. 
Meditating  upon  it,  I  said,  "  How  can 
souls  be  bodies?  Does  not  all  of  the 
man  lie  dead  in  the  sepulchre?  Is  not 
the  eye  there  ?  how  can  he  see  ?  Is 
not  the  ear  there?  how  can  he  hear? 
Whence  has  he  a  mouth  with  which  he 
may  speak?  If  any  thing  of  man  lived 
after  death,  would  it  be  any  thing  else 
than  like  a  spectre  ?  How  can  a  spec- 
tre eat  and  drink,  and  how  can  it  enjoy 
conjugial  delight  ?  Whence  has  it 
clothes,  house,  food,  dtc.  ?  And  spec- 
tres, which  are  aerial  effigies,  appear  as 
if  they  were,  and  yet  they  are  not. 
These  and  the  like  things  I  thought  in 
the  world,  concerning  the  life  of  man 
afler  death ;  but  now,  since  I  have  seen 
all,  and  touched  all  with  my  hands,  I 
am  convinced,  by  the  senses  themselves, 
that  I  am  a  man,  as  in  the  world,  so 
that  I  know  no  other  than  that  I  live 
just  as  I  have  lived,  with  the  difference 
that  I  have  now  sounder  reason.  I  have 
several  times  been  ashamed  of  my 
former  thoughts."  The  Philosopher 
related  similar  things  respecting  him- 
self; but  yet  with  this  difference,  that 
he  reckoned  those  new  things  which 
he  had  heard  concerning  the  life  af\er 
death,  among  the  opinions  and  hypoth- 
eses which  he  had  collected  from  the 
ancients  and  the  moderns.  On  hear- 
ing these  things,  the  sages  were  aston- 
ished ;  and  those  who  were  of  the 
Socratic  school  said,  that  they  perceived, 
by  the  news  from  the  earth,  that  the  in- 
teriors of  human  minds  have  been  suc- 
cessively closed  up,  and  that  now  in  the 
world  the  faith  of  the  false  shines  like 
the  truth,  and  an  infatuated  ingenuity 
like  wisdom,  and  that  the  light  of  wis- 
dom, since  our  times,  has  got  down  from 
the  interiors  of  the  brain  into  the 
mouth,  under  the  nose,  where  it  appears 
to  the  eyes  as  the  splendor  of  the  lip, 
and  the  speech  of  the  mouth  thence,  as 
wisdom.  Having  heard  these  things, 
one  of  the  tyros  there  said,  "  And  how 
stupid  are  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  at  this  day  !  O  that  the 
disciples  of  Heraclitus  and  Democri- 
tus,  who  laugh  at  every  thing,  and  who 
weep  at  every  thing,  were  present,  and 
we  should  hear  great  laughter  and  great 


weeping."  After  this  meeting  was 
over,  they  gave  to  the  three  new  comers 
from  the  earth  the  badges  of  their  au- 
thority, which  were  little  copperplates, 
upon  which  some  hieroglyphics  were 
engraved,  with  which  they  departed. 

694.  Third  Relation.  Sometime 
after,  I  looked  towards  the  city  Athenae- 
um, concerning  which  something  was 
said  in  the  foregoing  Relation,  and  I 
heard  thence  an  unusual  cry ;  there 
was  in  it  something  of  laughter,  in  this 
something  of  indignation,-  and  in  this 
something  of  sadness ;  but  still  that  cry 
was  not  thence  discordant,  but  harmo- 
nious, because  one  was  not  together 
with  another,  but  one  within  another. 
In  the  spiritual  world,  a  variety  and 
mixture  of  affections  are  distinctly 
perceived  in  sound.  I  asked  at  a  dis- 
tance, "What  is  the  matter?"  And 
they  said  that  a  messenger  had  come 
from  the  place  where  the  new  comers 
from  the  Christian  world  first  appear, 
saying,  "  That  he  heard  from  three 
there,  that  in  the  world  whence  they 
came,  they  had  believed  with  the  rest 
there,  that  the  blessed  and  happy  af\er 
death  would  have  entire  rest  from  all 
labors ;  and  because  administrations, 
offices  and  employments  are  labors,  that 
they  would  have  rest  from  them.  And 
because  those  three  have  now  been 
brought  hither  by  our  emissary,  and 
are  standing  at  the  door  and  waiting,  a 
cry  was  made ;  and  after  consultation 
they  determined  that  they  should  not 
be  introduced  into  the  Palladium  in 
Parnassium,  as  the  former  had  been, 
but  into  a  large  auditory  there,  that 
they  might  tell  their  news  from  the 
Christian  world ;  and  some  deputies 
have  been  sent  to  introduce  them  in 
due  form."  Because  I  was  in  the  spirit, 
and  to  spirits  distances  are  according 
to  the  states  of  their  affections,  and 
because  I  then  had  the  affection  of 
seeing  and  hearing  them,  I  seemed  to 
myself  present  there,  and  saw  them  in- 
troduced, and  heard  them  speak.  The 
older  or  wiser  in  the  auditory  sat  at  the 
sides,  and  the  rest  in  the  middle ;  and 
before  these  there  was  an  elevated 
place ;  hither  the  three  new  comers, 
with  the  messenger,  were  conducted,  in 


Concerning  Baptism. 


463- 


a  formal  manner,  by  the  younger  ones, 
through  the  middle  of  the  auditory. 
And  after  silence  was  made,  they  were 
saluted  by  a  certain  eider  there,  and 
asked,  "  What  news  from  the 
EARTH  ?  "  And  they  said,  "  There  are 
many  new  things,  but  tell,  I  pray,  con- 
cerning what  subject."  And  the  elder 
answered,  "  What  news  from  the 

EARTH    CONCERNING  OUR    WORLD  AND 

CONCERNING  HEAVEN?"  And  they 
answered,  "  W^hen  we  had  just  come 
into  this  world,  we  heard  that  there 
are  there  and  in  heaven  administrations, 
offices,  employments,  tradings,  studies, 
in  all  the  departments  of  learning,  and 
■wonderful  pieces  of  workmanship  ;  and 
yet  we  believed  that  after  emigration 
or  translation  from  the  natural  world 
into  this  spiritual  world,  vve  should  come 
into  an  eternal  rest  from  labors ;  and 
what  are  employments  but  labors  ? " 
To  this  the  elder  said,  "  By  eternal  rest 
from  labors,  did  you  understand  eternal 
idleness,  in  which  you  would  be  con- 
tinually sitting  and  lying  down,  drawing 
in  delights  with  your  breast,  and  drink- 
ing in  joys  with  your  mouth  ? "  To 
this  the  three  new  comers,  smiling 
pleasantly,  said,  that  they  supposed 
some  such  thing.  And  then  it  was 
answered  them,  "  What  have  joys  and 
delights  and  the  happiness  thence,  in 
common  with  idleness  ?  From  idleness 
the  mind  collapses  and  is  not  expanded, 
or  the  man  is  deadened  and  not  en- 
livened. Suppose  some  one  sitting  in 
perfect  idleness,  with  iiis  hands  dan- 
gling, his  eyes  cast  down  or  withdrawn, 
and  suppose  that  he  is  surrounded  with 
an  atmosphere  of  gladness ;  would  not 
a  lethargy  seize  both  his  head  and 
body,  and  would  not  the  vita!  expansion 
of  his  face  fall  away;  and  at  length,  his 
fibres  being  rela.xed,  would  he  not  totter 
and  totter  till  he  should  fall  to  the 
earth?  What  keeps  the  system  of  the 
whole  body  in  expansion  and  tension, 
but  the  intention  of  the  mind  ?  And 
whence  the  intention  of  the  mind,  but 
fi-om  occupations  and  employments, 
when  they  are  engaged  in  from  delight  ? 
Wherefore  I  will  tell  you  some  news 
from  heaven,  that  there  are  there  ad- 
ministrations, offices,  courts  of  justice. 


superior  and  inferior,  mechanical  arts 
and  trades."    The  three  new  comers, 
when  they  heard  that  there  were  courts 
of  justice,  superior  and  inferior,  in  heav- 
en, said,  "Why  those?    Are  not  all* 
in  heaven  inspired  and  led  by  God, 
and  thence  do  they  not  know  what  is 
just  and  right?    What  need,  then,  of 
judges?"    And  the  elder  answered, 
"  In  this  world  we  are  instructed,  and 
we  learn  what  is  good  and  true,  and 
also  what  is  just  and  equitable,  in  like 
manner  as  in  the  natural  world ;  and 
these  things  we  learn,  not  immediately 
from  God,  but  mediately  through  others; 
and  every  angel,  as  well  as  every  man, 
thinks  truth  and  does  good  as  from 
himself,  and  this,  according  to  the  state 
of  the  angel,  is  mixed  and  not  pure; 
and  also  among  the  angels  there  are 
the  simple  and  the  wise,  and  the  wise 
will  judge,  while  the  simple,  from  sim- 
plicity and  from  ignorance,  doubt  con- 
cerning what  is  just,  or  depart  from  it. 
But  because  you  are  as  yet  fresh  in 
this  world,  if  it  be  your  good  pleasure, 
follow  me  into  our  city,  and  vve  will 
show  you  every  thing."     And  they 
went  out  of  the  auditory,  and  some  of 
the  elders  also   accompanied  them; 
and  first  they  went  into  a  large  library, 
which  was  distinguished  into  smaller 
collections  according  to  the  sciences. 
The  three  new  comers,  on  seeing  so 
many  books,  were  astonished,  and  said, 
"  Are  there  books,  too,  in  this  world  ? 
Whence  are  the  parchment  and  paper, 
whence  the  pens  and  ink  ?  "    To  this 
the  elders  replied,  "We  perceive  that 
you  believed  in  the  former  world,  that 
tliis  world  was  empty,  because  spiritual ; 
and  that  you  believed  this,  is,  because 
you  cherished  an  idea  of  the  spiritual 
abstracted  from  the  material ;  and  what 
is  abstracted  from  the  irlaterial  appeared 
to  you  as  nothing,  thus  as  empty,  when 
yet  there  is  here  a  plenty  of  all  things. 
All  things  here  are  substantial,  and 
not  material,  and  material  things  derive 
their  origin  from  substantial  things. 
We  who  are  here  are  spiritual  men, 
because  substantial  and  not  material ; 
thence  it  is,  that  all  the  things  that  are 
in  the  natural  world  are  here  in  their 
perfection,  even  books  and  writings,  and 


464 


Concerning  Baptism. 


many  more  things."  The  three  new 
comers,  when  they  heard  things  sub- 
stantial named,  thought  that  it  was 
so,  both  because  they  saw  written 
"books,  and  because  they  heard  it  said 
that  matter  was  originally  from  sub- 
stance. That  they  might  be  still 
more  confirmed  concerning  this,  they 
were  brought  to  the  abodes  of  the 
scribes,  who  were  transcribing  copies 
of  what  had  been  written  by  the  wise 
men  of  the  city ;  and  they  inspected 
the  writing,  and  wondered  that  it  should 
be  so  neat  and  handsome.  After  this 
they  were  conducted  to  the  museums, 
gymnasiums  and  colleges,  and  where 
their  schools  were,  some  of  which  they 
called  the  schools  of  the  Heliconides, 
some  the  schools  of  the  Parnassides, 
some  the  schools  of  the  Atheneides, 
and  some  the  schools  of  the  virgins  of 
the  fountain.  They  said  that  these 
were  so  called,  because  virgins  signify 
the  affections  of  sciences,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  affection  of  sciences,  every 
one  has  intelligence  ;  the  schools,  so 
called,  were  spiritual  e.vercises  and 
trials  of  skill.  Afterwards  they  were 
led  around  in  the  city  to  the  rulers, 
administrators,  and  their  subordinate 
officers,. and  by  these  they  were  led  to 
the  wonderful  works  which  are  done 
by  the  workmen  in  a  spiritual  manner. 
After  these  things  were  seen,  the  elder 
spoke  with  them  again  concerning  the 
eternal  rest  from  labors,  into  which  the 
blessed  and  happy  come  after  death ; 
and  he  said,  "  Eternal  rest  is  not  idle- 
ness, since  from  idleness  there  is  a 
languor,  torpor,  stupor,  and  sleepiness  or" 
the  mind,  and  thence  of  tlie  whole  body, 
and  these  are  death  and  not  life,  and 
still  less  eternal  life  in  which  the  angels 
of  heaven  are.  Wherefore  eternal  rest 
is  a  rest  that  disperses  those  things, 
and  causes  man  to  live;  and  this  is 
nothing  else  than  such  as  elevates  the 
mind ;  it  is  therefore  some  study  and 
work  by  which  the  mind  is  excited, 
enlivened  and  delighted ;  and  this  is 
done  according  to  the  use  from  which, 
in  which,  and  for  which  one  works. 
Thence  it  is  that  the  whole  heaven  is 
viewed  by  the  Lord  as  containing  uses, 
and  every  angel  is  an  angel  according 


to  use ;  the  delight  of  use  carries  him 
along,  as  a  favorable  stream  does  a 
ship,  and  causes  him  to  be  in  eternal 
peace  and  in  the  rest  of  peace ;  thus  is 
understood  eternal  rest  from  labors. 
That  an  angel  is  alive  according  to  the 
exertion  of  the  mind  from  use,  appears 
manifest  from  this,  that  every  one  has 
conjugial  love  with  its  vigor,  potency 
and  delights,  according  to  the  perform- 
ance of  the  genuine  use  in  which  he 
is."  After  those  three  new  comers 
were  confirmed,  that  eternal  rest  was 
not  idleness,  but  the  delight  of  some 
work  which  is  for  use,  there  came 
some  virgins  with  things  embroidered 
and  spun,  the  works  of  their  own 
hands,  and  presented  these  to  them. 
And  the  virgins,  when  those  novitiate 
spirits  were  departing,  sung  an  ode,  in 
which  they  expressed,  with  angelic 
melody,  the  affection  of  works  of  use 
with  its  gratifications. 

695.  Fourth  Relation.  ,  Most 
people  at  this  day,  who  believe  in  a  life 
after  death,  also  believe  that  in  heaven 
their  thoughts  will  be  only  devotions, 
and  their  words  only  ])rayers,  and  these 
and  those,  together  with  the  expressions 
of  the  face  and  the  actions  of  the  body, 
only  glorifications  of  God,  and  thus 
their  hou.«es  only  so  many  houses  of 
worship,  or  temples,  and  thus  that  all 
will  be  priests  of  God.  But  I  can 
assert,  that  there  the  holy  things  of  the 
church  do  not  occupy  the  minds  and 
houses,  more  than  in  the  world,  when 
God  is  duly  worshipped,  although  more 
purely  and  interiorly  ;  but  that  there 
the  various  things  which  are  of  civil 
prudence,  and  the  various  things  which 
are  of  rational  learning,  are  in  their 
excellence.  One  day  I  was  rai-sed  up 
into  heaven,  and  brought  into  a  society 
where  were  the  sages  who,  in  ancient 
times,  excelled  in  learning,  by  study 
and  meditation  upon  such  things  as 
were  of  reason,  and  at  the  same  time 
of  use,  and  who  arc  now  in  heaven, 
because  they  believed  in  God,  and  now 
in  the  Lord,  and  love  the  neighbor  as 
themselves.  Afterwards  I  was  intro- 
duced into  an  assembly  of  them,  and 
there  was  asked  whence  I  was.  1 
told  them  that  with  the  body  I  was  in 


Concerning  Baptism. 


465 


the  natural  world,  but  with  the  spirit 
in  your  spiritual  world.  On  hearing 
this,  those  angels  were  delighted  ;  and 
they  asked,  "  What  do  they,  in  the 
world,  where  you  are  with  the  body, 
know  and  understand  about  Influx  1 " 
And  then,  after  I  had  recollected  what 
I  had  learned  about  it  from  the  dis- 
courses and  writings  of  the  celebrated, 
I  answered,  "That  they  did  not  yet 
know  of  any  influx  from  the  spiritual 
world  into  the  natural  world,  but  con- 
cerning an  influx  from  nature  into  the 
things  derived  from  nature,  as  concern- 
ing the  influx  of  heat  and  light  from 
the  sun  into  animate  bodies,  as  also  into 
trees  and  shrubs,  whence  these  and 
those  are  enlivened ;  and  also  of  cold 
into  the  same,  whence  they  become 
dead ;  and,  moreover,  concerning  an 
influx  of  light  into  the  eyes,  whence  is 
seeing,  concerning  an  influx  of  sound 
into  the  ears,  whence  is  hearing,  and 
concerning  an  influx  of  smell  into  the 
nostrils,  whence  is  smelling,  &.c.  Be- 
side these,  the  learned  of  this  age 
reason  differently  concerning  the  influx 
of  the  soul  into  the  body,  and  of  this 
into  the  soul ;  and  respecting  this  they 
are  divided  into  three  parties,  whether 
the  influx  be  of  the  soul  into  the  body, 
which  they  call  occasional,  from  the 
occasion  of  things  falling  into  the 
senses  of  the  body ;  or  whether  there 
be  an  influx  of  the  body  into  the  soul, 
which  they  call  physical,  because  ob- 
jects fall  into  the  senses,  and  from 
them  into  the  soul ;  or  whether  there 
be  a  simultaneous  and  instantaneous 
influx  mto  the  body,  and  at  the  same 
time  into  the  soul,  which  they  term 
preestablished  harmony  ;  but  yet  each 
thinks  concerning  his  influx,  that  it  is 
within  nature.  Some  believe  that  the 
soul  is  a  particle  or  drop  of  ether ;  some 
that  it  is  a  globule  or  spark  of  heat  and 
light;  some  that  it  is  a  certain  some- 
thing concealing  itself  in  the  brain. 
But  this  and  that,  which  to  them  is  the 
soul,  they  call,  indeed,  spiritual ;  but 
by  spiritual,  they  understand  the  purer 
natural,  for  they  do  not  know  any  thing 
about  the  spiritual  world  and  about  the 
influx  of  this  into  the  natural  world; 
wherefore  they  remain  within  the 
59 


sphere  of  nature,  ^nd  in  it  ascend  and 
descend,  and  raise  themselves  into  it, 
like  eagles  in  the  air.  And  those  who 
stop  in  nature,  are  like  the  inhabitants 
of  some  island  in  the  sea,  who  do  not 
know  that  there  is  any  other  country 
beyond  them ;  and  they  are  like  the 
fishes  in  a  river,  which  do  not  know 
that  there  is  air  above  their  waters. 
Wherefore,  when  it  is  mentioned  that 
there  is  a  world  distinct  from  theirs, 
where  angels  and  spirits  dwell,  and  that 
all  the  influx  into  men,  and  also  an 
interior  influx  into  trees,  is  thence, 
they  stand  amazed,  as  if  they  heard 
visionary  stories  about  spectres,  or  idle 
tales  from  astrologers.  Beside  the  phi- 
losophers, our  people  in  the  world,  where 
I  am  with  the  body,  do  not  think  and 
speak  of  any  other  influx  than  of  the 
influx  of  wine  into  cups,  of  the  influx 
of  food  and  drink  into  the  stomach, 
and  of  taste  into  the  tongue,  and  also 
perhaps  of  the  influx  of  air  into  the 
lungs,  &c. ;  but  if  they  hear  any  thing 
about  an  influx  of  the  spiritual  world 
into  the  natural,  they  say,  'Let  it  flow 
in,  if  it  does;  what  advantage  is  it,  and 
of  what  use  is  it  to  know  it  ? '  and  they 
go  away,  and  afterwards,  when  they 
speak  about  what  they  have  heard  con- 
cerning that  influx,  they  play  with  it, 
as  some  play  with  cockles  between  their 
fingers." 

Afterwards  I  spoke  with  those  angels 
about  the  wonderful  things  which  exist 
from  the  influx  of  the  spiritual  world 
into  the  natural,  as  concerning  worms 
when  they  become  butterflies,  and  also 
concerning  bees  and  drones,  and  the 
wonderful  things  respecting  silk-worms, 
and  also  respecting  spiders;  and  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  ascribe 
those  things  to  the  light  and  heat  of 
the  sun,  and  thus  to  nature ;  and,  what 
I  have  often  wondered  at,  by  means  of 
these  things  they  confirm  themselves  in 
favor  of  nature,  and  by  confirmations 
in  favor  of  nature,  they  bring  upon 
their  minds  sleep  and  death,  and  be- 
come atheists.  After  this  I  related 
wonderfiil  things  respecting  vegetables, 
that  they  all  succeed  in  just  order  from 
a  seed  even  to  new  seeds ;  just  as  if 
the  earth  knew  how  to  suit  and  accom- 


466 


Concerning  Baptism. 


modate  its  elements  to  the  prolific  prin- 
ciple of  the  seed,  and  from  this  to  draw 
forth  the  germ  and  expand  it  into  a 
stalk ;  and  from  this  to  put  forth 
branches  and  clothe  them  with  leaves, 
and  afterwards  adorn  them  with  flowers ; 
and  from  the  interiors  of  these  to  in- 
itiate and  produce  fruits,  and  by  them, 
for  the  sake  of  re-production,  seeds  as 
an  offspring.  But  these  things,  because 
they  have  become  familiar,  customary 
and  common,  by  being  continually  ob- 
served, and  constantly  recurring,  they 
do  not  look  upon  as  wonderful,  but  as 
mere  effects  of  nature ;  and  this  they 
think  solely  because  they  do  not  know 
that  there  is  any  spiritual  world,  and 
that  this  operates  from  within,  and  ac- 
tuates all  and  each  of  the  things  that 
exist  and  are  formed  in  the  world  of 
nature,  and  upon  its  earth,  and  operates 
as  the  human  mind  does  into  the  senses 
and  motions  of  the  body :  and  that  all 
the  particular  things  of  nature  are  as 
it  were  coats,  sheaths  and  coverings, 
which  encompass  spiritual  things,  and 
proximately  produce  effects  correspond- 
ing to  the  end  of  God  the  Creator. 

696.  Fifth  Relation.  Once  I 
prayed  to  the  Lord  that  it  might  be 
given  me  to  speak  with  the  disciples  of 
Aristotle,  and  at  the  same  time  with 
the  disciples  of  Descartes,  and  with 
the  disciples  of  Leibnitz  ;  in  order  that 
I  might  learn  the  opinions  of  their 
mind  concerning  the  intercourse  of  the 
soul  and  the  body.  After  I  had  prayed, 
nine  men  were  present,  three  Aristote- 
lians, three  Cartesians,  and  three  Leib- 
nitzians,  and  stood  around  me ;  the 
adorers  of  Aristotle  on  the  lefl  side,  the 
followers  of  Descartes  on  the  right,  and 
the  favorers  of  Leibnitz  behind.  At  a 
distance  from  me,  and  at  intervals  from 
each  other,  were  seen,  as  it  were,  three 
laurelled  men  ;  and  from  the  perception 
which  flowed  in  from  heaven,  I  knew 
that  they  were  the  leaders  or  founders 
themselves.  Behind  Leibnitz  there 
stood  one  holding  in  his  hand  the  skirt 
of  his  garment,  and  it  was  said  that  it 
was  Wolfius.  Those  nine  men,  when 
they  looked  at  each  other,  at  first 
saluted  and  spoke  to  each  other  with 
a  friendly  voice;  but  presently  af^er, 


there  arose  from  below  a  spirit  with  a 
torch  in  his  right  hand,  and  he  vibrated 
it  before  their  faces ;  thence  they  be- 
came enemies,  three  against  three,  and 
looked  at  each  other  with  a  stern  as- 
pect; for  the  lust  of  disputing  and 
wrangling  seized  them.  And  then  the 
Aristotelians,  who  also  were  schoolmen, 
rose  up,  saying,  "Who  does  not  see 
that  objects  flow  in  through  the  senses 
into  the  soul,  as  one  enters  through  the 
door  into  a  room,  and  that  the  soul 
thinks  according  to  the  influx?  When 
a  lover  sees  a  beautiful  virgin  or  bride, 
does  not  his  eye  sparkle,  and  carry  the 
love  of  her  to  the  soul  ?  Does  not  a 
miser,  when  he  sees  purses  in  which 
there  is  money,  burn  for  them  in  every 
sense  ?  and  does  he  not  infuse  this 
burning  thence  into  the  soul,  and  excite 
the  desire  of  possessing  them  ?  When 
any  proud  man  hears  praises  of  himself 
from  another,  does  he  not  prick  up  his 
ears  ?  and  do  not  these  convey  them  to 
the  soul  ?  Are  not  the  senses  of  the 
body  like  entries,  through  which  alone 
entrance  is  made  to  the  soul  ?  Who 
can  conclude,  fi-oin  these  and  many 
similar  things,  otherwise  than  that  in- 
flux is  from  nature,  or  physical  ?  "  To 
these  things  the  followers  of  Descartes, 
holding  their  fingers  under  their  fore- 
head, and  now  drawing  them  back, 
replied  by  saying,  "Alas!  you  speak 
from  appearances.  Do  you  not  know, 
that  it  is  not  the  eye  that  loves  a  vir- 
gin or  a  bride,  but  the  soul  ?  and, 
that  the  sense  of  the  body  does  not 
desire  the  money  in  the  purse  from 
itself,  but  from  the  soul  ?  and  also, 
that  the  ears  eagerly  catch  hold  of  the 
praises  of  flatterers  in  no  other  man- 
ner ?  Is  not  perception  tl>at  which 
causes  sensation  ?  And  perception  is 
of  the  soul  and  not  of  the  organ.  Tell, 
if  you  can,  what  else  makes  the  tongue 
and  lips  speak,  but  thought ;  and  what 
else  makes  the  haiuis  work,  but  the 
will ;  and  thought  and  will  are  of  the 
soul.  Thus  what  makes  the  eye  see, 
and  the  ears  hear,  and  the  other  organs 
feel,  attend  and  advert  to  their  objects, 
but  the  soul  ?  From  these  and  many 
other  similar  things,  every  one  who  is 
wise  above  the  sensual  things  of  the 


Concei-ning  Baptism. 


467 


body,  concludes  that  there  is  not  an 
influx  of  the  body  into  the  soul,  but  of 
the  soul  into  the  body,  which  we  call 
occasional  influx,  and  also  spiritual." 
Having  heard  this,  the  three  men  who 
stood  behind  the  former  triads,  who 
were  favorers  of  Leibnitz,  lifted  up 
their  voice,  saying,  "  We  have  heard 
the  arguments  on  both  sides,  and  have 
compared  them,  and  have  perceived 
that  in  many  things  these  are  stronger 
than  those,  and  in  many  things  those 
are  stronger  than  these ;  wherefore, 
if  it  be  permitted,  we  will  settle  the 
dispute."  And  to  the  question,  How? 
they  said,  "  There  is  not  any  influx  of 
the  soul  into  the  body,  nor  of  the  body 
into  the  soul ;  but  there  is  a  unanimous 
and  instantaneous  operation  of  both 
together,  which  a  celebrated  author  has 
designated  by  a  noble  name,  calling  it 
preestablished  harmony."  After  this, 
the  spirit  appeared  again  with  a  torch 
in  his  hand,  but  now  in  the  left  hand  ; 
and  he  vibrated  it  at  the  hinder  part  of 
their  heads ;  thence  the  ideas  of  them 
all  became  confused,  and  they  cried 
together,  "  Neither  our  soul  nor  our 
body  knows  which  side  we  should  take ; 
wherefore,  let  us  decide  this  dispute  by 
lot,  and  the  lot  which  comes  out  first 
we  will  favor."  And  they  took  three 
pieces  of  paper,  and  on  one  of  them 
they  wrote  Physical  Influx,  on 
another,  Spiritual  Influx,  and  on 
the  third,  Pre-established  Harmony  ; 
and  they  put  these  three  into  the  crown 
of  a  cap,  and  chose  one  to  take  them 
out.  And  this  one  put  in  his  hand 
and  took  hold  of  that  on  which  was 
written  Spiritual  Influx  ;  which 
being  seen  and  read,  they  all  said,  yet 
some  with  a  clear,  flowing  sound,  some 
with  an  obscure  and  stifled  one,  "  Let 
us  favor  this,  because  it  came  out  first." 
But  an  angel  then  suddenly  stood  by 
and  said,  "  Do  not  suppose  that  the 
piece  of  paper  in  favor  of  spiritual 
influx  came  out  by  chance,  but  provi- 
dentially; for  you  do  not  see  the  truth 
of  it,  because  you  are  in  confiised 
ideas,  but  the  truth  offered  itself  to  the 
hand,  that  you  might  favor  it." 

697.  Sixth  Relation.  Once  I  saw, 
not  far  from  me,  a  meteor :  I  saw  a 


cloud  divided  into  little  clouds,  some  of 
which  were  azure  and  some  dark  ;  and 
I  saw  them  as  if  they  were  dashing 
against  each  other.  Rays  in  streaks 
darted  through  them,  which  now  seemed 
sharp  like  the  points  of  swords,  now 
blunt  like  broken  swords.  The  streaks 
sometimes  ran  out  to  meet  each  other; 
sometimes  they  drew  themselves  back 
within  themselves,  just  like  boxers ;  thus 
the  little  clouds  of  diverse  colors  ap- 
peared as  if  they  were  fighting  with 
each  other ;  but  they  were  playing. 
And  because  this  meteor  was  seen  not 
far  from  me,  I  lifted  up  my  eyes,  looked 
attentively,  and  saw  boys,  young  men  and 
old  men  entering  into  a  house,  which 
was  built  of  marble,  and  underpinned 
with  porphyry.  Over  this  house  was 
that  phenomenon.  And  then,  address- 
ing one  of  those  who  were  entering,  I 
asked,  "  What  is  there  ?  "  He  an- 
swered, "  It  is  a  gymnasium,  where  the 
young  are  initiated  into  the  various 
things  which  are  of  wisdom."  On 
hearing  this,  I  entered  with  them.  I 
was  in  the  spirit,  that  is,  in  a  state  like 
that  in  which  the  men  of  the  spiritual 
world  are,  who  are  called  spirits  and 
angels.  And  behold,  in  that  gymna- 
sium, in  the  front,  there  was  seen  a 
desk,  in  the  middle,  benches,  at  the 
sides  round  about,  seats,  and  over  the 
entrance  an  orchestra.  The  desk  was 
for  the  young  men  who  were  to  answer 
to  the  problem  then  about  to  be  pro- 
posed ;  the  benches  for  the  hearers ;  the  . 
seats  at  the  sides  for  those  who  had 
before  answered  wisely  ;  and  the  or- 
chestra for  the  elders  who  were  to  be 
the  arbiters  and  judges.  In  the  middle 
of  the  orchestra  there  was  a  pulpit, 
where  sat  a  wise  man,  whom  they  called 
the  head-master,  who  proposed  the  prob- 
lems, to  which  the  young  men  in  the 
desk  were  to  answer.  And  after  they 
had  assembled,  the  man  rose  up  from 
the  pulpit,  and  said,  "  Answer  now,  I 
pray,  to  this  problem,  and  solve  it  if  you 
can  ;  What  is  the  Soul,  and  what  is 
the  quality  of  it  ? "  On  hearing 
these  words,  all  were  astonished  and 
murmured,  and  some  of  those  who  sat 
upon  the  benches  cried  out,  "  What 
man,  fi-om  the  age  of  Saturn  even  to  this 


468 


Concerning  Baptism. 


of  ours,  has  been  able,  by  any  thought 
of  reason,  to  see  and  find  out  what  the 
soul  is,  and  still  less  what  its  quality  is  ? 
Is  not  this  above  the  sphere  of  every 
one's  understanding  ?  "  But  to  this 
they  answered  fi-om  the  orchestra,  "  It 
is  not  above  the  understanding,  but  in 
it  and  before  it ;  so  answer  now."  And 
the  young  men  rose  up,  who  were  ap- 
pointed that  day  to  ascend  the  desk  and 
answer  to  the  problem.  There  were 
five  who  had  been  explored  by  the 
elders,  and  found  to  be  distinguished  for 
sagacity,  and  then  they  were  sitting  at 
the  sides  of  the  desk  on  sofas ;  and 
afterwards  they  ascended  in  the  order 
in  which  they  sat ;  and  each  one,  when 
he  ascended,  put  on  a  tunic  of  an  opal- 
ine color,  and  over  it  a  gown  of  soft 
wool,  in  which  flowers  were  interwoven  ; 
and  moreover  a  cap,  on  the  top  of  which 
there  was  a  bunch  of  roses  encircled 
with  little  sapphires.  And  I  saw  the 
first  thus  clad  ascend,  who  said,  "  What 
the  soul  is  and  what  its  quality  is,  has 
not  been  revealed  to  any  one  since  the 
day  of  creation ;  it  is  a  secret  in  the 
treasures  of  God  alone.  But  this  has 
been  disclosed,  that  the  soul  resides  in 
man  like  a  queen  ;  but  where  her  court 
is,  learned  interpreters  have  conjec- 
tured ;  some  that  it  is  in  the  little  tuber- 
cle between  the  cerebrum  and  the  cere- 
bellum, which  is  called  the  pineal  gland  ; 
and  in  this  they  have  fixed  the  seat  of 
the  soul,  because  the  whole  man  is 
governed  by  those  two  brains,  and  that 
tubercle  disposes  them.  Wherefore, 
whatever  disposes  the  brains  at  its  nod, 
the  same  also  disposes  tlie  whole  man 
from  the  head  to  the  heel.  And," 
said  he,  "  this  has  thence  appeared  to 
many  in  the  world  as  true  or  probable, 
but  after  an  age  it  was  rejected  as  a 
figment."  After  he  had  said  this,  he 
took  off"  the  gown,  tunic  and  cap,  which 
the  second  of  those  who  were  appointed 
put  on,  and  went  into  the  desk.  His 
proposition  concerning  the  soul  was, 
"  That  in  the  whole  heaven  and  in  the 
whole  world,  it  is  unknown  what  the 
soul  is,  and  what  its  quality  is.  It  is 
known  that  it  is,  and  that  it  is  in  man, 
but  where,  it  is  conjectured.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  it  is  in  the  head,  since  there 


the  understanding  thinks  and  there  the 
will  intends ;  and  in  the  fore  part  of  the 
head,  or  in  the  face,  are  the  five  sensories 
of  man.  To  these  and  those  nothing 
else  gives  life  but  the  soul,  which  re- 
sides inwardly  in  the  head  ;  but  where 
its  court  is  there,  I  should  not  dare  to 
say  ;  but  I  agreed  once  with  those  who 
assigned  to  it  a  seat  in  the  three  ven- 
tricles of  the  cerebrum ;  now,  with 
those  who  fix  it  in  the  corpora  striata 
there  ;  now,  with  those  who  fix  it  in  the 
medullary  substance  of  both  parts  of 
the  brain  ;  now,  with  those  who  fix  it  in 
the  cortical  substance  ;  now  with  those 
who  fix  it  in  the  dura  mater  ;  for  there 
were  some  plausible  arguments  from 
confirmations  in  favor  of  each  seat. 
The  arguments  in  favor  of  the  three 
ventricles  of  the  cerebrum  were,  that 
they  are  the  receptacles  of  the  animal 
spirits,  and  of  all  the  lymphs  of  the  cere- 
brum. The  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
corpora  striata  were,  that  they  make 
the  marrow,  through  which  the  nerves 
go  forth,  and  through  wliich  both  parts 
of  the  brain  are  continued  into  the 
spine,  and  that  from  this  and  from  that 
the  fibres  emanate,  of  which  the  con- 
texture of  the  whole  body  is  formed. 
The  arguments  in  favor  of  the  medullary 
substance  of  both  parts  of  the  brain 
were,  that  that  is  a  collection  and  as- 
semblage of  all  the  fibres  which  are 
the  initiaments  of  the  whole  man.  The 
arguments  in  favor  of  the  cortical  sub- 
stance were,  that  these  are  the  first  and 
last  ends,  and  thence  the  beginnings  of 
all  the  fibres,  and  thus  of  all  the  senses 
and  motions.  The  arguments  in  favor 
of  the  dura  mater  were,  that  that  is  the 
common  covering  of  both  parts  of  the 
brain,  and  thence,  by  something  con- 
tinuous, it  extends  itself  over  the  heart 
and  over  the  viscera  of  the  body.  As 
for  me,  I  do  not  decide  in  favor  of  one 
more  than  another  ;  I  pray  you  to  de- 
cide and  choose  what  is  best."  Having 
said  this,  he  descended  from  the  desk, 
and  handed  the  tunic,  gown  and  cap 
to  the  third,  who,  mounting  the  desk, 
spoke  these  words :  "  What  have  I,  a 
youth,  to  do  with  so  sublime  a  theorem? 
I  appeal  to  the  learned  sitting  here  at 
the  sides  ;  I  appeal  to  you  wise  men  in 


Concerning  Baptism. 


469 


the  orchestra ;  yea,  I  appeal  to  the  an- 
gels of  the  highest  heaven,  whether 
any  one  from  his  own  rational  light  is 
able  to  form  to  himself  any  idea  con- 
cerning the  soul.  But  concerning  its 
seat  in  man,  I,  like  others,  can  guess, 
and  I  guess  that  it  is  in  the  heart  and 
thence  in  the  blood ;  and  this  is  my 
guess,  because  the  heart  with  its  blood 
rules  both  the  body  and  the  head,  for 
it  sends  forth  the  large  vessel,  called 
aorta,  into  the  whole  of  the  body,  and 
it  sends  forth  the  vessels  called  caro- 
tids into  the  whole  of  the  head  ;  thence 
there  is  a  universal  agreement,  that  the 
soul  from  the  heart,  by  means  of  the 
blood,  sustains,  nourishes  and  vivifies 
the  whole  organic  system  both  of  the 
.body  and  the  head.  In  confirmation 
of  this  assertion  it  may  be  added,  that 
the  soul  and  heart  are  so  often  spoken 
of  in  the  Sacred  Scripture ;  as  that, 
Thou  shalt  love  God  from  the  whole 
soul,  and  from  the  whole  heart;  and 
that  God  creates  in  man  a  new  soul  and 
a  new  heart,  Deut.  vi.  5 ;  x.  12  ;  xi. 
13 ;  xxvi.  16 ;  Jer.  xxxii.  41  ;  Matt, 
xxii.  37;  Mark  xii.  30,  33;  Luke  x. 
27 ;  besides  other  passages  ;  and  it  is 
said  openly  that  the  blood  is  the  soul  of 
tlje  flesh.  Lev.  xvii.  11,  14."  On  hear- 
ing this,  some  raised  their  voice,  say- 
ing, "  Learned,  learned :  "  they  were 
of  the  regular  clergy.  After  this,  the 
fourth,  putting  on  his  garments,  and  go- 
ing into  the  desk,  said,  "  I  also  sus- 
pect that  there  is  no  one  of  so  subtile 
and  refined  a  genius,  that  he  can  dis- 
cern what  the  soul  is,  and  what  its 
quality  is ;  wherefore  I  think  that  with 
him  who  wishes  to  pry  into  it,  subtilty 
is  wasted  in  superfluous  things.  But 
even  fi-om  my  childhood,  I  have  con- 
tinued in  the  belief  of  the  opinion,  in 
which  the  ancients  were,  that  the  soul 
of  man  is  in  the  whole  of  him,  and  in 
every  part  of  this  whole ;  and  thus  that 
it  is  as  well  in  the  head  and  in  every  part 
of  it,  as  in  the  body  and  in  every  part 
of  it ;  and  that  it  was  a  vain  invention 
of  the  moderns  to  designate  for  it  a 
seat  somewhere,  and  not  every  where. 
The  soul  also  is  a  spiritual  substance,  of 
which  extension  cannot  be  predicated, 
nor  place,  but  habitation  and  imple- 


tion.  Also,  who  does  not  mean  life, 
when  he  mentions  the  soul  ?  Is  not 
life  in  the  whole  and  in  every  part  ?  " 
These  words  many  in  the  auditory 
favored.  After  him  the  fifth  rose  up, 
and  being  adorned  with  the  same  in- 
signia, he  delivered  from  the  desk  this : 
"  I  do  not  stop  to  say  where  the  soul  is, 
whether  it  be  in  some  part,  or  every 
where  in  the  whole  ;  but  from  my  stock 
and  store  I  will  open  my  mind  concern- 
ing this,  what  the  soul  is,  and  what  its 
quality  is.  The  soul  is  not  thought  of 
by  any  one,  but  as  something  pure, 
which  may  be  likened  to  ether  or  air  or 
wind,  in  which  there  is  a  vital  principle 
from  the  rationality  which  man  has 
above  the  beasts.  This  opinion  I  have 
founded  upon  this,  that  when  man  ex- 
pires, he  is  said  to  breathe  out,  or  give 
up  the  soul  or  spirit.  Thence  also  the 
soul,  which  lives  after  death,  is  believed 
to  be  such  breath,  in  which  there  is  a 
cogitative  life,  which  is  called  soul : 
what  else  can  the  soul  be  ?  But  because 
I  heard  those  from  the  orchestra  say 
that  the  problem  concerning  the  soul, 
what  it  is,  and  what  its  quality  is,  is 
not  above  the  understanding,  but  in  it 
and  before  it,  I  beg  and  pray  that 
you  yourselves  would  disclose  this  eter- 
nal secret."  And  the  elders  in  the  or- 
chestra looked  at  the  head-master,  who 
had  proposed  that  problem,  who  under- 
stood from  their  nods  that  they  wished 
that  he  would  descend  and  teach.  And 
immediately  he  descended  from  the 
pulpit,  passed  through  the  auditory,  and 
went  into  the  desk  ;  and  there,  stretch- 
ing forth  his  hand,  he  said,  "  Listen,  I 
pray  :  who  does  not  believe  that  the 
soul  is  the  inmost  and  most  subtile 
essence  of  man  ?  But  what  is  an  essence 
without  a  form,  but  an  imaginary  entity  ? 
Wherefore  the  soul  is  a  form  ;  but  what 
form  shall  be  told.  It  is  the  form  of 
all  things  of  love,  and  of  all  things  of 
wisdom.  All  the  things  of  love  are 
called  affections,  and  all  the  things  of 
wisdom  are  called  perceptions :  these 
from  those  and  thus  with  those  make 
one  form,  in  which  there  are  innumer- 
able things,  in  such  order,  series  and 
coherence,  that  they  may  be  called  one ; 
and  they  may  be  called  one,  because 


470 


Concerning  Baptism. 


not  any  thing  can  be  taken  from  it,  nor 
any  thing  added  to  it,  that  it  may  be 
such.  What  is  the  human  soul  but 
such  a  form?  Are  not  all  things  of 
love,  and  all  things  of  wisdom,  the 
essentials  of  that  form  1  And  these 
with  man  are  in  the  soul,  and  from  the 
soul  in  the  head  and  body.  You  are 
called  spirits  and  angels,  and  you  be- 
lieved in  the  world  that  spirits  and 
angels  were  like  winds  or  ethers,  and 
thus  rational  and  animal  minds ;  and 
now  you  see  clearly,  that  you  are  truly, 
really  and  actually  men,  who  in  the 
world  lived  and  thought  in  a  material 
body  ;  and  you  knew  that  the  material 
body  did  not  live  and  think,  but  a 
spiritual  substance  in  that  body,  and 
this  you  called  the  soul,  the  form  of 
which  you  did  not  know,  and  yet  now 
you  have  seen  it  and  do  see  it.  You  all 
are  souls,  concerning  whose  immortality 
you  have  heard,  thought,  said  and  writ- 
ten so  much ;  and  because  you  are 
forms  of  love  and  wisdom  from  God, 
you  cannot  die  to  eternity.  The  soul, 
therefore,  is  a  human  form,  from  which 


nothing  at  all  can  be  taken  away,  and 
to  which  nothing  at  all  can  be  added  ; 
and  it  is  the  inmost  form  of  all  the 
forms  of  the  whole  body  ;  and  because 
the  forms  which  are  without  receive 
from  the  inmost  both  essence  and  form, 
therefore  you  are,  as  you  appear  to 
yourselves  and  to  us,  souls.  In  a  word, 
the  soul  is  the  man  himself,  because  it 
is  the  inmost  man ;  wherefore  its  form 
is  fully  and  perfectly  the  human  form ; 
nevertheless  it  is  not  life,  but  it  is  the 
proximate  receptacle  of  life  from  God, 
and  thus  the  habitation  of  God." 
These  words  many  applauded,  but  some 
said,  "  We  will  consider."  I  then  went 
home ;  and  behold,  over  the  gymna- 
sium, instead  of  the  former  meteor, 
there  appeared  a  bright  cloud,  without 
streaks  or  rays  fighting  with  each  other ; 
which  cloud,  penetrating  through  the 
roof,  entered  the  room,  and  illuminated 
the  walls ;  and  I  heard  that  they  saw 
pieces  of  writing,  and  amongst  others 
also  this :  Jehovah  God  breathed  into 
man's  nostrils  the  Soul  of  lives,  and 
man  became  a  living  Soul,  Gen.  ii.  7. 


Ckmceming  the  Holy  Supper. 


471 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CONCERNING  THE  HOLY  SUPPER. 


698.  I.  That  WITHOUT  Information 
concerning  the  correspondences  of 
Natural  Things  with  Spiritual,  no 

ONE    can    know    the    UsES    OF  THE 

HoLV  Supper. 

This  was  in  part  unfolded  in  the 
chapter  concerning  Baptism,  where 
it  was  shown;  That  without  a  knotcl- 
edge  of  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word, 
it  cannot  be  knoion  what  the  two  sacra- 
ments, Baptism  and  the  Holy  Supper, 
involve  and  effect ;  which  may  be  seen, 
n.  667  to  669.  Here  it  is  said.  That 
without  information  concerning  the  cor- 
respondences of  natural  things  with 
spiritual;  which  is  tlie  same  thing, 
because  the  natural  sense  of  the  Word 
is  turned  into  the  spiritual,  by  corre- 
spondences, in  heaven.  Thence  it  is, 
that  those  two  senses  correspond  to 
each  other ;  wherefore  he  who  knows 
the  correspondences,  may  know  the 
spiritual  sense.  But  what  correspon- 
dences are,  may  be  seen  in  the  chapter 
concerning  the  Sacred  Scripture, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end ;  and 
also  in  the  Explanation  of  the  Dec- 
alogue, from  the  first  commandment 
to  the  last ;  and  particularly  iu  the 
Apocalypse  Revealed. 

699.  Who  that  is  truly  a  Christian, 
does  not  acknowledge  that  those  two 
sacraments  are  holy ;  yea,  that  they 
are  the  most  holy  things  of  worship  in 
Christendom  ?  But  who  knows  where 
their  holiness  resides,  or  whence  it  is? 
In  the  institution  of  the  holy  supper, 
from  the  literal  sense,  no  more  is 
known,  than  that  the  flesh  of  Christ  is 
given  for  eating,  and  his  blood  for  drink- 
ing ;  and  that,  instead  of  these,  bread 
and  wine.  Who  can  thence  think 
otherwise,  than  that  it  is  holy  only  on 
account  of  the  command  of  the  Lord  ? 


Wherefore  the  most  sagacious  of  the 
church  have  taught,  that  while  the 
Word  comes  to  the  element,  it  becomes 
a  sacrament.  But  because  this  origin 
of  its  holiness  does  not  fall  into  the  un- 
derstanding, nor  appear  in  the  elements 
or  symbols  of  the  sacrament,  but  only 
into  the  memory,  therefore  some  observe 
it  from  a  confidence  that  sins  are  re- 
mitted by  means  of  it;  some  because 
they  believe  that  it  sanctifies;  some 
because  it  strengthens  faith,  and  thus 
also  promotes  salvation.  But  those  who 
think  lightly  of  it,  frequent  it  merely 
from  custom  from  childhood ;  and 
some,  because  they  see  nothing  of 
reason  concerning  it,  neglect  it;  but 
the  impious  turn  themselves  away  from 
it,  and  say  to  themselves,  "  What  is  it, 
but  a  certain  ceremony,  on  which  holi- 
ness has  been  impressed  by  the  clergy  1 
For  what  is  there  there  but  bread  and 
wine  ?  And  what  is  it  but  a  figment, 
that  the  body  of  Christ,  which  hung 
upon  the  cross,  and  his  blood  which 
was  then  shed,  are  distributed  to  the 
communicants  together  with  the  bread 
and  wine  V    Besides  other  things. 

700.  Such  ideas  of  this  most  holy 
sacrament  are  at  this  day  entertained 
in  all  Christendom,  solely  because  they 
coincide  with  the  sense  of  the  letter 
of  the  Word ;  and  the  spiritual  sense 
has  been  hitherto  concealed,  and  not 
until  this  day  disclosed,  in  which  alone 
the  use  of  the  holy  supper  is  clearly 
seen  in  its  truth.  The  reason  that 
this  sense  is  now  for  the  first  time  dis- 
closed is,  because  there  was  before  no 
Christianity,  except  in  name,  and  with 
some  a  kind  of  shadow  of  it ;  for 
hitherto  they  have  not  immediately  ap- 
proached and  worshipped  the  Savior 
himself,  as  the  one  God  in  whom  is  the 


472 


Concerning  the  Holy .  Supper. 


Divine  Trinity,  but  only  mediately ; 
wliich  is  not  to  approach  and  worship, 
but  only  to  honor  as  the  cause  on  ac- 
count of  which  man  has  salvation; 
which  is  not  the  essential  cause,  but 
a  mediate  cause,  which  is  below  the 
essential  and  out  of  it.  But,  because 
Christianity  itself  is  now  first  begin- 
ning to  dawn,  and  a  New  Church, 
which  is  meant  by  the  New  Jerusalem 
in  the  Revelation,  is  now  being  estab- 
lished by  the  Lord,  in  which  God  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  are  ac- 
knowledged as  one,  because  in  one 
person,  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to 
reveal  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word, 
that  this  church  may  come  into  the 
very  use  of  the  sacraments,  baptism 
and  the  holy  supper ;  which  is  done 
when  men  see,  with  the  eyes  of  their 
spirit,  that  is,  with  the  understanding, 
the  holiness  which  is  concealed  therein, 
and  apply  it  to  themselves, by  the  means 
which  the  Lord  has  taught  in  his 
Word. 

70L  The  holiness  of  the  sacrament 
which  is  here  treated  of,  without  the 
spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  being  open- 
ed, or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  without 
the  correspondences  of  natural  things 
with  spiritual  being  revealed,  can  no 
more  be  acknowledged  interiorly, than 
a  treasure  hid  in  a  field ;  which  field  is 
valued  no  more  than  any  common  one; 
but  when  it  is  discovered  that  there  is 
a  treasure  in  that  field,  the  field  is 
valued  at  a  great  price ;  and  the  buyer 
then  appropriates  to  himself  opulence 
thence ;  and  still  more  when  it  is 
known,  that  in  it  there  is  a  treasure 
more  precious  than  all  gold.  Without 
the  spiritual  sense,  that  sacrament  is 
like  a  house  shut  up  full  of  jewels  and 
treasures,  which  is  passed  by  as  any 
other  house  in  the  street;  but  because 
it  was  built  by  the  clergy,  as  to  the 
walls,  of  marble,  and  overlaid,  as  to  the 
roof,  with  plates  of  gold,  the  sight  of 
those  who  pass  by  is  attracted,  to  view, 
to  praise  and  to  prize.  It  is  otherwise 
when  that  house  is  opened,  and  leave 
of  entering  is  given  to  every  one,  and 
the  keeper  furnishes  to  some  a  loan 
thence,  to  some  a  gift  thence,  to  every 
one  according  to  his  dignity.     It  is 


said,  a  gift  thence,  because  the  pre- 
cious things  there  are  inexhaustible, 
and  they  are  continually  supplied ;  so 
it  is  with  the  Word  as  to  its  spiritual 
things,  and  with  the  sacraments  as  to 
their  celestial  things.    The  sacrament, 
which  is  here  treated  of,  without  its 
holiness  being  revealed,  which  is  con- 
cealed within,  appears  like  the  sand  of 
a  river,  in  which  there  are  little  grains 
of  gold  in  great  abundance,  which  are 
not  conspicuous ;  but  when  it  is  re- 
vealed, it  is  like  the  gold  collected 
thence  and  melted  into  a  mass,  and  this 
fabricated  into  beautiful  forms.  Tltis 
sacrament,  without  its  holiness  being 
disclosed  and  seen,  is  like  a  box  or 
a  chest  of  beech  or  poplar,  in  which 
lie  diamonds,  rubies,  and  many  other 
precious  stones,  disposed  in  order  in  the 
partitions.    Who  does  not  value  that 
box    or  chest,  who  knows  that  such 
things  are  concealed  witliin ;  and  the 
more  when  he  sees  them,  and  also 
when    they    are    distributed    freely  ? 
That  sacrament,  without  its  correspon- 
dences with  heaven  being  revealed, 
and  thus  the  heavenly  things  to  which 
it  corresponds  being  seen,  is  like  an 
angel  seen  in  the  world  in  a  common 
dress,  who  is  honored  only  according 
to  the  dress ;  it  is  altogether  otherwise, 
when  it  is  known  that  he  is  an  angel, 
and  something  angelic  is  heard  from 
his  mouth,  and  wonderful  things  are 
seen  from  his  deeds.    What  the  holiness 
is  which  is  only  proclaimed,  and  what 
the  holiness  is  which  is  seen,  may  be 
illustrated  by  this  example,  seen  and 
heard  in  the  spiritual  world.  There 
was  read  an  epistle  written  by  Paul,  at 
the  time  when  he  sojourned  in  the 
world,  but  not  published,  without  any 
one's  knowing  that  it  was  by  Paul. 
This  at  first  was  lightly  esteemed  by 
the  hearers ;  but  when  it  was  discovered 
that  it  was  one  of  Paul's  oj)istles,  it  was 
received  with  joy,  and  all  and  each  of 
the  things  there  were  adored.  Whence 
it  was  manifest,  that  the  mere  proclaim- 
ing of  holiness  respecting  the  Word 
and  respecting  the  sacraments,  when 
it  is  done  by  the  primates  of  the  clergy, 
gives  an  impression,  indeed,  of  holiness ; 
but  it  is  otherwise  when  the  holiness 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


473 


itself  is  disclosed  and  set  forth  before 
the  eyes  to  be  seen,  which  is  done  by 
the  revelation  of  the  spiritual  sense : 
from  this,  external  holiness  becomes 
internal,  and  the  proclamation  of  it 
becomes  an  acknowledgment  of  it. 
It  is  similar  with  the  holiness  of  the 
sacrament  of  the  supper. 

702.  II.  That  from  Correspon- 
dences BEING  known,  it  MAY  BE 
known  what  is  meant  by  THE  FlESH 

AND  Blood  of  the  Lord,  and  that 

THE    like    is   meant    BY   BrEAD  AND 

Wine  ;  namely,  that  by  the  Flesh 
OF  THE  Lord,  and  by  Bread,  is  meant 
the  Divine  Good  of  his  Love,  and 
Axso  all  the  Good  op  Charity  ;  and 
that  by  the  Blood  of  the  Lord, 
AND  BY  Wine,  is  meant  the  Divine 
Truth  of  his  Wisdom,  and  also  all 
the  Truth  of  Faith  ;  and  by  Eating, 
Appropriation. 

Since  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word 
is  at  this  day  disclosed,  and  together 
with  it  correspondences,  because  these 
are  mediates,  therefore  there  will  only 
be  adduced  passages  from  the  Word, 
from  which  it  may  be  clearly  seen, 
what  is  meant  by  flesh  and  blood,  and 
by  bread  and  wine,  in  the  holy  supper. 
But  to  these  will  be  premised  the  in- 
stitution itself  of  that  sacrament  by  the 
Lord  ;  and  also  his  doctrine  concerning 
his  flesh  and  his  blood,  and  concerning 
bread  and  wine. 

703.  The  Institution  of  the  Holy 
Supper  by  the  Lord.  Jesus  kej\t 
the  passover  with  the  disciples;  and 
when  the  evening  was  come,  He  sat 
down  with  them.  And  as  they  were 
eating,  Jesus,  taking  Bread,  and  bless- 
ing, broke  and  gave  to  the  disciples, 
and  said.  Take,  cat ;  this  is  my  Body. 
And  taking  the  Cup,  and  giving  thanks. 
He  gave  to  them,  sai/ing.  Drink  ye  all 
of  it;  this  is  my  Blood,  that  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  is  shed  for 
many.  Matt.  xxvi.  26,  27,  28 ;  Mark 

■  xiv.  22,  23,  24  ;  Luke  xxii,  19,  20. 
The  Doctrine  of  the  Lord  con- 
cerning HIS  Flesh  and  his  Blood, 

AND   concerning    BrEAD  AND  WiNE. 

Work  not  for  the  food  lohich  perisheth, 
but  for  the  food  which  endureth  unto 
eternal  life,  which  the  Son  of  Man  will 
60 


give  to  you.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  to 
you,  Moses  gave  you  not  the  bread  from 
heaven,  but  my  Father  giveth  you  the 
true  bread  from  heaven ;  for  the  bread 
of  God  is  He  that  came  down  from 
heaven,  and  giveth  life  to  the  world. 
I  am  the  bread  of  life ;  he  that  cometh 
to  Me,  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that 
believeth  in  Me,  shall  never  thirst.  1 
am  the  bread  which  came  down  from 
heaven.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  to  you, 
he  that  believeth  in  Me,  hath  eternal 
life.  I  am  the  bread  of  life.  Your 
fathers  ate  manna  in  the  desert,  and 
died;  this  is  the  bread  which  came 
down  from  heaven,  that  any  one 
may  eat  of  it,  and  live,  and  not  die.  I 
am  the  living  bread  which  came  down 
from  heaven;  if  any  one  eat  of  this 
bread,  he  shall  live  for  ever.  The  bread 
which  I  will  give,  is  my  flesh,  which  I 
will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world.  Ver- 
ily, verily,  I  say  to  you,  unless  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink 
his  blood,  ye  toill  not  have  life  in  you. 
He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drinketh 
my  blood,  hath  eterncd  life,  and  I  will 
resuscitate  him  at  the  last  day ;  for  my 
flesh  is  truly  meat,  and  my  blood  is 
truly  drink.  He  that  eateth  my  flesh, 
and  drinketh  my  blood,  abideth  in  Me 
and  I  in  him,  John  vi.  27,  32,  33, 
35, 41, 47, 48, 49, 50,  51, 53, 54, 55, 56. 

704.  That  by  flesh  there,  is  not  meant 
flesh,  nor  by  blood  blood,  any  one 
enlightened  from  heaven  may  perceive 
in  himself ;  but  that  by  both  is  meant, 
in  THE  N.\TURAL  SENSE,  the  passioH  of 
the  cross,  which  they  should  remember ; 
wherefore  He  said,  when  He  instituted 
this  supper  of  the  last  Jewish  passover, 
and  the  first  Christian  passover.  Do 
this  in  remembrance  of  Me,  Luke  xxii. 
19 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  24,  25.  In  like  manner, 
that  by  bread  is  not  meant  bread,  nor 
by  wine  wine,  but  in  the  natural 
SENSE,  the  same  as  by  flesh  and  blood, 
namely,  his  passion  of  the  cross  ;  for  it 
is  read  ;  Jesus  broke  bread,  and  gave  to 
the  disciples,  and  said.  This  is  my  body. 
And  taking  the  cup.  He  gave  to  them, 
saying,  This  is  my  blood,  Matt.  xxvi. ; 
Mark  xiv. ;  Luke  xxii.  Wherefore 
also  He  called  the  passion  of  the  cross 
a  cup,  Matt.  xiv.  36  ;  John  xviii.  11. 


474 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


705.  That  by  these  four  things,  flesh, 
blood,  bread  and  wine,  are  meant  the 
spiritual  and  celestial  things  which 
correspond  to  them,  may  be  evident 
from  the  passages  in  the  Word,  where 
they  are  named.  That  by  flesh  in 
the  Word  is  meant  something  spiritual 
and  celestial,  may  be  evident  from 
these  passages  there :  Come,  and  be 
gathered  together  to  the  supper  of  the 
GREAT  God,  that  ye  may  eat  the  flesh 
of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and 
the  flesh  of  mighty  ones,  and  the  flesh 
of  horses,  and  of  those  who  sit  upon 
them,  and  the  flesh  of  all,  free  and 
bond,  small  and  great,  Rev.  xix.  17, 
18.  And  in  Ezekiel :  Gather  your- 
selves together  from  every  side  to  my 
Sacrifice  which  I sacriflce  for  you,  a 
GREAT  Sacrifice  upon  the  mountains 
of  Israel,  that  ye  may  eat  flesh  and 
drink  blood ;  ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of 
the  mighty,  and  drink  the  blood  of  the 
princes  of  tJie  earth  ;  and  ye  shall  eat 
fat  to  satiety,  and  drink  blood  even  to 
dmnkenness  of  my  sacrifice ;  and  ye 
shall  be  satiated  at  my  table,  with  horse 
and  chariot,  with  the  mighty,  and  with 
every  man  of  war.  Thus  I  will  give 
my  glory  among  the  nations,  xxxix. 
17  to  21.  Who  does  not  see, that,  in 
those  passages,  by  flesh  is  not  meant 
flesh,  nor  by  blood  blood,  but  the 
spiritual  and  celestial  things  which 
correspond?  Otherwise,  what  would 
these  be  but  strange  and  unmeaning 
expressions,  that  they  should  eat  the 
flesh  of  kings,  of  captains,  of  the 
mighty,  of  horses,  of  those  that  sit 
upon  them ;  and  that  they  should  be 
satiated  at  the  table  with  horse  and 
chariot,  the  mighty,  and  every  man  of 
war ;  and  that  they  should  drink  the 
blood  of  the  princes  of  the  earth,  and 
blood  even  to  drunkenness  ?  That 
these  things  were  said  concerning  the 
holy  supper  of  the  Lord  is  clearly  man- 
ifest, for  it  is  called  the  supper  of  the 
great  God,  and  also  a  great  sacrifice. 
Since  all  spiritual  and  celestial  things 
refer  themselves  solely  to  good  and 
truth,  it  follows,  that  by  flesh  is  meant 
the  good  of  charity,  and  by  blood,  the 
truth  of  faith,  and,  in  the  highostson.se, 
the  Lord  as  to  the  Divine  Good  of  love. 


and  as  to  the  Divine  Truth  of  wisdom. 
Spiritual  good  is  also  meant  by  flesh, 
by  these  words  in  Ezekiel :  I  will  give 
them  one  heart,  and  a  new  spirit  I  will 
give  in  the  midst  of  you ;  and  I  will 
remove  the  heart  of  stone,  and  will 
give  them  a  heart  of  flesh,  xi.  19 ; 
xxxvi.  26.  By  heart,  in  the  Word,  is 
signified  love  ;  thence  by  a  heart  of 
flesh,  the  love  of  good.  Moreover,  that 
by  flesh  and  blood  are  meant  good  and 
truth,  both  spiritual,  is  still  more  evi- 
dent from  the  signification  of  bread  and 
wine  in  what  now  follows ;  since  the 
Lord  says,  that  his  flesh  is  bread,  and 
that  his  blood  is  wine,  which  was  drunk 
out  of  a  cup. 

706.  That  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lord  is  meant  the  Divine  Truth  of  Him- 
self and  the  Word,  is,  because  by  his 
flesh  spiritually  is  meant  the  Divine 
Good  of  love  ;  and  these  two  are  united 
in  the  Lord.  It  is  known  that  the  Lord 
is  the  Word  ;  and  there  are  two  things 
to  which  all  things  of  the  Word  refer 
themselves,  divine  good  and  divine 
truth  ;  wherefore  if  the  Word  is  taken 
for  the  Lord,  it  is  manifest  that  those 
two  things  are  meant  by  his  flesh  and 
blood.  That  the  divine  truth  of  the 
Lord,  or  of  the  Word,  is  meant  by 
blood,  is  evident  from  many  passages; 
as  that  blood  was  called  the  blood  of 
the  covenant,  and  a  covenant  is  con- 
junction, and  tliis  is  effected  by  the 
Lord  by  means  of  his  divine  truth,  as 
iji  Zechariah :  By  the  blood  of  thy 
covenant  I  will  send  forth  the  prisoners 
out  of  the  pit,  ix.  11.  And  in  Moses  : 
After  Moses  had  read  the  book  of  the 
law  in  the  cars  of  the  people,  he  sprin- 
kled half  of  the  blood  upon  the  people, 
and  said.  Behold  the  blood  of  the 
COVENANT  trhich  Jehovah  hath  made 
with  you  upon  all  these  words,  Exod. 
xxiv.  3  to  II .  And  Jesus  took  the  cup, 
and  gave  it  to  them,  saying,  This  is  my 
blood,  that  of  the  New  Covenant,  Matt, 
xxvi.  27,  28  ;  Mark  xiv.  24 ;  Luke  xxii. 
20.  By  the  blood  of  the  New  Covenant, 
or  Testament,  nothing  else  is  signified 
but  the  Word,  which  is  called  a  Cove- 
nant and  Testament,  Old  and  New, 
thus  the  divine  truth  there.  Since  this 
is  signified    by  blood,  therefore  the 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


475 


Lord  gave  them  wine,  saying,  This  is 
my  blood;  and  wine  signifies  divine 
tiuth;  wherefore  it  also  is  called  the 
blood  of  grapes,  Gen.  xlix.  11;  Deut. 
xxxii.  14.  This  is  still  more  manifest 
from  the  words  of  the  Lord:  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  to  you,  Unless  ye  eat  the 
Jlesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink 
his  blood,  ye  will  not  have  life  iii  you ; 
for  my  Jlesh  is  truly  meat,  and  my 
blood  is  truly  drink.  He  that  eateth 
my  flesh,  and  drinketh  my  blood,  ahideth 
in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  John  vi.  50  to 
58.  That  by  blood  here  is  meant  the 
divine  truth  of  the  Word  is  very  man- 
ifest, because  it  is  said,  that  he  that 
drinketh  hath  life  in  himself,  and 
abideth  in  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  in 
him.  That  divine  truth  effects  this, 
and  a  life  according  to  it,  and  that  the 
holy  supper  confirms  it,  may  be  known 
in  the  church.  Since  blood  signified 
the  divine  truth  of  the  Lord,  which 
also  is  the  divine  truth  of  the  Word, 
and  this  is  the  Covenant  itself  and  Tes- 
tament Old  and  New,  therefore  blood 
was  the  most  holy  representative  of  the 
church  with  the  sons  of  Israel,  in  which 
all  and  each  of  the  things  were  cor- 
respondences of  natural  things  with 
spiritual :  as,  That  they  should  take  of 
the  paschal  blood,  and  put  upon  the 
posts  of  the  door,  and  on  the  lintels  of 
the  houses,  lest  the  plague  should  come 
upon  them,  Exod.  xii.  7,  13,  22.  That 
the  blood  of  the  burnt-offering  should 
be  sprinkled  upon  the  altar,  at  its 
foundations,  and  upon  Aaron,  his  sons 
and  their  garments,  xxix.  12,  16,  20, 
21 ;  Lev.  i.  5, 11,  15;  iii.  2,  8,  13;  iv. 
25,  30,  34;  viii.  15,  24;  xvii.  6;  viii. 
8 ;  Deut.  xii.  27.  Also,  Upon  the  veil 
which  was  over  the  ark,  upon  the  mercy- 
seat  there,  and  upon  the  horns  of  the 
altar  of  incense,  Lev.  iv.  6,  7,  17,  18; 
xvi.  12,  13,  14,  15.  The  like  is  signi- 
fied by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  in  the 
Revelation :  These  have  washed  their 
robes,  and  whitened  them  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  vii.  14.  And  by  these 
there.  War  was  made  in  heaven ;  Mi- 
chael and  his  angels  fought  against  the 
dragon,  and  overcame  him  by  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their 
testimony,  xii.  7,  11.    For  it  cannot  be 


thought  that  Michael  and  his  angels 
overcame  the  dragon  by  any  thing  else' 
than  by  the  divine  truth  of  the  Lord  in 
the  Word;  for  the  angels  in  heaven 
cannot  think  of  any  blood,  nor  do  they 
think  of  the  Lord's  passion,  but  of  divine 
truth,  and  of  his  resurrection.  Where- 
fore, when  man  thinks  of  the  blood 
of  the  Lord,  the  angels  perceive  the 
divine  trutii  of  his  Word,  and  when  he 
thinks  of  the  passion  of  the  Lord,  they 
perceive  his  glorification,  and  then  only 
the  resurrection.  That  it  is  so,  it  has 
been  given  me  to  know  by  much  ex- 
perience. That  blood  signifies  divine 
truth,  is  manifest  also  from  these  words 
in  David  :  God  will  preserve  the  souls 
of  the  needy ;  precious  shall  their  blood 
be  in  his  eyes,  and  they  shall  live,  and 
He  will  give  them  of  the  gold  of  Sheba, 
Psalm  Ixxii.  13,  14,  15,  16.  The 
blood  precious  in  the  eyes  of  God,  for 
the  divine  truth  with  them ;  the  gold  of 
Sheba  is  the  wisdom  thence.  And  in 
Ezekiel :  Gather  yourselves  together  to 
the  great  sacrifce  upon  the  mountains 
of  Israel,  that  ye  may  eat  flesh  and 
drink  blood;  ye  shall  drink  the  blood  of 
the  princes  of  the  earth,  and  ye  shall 
drink  blood  even  to  drunkenness.  Thus 
I  ivill  give  my  glory  among  the  nations, 
xxxix.  17  to  21.  There  the  church 
is  treated  of,  which  the  Lord  was  about 
to  institute  among  the  nations.  That 
by  blood  here  cannot  be  meant  blood, 
but  the  truth  from  the  Word  with  them, 
may  be  seen  just  above. 

707.  That  the  like  is  meant  by 
Bread  as  by  flesh,  is  clearly  evident 
fi-ofn  the  words  of  the  Lord  :  Jesus,  tak- 
ing BREAD,  broke  and  gave,  saying. 
This  is  my  body,  Matt.  xxvi. ;  Mark  xiv. ; 
Luke  xxii.  And  also.  The  bread 
lohich  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I 
will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world,  John 
vi.  51.  And  also  He  says.  That  He  is 
the  Bread  of  life  ;  he  that  eateth  of 
this  bread  shall  live  for  ever,  vi. 
48,  51 ,  58.  This  bread  also  is  what  is 
meant  by  the  sacrifices,  which  are  call- 
ed bread  in  the  following  passages : 
The  priest  shall  burn  them  upon  the  al- 
tar, the  Bread  of  the  offering  made 
BY  fire  to  Jehovah,  Lev.  iii.  11,  16. 
The  sons  of  Aaron  shall  be  holy  to 


476 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


their  God ;  neither  shall  they  profane 
the  name  of  their  God,  because  they 
offer  the  offerings  made  by  fire  to 
Jehovah,  the  bread  of  their  God. 
Thou  shalt  sanctify  him  because  he 
offereth  the  bread  of  thy  God.  A 
man  of  the  seed  of  Aaron,  in  whom 
there  is  a  blemish,  shall  not  come  to  offer 
the  Bread  of  his  God,  Lev.  xxi.  6,  8, 
17,  21.  Command  the  sons  of  Israel, 
and  say  to  them,  My  offering,  my  Bread, 
for  the  offerings  made  by  fire  of 
AN  odor  of  rest,  yc  shall  observe  to 
offer  to  3fe  at  the  set  time,  Num.  xxviii. 
2.  He  that  hath  touched  an  unclean 
thing  shall  not  eat  of  the  holy  things ; 
hut  he  shall  bathe  his  flesh  in  water,  and 
aftcriDards  he  shall  eat  of  the  holy  things, 
because  it  is  his  bread,  Lev.  xxii.  6,  7. 
To  eat  of  the  holy  things,  was  to  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  sacrifices,  which  he-re 
also  is  called  bread  ;  besides  in  Malachi, 
i.  7.  By  the  meal  offerings  in  the 
sacrifices,  which  were  of  the  flour  of 
wheat,  thus  bread,  nothing  else  was 
signified.  Lev.  ii.  1  to  11 ;  vi.  6  to  14  ; 
vii.  9  to  13,  and  in  other  places.  Nor 
was  any  thing  else  signified  by  the 
bread  upon  the  table  in  the  tabernacle, 
which  was  called  the  bread  of  faces 
and  the  shew  bread,  concerning  which, 
Exod.  XXV.  30;  xl.  23  ;  Lev.  xxiv.  5  to 
10.  That  by  bread  is  not  meant  nat- 
ural bread,  but  heavenly  bread,  is  man- 
ifest from  these  passages :  Man  livcth 
not  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  thing 
that  proccedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 
•Jehovah  man  doth  live,  Deut.  xviii.  2,  3. 
I  will  send  hunger  into  the  Ifind ;  not 
hunger  for  bread,  nor  thirst  for  water, 
but  for  hearing  the  words  of  Jehovah, 
Amos  viii.  11.  Moreover,  by  bread  is 
meant  all  food.  Lev.  xxiv.  5  to  9 ;  Exod. 
XXV.  30;  xl.  23;  Num.  iv.  7;  1  Kings 
vii.  48.  That  spiritual  food  also  is 
meant,  is  manifest  from  these  words  of 
the  Lord;  Work  not  for  the  food  which 
perisheth,  but  for  the  food  tohich  en- 
dureth  unto  eternal  life,  which  the  Son 
of  Man  will  give  to  you,  John  vi.  27. 

708.  That  by  Wine  the  same  is 
meant  as  by  blood,  is  clearly  manifest 
from  the  words  of  the  Lord  :  Jesus  took 
the  CUP,  saying.  This  is  my  blood,  Matt, 
xxvi. ;  Mark  xiv. ;  Luke  xxii.    And  also 


fi-om  these  :  He  washeth  Ms  vesture  in 
Wine,  and  his  robe  in  the  blood  op 
GRAPES,  Gen.  xlix.  11.  These  are 
concerning  the  Lord.  Jehovah  of  hosts 
will  make  for  all  people  a  feast  of  fat 
things,  a  feast  of  the  lees  of  wine,  or 
OF  sweet  wine,  Isaiah  xxv.  6.  These 
are  concerning  the  sacrament  of  the 
holy  supper,  which  was  to  be  instituted 
by  the  Lord.  In  the  same  :  Every 
one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  tcaters, 
and  he  that  hath  no  money,  come  ye, 
buy  and  eat;  and  buy  wine  without 
money,  Iv.  1.  By  the  produce  of 
the  vine,  which  they  were  about  to 
drink  new  in  the  heavenly  kingdom, 
Matt.  xxvi.  29 ;  Mark  xiv.  22  ;  Luke 
xxii.  17,  18,  nothing  else  is  meant  but 
the  truth  of  the  new  church  and  heav- 
en ;  wherefore,  also,  the  church,  in 
many  places  in  the  Word,  is  called  a 
vineyard,  as  Isaiah  v.  1,  2,  4  ;  Matt. 
XX.  1  to  13  :  And  the  Lord  calls  Him- 
self the  True  Vine,  and  those  who  are 
ingrafted  into  Him  the  branches,  John 
XV.  1,  5;  besides  in  many  other  places. 

709.  Hence,  now,  it  may  be  evident 
what  is  meant  by  the  flesh  and  blood 
of  the  Lord,  and  by  bread  and  wine, 
in  the  threefold  sense,  natural,  spiritual 
and  celestial.  Every  man  in  Chris- 
tendom, imbued  with  religion,  may 
know,  or,  if  he  does  not  know,  may 
learn,  that  there  is  natural  nourisliment 
and  spiritual  nourishment;  and  that 
natural  nourishment  is  for  the  body, 
but  spiritual  nourishment  for  the  soiil  : 
for  Jehovah  the  Lord  says  in  Moses, 
Man  doth  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but 
by  every  thing  that  proceedefh  out  of 
the  mouth  of  Jehovah  doth  man  live, 
Deut.  viii.  3.  Now,  because  the  body 
dies,  and  the  soul  lives  after  death,  it 
follows,  that  spiritual  nourishment  is 
for  eternal  salvation.  Who,  then,  does 
not  see,  that  those  two  kinds  of  nourish- 
ment are  by  no  means  to  be  confounded, 
and  that  if  any  one  does  confound  them, 
he  cannot  form  to  himself  any  other 
ideas  concerning  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
the  Lord,  and  concerning  bread  and 
wine,  than  natural  and  sensual  ones, 
which  are  material,  corporeal  and  car- 
nal, which  suffocate  spiritual  ideas 
concerning  this  most  holy  sacrament. 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


A17 


But  if  any  one  is  so  simple  that  he 
cannot  tliink  any  thing  else  from  the 
understanding,  than  what  he  sees  with 
the  eye,  I  advise  him  to  think  with 
himself,  concerning  the  holy  supper, 
when  he  takes  the  bread  and  wine,  and 
hears  them  then  called  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  the  Lord,  that  it  is  the  most 
holy  thing  of  worship,  and  to  remem- 
ber the  passion  of  Christ  and  his  love 
for  the  salvation  of  man  ;  for  He  says. 
Do  this  in  remembrance  of  Me,  Luke 
xxii.  19.  And  also,  The  Son  of  Man 
hath  come  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many,  Matt.  xx.  28;  Mark  x.  4.  / 
lai/  down  my  life  for  the  sheep,  John  x. 
15,  17  ;  XV.  13. 

710.  This  also  may  be  illustrated  by 
comparisons.  Who  does  not  remem- 
ber and  love  him,  who,  from  the  zeal 
of  love  for  his  country,  fights  with  the 
enemy  even  to  death,  that  he  may 
thereby  deliver  it  from  the  yoke  of 
bondage  ?  And  who  does  not  remem- 
ber and  love  him,  who,  when  he  sees 
his  fellow  citizens  in  extreme  want, 
and  their  death  by  distressing  famine 
before  their  eyes,  then,  from  compas- 
sion, brings  forth  all  his  silver  and  gold 
out  of  his  house  and  distributes  it  freely  ? 
And  who  does  not  remember  and  love 
him,  who,  from  love  and  friendship,  takes 
the  only  lamb  that  he  possesses,  and 
kills  it  and  sets  it  before  his  guests?  &c. 

711.  III.  That  FROM  THESE  Things 

BEING  UNDERSTOOD,  IT  MAY  BE  COM- 
PREHENDED THAT  THE  HoLY  SuPPER 
CONT.tlNS,  UNIVERSALLY  AND  PARTICU- 
LARLY, ALL  Things  of  the  Church 
AND  ALL  Things  of  Heaven. 

In  the  preceding  article  it  was  shown, 
that  the  Lord  himself  is  in  the  holy 
supper,  and  that  the  flesh  and  bread 
are  Himself,  as  to  the  divine  good  of 
love,  and  that  the  blood  and  wine  are 
Himself  as  to  the  divine  truth  of  wis- 
dom ;  wherefore,  there  are  three  things 
which  the  holy  supper  involves,  namely, 
the  Lord,  his  divine  good,  and  his  di- 
vine truth.  Since,  therefore,  the  holy 
supper  includes  and  contains  these 
three  things,  it  follows  that  it  also  in- 
cludes and  contains  the  universals  of 
heaven  and  the  church  ;  and  because 
all  particulars  depend  on  universals,  as 


the  things  contained  on  the  things  con- 
taining them,  it  follows,  also,  that  the 
holy  supper  includes  and  contains  all 
particulars  of  heaven  and  the  church. 
Hence,  first,  it  is  evident,  that  because, 
by  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  and 
in  like  manner  by  bread  and  v.  ine,  are 
meant  the  divine  good  and  divine  truth, 
both  from  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord,  the 
holy  supper  contains  universally  and 
particularly  all  things  of  heaven  and 
the  church. 

712.  It  is  also  known,  that  the  es- 
sentials of  the  church  are  three,  name- 
ly, God,  charity  and  faith  ;  and  that  all 
things  there  refer  themselves  to  those 
three,  as  to  their  universals.  These 
are  the  same  with  those  which  were 
said  above  ;  for  God,  in  the  holy  supper, 
is  the  Lord,  charity  is  the  divine  good, 
and  faith  is  the  divine  truth.  What 
else  is  charity  than  the  good  which 
man  does  from  the  Lord?  And  what 
else  is  faith,  but  the  truth  which  man 
believes  from  the  Lord  ?  Thence  it  is, 
that  there  are  three  things  in  man,  as 
to  his  internal,  namely,  the  soul  or 
mind,  the  will  and  the  understanding. 
These  three  are  the  receptacles  of  those 
three  universals  :  the  soul  itself,  or 
mind,  is  the  receptacle  of  the  Lord,  for 
thence  it  lives ;  the  will  is  the  recepta- 
cle of  love  or  good ;  and  the  understand- 
ing is  the  receptacle  of  wisdom  or  truth ; 
wherefore,  all  and  each  of  the  things  in 
the  soul  or  mind  not  only  refer  them- 
selves to  those  three  universals  of  heav- 
en and  the  church,  but  also  proceed 
from  them.  Name  any  thing  that  pro- 
ceeds from  man,  in  which  are. not  the 
mind,  will  and  understanding  ;  if  one 
of  them  were  taken  away,  would  man 
be  any  thing  more  than  something  inan- 
imate ?  In  like  manner,  there  are 
three  things  in  man,  as  to  his  external, 
to  which  also  all  and  each  of  the  things 
refer  themselves,  and  on  which  they 
depend;  namely,  the  body,  the  heart 
and  the  lungs ;  and  these  three  things 
of  the  body  correspond  to  the  three 
things  of  the  mind,  the  heart  to  the  will, 
and  the  lungs  or  respiration  to  the  un- 
derstanding. That  there  is  such  a  cor- 
respondence has  been  fully  shown  in 
the  foregoing  pages.    Thus  now  all 


478 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


and  each  of  the  things  in  man,  as  well 
universally  as  particularly,  were  formed 
as  receptacles  .of  those  three  univer- 
sals  of  heaven  and  the  church.  The 
reason  is,  because  man  was  created  an 
image  and  likeness  of  God ;  consequent- 
ly, that  he  may  be  in  the  Lord  and 
the  Lord  in  him. 

713.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
three  things  opposite  to  those  univer- 
sal, which  are  the  devil,  evil  and  the 
false.  The  devil,  by  which  is  meant 
hell,  is  in  opposition  to  the  Lord,  evil 
is  in  opposition  to  good,  and  the 
false  to  the  truth  ;  these  three  make 
one,  for  where  the  devil  is,  there  also 
is  evil  and  the  false  thence.  These 
three  also  contain,  universally  and  par- 
ticularly, all  things  of  hell,  and  like- 
wise all  the  things  of  the  world, which 
are  contrary  to  heaven  and  the  church. 
But  because  they  are  opposites,  there- 
fore they  are  entirely  separate,  but 
still  they  are  kept  together  in  connec- 
tion by  a  wonderful  subjection  of  all 
hell  under  heaven,  of  evil  under  good, 
and  of  the  false  under  truth  ;  which  sub- 
jection is  treated  of  in  the  work  con- 
cerning He.wen  and  Hell. 

714.  That  particulars  may  be  kept 
together  in  their  order  and  connection, 
it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be 
universals  from  which  they  exist  and 
in  which  they  subsist ;  and  also  it  is 
necessary  that  the  particulars  should, 
in  a  certain  image,  relate  to  their  uni- 
versals ;  otherwise  the  whole  with  the 
parts  would  perish.  This  relation  is 
the  cause  of  the  preservation  of  all 
things  of  the  universe,  from  the  first 
day  of  creation  to  this  time,  and  here- 
after. That  all  things  in  the  universe 
refer  themselves  to  good  and  truth,  is 
known :  the  reason  is,  because  all 
things  were  created  by  God,  from  the 
divine  good  of  love  by  the  divine  truth 
of  wisdom.  Take  whatever  thing  you 
will,  either  an  animal,  or  a  shrub,  or  a 
stone,  those  three  most  universal  things 
are  in  a  certain  relation  inscribed  upon 
them. 

715.  Since  the  divine  good  and 
divine  truth  are  the  most  universal  of 
all  the  things  of  heaven  and  the  churcli, 
therefore  also  Melchisedek,  who  repre- 


sented the  Lord,  brought  forth  bread 
and  wine  to  Abraham,  and  blessed  him. 
Concerning  Melchisedek  it  is  thus  read : 
Melchisedek,  king  of  Salem,  brought 
forth  to  Abram  bread  and  wine;  and 
he  was  a  priest  to  the  most  High  God; 
and  he  blessed  him,  Gen.  xiv.  18,  19. 
That  Melchisedek  represented  the 
Lord  is  evident  from  these  words  in 
David  :  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after 
the  order  of  Melchisedek,  Psalm  ex.  4. 
That  these  words  are  concerning  the 
Lord,  may  be  seen,  Heb.  v.  6,  8,  10; 
vi.  20;  vii.  1,  10,  11,  15,  17,21.  The 
reason  why  he  brought  forth  bread  and 
wine  was,  because  those  two  include 
all  things  of  heaven  and  the  church, 
thus  all  things  of  blessing ;  in  like 
manner  as  the  bread  and  wine  in  the 
holy  supper. 

716.  IV.  That  the  whole  of  the 
Lord  is  in  the  Holy  Supper,  and 
the  whole  of  his  Redemption. 

That  the  whole  of  the  Lord  is  in  the 
holy  supper,  as  well  as  to  the  glorified 
Human  as  to  the  Divine,  from  which 
the  Human  proceeded,  is  evident  from 
his  own  express  words.  That  his  Hu- 
man is  present  in  the  holy  supper  is 
evident  from  these  words  :  Jesus  took 
bread,  and  broke,  and  gave  to  the  disci- 
ples, and  said,  This  is  my  body.  And 
taking  the  cup,  He  gave  to  them,  saying. 
This  is  my  blood.  Matt.  xxvi. ;  Mark 
xiv. ;  Luke  xxii.  And  also  in  John  :  / 
am  the  bread  of  life ;  if  any  one  cat  of 
this  bread,  he  shall  live  for  ever.  The 
bread  which  I  will  give  is  my  flesh. 
Verily,  verily,  I  soy  to  you,  He  that 
cateth  my  flesh,  and  drinkcth  my  blood, 
abideth  in  Me  and  I  in  him ;  and  he 
shall  live  for  ever,  vi.  From  these  words 
it  evidently  appears,  that  the  Lord,  as 
to  his  glorified  Human,  is  in  the  holy 
supper.  That  the  whole  of  the  Lord, 
also,  as  to  His  Divine,  from  which  the 
Human  proceeded,  is  present  in  the 
holy  supper,  is  evident  from  this,  that 
He  is  the  bread  which  came  down  from 
heaven,  John  vi.  He  came  down 
from  heaven  with  the  Divine,  for  it  is 
said,  The  Word  was  with  God,  and 
God  was  the  Word.  All  things  were 
wade  by  Him.  And  the  Word  became 
flesh,  i.  1,  3,  14.    And  further,  from 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


An 


these  :  That  the  Father  and  He  are  one, 
X.  30.  That  all  things  of  the  Father 
are  His,  iii.  35;  xvi.  15.  That  He 
is  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in 
Him,  xiv.  10,  11,  &lc.  And  further, 
that  his  Diviiie  can  no  more  be  sepa- 
rated from  his  Human  than  the  soul 
from  the  body.  Wherefore,  when  it  is 
said  that  the  whole  of  the  Lord,  as  to 
his  Human,  is  in  the  Holy  Supper,  it 
follows  that  his  Divine,  from  whicn  it 
proceeded,  is  also  there  at  the  same 
time.  Now,  since  his  flesh  signifies 
the  divine  good  of  his  love,  and  his 
blood  the  divine  truth  of  his  wisdom, 
it  is  manifest  that  the  whole  of  the 
Lord,  both  as  to  the  Divine  and  as  to 
the  glorified  Human,  is  omnipresent  in 
the  holy  supper ;  consequently,  that  it 
is  a  spiritual  eating. 

717.  That  the  whole  of  the  Lord's 
redemption  is  present  in  the  holy  sup- 
per follows,  as  a  consequence,  from 
what  has  now  been  said ;  for  where 
the  whole  of  the  Lord  is,  there  also  is 
the  whole  of  his  redemption  ;  for  He  is, 
as  to  the  Human,  the  Redeemer;  con- 
sequently, also,  redemption  itself :  not 
any  thing  of  redemption  can  be  absent, 
where  He  is  wholly  present.  Where- 
fore, all  those  who  worthily  go  to  the 
holy  communion,  become  his  redeemed 
ones ;  and  because  by  redemption  are 
meant  deliverance  from  hell,  conjunc- 
tion with  Him  and  salvation  (of  which 
below,  in  this  chapter,  and  more  fully  in 
the  chapter  concerning  Redemption), 
therefore  those  fruits  are  ascribed  to 
man ;  not,  indeed,  so  far  as  the  Lord 
wills,  because  from  his  divine  love  He 
wills  to  ascribe  them  all,  but  as  far  as 
man  receives;  and  he  who  receives, 
is  redeemed  in  the  degree  in  which  he 
receives.  Whence  it  is  evident,  that 
the  effects  and  fruits  of  the  Lord's  re- 
demption return  to  those  who  worthily 
appro  acii. 

718.  With  every  sound  man  there  is 
a  faculty  of  receiving  wisdom  from  the 
Lord,  that  is,  of  multiplying  the  truths 
from  which  it  is,  to  eternity  ;  and  also  of 
receiving  love,  that  is,  of  fructifying 
the  goods  from  which  this  is,  in  like 
manner  to  eternity.  This  perpetual 
fructification  of  good  and  thence  of 


love,  and  that  perpetual  multiplication 
of  truth  and  thence  of  wisdom,  is  given 
with  the  angels,  and  also  it  is  given 
with  men  who  become  angels;  and 
because  the  Lord  is  Love  itself  and 
Wisdom  itself,  it  follows  that  man  has 
the  faculty  of  conjoining  himself  to  the 
Lord,  and  the  Lord  to  him,  for  ever. 
But  still,  because  man  is  finite,  the 
Divine  itself  of  the  Lord  cannot  be  con- 
joined to  him,  but  only  adjoined ;  as, 
for  illustration,  the  light  of  the  sun 
cannot  be  conjoined  to  the  eye,  nor  the 
sound  of  the  air  conjoined  to  the  ear, 
but  only  adjoined  to  them,  and  thus 
give  the  faculty  of  seeing  and  hearing ; 
for  man  is  not  life  in  himself,  as  the 
Lord  is,  even  as  to  the  Human,  (John 
V.  26,)  but  he  is  a  receptacle  of  life; 
and  life  itself  is  what  is  adjoined  to 
man,  but  is  not  conjoined.  These 
things  are  added  in  order  that  it  may 
be  understood,  in  what  way  the  whole 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  whole  of  his  re- 
demption, is  present  in  the  holy  supper. 

719.  V.  That  the  Lord  is  present 
AND  OPENS  Heaven  to  those  who 

WORTHILY  COME  TO  THE  HoLY  SuPPER, 
AND  THAT  He  IS  ALSO  PRESENT  W'lTH 
THOSE  WHO  COME  UNWORTHILY,  BUT 
THAT  He  DOES  NOT  OPEN  HeAVEN  TO 
THEM  ;  CONSEQUENTLY,  THAT  AS  BAP- 
TISM IS  AN  Introduction  into  the 
Church,  so  the  Holy  Supper  is  an 
Introduction  into  Heaven. 

Who  they  are  that  come  to  the  holy 
supper  worthily,  is  shown  in  the  two 
following  articles,  and  at  the  same  time 
concerning  those  who  come  unworthily ; 
for  from  the  one  which  is  affirmed,  the 
other  is  known  from  its  opposition. 
That  the  Lord  is  present  both  with  the 
worthy  and  with  the  unworthy,  is  be- 
cause He  is  omnipresent,  both  in  heav- 
en and  in  hell,  and  also  in  the  world ; 
consequently,  with  the  evil  as  well  as 
with  the  good ;  but  with  the  good,  that 
is,  the  regenerate.  He  is  present  uni- 
versally and  particularly,  for  the  Lord 
is  in  them  and  they  in  the  Lord,  and 
where  the  Lord  is,  there  is  heaven. 
Heaven  also  makes  the  body  of  the 
Lord;  wherefore,  to  be  in  his  body,  is 
to  be  at  the  same  time  in  heaven.  But 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  with  those 


480 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


who  come  unworthily,  is  his  universal 
but  not  his  particular  presence ;  or, 
what  is  the  same,  it  is  his  external  but 
not  his  internal  presence ;  and  his  uni- 
versal or  external  presence  causes  man 
to  live  as  man,  and  to  enjoy  the  faculty 
of  knowing,  of  understanding,  and  of 
speaking  rationally  from  the  under- 
standing; for  man  is  born  for  heaven, 
and  therefore  also  spiritual,  and  not 
like  a  beast,  only  natural.  He  enjoys 
also  the  faculty  of  willing  and  of  doing 
those  things  which  the  understanding 
can  know,  understand,  and  thence 
speak  rationally  ;  but  if  the  will  refuses 
obedience  to  the  truly  rational  things 
of  the  understanding,  which  also  are 
intrinsically  spiritual,  then  the  man  be- 
comes external.  Wherefore,  with  those 
who  only  understand  what  is  true  and 
good,  the  presence  of  the  Lord  is  uni- 
versal or  external;  but  with  tliose  who 
also  will  and  do  what  is  true  and  good, 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  is  both  univer- 
sal and  particular,  or  both  internal  and 
external.  Those  who  only  understand 
and  talk  about  truths  and  goods  are 
comparatively  the  foolisli  virgins,  who 
had  lamps  but  not  oil ;  but  those  who 
not  only  understand  and  talk  about 
truths  and  goods,  but  also  will  and  do 
thein,  are  the  prudent  virgins,  wlio 
were  admitted  into  the  wedding,  but 
the  former  stood  at  the  door  and 
knocked,  but  were  not  admitted.  Matt. 
XXV.  1  to  12.  Hence  it  is  evident  that 
tlie  Lord  is  present  and  opens  heaven 
to  those  who  come  wortliily  to  the  holy 
supper ;  and  that  He  is  also  present 
with  those  who  come  unworthily,  but 
that  he  does  not  open  heaven  to  them. 

720.  But  still  it  is  not  to  be  believed 
that  the  Lord  shuts  heaven  to  those 
who  come  unworthily ;  this  He  does 
not  to  any  man  even  to  the  end  of  his 
life  in  the  world ;  but  that  man  shuts  it 
against  himself,  which  he  does  by  the 
rejection  of  faith,  and  by  evil  of  life. 
But  still  man  is  continually  kept  in  a 
possible  state  of  repentance  and  con- 
version ;  for  the  Lord  is  perpetually 
present,  and  urges  that  He  may  be 
received  ;  for  He  says,  /  stand  at  flic 
door  and  knock ;  if  any  one  hear  m  xj 
voice,  and  open  the  dx)or,  I  toill  go  in 


and  SUP  with  him  and  he  with  Me, 
Rev.  iii.  20.  Wherefore  man  himself 
is  in  the  fault,  who  does  not  open  the 
door.  The  case  is  otherwise  after 
death ;  then  heaven  is  shut,  and  is  not 
to  be  opened  to  those  who,  even  to  the 
end  of  life,  have  come  to  the  holy  sup- 
per unworthily,  for  then  the  interiors 
of  their  mind  are  fixed  and  established. 

72L  That  baptism  is  an  introduc- 
tion into  the  church,  was  shown  in 
the  chapter  concerning  Baptism  ;  but 
that  the  holy  supper  is  an  introduction 
into  heaven,  is  evident  from  the  things 
above  said  and  perceived.  Those  two 
sacraments,  baptism  and  the  holy  sup- 
per, are  as  it  were  two  gates  to  eternal 
life.  Every  Chri.stian  man  by  baptism, 
which  is  the  first  gate,  is  admitted  and 
introduced  into  the  things  which  the 
church  teaches  from  the  Word  concern- 
ing another  life  ;  which  all  are  means  by 
which  man  may  be  prepared  for  and  led 
to  heaven.  The  other  gate  is  the  holy 
supper,  through  which  every  man  who 
has  suffered  himself  to  be  prepared  and 
led  by  the  Lord,  is  admitted  and  intro- 
duced into  heaven.  There  are  no  more 
universal  gates.  These  two  may  be 
compared  with  a  prince  born  for  a  king- 
dom, in  that  he  is  first  introduced  into 
the  knowledges  which  belong  to  the 
office  of  governing,  and  then  follows 
his  coronation  and  government.  They 
may  be  compared  also  with  a  son  born 
to  a  great  inheritance,  who  will  first 
learn  and  imbue  himself  with  such 
things  as  pertain  to  the  just  disposition 
of  possessions  and  wealth  ;  the  other 
thing  is  the  possession  and  administra- 
tion. They  may  be  compared  also  with 
the  building  of  a  house,  and  with  its 
being  inhabited  ;  and  also  with  the  in- 
struction of  a  man  from  infancy  even 
to  the  age  when  he  comes  to  the  exer- 
cise of  his  own  right  and  judgment, 
and  with  his  rational  and  spiritual  life 
aflerwards  :  one  period  necessarily  pre- 
cedes, that  the  other  may  be  obtained  ; 
for  this  is  not  attainable  without  that. 
By  these  things  it  is  illustrated,  that 
baptism  and  the  holy  supper  are,  as  it 
were,  two  gates,  through  whicii  man  is 
introduced  into  eternal  life,  and  that, 
after  the  first  gate,  there  is  a  plain,  over 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


481 


which  he  must  run,  and  that  the  other  is 
the  goal,  where  is  the  prize  to  wliich  he 
directed  his  course ;  for  the  palm  is  not 
given  till  after  the  contest,  nor  the  re- 
ward till  after  the  combat. 

72:2.  VI.  Tn.\T  those  come  to 
THE  HoLV  Supper  worthily,  who 
ARE  IN  Faith  in  the  Lord,  and  in 
Charity  towards  the  Neighbor, 

THUS  who  are  regenerate. 

That  God,  charity  and  faith  are  the 
three  universals  of  the  church,  because 
they  are  the  universal  means  of  salva- 
tion, is  known,  acknowledged  and  per- 
ceived by  every  Christian  who  studies 
the  Word.  That  God  is  to  be  acknowl- 
edged, in  order  that  any  one  may 
have  religion,  and  any  thing  of  the 
church  in  him,  reason  itself,'  in  which 
there  is  something  spiritual,  dictates. 
Wherefore,  he  who  comes  to  the  holy 
supper,  and  does  not  acknowledge  God, 
profanes  it ;  for  he  sees  with  the  eye 
the  bread  and  wine,  and  tastes  them 
with  the  tongue ;  but  the  mind  thinks, 
What  is  this  but  an  idle  ceremony? 
And  how  do  they  differ  from  similar 
things  upon  my  table  ?  Yet  I  do  this 
lest  I  should  be  accused  by  the  priest- 
hood, and  thence  by  the  vulgar,  of  the  in- 
famous crime  of  being  an  atheist.  That, 
after  the  acknowledgment  of  God, 
Charity  is  another  means  which  causes 
one  to  come  worthily,  is  evident  both 
from  the  Word  and  from  the  exhortations 
read  before  coming  to  the  communion 
in  the  whole  Christian  world.  From  the 
Word  :  that  the  first  commandment 
and  precept  is,  that  rnen  should  love  God 
above  all  things,  and  the  neighbor  as 
themselves,  Matt.  xxii.  34  to  39  ;  Luke 
X.  25  to  28.  And  also  Paul  says,  that 
there  are  three  things  which  contribute 
to  salvation,  and  that  the  greatest  of 
them  is  charity,  1  Cor.  xiii.  13.  As 
also  from  these.  We  know  that  God 
heareth  nut  sinners ;  but  if  any  one 
worsliippcth  God  and  docth  his  will,  him 
He  heareth,  John  ix.  31.  Every  tree 
that  produceth  not  good  fruit,  is  cut 
down  and  cast  into  the  fire.  Matt.  vii. 
19,  20  ;    Luke  iii.  8,  9 :    From  the 

EXHORTATIONS   READ   BEFORE  COMING 

TO  THE  Holy  Supper  in  the  whole 
Christian  world:  in  those  the  people 
61 


are  every  where  seriously  admonished 
to  be  in  cliarity  by  reconciliation  and 
repentance ;  of  which  I  shall  here  trans- 
cribe only  these  words  from  the  exhor- 
tation to  communicants  in  England  : 
— "  The  way  and  means,"  to  become 
a  worthy  partaker  of  the  holy  supper, 
"  is,  first,  to  examine  your  lives  and 
conversations  by  the  rule  of  God's  com- 
mandments ;  and  whereinsoever  ye  shall 
perceive  yourselves  to  have  offended, 
either  by  will,  word,  or  deed,  there  to 
bewail  your  own  sinfulness,  and  to  con- 
fess yourselves  to  Almighty  God,  with 
full  purpose  of  amendment  of  life.  And 
if  ye  shall  perceive  your  offences  to  be 
such  as  are  not  only  against  God,  but 
also  against  your  neighbors ;  then  ye 
shall  reconcile  yourselves  unto  them, 
being  ready  to  make  restitution  and 
satisfaction,  according  to  the  uttermost 
of  your  powers,  for  all  injuries  and 
wrongs  done  by  you  to  any  other  ;  and 
being  likewise  ready  to  forgive  others 
that  have. offended  you,  as  ye  would 
have  forgiveness  at  God's  hand ;  for 
otherwise,  the  receiving  of  the  holy 
communion  doth  nothing  else  but  in- 
crease your  damnation.  Therefore,  if 
any  of  you  be  a  blasphemer  of  God,  a 
hinderer  or  slanderer  of  his  Word,  an 
adulterer,  or  be  in  malice  or  envy,  or  in 
any  other  grievous  crime,  repent  ye  of 
your  sins,  or  else  come  not  to  that  holy 
table;  lest,  after  the  taking  of  that  holy 
sacrament,  the  devil  enter  into  you,  as 
he  entered  into  Judas,  and  fill  you  full 
of  all  iniquities,  and  bring  you  to  de- 
struction both  of  body  and  soul."  That 
Faith  in  the  Lord  is  a  third  means 
of  the  worthy  participation  of  the  holy 
supper,  is  because  charity  and  faith 
make  one,  like  heat  and  light  in  the 
time  of  spring,  from  which  two  con- 
joined, every  tree  springs  forth  afresh  ; 
in  like  manner,  from  spiritual  heat,  which 
is  charity,  and  from  spiritual  light,  which 
is  the  truth  of  faith,  every  man  lives. 
That  faith  in  the  Lord  does  this,  is  evi- 
dent from  these  passages  :  He  that  be- 
lievcth  in  Me  shall  never  die,  but  shall 
live,  John  xi.  25,  26.  This  is  the  will 
of  the  Father,  that  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth  in  the  Son  should  have  eternal 
life,  vi.  40.    God  so  loved  the  world. 


482 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


that  He  gave  Ms  only-begotten  Son,  that 
every  one  that  bclieveth  in  Him  might 
have  eternal  life,  iii.  15,  16.  He  that 
helieveth  in  the  Son  hath  eternal  life ; 
hut  he  that  helieveth  not  the  Son  shall 
not  see  life,  hut  the  anger  of  God  ahid- 
eth  on  him,  iii.  36.  We  are  in  the  truth, 
in  the  Son  of  God,  Jesus  Christ :  this 
is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life,  1  John 
V.  20,  21. 

723.  It  was  shown  in  the  chapter 
concerning  Reformation  and  Regen- 
eration, that  man  is  regenerated  by 
these  three,  the  Lord,  charity  and  faith, 
as  one  ;  and  that  one  cannot  come  into 
heaven,  unless  he  be  regenerated ; 
wherefore  the  Lord  can  open  heaven  to 
no  others  than  the  regenerate,  and  after 
natural  death  introduction  into  it  is 
given  to  no  others.  By  the  regenerate 
who  come  worthily,  are  meant  those 
who  are  internally  in  those  three  essen- 
tials of  the  church  and  heaven,  but  not 
those  who  are  only  externally  ;  for  these 
do  not  confess  the  Lord  with  the  soul, 
but  only  with  the  tongue  ;  and  they  do 
not  exercise  charity  towards  the  neigh- 
bor with  the  heart,  but  only  with  the 
body.  Such  are  all  who  work  iniquity, 
according  to  these  words  of  the  Lord  : 
Then  ye  will  hegin  to  say,  Lord,  we 
have  eaten  and  drunk  in  thy  presence  ; 
hut  I  shall  say  to  you,  I  know  you  not 
whence  ye  are ;  depart  from  Me,  all  ye 
workers  of  iniquity,  Luke  xiii.  26,  27. 

724.  These  things,  like  the  former, 
may  be  illustrated   by  various  things 
which  agree  and  also  correspond,  as 
by  these  :    That  no  others  are  admit- 
ted to  the  table  of  an  emperor  or  a 
king,  than  those  who  are  in  high  office 
and  dignity ;  and  that  these  also,  be- 
fore they  come,  clothe  themselves  with 
suitable  garments,  and  adorn  themselves 
with  the  badges  of  their  office,  that 
they  may  come  acceptably,  and  be 
favored.     Why  not,  when  they  come 
to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  who  is  the 
Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings.  Rev. 
xvii.  14,  to  which  all  are  called  and 
invited  ;  but  those  only  who  are  spirit- 
ually worthy,  and  clothed  in  honorable 
apparel,  after  they  rise  up  from  the  ta- 
ble, are  admitted  into  the  palaces  of 
heaven,  and  into  the  joys  there,  and 


honored  as  princes,  because  they  are 
sons  of  the  greatest  King  ;  and  after- 
wards they  sit  down  daily  with  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob,  Matt.  viii.  11 ; 
by  whom  is  meant  the  Lord  as  to  the 
celestial  Divine,  the  spiritual  Divine 
and  the  natural  Divine.  Those  same 
things  may  be  compared  also  with  wed- 
dings on  earth,  to  which  no  others  are 
invited  than  the  relations,  kindred  and 
friends  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride ; 
if  any  other  one  enters,  he  is  admitted, 
indeed,  but  because  he  has  no  place  at 
the  table,  he  retires.  It  is  similar  with 
those  who  are  called  to  the  marriage 
of  the  Lord,  as  bridegroom,  with  the 
church,  as  bride ;  among  whom  those 
are  relations,  kindred  and  friends,  who 
derive  their  lineage  by  regeneration 
from  the  Lord.  Moreover,  who  in  the 
world  is  initiated  into  the  friendship  of  an- 
other, unless  he  trusts  him  with  a  sincere 
heart,  and  does  his  will  ?  This  one,  and 
not  others,  he  reckons  among  his  friends, 
and  intrusts  to  him  his  possessions. 

725.  VII.  That  those  who  come 
TO  the  Holy  Supper  worthily,  are 
IN  the  Lord  and  the  Lord  in  tihem  ; 
consequently,  that  Conjunction 
with  the  Lord  is  effected  by  the 
Holy  Supper. 

That  those  come  to  the  Holy  Supper 
worthily  who  are  in  faith  in  the  Lord, 
and  in  charity  towards  the  neighbor, 
and  that  the  truths  of  faith  set  forth 
the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the  goods 
of  charity,  together  with  faith,  conjunc- 
tion, has  been  demonstrated  above  in 
several  chapters  ;  from  which  it  follows, 
that  tliose  who  come  to  the  holy  .«upper 
worthily,  are  conjoined  to  the  Lord,  and 
those  who  arc  conjoined  to  the  Lord  are 
in  Him  and  He  in  tliem.  That  this  is 
the  case  with  those  who  come  worthily, 
the  Lord  himself  declares  in  John,  in 
these  words  :  He  that  rntcth  my  flesh 
and  drinkcth  fny  hlood,  ahidrth  in  Me 
and  I  in  him,  vi.  56.  That  this  iscon- 
jimction  with  the  Ixird,  He  also  teaches 
elsewhere  in  the  same:  Abide  in  Me 
and  I  in  you  ;  hr  that  abidi  th  in  Me 
and  I  in  him,  llir  stimr  bearrth  much 
fruit,  w.  4,5;  and  Rev.  iii.  20.  What 
else  is  conjunction  with  the  Lord,  but 
being  among  those  who  are  in  his  body  T 


Concerning  the  Holy  Swpper. 


483 


And  those  constitute  his  body,  wlio  be- 
lieve in  Him  and  do  iiis  will.  His  will 
is  the  exercise  of  charity  according  to 
the  truths  of  faith. 

7'2G.  That  without  conjunction  with 
the  Lord,  eternal  life  and  salvation  can- 
not be  given,  is  because  He  is  both. 
That  He  is  etern.\l  Life,  is  clearly 
evident  from  passages  from  the  Word, 
and  from  this  in  John  :  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  true  God,  and  eternal  Life,  1  John  v. 
2L  That  He  is  Salvation,  is  because 
this  and  eternal  life  are  one.  His 
name  Jesus  also  signifies  salvation,  and 
thence,  in  the  whole  Christian  world, 
He  is  called  the  Savior.  But  still  no 
others  come  worthily  to  the  holy  sup- 
per, but  those  who  are  interiorly  con- 
joined to  the  Lord,  and  those  are  in- 
teriorly conjoined  who  are  regenerate  ; 
but  who  the  regenerate  are  was  shown  in 
the  chapter  concerning  Reformation 
AND  Regeneration.  Besides,  there 
are  many  who  confess  the  Lord  and 
who  do  good  to  the  neighbor  ;  but  if 
they  do  not  do  this  from  love  towards 
the  neighbor  and  from  faith  in  the  Lord, 
they  are  not  regenerate  ;  for  they  do 
good  to  the  neighbor  only  for  reasons 
which  regard  the  world  and  themselves, 
but  not  the  neighbor  as  the  neighbor. 
The  works  of  these  are  merely  natural, 
which  do  not  inwardly  contain  in  them 
any  thing  spiritual ;  for  they  confess 
the  Lord  only  with  the  mouth  and  lips, 
from  which  the  heart  is  far  distant. 
Love  itself  towards  the  neighbor,  and 
faith  itself,  are  from  the  Lord  alone  ; 
and  both  are  given  to  man,  while,  from 
his  own  free  choice,  he  does  good  to  the 
neighbor,  and  believes  truths  rationally, 
and  looks  to  the  Lord,  and  does  these 
three  things  on  account  of  the  com- 
mandments in  the  Word  ;  then  the 
Lord  implants  charity  and  faith  in  the 
midst  of  him,  and  makes  both  spiritual. 
Thus  the  Lord  conjoins  man  to  Him- 
self, and  man  himself  to  the  Lord  ;  for 
there  is  no  conjunction,  unless  it  be 
made  reciprocally.  But  these  things 
have  been  fully  shown  in  the  chapters 
concerning  Charity,  Faith,  Free 
Agency  and  Regeneration. 

727.  It  is  known  that  conjunctions 
and  consociations  are  made  in  the  world 


by  invitations  to  tables  and  by  feasts ; 
for  thereby  the  person  who  invites  in- 
tends something  which  contributes  to 
some  end,  which  respects  agreement 
or  friendship ;  much  more  the  invita- 
tions which  have  spiritual  things  for  an 
end.  The  feasts  in  the  ancient  churches 
were  feasts  of  charity  ;  in  like  manner 
in  the  primitive  Christian  church,  in 
which  they  encouraged  one  another  to 
continue  in  the  worship  of  the  Lord, 
from  a  sincere  heart.  The  sons  of  Is- 
rael's eating  together  of  the  sacrifices 
near  the  tabernacle,  signified  nothing 
else  than  unanimity  in  the  worship  of 
Jehovah ;  wherefore,  the  flesh  which 
was  eaten  was  called  holy,  Jer.  xi. 
15;  Hag.  ii.  12;  and  in  many  other 
places,  because  it  was  a  part  of  the  sacri- 
fice ;  why  not  the  bread  and  wine  and 
the  paschal  flesh,  at  the  supper  of  the 
Lord,  who  offered  Himself  a  sacrifice 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  1  More- 
over, conjunction  with  the  Lord,  by 
means  of  the  holy  supper,  may  be  illus- 
trated by  the  conjunction  of  families 
from  one  common  father ;  from  him  de- 
scend those  who  are  related  by  blood, 
and  in  order  kindred  and  relations,  and 
they  all  derive  something  from  the  first 
stock ;  but  they  do  not  thus  derive 
flesh  and  blood,  but  from  the  flesh  and 
blood,  thus  a  soul  and  thence  an  inclina- 
tion to  similar  things,  by  which  they  are 
conjoined.  The  conjunction  itself  also 
appears  generally  in  the  faces  and  also 
in  the  manners,  and  thence  they  are 
called  one  flesh,  as  Gen.  xxix.  14  ; 
xxxvii.  27  ;  2  Sam.  v.  1  ;  xix.  12,  13 ; 
and  elsewhere.  The  case  is  similar 
with  conjunction  with  the  Lord,  who  is 
the  Father  of  all  the  faithful  and  the 
blessed  ;  conjunction  with  Him  is  ef- 
fected by  means  of  love  and  faith,  by 
which  two  are  called  one  flesh.  Thence 
it  is,  that  He  said.  He  that  eateth  my 
jlesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  abideth  in 
Me  and  I  in  him.  Who  does  not  see 
that  bread  and  wine  does  not  effect  this, 
but  that  it  is  effected  by  the  good  of  love 
which  is  meant  by  bread,  and  by  the 
truth  of  faith  which  is  meant  by  wine, 
which  are  the  Lord's  own,  and  from 
Him  alone  they  proceed  and  are  com- 
municated ?    All  conjunction  also  is 


434 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


effected  by  love ;  and  love  is  not  love 
without  confidence.  Those  who  be- 
lieve that  the  bread  is  flesh,  and  the 
wine  blood,  and  cannot  elevate  the 
thought  further,  may  remain  in  that 
belief,  but  no  otherwise  than  that  the 
most  holy  thing,  which  effects  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Lord,  is  what  is  attributed 
and  appropriated  to  man  as  his,  although 
it  continually  remains  the  Lord's. 

728.  VIH.  That  the  Holy  Sup- 
per IS  TO  THOSE  WHO  COME  TO  IT 
WORTHILY  AS  A  SIGNING  AND  SeAL 
THAT  THEY  ARE  THE  SoNS  OF  GoD. 

That  the  holy  supper  is  to  those  who 
come  to  it  worthily  a  signing  and  seal 
that  they  are  the  sons  of  God,  is  be- 
cause, as  was  said  above,  the  Lord  is 
then  present,  and  introduces  into  heav- 
en those  who  are  born  of  Him,  that  is, 
the  regenerate.  That  the  holy  sup- 
per does  this,  is  because  the  Lord  is  then 
present  also  as  to  his  Human ;  for  it 
was  shown  above,  that  the  whole  of  the 
Lord  is  present  in  the  holy  supper,  and 
the  whole  of  his  redemption  ;  for  He 
says  of  the  bread,  This  is  my  body, 
and  of  the  wine.  This  is  my  blood ; 
consequently.  He  admits  them  then  into 
his  body ;  and  the  church  and  heaven 
constitute  his  body.  When  man  is  be- 
ing regenerated,  the  Lord  is  indeed 
present,  and  by  his  divine  operation 
prepares  man  for  heaven ;  but  that  he 
may  actually  enter,  man  must  actually 
present  himself  to  the  Lord ;  and 
because  the  Lord  actually  presents 
Himself  to  man,  man  must  actually  re- 
ceive Him,  not,  indeed,  as  He  hung  on 
the  cross,  but  as  He  is  in  his  glorified 
Human,  in  which  He  is  present ;  and 
the  body  of  this  is  divine  good,  and  its 
blood  is  divine  truth  :  these  are  given  to 
man,  and  by  them  he  is  regenerated, 
and  is  in  the  Lord  and  the  Lord  in  him  ; 
for,  as  was  sliown  above, the  eating  which 
is  exhibited  in  the  holy  supper  is  a  spirit- 
ual eating.  From  these  things  rightly  per- 
ceived, it  is  evident,  that  the  holy  sup- 
per is  a  signing  and  seal  that  those  who 
come  to  it  worthily  are  the  sons  of  God. 

729.  But  those  who  die  in  infancy 
or  childhood,  and  thus  do  not  attain 
such  an  age  that  they  can  worthily 
come  to  the  holy  supper,  are  introduced 


by  the  Lord  by  means  of  baptism  ;  for, 
as  it  was  shown  in  the  chapter  concern- 
ing baptism,  baptism  is  an  introduction 
into  the  Christian  church,  and  at  the 
same  time  an  insertion  among  Christians 
in  the  spiritual  world ;  and  the  church 
and  heaven  there  are  one ;  wherefore,  for 
those  there,  introduction  into  the  church 
is  also  into  heaven,  and  these,  because 
they  are  educated  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Lord,  are  regenerated  more  and 
more,  and  become  his  children  ;  for  they 
know  no  other  father.  But  infants  and 
children,  born  out  of  the  Christian 
church,  are  introduced  by  other  means, 
than  by  baptism,  into  the  heaven  des- 
ignated for  their  religion,  after  the  re- 
ception of  faith  in  the  Lord ;  but  they 
are  not  mixed  with  those  who  are  in  the 
Christian  heaven.  For  there  is  not  any 
nation  in  all  the  world  which  may  not 
be  saved,  if  they  acknowledge  a  God 
and  live  well ;  for  the  Lord  redeemed 
them  all,  and  man  is  born  spiritual,  by 
which  he  has  the  faculty  of  receiving 
the  gift  of  redem])tion.  Those  who  re- 
ceive the  Lord,  that  is,  have  faith  in 
Him,  and  are  not  in  evils  of  life,  are 
called  SONS  of  God,  and  rorn  of  God, 
John  i.  12,  13 ;  xi.  52 ;  and  also  sons 
of  the  kingdom.  Matt.  xiii.  38;  and 
likewise  HEIRS,  xix.  29;  xxv.  34.  The 
disciples  of  the  Lord  are  also  called 
SONS,  ix.  15 ;  and  so  are  all  the  an- 
gels, Job  i.  6 ;  ii.  1. 

730.  It  is  with  the  holy  supper  as 
with  a  covenant,  which,  after  the  arti- 
cles are  agreed  upon,  is  ratified  and 
sealed  up  with  a  seal.  That  the  blood 
of  the  Lord  is  a  covenant  Ho  him-'^olf 
teaches ;  for  He  said,  when  He  took 
the  cup  and  gave.  Drink  ye  all  of  it ; 
this  is  my  blood,  that  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, Matt,  xxvii.  28;  Mark  xiv. 
24  ;  Luke  xxii.  20.  The  New  Testa- 
ment is  the  New  Covenant ;  wherefore, 
the  Word  written  by  the  propiiets  be- 
fore the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  called 
the  Old  Testament  and  Covenant;  and 
the  Word  written  by  the  evangelists 
and  apostles,  after  his  coming,  the  New 
Testament  or  Covenant.  That  the 
divine  truth  of  the  AVord  is  meant  by 
blood,  and  likewise  by  the  wine,  in  the 
holy  supper,  may  be  seen  above  in  ar- 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


485 


tide  ii.  n.  706,  708 ;  and  the  Word  is 
the  covenant  itself,  which  the  Lord  has 
made  with  man,  and  man  with  the  Lord  ; 
for  the  Lord  descended  as  the  Word, 
that  is,  as  the  Divine  Truth.  And  be- 
cause this  is  his  blood,  therefore  blood, 
in  the  Israelitish  church,  which  was  rep- 
resentative of  the  Christian  church,  was 

called  THE   BLOOD  OF  THE  COVENANT, 

Exod.  xxiv.  7,  8;  Zech.  ix.  11;  and 
the  Lord,  the  Covenant  of  the  peo- 
ple, Isaiah  xlii.  6;  xlix.  8;  Jer.  xxxi. 
31  to  34 ;  Psalm  cxi.  9.  It  is  also 
according  to  the  order  in  the  world, 
that  a  covenant  should  be  signed  and 
sealed  in  order  that  there  may  be  any 
certainty,  and  that  that  should  follow 
after  deliberate  acts.  What  is  a  com- 
mission or  a  will,  unless  it  be  sealed  ? 
What  is  the  decision  of  a  judge,  with- 
out the  sentence  subscribed,  that 
the  judgment  may  be  established  ? 
What  is  a  high  office  in  a  kingdom, 
without  a  diploma  ?  What  is  promo- 
tion to  any  office,  without  confirmation? 
What  is  the  possession  of  a  house  with- 
out a  purchase,  or  agreement  with  the 
owner  7  What  is  a  progression  to  any 
end,  or  running  to  any  goal,  and  thus 
for  a  prize,  if  there  is  not  any  end  or 
goal,  where  one  will  obtain  the  prize, 
and  unless  the  judge  has  in  some  man- 
ner made  his  wager  sure  ?  But  these 
last  things  are  added  only  for  the  sake 
of  illustration, that  it  maybe  perceived 
even  by  the  simple,  that  the  holy  sup- 
per is  as  it  were  a  signing,  a  seal,  a  tick- 
et, and  the  witnessing  of  a  commission, 
even  before  the  angels,  that  they  are 
the  sons  of  God ;  and  moreover  as  a 
key  to  the  house  in  heaven  where  they 
will  dwell  to  eternity. 


731.  Once  an  angel  was  seen  by 
me,  flying  under  the  eastern  heaven, 
who  held  a  trumpet  in  his  hand  and  to 
his  mouth,  and  sounded  towards  the 
north,  towards  the  west,  and  towards  the 
south.  He  had  on  a  robe  which  flowed 
backwards,  as  he  flew,  and  was  girded 
with  a  belt  of  carbuncles  and  sapphires, 
as  it  were,  flaming  and  shining.  He 
flew  downwards,  and  gently  alighted 
on  the  earth,  near  the  spot  where  I 
was.    As  soon  as  he  touched  the  earth. 


erect  on  his  feet,  he  went  hither  and 
thither  ;  and  then,  seeing  me,  directed 
his  steps  towards  me.  I  was  in  the 
spirit,  and  in  it  was  standing  on  a  hill 
in  the  southern  quarter ;  and  when  he 
was  near,  I  spoke  to  him,  and  aske^, 
"What  is  the  matter  now?  I  heard 
the  sound  of  your  trumpet,  and  saw  your 
descent  through  the  air."  The  angel 
answered,  "I  am  sent  to  call  together 
the  most  celebrated  for  erudition,  the 
most  acute  in  genius,  and  the  most 
eminent  in  reputation  for  wisdom,  that 
are  from  the  kingdoms  of  the  Christian 
world  on  this  earth  ;  that  they  may  come 
together  upon  this  hill,  where  you  are 
staying,  and  disclose  their  minds,  what 
they  in  the  world  had  thought,  under- 
stood and  tasted  of  Heavenly  Joy  and 
of  Eternal  Happiness.  The  cause 
of  my  being  sent  is  this ;  that  some  new 
comers  from  the  world,  being  admitted 
into  our  heavenly  society,  which  is  in 
the  east,  related  that  not  a  single  one 
in  the  whole  Christian  world  knows 
what  heavenly  joy  is,  and  what  eternal 
happiness  is,  thus  what  heaven  is.  At 
this,  my  brethren  and  companions 
greatly  wondered ;  and  they  said  to  me, 
'  Descend,  convoke  and  assemble  the 
wisest  in  the  world  of  spirits,  into 
which  all  mortals  are  first  gathered 
together  after  their  departure  from  the 
natural  world,  in  order  that,  from  the 
mouth  of  many,  we  may  be  assured 
whether  it  is  true,  that  Christians  are 
in  such  thick  darkness  and  profound 
ignorance  concerning  the  future  life.'  " 
And  he  said  to  me,  "  Wait  a  while,  and 
you  will  see  companies  of  the  wise 
flowing  hither ;  the  Lord  will  prepare 
a  house  of  meeting  for  them."  I 
waited,  and  behold,  after  half  an  hour, 
I  saw  two  troops  from  the  north,  two 
from  the  west,  and  two  from  the  south  ; 
and  as  they  came,  they  were  introduced 
by  the  angel  of  the  trumpet  into  the 
house  prepared,  and  there  occupied 
the  places  designated  for  them  accord- 
ing to  the  quarters.  There  were  six 
troops  or  companies ;  a  seventh  was 
from  the  east,  which,  on  account  of  the 
light,  was  not  seen  by  the  rest.  After 
they  had  assembled,  the  angel  opened 
the  cause  of  their  being  called  together, 
and  requested  that  the  companies  in 


486 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


order  would  bring  forth  their  wisdom 
concerning  Heavenly  Joy  and  con- 
cerning Eternal  Happiness.  And 
then  each  company  formed  itself  into  a 
circle,  their  faces  being  turned  to  faces, 
that  they  might  recall  the  subject  from  the 
ideas  entertained  in  the  former  world, 
and  might  now  consider  it,  and,  after 
consideration  and  consultation,  express 
their  sentiments. 

732.  After  consultation,  the  First 
Company,  which  was  from  the  north, 
said,  "  That  heavenly  joy  and  eternal 
happiness  were  one  with  the  very  life 
of  heaven ;  wherefore,  every  one  who 
enters  heaven,  as  to  life,  enters  into  its 
festivities,  just  as  one  who  enters  into 
a  wedding  enters  into  its  festivities. 
Is  not  heaven  before  our  eyes  above  us, 
thus  in  place  !  And  are  there  not  there, 
and  not  elsewhere,  enjoyments  upon 
enjoyments  and  pleasures  upon  pleas- 
ures ?  Into  these  man  is  brought,  as 
to  every  perception  of  the  mind,  and 
as  to  every  sensation  of  the  body,  from 
the  fulness  of  the  joys  of  that  place, 
when  he  is  brought  into  heaven. 
Wherefore,  heavenly  happiness,  which 
is  also  eternal,  is  nothing  else  than  ad- 
mission into  heaven,  and  admission  is 
of  divine  grace."  When  they  had  said 
this,  the  OTHER  Company  from  the 
north,  from  their  wisdom,  expressed  this 
opinion  :  "  Heavenly  joy  and  eternal 
happiness  are  nothing  else  than  the 
most  delightful  intercourse  with  angels 
and  the  sweetest  conversations  with 
them,  by  which  their  faces  are  contin- 
ually kept  expanded  in  gladness,  and 
the  mouths  of  the  whole  company  in 
pleasant  smiles  from  entertaining  and 
facetious  discourse ;  and  what  are 
heavenly  joys,  but  the  variations  of  such 
things  to  eternity  ?  "  The  Third  Com- 
pany, which  was  the  first  of  the  wise 
from  the  western  quarter,  from  the 
thoughts  of  their  affections,  uttered 
this  :  "  What  else  is  heavenly  joy  and 
eternal  happiness,  than  feasting  with 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  upon  whose 
tables  there  will  be  rich  and  delicate 
food,  and  generous  and  noble  wines ; 
and  after  the  feasts,  sports  and  dances 
of  virgins  and  young  men,  dancing  to 
concerts  of  vocal   and  instrumental 


music,  the  sweetest  songs  being  sung 
at  intervals ;  and  finally,  in  the  evening, 
there  will  be  shows  of  persons  masked; 
and  after  this  feasts  again,  and  thus 
every  day  to  eternity  ?"  When  they 
had  said  this,  the  Fourth  Company, 
which  was  the  second  from  the  western 
quarter,  declared  their  sentiments,  say- 
ing, "  We  have  entertained  many  ideas 
concerning  heavenly  joy  and  eternal 
happiness,  and  we  have  examined  va- 
rious joys,  and  compared  them  one  with 
another,  and  have  concluded  that  heav- 
enly joys  are  paradisiacal  joys.  What 
is  heaven,  but  a  paradise,  which  extends 
from  the  east  to  the  west,  and  from  the 
south  to  the  north,  having  in  it  trees 
of  fruit  and  flowers  of  delight,  in  the 
midst  of  which  is  the  magnificent  tree 
of  life,  around  which  the  blessed  will 
sit,  eating  fruits  of  delicate  flavor,  and 
adorned  with  garlands  of  flowers  of  the 
sweetest  odor  ?  And  as  these  fruits 
and  flowers,  by  the  genial  influences 
of  a  perpetual  spring,  are  produced  and 
reproduced  every  day,  with  infinite 
variety  ;  and  as  the  mind  is  continually 
renovated  by  their  perpetual  growth 
and  bloom,  and  at  the  same  time  by 
the  vernal  temperature  of  the  air ;  it  can- 
not but  daily  imbibe  and  respire  new 
joys,  and  thence  be  brought  back  to 
the  bloom  of  life,  and  through  this  to 
the  primitive  state,  in  which  Adam 
and  his  wife  were  created,  and  thus  bo 
sent  back  into  their  paradise,  whicii 
was  transferred  from  earth  to  heaven." 
The  Fifth  Company,  which  was  the 
first  of  the  ingenious  from  the  southern 
quarter,  expressed  this  opinion :  "  Heav- 
enly joys  and  eternal  happiness  are 
nothing  else  than  supcreinincnt  domin- 
ions and  immense  riches,  and  thence 
more  than  royal  magnificence,  and  the 
most  dazzling  splendor.  That  the  joys 
of  heaven,  and  the  continual  fruition 
of  these  joys,  which  is  eternal  happiness, 
are  those  things,  we  clearly  saw  from 
those  in  the  former  world  who  possessed 
them ;  and  also  from  this,  that  the 
happy  in  heaven  are  to  reign  with  the 
Lord,  and  to  be  kings  and  princes,  be- 
cause they  arc  the  sons  of  Him  who  is 
King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords  ;  and 
that  they  are  to  sit  upon  thrones,  and 


Conceiming  the  Holy  Sujiper. 


487 


that  the  angels  are  to  minister  to  them. 
The  magnificence  of  heaven  we  clearly 
saw  from  this,  that  the  New  Jerusalem, 
by  which  is  described  the  glory  of 
heaven,  is  to  have  gates,  each  of  which 
will  be  one  pearl,  and  streets  of  pure 
gold,  and  a  wall  founded  upon  precious 
stones;  consequently,  that  every  one 
who  is  received  into  heaven,  has  a 
palace  of  his  own  glittering  with  gold 
and  precious  stones,  and  a  dominion 
which  will  pass  in  order  from  one  to 
another.  And  because  we  know,  that 
there  are,  in  such  things,  innate  joys 
and  inherent  happiness,  and  that  the 
promises  of  God  are  irrefragable,  we 
could  not  deduce  the  most  happy  state 
of  heavenly  life  from  any  other  source." 
After  this,  the  Sixth  Comp.\ny,  which 
was  the  second  from  the  southern  quar- 
ter, lifted  up  their  voice,  and  said, 
"  The  joy  of  heaven  and  its  eternal 
happiness  are  nothing  else  than  a  per- 
petual glorification  of  God,  a  never- 
ceasing  festival,  and  most  blessed  wor- 
ship, with  songs  and  jubilees ;  and  thus 
a  constant  elevation  of  the  heart  to  God, 
with  full  confidence  of  his  acceptance 
of  prayers  and  praises,  on  account  of 
the  divine  munificence  of  their  blessed- 
ness." Some  of  the  company  added, 
"  That  this  glorification  is  to  be  accom- 
panied with  magnificent  illuminations 
and  with  most  fragrant  incense,  and 
with  processions  of  pomp,  the  high- 
priest  going  before  with  a  great  trumpet, 
the  primates  and  officers  of  different 
degrees  following  him,  and  after  these, 
men  with  palms,  and  women  with 
golden  images  in  their  hands." 

733.  The  Seventh  Comp.\nv,  which, 
on  account  of  its  light,  was  not  seen  by 
the  rest,  was  from  the  east  of  heaven  : 
the  angels  were  of  the  same  society 
as  the  angel  of  the  trumpet.  They, 
when  they  heard  in  heaven,  that  not  a 
single  one  in  the  Christian  world  knew 
what  heavenly  joy  and  eternal  happi- 
ness were,  said  One  to  another,  "  Sure- 
ly this  cannot  be  true :  it  is  impossible 
that  Christians  should  be  in  such 
thick  darkness,  and  in  such  stupor 
of  mind.  Let  us  also  go  down  and 
hear  whether  it  be  true,  and  if  it  be  so, 
it  is  indeed  a  prodigy."    Then  those 


angels  said  to  the  angel  of  the  trumpet, 
"  You  know  that  every  man  who  had  de- 
sired heaven,  and  had  thought  any 
thing  certain  concerning  the  joys  there, 
after  death,  is  introduced  into  the  joys 
of  his  imagination  ;  and  that,  after  they 
have  experienced  what  those  joys  are, 
that  they  are  according  to  the  vain 
ideas  of  their  mind,  and  according  to 
the  deliriums  of  their  fantasy,  they  are 
led  out  of  them,  and  are  instructed :  this 
is  done  to  most  of  those  in  the  world 
of  spirits,  who,  in  the  former  life,  medi- 
tated about  heaven,  and  concluded  any 
thing  respecting  the  joys  there,  even  to 
the  desire  of  them."  Having  heard 
this,  the  angel  of  the  trumpet  said  to 
the  six  companies  called  together  from 
the  wise  of  the  Christian  world,  "  Fol- 
low me,  and  I  will  introduce  you  into 
your  joys,  thus  into  heaven." 

734.  Having  said  this,  the  angel 
went  before,  and  was  first  attended  by 
the  company  of  those  who  had  per- 
suaded themselves  that  heavenly  joys 
were  only  the  most  pleasant  intercourse 
and  the  sweetest  conversations :  these 
the  angel  introduced  to  companies  in 
the  northern  quarter,  who  in  the  former 
world  had  entertained  no  other  ideas 
of  the  joys  of  heaven.  There  was  there 
a  spacious  house,  in  which  such  were 
gathered  together  ;  in  the  house  there 
were  more  than  fifty  apartments,  distin- 
guished according  to  the  various  kinds 
of  conversation.  In  some  apartments 
they  conversed  about  such  things  as 
they  had  seen  and  heard  in  the  public 
squares  and  in  the  streets ;  in  others 
they  conversed  about  the  various  amia- 
ble qualities  of  the  fair  sex,  with  so 
much  pleasantry  that  the  faces  of  all  in 
the  company  were  expanded  with  smiles 
of  mirth ;  in  other  apartments  they 
spoke  of  the  news,  concerning  courts, 
concerning  ministries,  concerning  state 
policy,  concerning  various  things  which 
had  emanated  from  privy  councils, 
together  with  reasonings  and  conjec- 
tures concerning  the  events  ;  in  others 
concerning  trade  ;  in  others  concerning 
subjects  of  literature ;  in  others  about 
such  things  as  are  of  civil  prudence 
and  moral  life ;  in  others  concerning 
the  affairs  of  the  church  and  concerning 


4B8 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


sects ;  &c.  It  was  given  me  to  look 
into  that  house,  and  I  saw  them  run- 
ning about  from  one  apartment  to 
another,  seeking  for  some  to  sympathize 
with  their  affection,  and  thence  to  par- 
ticipate of  their  joy.  And  in  the  com- 
panies I  saw  three  kinds  of  persons, 
some,  as  it  were,  panting  to  speak,  some 
desiring  to  ask  questions,  and  some 
eager  to  hear.  The  house  had  four 
doors,  one  on  each  side ;  and  I  observ- 
ed that  many  were  leaving  the  com- 
pany and  hastening  to  go  out.  I  fol- 
lowed some  to  the  east  door,  and  saw 
some  sitting  near  it  with  sad  faces,  and 
I  went  to  them  and  asked  why  they  sat 
so  sad  ;  and  they  replied,  "  The  doors  of 
this  house  are  kept  shut  for  those  who 
would  go  out ;  and  now  it  is  the  third 
day  since  we  entered,  and  we  have 
exhausted  the  life  of  our  desire  in  com- 
pany and  conversation,  and  we  have 
become  so  tired  of  continual  talking 
that  we  can  scarcely  bear  to  hear  the 
noise  of  their  talk.  Wherefore,  from 
weariness,  we  betook  ourselves  to  this 
door  and  knocked ;  but  the  answer  to 
us  is,  '  That  the  doors  of  this  house 
arc  not  opened  for  those  who  would  go 
out,  but  for  those  who  would  come  in. 
Stay  and  enjoy  the  joys  of  heaven.' 
From  which  answers  we  have  concluded 
that  we  arc  to  remain  here  to  eternity. 
Thence  sadness  seized  our  minds,  and 
now  our  breast  begins  to  be  contracted, 
and  anxiety  to  arise."  Then  the  an- 
gel addressed  them,  and  said,  "  This 
state  is  the  death  of  your  joys,  which 
alone  you  believed  to  be  heavenly  ; 
when  yet  they  are  only  accessory  to 
heavenly  joys."  And  they  asked  the 
angel,  "  What,  then,  is  heavenly  joy  ?  " 
And  the  angel  answered  in  these  few 
words:  "It  is  the  delight'  of  doing 
something  which  is  of  use  to  one's  self 
and  to  others ;  and  the  deliglit  of  use 
derives  its  essence  from  love,  and  its 
existence  from  wisdom.  The  delight 
of  use  arising  from  love  through  wisdom, 
is  the  life  and  soul  of  all  heavenly  joys. 
There  is  in  the  heavens  most  pleasant 
intercourse,  which  exhilarates  the 
minds  of  the  angels,  gladdens  their 
hearts,  delights  their  breasts,  and  rec- 
reates their  bodies ;  but  these  are  for 


them  after  they  have  performed  uses  in 
their  offices  and  in  their  employments. 
From  these  there  is  a  soul  and  life  in 
all  their  joys  and  entertainments ;  but 
if  you  take  away  that  soul  or  life,  the 
accessory  joys  gradually  become  no 
joys ;  but  first  they  become  indifferent, 
then,  as  it  were,  worthless,  and  finally 
sad  and  anxious."  This  being  said, 
the  door  was  opened,  and  those  who 
sat  there  leaped  out,  and  ran  home, 
each  to  his  office  and  to  his  employment; 
and  they  were  refreshed. 

735.  After  this,  the  angel  addressed 
those  who  had  formed  to  themselves' 
the  idea  concerning  the  joys  of  heaven, 
and  concerning  eternal  happiness,  that 
they  would  consist  in  feasting  with 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  and,  after 
the  feasts,  in  games  and  shows,  and 
feasts  again,  and  so  to  eternity.  And 
he  said  to  them,  "  Follow  me,  and  I  will 
introduce  you  into  the  felicities  of  your 
joys."  And  he  led  them  through  a 
grove  into  a  plain  covered  over  with 
a  floor,  upon  which  were  set  tables, 
fifteen  on  one  side  and  fifteen  on  the 
other  :  and  they  asked  why  there  were 
so  many  tables.  And  the  angel 
answered,  "The  first  table  is  Abra- 
ham's, the  second  Isaac's,  the  third 
Jacob's;  and  next  to  them,  in  a  series, 
are  the  tables  of  the  twelve  apostles : 
on  the  other  side  are  the  same  number 
of  tables  for  their  wives ;  the  three  first 
tables  arc  for  Sarah,  Abram's  wife,  for 
Rebecca,  Isaac's  wife,  and  for  Leah  and 
Rachel,  Jacob's  wives,  and  the  other 
twelve  for  the  wives  of  the  twelve  apos- 
tles." After  a  while,  all  the  tables  ap- 
peared covered  with  dishes,  and  the 
spaces  between  them  ornamented  with 
little  pyramids  filled  with  sauces.  The 
guests  stood  around  them  in  expectation 
of  seeing  the  presidents  of  the  tables, 
who,  after  a  little  while,  were  seen 
entering  in  the  order  of  a  procession 
from  Abrain  to  the  last  of  the  apostles; 
and  presently  each  one,  coming  to  his 
table,  placed  himself  on  a  couch  at  the 
head  of  it ;  and  then  they  said  to  those 
who  were  standing  around,  "  Take 
your  places  a.ho  with  us;"  and  the 
men  took  their  places  with  those  fa- 
thers, and  the  women  with  their  wives, 


Coneeming  the  Holy  Supper. 


489 


and  they  ate  and  drank  with  joy  and 
with  veneration.  After  dinner,  those 
fathers  went  out,  and  then  games  were 
introduced,  and  dances  of  virgins  and 
young  men,  and  then  shows ;  after 
wliich  they  were  again  invited  to  feast- 
ing, but  with  this  statement,  that  the 
first  day  they  should  eat  with  Abram, 
the  next  with  Isaac,  the  third  with 
Jacob,  the  fourth  with  Peter,  the  fifth 
with  James,  the  sixth  with  John,  the 
seventh  with  Paul,  and  with  the  rest  in 
order,  even  to  the  fifteenth  day,  when 
they  should  again  renew  their  festivities 
in  a  similar  order,  only  changing  seats ; 
and  thus  to  eternity.  After  this  the 
angel  called  together  the  men  of  the 
company,  and  said  to  them,  "  All  those 
whom  you  saw  at  the  tables  were  in  a 
like  imaginary  thought  concerning  the 
joys  of  heaven,  and  thence  of  eternal 
happiness,  with  you ;  and  in  order  that 
they  might  see  the  vanity  of  their  ideas, 
and  be  led  away  from  them,  such  fes- 
tival scenes  were  appointed  and  per- 
mitted by  the  Lord.  Those  chiefs 
whom  you  saw  at  the  heads  of  the 
tables  were  personated  old  men,  most 
of  them  rustics  who  had  beards,  and 
were  proud  of  their  superior  opulence, 
and  fancied  that  they  were  those 
ancient  fathers.  But  follow  me  into 
the  ways  that  lead  from  this  apartment." 
And  they  followed,  and  saw  fifty  here 
and  fifty  there,  who  had  filled  their 
stomachs  with  food  even  to  the  desire 
of  vomiting  ;  and  they  ardently  desired 
to  return  to  the  proper  duties  of  their 
homes,  some  to  their  offices,  some  to 
their  trades,  and  some  to  their  labors. 
But  many  were  retained  by  the  keepers 
of  the  grove,  and  questioned  concerning 
the  days  of  their  feasting,  and  whether 
they  had  yet  eaten  at  the  tables  with 
Peter  and  with  Paul :  and  if  they  went 
out  before,  it  would  be  to  their  shame, 
because  it  is  indecent.  But  most  of 
them  answered,  "  We  have  exhausted 
our  joys ;  food  has  become  insipid  to 
us ;  we  have  no  relish  for  it ;  our 
stomach  loathes  it,  and  we  cannot  bear 
to  taste  it ;  we  have  spent  several  days 
and  nights  in  that  luxury,  and  we  earn- 
ffiily  hog  that  we  may  be  let  out." 
And  being  let  go,  with  a  short  breath 
62 


and  quick  step  they  ran  home.  After 
this  the  angel  called  the  men  of  the 
company,  and  in  the  way  he  taught 
them  these  things  respecting  heaven : 
"  In  heaven,  as  well  as  in  the  world, 
there  are  meats  and  drinks,  there  are 
feasts  and  repasts  :  the  great  ones  there 
have  tables,  upon  which  are  the  richest 
kinds  of  food,  dainties  and  delicacies, 
by  which  their  minds  are  exhilarated 
and  recreated ;  and  there  are  also 
games  and  shows;  there  is  music,  vocal 
and  instrumental ;  and  all  those  things 
in  the  highest  perfection.  Such  things 
also  are  joys  to  them,  but  not  happi- 
ness ;  happiness  must  be  in  the  joys, 
and  thence  from  the  joys ;  the  happiness 
in  joys  causes  them  to  be  joys ;  it  gives 
them  their  relish,  and  prevents  them 
from  becoming  tasteless  and  loath- 
some :  and  this  happiness  every  one 
has  from  the  use  which  he  performs  in 
his  function.  There  is  a  certain  latent 
vein  in  the  affection  of  the  will  of  every 
angel,  which  draws  his  mind  to  do 
something  ;  the  mind,  by  this,  tranquil- 
lizes and  satisfies  itself ;  this  satisfaction 
and  that  tranquillity  make  a  state  of 
mind  receptible  of  the  love  of  use  from 
the  Lord ;  from  the  reception  of  this  is 
heavenly  happiness,  which  is  the  life 
of  those  joys  which  have  been  before 
mentioned.  Heavenly  food,  in  its 
essence,  is  nothing  else  than  love,  wis- 
dom and  use  together ;  that  is,  use 
through  wisdom  from  love ;  wherefore, 
food  for  the  body  is  given  to  every  one 
in  heaven,  according  to  the  use  which 
he  performs  ;  magnificent  to  those  who 
are  in  eminent  uses  :  moderate,  but  of 
exquisite  relish,  to  those  who  are  in  uses 
of  a  middle  degree  ;  and  mean  to  those 
who  are  in  mean  uses ;  but  none  to  the 
slothful." 

736.  After  this  he  called  to  him  the 
company  of  the  wise,  so  called,  who 
had  placed  heavenly  joys,  and  from 
them  eternal  happiness,  in  supereminent 
dominions  and  inexhaustible  treasures, 
and  in  more  than  royal  magnificence 
and  splendor;  because  it  is  said  in  the 
Word,  that  they  were  to  be  kings  and 
princes,  and  that  they  were  to  reign 
with  Christ  for  ever,  and  that  they 
were  to  be  ministered  to  by  angels; 


490 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


beside  many  more  things.  The  angel 
said  to  them,  "  Follow  me,  and  I  will 
introduce  you  into  your  joys."  And 
he  led  them  into  a  portico  constructed 
of  columns  and  pyramids ;  in  the  front 
there  was  a  porch,  through  which  was 
the  entrance  into  the  portico ;  through 
this  he  introduced  them ;  and  behold 
there  were  seen  twenty  there,  and  they 
were  waiting.  And  then  suddenly 
there  came  one  who  personated  an 
angel,  and  said  to  them,  "  The  way  to 
heaven  is  through  this  portico.  Stay  a 
little  while,  and  prepare  yourselves,  be- 
cause the  older  of  you  are  to  be  kings, 
and  the  younger  princes."  This  being 
said,  there  appeared  near  each  column 
a  throne,  and  upon  each  throne  a  robe 
of  silk,  and  upon  each  robe  a  sceptre 
and  a  crown ;  and  near  each  pyramid 
there  appeared  a  seat  raised  three 
cubits  from  the  ground,  and  upon  the 
seat  a  chain  of  little  links  of  gold,  and 
the  badges  of  the  order  of  knighthood, 
tied  together  at  the  ends  with  diamond 
rings.  And  then  it  was  said  with  a 
loud  voice,  "  Go  now,  put  on  your  gar- 
ments, sit  down  and  wait."  And  forth- 
with the  older  ones  ran  to  the  thrones, 
and  the  younger  ones  to  the  seats,  and 
put  on  their  garments,  and  seated 
themselves.  But  then  there  appeared, 
as  it  were,  a  thick  cloud  ascending 
from  below,  which  being  drawn  to 
those  who  sat  upon  the  thrones  and 
seats,  they  began  to  swell  in  the  face, 
to  be  elevated  in  the  breast,  and  to  be 
filled  with  confidence  that  they  were 
now  kings  and  princes :  that  cloud  was 
an  exhalation  of  fantasy,  with  which 
they  were  inspired  ;  and  suddenly  there 
flew  to  them  young  men,  as  it  were,  from 
heaven,  and  they  stood,  two  behind  each 
throne,  and  one  behind  each  seat,  to 
minister.  And  then  proclamation  was 
made  to  them  by  a  herald,  "Kings 
and  princes,  wait  yet  a  little  while ; 
your  palaces  in  heaven  are  now  being 
prepared  ;  very  soon  the  courtiers,  with 
the  guards,  will  come  and  introduce 
you."  They  waited  and  waited,  until 
their  spirits  drooped,  and  they  became 
weary  with  desire.  After  the  space 
of  three  hours,  the  heaven  was  opened 
over  their  heads,  and  the  angels  looked 


down,  and,  pitying  them,  said,  "  Why 
do  you  sit  thus  infatuated,  and  act  parts 
that  do  not  belong  to  you  1  They  have 
played  tricks  with  you,  and  changed 
you  from  men  into  idols,  because  you 
had  taken  it  into  your  hearts,  that  you 
are  to  reign  with  Christ  as  kings  and 
princes,  and  that  then  the  angels  are 
to  minister  to  you.  Have  you  forgotten 
the  words  of  the  Lord,  that  in  heaven 
whosoever  wishes  to  be  great,  let  him 
become  a  servant  ?  Learn,  then,  what  is 
meant  by  being  kings  and  princes,  and 
what  by  reigning  with  Christ;  that  it 
is  to  be  wise  and  do  uses  ;  for  the  king- 
dom of  Christ,  which  is  heaven,  is  a 
kingdom  of  uses.  For  the  Lord  loves 
all,  and  thence  wills  good  to  all,  and 
good  is  use ;  and  because  the  Lord 
does  good  or  uses  mediately  by  angels, 
and  in  the  world  by  men,  therefore,  to 
those  who  faithfully  perform  uses.  He 
gives  the  love  of  use  and  its  reward, 
which  is  internal  blessedness  ;  and  this 
is  eternal  happiness.  There  are  in  the 
heavens,  as  on  earth,  supereminent  do- 
minions, and  the  richest  treasures ;  for 
there  are  governments  and  forms  of 
governments,  and  thus  there  are  greater 
and  less  powers  and  dignities;  and 
those  who  are  in  the  highest  stations 
have  palaces  and  courts,  which,  in 
magnificence  and  splendor,  exceed  the 
palaCes  and  courts  of  emperors  and 
kings  on  the  earth  ;  and  from  the  num- 
ber of  tlicir  courtiers,  ministers  and 
guards,  and  from  the  magnificent  ves- 
tures of  these,  honor  and  glory  surround 
them.  But  those  highest  ones  are 
chosen  from  those  whose  hearts  are 
in  the  public  welfare,  and  only  the 
senses  of  the  body  in  the  amplitude  of 
magnificence  for  the  sake  of  obedience; 
and  because  it  is  of  the  public  welfare 
that  every  one  should  be  of  some  use 
in  the  society,  as  in  a  common  body, 
and  because  all  use  is  from  the  Lord, 
and  is  done  by  angels  and  men  as  if 
from  them,  it  is  manifest  that  this  is  to 
reign  with  the  Lord."  These  things 
being  heard  from  heaven,  those  who 
had  personated  kings  and  princes  de- 
scended from  their  thrones  and  seats, 
and  cast  away  the  sceptres,  crowns 
and  robes,  and  the  thick  cloud,  in 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


491 


which  was  the  aura  of  fantasy,  receded 
from  them,  and  a  bright  cloud,  in  which 
was  tlio  aura  of  wisdom,  encompassed 
liiem ;  I'rom  which  sanity  returned  to 
tiieir  minds. 

7:i7.  After  this  the  angel  returned 
to  the  house  of  .assembly  of  the  wise 
from  the  Christian  world,  and  called  to 
him  those  who  had  induced  upon  them- 
selves a  belief,  that  the  joys  of  heaven 
and  eternal  happiness  were  paradisiacal 
delights.    To  these  he  said,  "  Follow 
me,  and  I  will  introduce  you  into  para- 
dise, your  heaven,  that  you  may  com- 
mence the  beatitudes  of  your  eternal 
happiness."    And  he  introduced  them 
through  a  high  gate,  formed  of  inter- 
woven boughs  and  shoots    of  noble 
trees.    After  they  had  entered,  he  led 
them  about,  through  winding  ways,  from 
quarter  to  quarter.    It  was  actually  a 
paradise,  at  the  first  entrance  into  heav- 
en, into  which  those  are  sent,  who,  in 
the  world,  had  believed  that  the  whole 
heaven  was  one  paradise,  because  it  is 
called  paradise,  and  who  had  impressed 
on  themselves  the  idea,  that  after  death 
there  is  a  perfect  rest  from  labors,  and 
that  this  rest  would  be  nothing  else 
than  inhaling  the  most  exquisite  de- 
lights, walking  upon  beds  of  roses, 
regaling   themselves   with   the  most 
delicate  wines,  and  celebrating  festive 
repasts ;  and  that  this  life  is  not  given, 
except  in  a  celestial  paradise.  Being 
led  by  the  angel,  they  saw  a  great 
multitude  both  of  old  and  young  men, 
and  boys,  and  also  of  women  and 
girls,  sitting  three  and  three,  and  ten 
and  ten,  upon  beds  of  roses,  wreathing 
garlands  to  adorn  the  heads  of  the  old 
men,  the  arms  of  the  young,  and  the 
bosoms  of  the  boys ;  others  were  press- 
ing the  juice  out  of  grapes,  cherries 
and  mulberries,  into  cups,  and  drinking 
merrily ;  others  were  inhaling  with 
their  nostrils  the  fragrancies  exhaled 
from  the  flowers,  fruits  and  odoriferous 
leaves  in  all  directions ;  others  were 
singing  sweet  songs,  with  which  they 
soothed  the  ears   of  those  present; 
others  were  sitting  by  fountains,  and 
directing  the  waters  of  the  gushing 
stream  into  various  forms ;  others  were 
walking,  talking  together,  and  scatter- 


ing wit  and  pleasantry ;  others  were 
going  into  arbors,  that  they  might  lie 
down  upon   couches ;    besides  many 
other   paradisiacal    pleasures.  After 
these  things  had  been  seen,  the  angel 
led  his  companions  hither  and  thither, 
through  winding  paths,  and  at  last  to 
some  who  were  sitting  in  a  most  beau- 
tiful bed  of  roses,  which  was  surrounded 
with  olive,  orange  and  citron-trees,  who, 
nodding,  held  their  hands  under  their 
cheeks,  mourning  and  weeping.  The 
companions  of  the  angel  spoke  to  them, 
and  said,  "  Why  do  you  sit  thus?"  And 
they  answered,  "  It  is  now  the  seventh 
day  since  we  came  into  this  paradise. 
When  we  entered,  our  minds  seemed 
as  if  elevated  into  heaven,  and  let  into 
the  inmost  happiness  of  its  joys;  but 
after  the  space  of  three  days,  those 
pleasures  began  to  grow  dull,  to  lose 
their  relish  in  our  minds,  and  to  become 
imperceptible,  and   thus    none :  and 
when  our  imaginary  joys  thus  expired, 
we  feared  the  loss  of  all  the  enjoyment 
of  our  life,  and  became  doubtful  about 
eternal  happiness,  whether  there  be  any 
such  thing.    Afterwards  we  wandered 
through  streets  and  uninhabited  places, 
in  search  of  the  gate  through  which  we 
entered ;  but  we  wandered  round  and 
round,  and  inquired  of  whomsoever  we 
met ;  some  of  whom  said,  that  the  gate 
is  not  to  be  found,  because  this  para- 
disiacal garden  is  a  spacious  labyrinth, 
which  is  such,  that  whoever  wishes  to 
go  out  of  it,  gets  farther  in  :  wherefore, 
you  cannot  do  otherwise  than  remain 
here  to  eternity ;  you  are  in  the  middle 
of  it,  where  all  delights  are  in  their 
centre."  And,  moreover,  they  said  to  the 
companions  of  the  angel,  "  We  have 
now  been  sitting  here  for  a  day  and  a 
half,  and  because  we  are  without  hope 
of  finding  the  way  out,  we  have  seated 
ourselves  upon  this  rose-bed,  and  we 
see  around  us,  in  abundance,  olives, 
grapes,  oranges  and  citrons ;  but  the 
more  we  look  at  them,  the  more  our 
sight  is  wearied  with  seeing,  our  smell 
with  smelling,  and  our  taste  with  tast- 
ing :  this  is  the  cause  of  the  sadness, 
mourning  and  weeping  in  which  you 
see  us."    On  hearing  these  things,  the 
conducting  angel  said  to  them,  "  This 


492 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


paradisiacal  labyrinth  is  truly  an  en- 
trance into  heaven.  I  know  the  way 
out  of  it,  and  will  lead  you  out." 
When  he  had  said  this,  those  who  were 
sitting  arose,  and  embraced  the  angei, 
and  followed  him  together  with  his 
company.  And  in  the  way  the  angel 
taught  them  what  heavenly  joy  is,  and 
eternal  happiness  thence,  that  they  are 
not  external  paradisiacal  delights,  unless 
with  these  there  are  internal  paradi- 
siacal delights.  External  paradisiacal 
delights  are  only  delights  of  the  senses 
of  the  body,  but  internal  paradisiacal 
delights  are  delights  of  the  affections 
of  the  soul :  unless  the  latter  be  in  the 
former,  there  is  no  heavenly  life,  because 
there  is  no  soul  in  them :  and  every  de- 
light, without  its  corresponding  soul, 
continually  becomes  more  and  more 
languid  and  dull,  and  wearies  the  mind 
more  than  labor.  There  are  every 
where  in  the  heavens  paradisiacal  gar- 
dens, and  from  them  also  the  angels 
have  joys,  and  as  far  as  the  delight  of 
the  soul  is  in  them,  so  far  those  joys 
are  joys  to  them.  On  hearing  this, 
they  all  asked,  "  What  is  the  delight 
of  the  soul,  and  whence  is  it?"  The 
angel  answered,  "The  delight  of  the 
soul  is  from  love  and  wisdom  from  the 
Lord ;  and  because  love  is  effective, 
and  is  effective  by  means  of  wisdom, 
therefore  the  seat  of  both  is  in  the 
effect,  and  the  effect  is  use.  This 
delight  from  the  Lord  flows  into  the 
soul,  and  descends  through  the  higher 
and  lower  regions  of  the  mind  into  all 
the  senses  of  the  body,  and  fills  itself  in 
them ;  thence  joy  becomes  joy,  and  it 
becomes  eternal  from  the  eternal  source 
of  it.  You  have  seen  the  things  of 
paradise,  and  I  assure  you  that  there  is 
not  any  thing  there,  not  even  a  little 
leaf,  that  is  not  from  the  marriage  of 
love  and  wisdom  in  use :  wherefore,  if 
man  be  in  this  marriage,  he  is  in  a  heav- 
enly paradi.sc,  thus  in  heaven." 

738.  After  this  the  conducting  an- 
gel returned  into  the  house  to  those  who 
had  firmly  persuaded  themselves,  that 
lio!avenly  joy  and  eternal  happiness 
arc  a  perpetual  glorification  of  God,  and 
a  festival  continuing  to  eternity,  because 
they  had,  in  the  world,  believed  that  they 


should  then  see  God,  and  because  the 
life  of  heaven,  from  the  worship  of  God, 
is  called  a  perpetual  sabbath.  To  these 
the  angel  said,  "  Follow  me,  and  I  will 
introduce  you  into  your  joy."  And  he 
introduced  them  into  a  little  city,  in  the 
middle  of  which  there  was  a  temple, 
and  all  the  houses  were  called  sacred 
chapels.  In  that  city  they  saw  a 
multitude  flowing  from  every  corner  of 
the  surrounding  country,  and  among 
them  a  number  of  priests,  who  received 
those  who  came,  saluted  them,  and,  tak- 
ing them  by  the  hand,  led  them  to  the 
gates  of  the  temple,  and  thence  into 
some  of  the  chapels  around  the  temple, 
and  initiated  them  into  the  everlasting 
worship  of  God ;  saying  that  this  city 
was  a  place  of  entrance  into  heaven, 
and  that  the  temple  of  this  city  was  an 
entrance  to  the  most  spacious  and  mag- 
nificent temple,  that  is  in  heaven, 
where  God  is  glorified  by  the  angels 
with  prayers  and  praises  to  eternity. 
The  statutes  here  and  there  are,  that 
they  should  first  enter  the  temple,  and 
remain  there  three  days  and  three  nights, 
and  that  after  this  initiiition  they  should 
go  into  the  houses  of  this  city,  which 
are  so  many  chapels  consecrated  by  us, 
and  from  chapel  to  chapel,  and,  in  com- 
munion with  those  who  arc  assembled 
there,  should  pray,  shout,  and  rehearse 
what  has  been  preached.  You  must 
by  all  means  beware,  lest  you  should 
think  any  thing  in  yourselves,  and  speak 
any  thing  with  your  consociates,  but 
what  is  holy,  pious  and  religious.  After 
this  the  angel  introduced  his  compan- 
ions into  the  temple,  which  was  filled 
and  crowded  with  many  who  had  been 
in  great  dignity  in  the  world,  and  al.so 
with  many  of  the  common  people ;  and 
guards  were  stationed  at  the  gates,  that 
no  one  might  be  allowed  to  go  out,  be- 
fore completing  the  stay  of  three  days. 
And  the  angel  said,  "  To-day  is  the 
second  day  since  these  entered  ;  observe 
them,  and  you  will  see  their  glorification 
of  God."  And  they  observed  them, 
and  saw  most  of  them  asleep,  and  those 
who  were  awake  yawning  and  yawning, 
and  some  of  them,  from  a  continual  ele- 
vation of  the  thoughts  to  God,  without 
any  relapse  of  them  into  the  body,  like 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


493 


feces  severed  from  the  body,  for  so  they 
appeared  to  themselves,  and  thence  also 
to  others ;  some  roving  with  their  eyes, 
from  a  perpetual  withdrawing  of  them  : 
in  a  word,  all  felt  a  compression  of  the 
breast,  and  weariness  of  spirit  from  fa- 
tigue, and  were  turned  away  from  the 
pulpit,  and  crying,  "  Our  ears  are  stun- 
ned ;  finish  your  discourses  ;  your  voice 
is  no  longer  heard,  and  the  sound  of  it 
begins  to  be  intolerable."  And  then 
they  rose  up,  and  ran  in  a  body  to  the 
gates,  broke  them  open,  and  rushed 
upon  the  guards,  and  drove  them  away. 
On  seeing  this,  the  priests  followed  them, 
and  joined  themselves  to  their  sides, 
teaching  and  teaching,  praying,  sigh- 
ing and  saying,  "  Celebrate  the  festival ; 
glorify  God  ;  sanctify  yourselves  :  in  this 
entry  of  heaven  we  will  initiate  you 
into  the  eternal  glorification  of  God  in 
the  most  spacious  and  magnificent  tem- 
ple, that  is  in  heaven,  and  thus  to  the 
enjovment  of  eternal  happiness.  But 
these  things  were  not  understood  by 
them,  and  were  scarcely  heard,  on  ac- 
count of  the  listlessness  occasioned  by 
the  suspension  of  their  mind  for  the 
space  of  two  days,  and  its  detention 
from  domestic  and  secular  affairs.  But 
when  they  attempted  to  tear  themselves 
away  from  the  priests,  the  priests  took 
hold  of  their  arms,  and  also  of  their 
garments,  urging  them  to  the  chapels 
where  what  had  been  preached  was  re- 
hearsed ;  but  in  vain.  And  they  cried, 
"  Let  us  alone  ;  we  feel  as  if  we  should 
faint  away."  At  these  words,  lo,  there 
were  seen  four  men  in  white  garments, 
and  wearing  mitres :  one  of  them  in 
the  world  had  been  an  archbishop,  and 
the  other  three  had  been  bishops,  and 
had  now  become  angels.  These  called 
the  priests  together, and  addressing  them, 
said,  "  We  have  seen  you  from  heaven 
with  these  sheep,  how  you  feed  them : 
you  feed  them  even  to  insanity.  You 
do  not  know  what  is  meant  by  the  glo- 
rification of  God  :  it  is  meant,  to  pro- 
duce the  fruits  of  love,  that  is,  to  do 
faithfully,  sincerely  and  diligently  the 
work  of  one's  station  ;  for  this  is  of  the 
love  of  God  and  of  the  love  of  the 
neighbor,  and  this  is  the  bond  of  society 
and  its  good  :  by  this  God  is  glorified, 


and  then  by  worship  at  stated  times. 
Have  you  not  read  these  words  of  the 
Lord  ?  In  this  is  my  Father  glorijied,  that 
yc  bring  forth  much  fruit,  and  become 
my  disciples,  John  xv.  8.  You  priests 
can  be  in  the  glorification  of  worship, 
because  this  is  your  office,  and  thence 
you  have  honor,  glory  and  recompense ; 
but  still  you  could  not  be,  any  more 
than  they,  in  that  glorification,  unless 
honor,  glory  and  recompense  were  to- 
gether with  your  office."  Having  said 
these  words,  the  bishops  commanded 
the  keepers  of  the  door  to  let  all  in,  and 
let  all  out ;  for  there  are  a  great  many 
who  cannot  think  of  any  other  heaven- 
ly joy  than  the  perpetual  worship  of 
God,  because  they  do  not  know  any 
thing  concerning  the  state  of  heaven. 

739.  After  this  the  angel,  with  his 
companions,  returned  to  the  house  of 
assembly,  from  which  the  several  com- 
panies of  the  wise  had  not  yet  depart- 
ed ;  and  there  he  called  to  him  those 
who  believed  that  heavenly  joy  and 
eternal  happiness  were  only  an  admis- 
sion into  heaven,  and  admission  from 
divine  grace  ;  and  that  then  they  should 
have  joy,  just  as  those  do  in  the  world, 
who  go  into  the  palaces  of  kings  on 
days  of  festivity,  or  who  go  by  invita- 
tion to  a  weddinof.  To  these  the  angel 
said,  "  Stay  here  a  little  while,  and 
I  will  sound  the  trumpet,  and  hither 
will  come  those  who  are  renowned  for 
wisdom  in  the  spiritual  things  of  the 
church."  After  some  hours,  there  came 
nine  men,  each  adorned  with  a  laurel, 
as  the  mark  of  his  fame.  These  the 
angel  introduced  into  the  house  of  as- 
sembly, in  which  all  those  before  called 
together  were  present.  In  their  presence 
the  angel  addressed  the  nine  laurelled 
ones,  and  said,  "  I  know  that,  agreea- 
bly to  your  desire,  and  according  to  your 
idea,  it  has  been  given  you  to  ascend 
into  heaven,  and  that  you  have  return- 
ed to  this  lower  or  subcelestial  earth, 
with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  state  of 
heaven.  Tell  us,  therefore,  how  heaven 
seemed  to  you."  And  they  answered 
in  order ;  and  the  First  said,  "  My 
idea  of  heaven,  from  my  earliest  child- 
hood even  to  the  end  of  my  life  in  the 
world,  was,  that  it  was  a  place  of  all 


494 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


blessings,  enjoyments,  delights,  gratifi- 
cations and  pleasures and  that  if  I 
were  admitted  into  it,  I  should  be  en- 
compassed with  an  atmosphere  of  such 
felicities,  and  should  drink  them  in 
with  a  full  breast,  like  a  bridegroom, 
when  he  celebrates  his  nuptials,  and 
when  he  enters  the  bride-chamber  with 
the  bride.  In  this  idea  I  ascended 
into  heaven,  and  passed  the  first  guard, 
and  also  the  second ;  but  when  I  came 
to  the  third,  the  captain  of  the  guard 
accosted  me,  and  said,  '  Who  are  you, 
friend  ? '  And  I  answered,  '  Is  not 
heaven  here  ?  According  to  my  ardent 
desire  I  have  ascended  hither.  Admit 
me,  I  beseech  you.'  And  he  admitted 
me.  And  I  saw  angels  in  white  gar- 
ments, and  they  came  around  me,  and 
examined  rne,  and  murmured  this : 
'  Behold  here  a  new  guest  who  is  not 
clothed  with  the  raiment  of  heaven.'  I 
heard  these  words,  and  thought,  This  ap- 
pears to  me  like  the  case  of  him  of  whom 
the  Lord  said,  that  he  came  into  the 
wedding  without  a  wedding  garment. 
And  I  said,  '  Give  me  such  garments; ' 
but  they  laughed.  And  then  one  ran 
to  me  from  the  court,  with  the  command, 
'  Strip  him  naked,  cast  him  out,  and 
throw  his  clotlies  after  him.'  And  so  I 
was  cast  out."  The  Second  in  order 
said,  "I  believed,  likewise,  that,  if  I  were 
only  admitted  into  lieaven,  which  is 
over  my  head,  joys  would  flow  around 
me,  and  I  should  inhale  them  to  eter- 
nity. I  also  obtained  what  I  desired  ; 
but  the  angels,  on  seeing  me,  fled  away, 
and  said  one  to  another,  '  What  mon- 
ster is  this?  How  came  this  bird  of 
night  hither  ? '  And  I  actually  felt  a 
change  from  being  a  man,  although  I 
was  not  changed  :  this  was  occasioned 
by  my  inhaling  the  heavenly  atmos- 
phere. But  presently  there  ran  to  me 
one  from  the  court,  with  the  command 
that  two  servants  should  lead  me  out, 
and  conduct  me  back  by  the  way  of 
ascent  even  to  my  house  ;  and  when 
I  was  at  home,  I  appeared  to  others,  and 
also  to  myself,  as  a  man."  The  Third 
said,  "  I  always  had  an  idea  of  heaven 
from  place,  and  not  from  love ;  where- 
fore, when  I  came  into  this  world,  I 
desired  heaven  with  great  desire  ;  and 


I  saw  some  ascending,  and  I  followed 
them,  and  was  admitted,  but  only  for  a 
few  steps:  and  when  I  wished  to  re- 
gale my  mind  according  to  my  idea  of 
the  joys  and  blessedness  there,  from  the 
light  of  heaven,  which  was  white  aa 
snow,  the  essence  of  which  is  said  to 
be  wisdom,  my  mind  was  seized  with 
stupor,  and  thence  my  eyes  with  thick 
darkness,  and  I  began  to  be  insane. 
And  presently,  from  the  heat  of  heaven, 
which  corresponds  to  the  brightness  of 
its  light,  the  essence  of  which  is  said 
to  be  love,  my  heart  palpitated,  I  w'as 
seized  with  anxiety,  and  tortured  with 
inward  pain,  and  I  threw  myself  down 
flat  upon  the  ground  there.  While  I 
lay  there,  an  attendant  came  from  the 
court,  with  a  command  that  they  should 
carry  me  gently  away  into  my  own 
light,  and  into  my  own  heat ;  into 
which  when  I  came,  my  spirit  and  my 
heart  returned  to  me."  The  Fourth 
said,  "  That  he  also  had  been  in  the  idea 
of  place,  and  not  in  the  idea  of  love,  re- 
specting heaven.  As  soon  as  I  came 
into  the  spiritual  world,  I  asked  the 
wise  whether  it  were  lawful  to  ascend 
into  heaven.  They  said  it  was  lawful 
for  any  one  ;  but  that  they  nuist  beware 
lest  they  should  be  cast  down.  At  this 
I  laughed,  and  ascended,  believing,  as 
others  do,  that  all  in  the  whole  world 
were  recoptible  of  the  joys  there  in 
their  fulness.  But  truly,  when  I  was 
within,  I  became  almost  lifeless,  and, 
from  the  pain  and  torment  in  my  head 
and  in  my  body,  I  prostrated  myself 
upon  the  ground,  and  writhed  like  a 
serpent  put  near  the  fire :  and  I  crept 
even  to  the  brink  of  a  precipice,  and 
cast  myself  down  there  ;  and  after- 
wards I  was  taken  up  by  those  stand- 
ing below,  and  carried  into  an  inn, 
where  soundness  returned  to  me."  The 
OTHER  Five  also  told  wonderfiil  things 
respecting  their  ascents  into  heaven ; 
and  they  compared  the  changes  of  the 
states  of  their  life  with  the  state  of 
fishes,  when  they  are  raised  out  of  water 
into  air,  and  with  the  state  of  birds  in 
ether.  And  they  J=aid  that  after  those 
hard  lots,  they  desired  heaven  im  more, 
but  only  a  life  in  connection  with  their 
like  wherever  they  are  ;  and  that  they 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


495 


knew  that,  in  the  world  of  spirits, 
where  we  are,  all  are  before  prepared, 
the  good  for  heaven,  and  the  bad  for 
hell ;  and  that  after  they  are  prepared, 
they  see  ways  open  for  them  to  socie- 
ties of  their  like,  with  whom  they  are 
to  remain  to  eternity,  and  that  they  then 
enter  these  ways  with  delight,  because 
they  then  are  ways  of  their  love.  All 
those  who  were  first  called  together, 
hearing  these  things,  also  confessed 
that  they  neither  had  entertained  any 
other  idea,  of  heaven  than  as  of  a  place 
where,  with  a  full  mouth,  they  should 
drink  in  the  circumfluent  joys  to  eter- 
nity. After  this  the  angel  of  the  trum- 
pet said  to  them,  "  You  see  now  that 
the  joys  of  heaven  and  eternal  happi- 
ness are  not  of  any  particular  place, 
but  that  they  are  of  the  state  of  man's 
life ;  and  the  state  of  heavenly  life  is 
from  love  and  wisdom ;  and  because 
use  is  the  continent  of  those  two,  the 
state  of  heavenly  life  is  from  the  con- 
junction of  these  in  use.  It  is  the  same 
if  it  be  said,  charity,  faith,  and  good 
works,  since  charity  is  love,  faith  is 
truth  from  which  is  wisdom,  and  good 
work  is  use.  Moreover,  in  our  spirit- 
ual world,  there  are  places  as  in  the  nat- 
ural world,  otherwise  there  would  be 
no  habitations  and  distinct  abodes  ;  but 
still,  place  there  is  not  place,  but  an 
appearance  of  place,  according  to  the 
state  of  love  and  wisdom,  or  of  charity 
and  faith.  Every  one  who  becomes 
an  angel  carries  within  himself  his 
own  heaven,  because  the  love  of  his 
own  heaven ;  for  man  from  creation  is 
the  least  effigy,  image  and  type  of  the 
great  heaven  ;  the  human  form  is  noth- 
ing else.  Wherefore  every  one  comes 
into  the  society  of  heaven,  of  which  he 
is  the  form,  in  a  single  effigy ;  therefore, 
when  he  enters  into  that  society,  he  en- 
ters into  a  form  corresponding  to  him- 
self, thus,  as  it  were,  from  himself  into 
that  self,  and  from  that  into  that  in 
himself,  and  draws  the  life  of  that  as 
his  own,  and  his  own  as  the  life  of  that. 
Every  society  is  as  a  whole  body, 
and  the  angels  there  are  as  similar 
parts  from  which  the  whole  body 
coexists.  Hence  now  it  follows,  that 
those  who  are  in  evils,  and  thence  in 


falses,  have  formed  in  themselves  the 
effigy  of  hell,  and  this  is  tortured  in 
heaven  from  the  influx  and  violence  of 
the  activity  of  an  opposite  upon  an  op- 
posite ;  for  infernal  love  is  opposite  to 
heavenly  love,  and  thence  the  delights 
of  those  two  loves  clash  with  each  other 
like  enemies,  and  destroy  each  other 
whenever  they  come  together." 

740.  After  this  a  voice  was  heard 
from  heaven  to  the  angel  of  the  trum- 
pet :  "  Select  ten  from  all  those  who  are 
assembled,  and  introduce  them  to  us. 
We  have  heard  from  the  Lord,  that  He 
will  prepare  them,  so  that  the  light  and 
heat,  or  the  love  and  wisdom,  of  our 
heaven  may  not  bring  any  harm  upon 
them  for  three  days."  And  ten  were 
selected,  and  they  followed  the  angel ; 
and  they  ascended  by  a  steep  path  on  to 
a  certain  hill,  and  from  this  on  to  a  moun- 
tain, upon  which  was  the  heaven  of 
those  angels,  which  before,  at  a  distance, 
had  appeared  to  them  like  an  expanse 
in  the  clouds.  And  the  gates  were 
opened  for  them,  and  after  they  had 
passed  the  third  one,  the  introducing 
angel  ran  to  the  prince  of  that  society 
or  heaven,  and  announced  their  arrival. 
And  the  prince  answered,  "  Take  some 
of  my  guard,  and  carry  them  back  word 
that  their  arrival  is  acceptable  to  me, 
and  introduce  them  into  my  antecourt, 
and  assign  to  each  one  his  room  with 
his  bed-chamber ;  and  take  some  of  my 
attendants  and  servants,  who  may  min- 
ister to  them  and  serve  them  at  their 
nod."  And  so  it  was  done.  But  when 
they  were  introduced  by  the  angel,  they 
asked  whether  it  was  allowable  to  go 
and  see  the  prince.  And  the  angel 
answered,  "  It  is  now  morning,  and  it 
is  not  allowable  before  noon  ;  all  are  till 
then  in  their  offices  and  employments  ; 
but  you  have  been  invited  to  dinner, 
and  then  you  will  sit  at  the  table  with 
our  prince.  In  the  mean  time  I  will  intro- 
duce you  into  his  palace,  where  you  will 
see  magnificent  and  splendid  things." 

When  they  were  brought  to  the  palace, 
they  first  viewed  it  from  without :  it 
was  large,  built  of  porphyry,  and  had 
a  foundation  of  jasper ;  and  before  the 
gate  were  six  high  columns  of  lapis  laz- 
uli ;  the  roof  was  of  plates  of  gold ;  the 


496 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper, 


windows  high,  of  the  most  transparent 
crystal ;  their  frames  also  of  gold.  After 
this  they  were  introduced  within  into 
the  palace,  and  led  around  from  room 
to  room ;  and  they  saw  ornaments  of  in- 
effable beauty , under  the  roof,  decorations 
of  inimitable  sculpture.  Near  the  walls 
were  set  tables  of  silver  overlaid  with 
gold,  upon  which  were  various  utensils 
made  of  precious  stones  and  of  entire 
gems,  in  celestial  forms,  and  many  more 
things  which  no  eye  on  earth  had  ever 
seen,  and  thence  neither  could  any  one 
make  himself  believe  that  such  things 
are  in  heaven.  While  they  were  in 
astonishment  at  seeing  those  magnifi- 
cent things,  the  angel  said,  "  Do  not 
wonder :  these  things  which  you  see 
were  not  made  and  fabricated  by  any 
angelic  hand,  but  were  built  by  the 
Maker  of  the  universe,  and  presented  as 
a  gift  to  our  prince ;  wherefore,  archi- 
tecture is  here  in  its  very  art,  and  from 
this  are  all  the  rules  of  this  art  in  the 
world."  Further,  the  angel  said,  "  You 
may  suppose  that  such  things  fascinate 
our  eyes  and  infatuate  them,  so  that  we 
should  believe  them  to  be  the  joys  of 
our  lieaven ;  but  because  our  hearts  are 
not  in  them,  they  are  only  accessory  to 
the  joys  of  our  hearts  :  therefore,  as  far 
as  we  contemplate  them  as  accessory, 
and  as  tiie  workmanship  of  God,  so  far 
we  contemplate  in  them  the  divine 
omnipotence  and  benignity." 

741 .  After  this  the  angel  said  to  them, 
"  It  is  not  yet  noon  ;  come  with  me 
into  the  garden  of  our  prince,  con- 
tiguous to  this  palace."  And  they 
went,  and  at  the  entrance  ho  said, 
"  Behold  the  most  magnificent  garden 
in  this  heavenly  society."  But  they 
answered,  "  What  do  you  say?  There 
is  no  garden  here.  We  see  only  one 
tree,  and  on  its  branches  and  on  its  top, 
as  it  were,  fruits  of  gold,  and,  as  it  were, 
leaves  of  silver,  and  tlie  edges  of  them 
adorned  with  emeralds :  and  under  that 
tree  infants  with  their  nurses."  To 
this  the  angel,  vvilli  an  inspired  voice, 
said,  "  This  tree  is  in  tlie  midst  of  the 
garden,  and  it  is  called  by  us  the  tree 
of  our  heaven,  and  by  some  the  tree  of 
life.  But  proceed  and  approach,  and 
your  eyes  will  be  opened,  and  you  will 


see  the  garden."    And  they  did  so,  and 
their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  saw 
trees  full  of  delicious  fruits,  entwined 
with  vines  full  of  leaves,  the  tops  of 
which,  with  their  fruit,  bent  towards  the 
tree  of  life  in  the  midst.    These  trees 
were  set  in  a  continued  series,  which 
commenced  and  proceeded  in  endless 
orbs  or  circles,  as  of  a  perpetual  spiral ; 
it  was  a  perfect  spiral  of  trees,  in  which 
one  species  followed  another  continual- 
ly, according  to  the  excellence  of  the 
fruits.    The  beginning  of  the  circum- 
gyration was  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  tree  in  the  midst,  and  the  in- 
tervening space  glistened  with  a  beam 
of  light,  from  which  the  trees  of  the 
circle  shone  with   a  splendor  which 
reached  successively  from  the  first  to 
the  last.    The  first  trees  were  the  most 
excellent  of  all,  abounding  with  the 
richest  fruits,  called  trees  of  paradise, 
never  seen  in  any  region  of  the  natural 
world,  because  they  do  not  and  cannot 
grow  there.    After  these  followed  trees 
of  oil,  after  these  trees  of  wine,  after 
these  trees  of  fragrance,  and  lastly,  trees 
of  timber  useful  for  building.  Here 
and  there,  in  this  spiral  of  trees,  or  in 
this  circle,  there  were  seats  formed  of 
the  boughs  of  the  trees  behind  brought 
together   and   interwoven   with  each 
other,  and   they  were  enriched  and 
adorned  with  their  fruits.    In  that  per- 
petual orb  of  trees,  there  were  passages 
which  opened  into  flower-gardens  and 
grass-plots,  distinguished  into  areas  and 
beds.    The  companions  of  the  angel, 
seeing  these  things,  exclaimed,  "Behold 
heaven  in  form  !     Whithersoever  we 
turn  our  eyes,  something  of  heaven  and 
paradise  flows  in,  which  is  inefliable." 
On  hearing  this,  the  angel  rejoiced,  and 
said,  "  All  the  gardens  of  our  heaven 
are  representative  forms  or  types  of 
heavenly  beatitudes  in  their  origins ; 
and  because  the  influx  of  these  beati- 
tudes elevated  your  minds,  you  exclaim- 
ed, iJr/io/f/ AfarcH  ill  form  .'    But  those 
who  do  not  receive  that  influx,  look 
upon  these  things  of  paradise  only  as 
they  look  upon  the  things  of  a  forest ; 
and  all  those  receive  the  influx  who  are 
in  the  love  of  use,  but  tho.se  do  not  re- 
ceive it  who  arc  in  tlie  love  of  glory 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


49? 


and  not  from  use."  Afterwards  he  ex- 
plained and  taught  what  each  of  the 
things  in  the  garden  represented  and 
signified. 

742.  While  they  were  engaged  in 
these  things,  there  came  a  messenger 
fi-om  the  prince,  who  invited  them  to 
eat  bread  with  him ;  and  then,  at  the 
same  time,  two  attendants  of  the  court 
brought  garments  of  fine  linen,  and 
said,  "  Put  on  these,  because  no  one 
is  admitted  to  the  table  of  the  prince, 
unless  he  is  clothed  in  the  garments  of 
heaven."  And  they  prepared  them- 
selves, and  accompanied  their  angel, 
and  were  introduced  into  an  open  gal- 
lery, the  walk  of  the  palace,  and  they 
waited  for  the  prince  ;  and  there  the 
angel  introduced  them  to  an  acquaint- 
ance with  grandees  and  moderators, 
who  also  were  waiting  for  the  prince. 
And  lo,  in  about  an  hour  the  doors 
were  opened,  and  through  a  wider  one, 
on  the  western  side,  they  saw  his 
entrance  in  the  order  and  pomp  of  a 
procession.  Before  him  went  his  fa- 
miliar counsellors,  after  these  his  privy 
counsellors,  and  after  these  the  princi- 
pal officers  of  the  court ;  in  the  midst 
of  these  was  the  prince,  and  after  him 
courtiers  of  various  ranks,  and  lastly 
the  guards ;  all  together  amounting  to 
a  hundred  and  twenty.  The  angel, 
standing  before  the  ten  new  comers, 
who  then  appeared,  from  their  dress,  as 
inhabitants  of  the  place,  came  up  with 
them  to  the  prince,  and  reverently  pre- 
sented them.  And  the  prince,  without 
stopping  in  the  procession,  said  to  them, 
"  Come  with  me  to  eat  bread."  And 
they  followed  him  into  the  dining  room, 
and  saw  a  table  magnificently  set ;  in  the 
middle  of  it  a  high  pyramid  of  gold 
with  a  hundred  little  dishes  in  triple 
order  upon  its  branches,  upon  which 
were  sweet  cakes  and  condiments,  with 
other  delicacies  made  of  bread  and 
wine  ;  and  through  the  middle  of  the 
pyramid  there  issued,  as  it  were,  a 
fountain  overflowing  with  nectareous 
wine,  the  stream  of  which,  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  pyramid,  dispersed  itself,  and 
filled  the  cups.  At  the  sides  of  this 
high  pyramid  were  various  celestial 
Ibrms  of  gold,  upon  which  were  dishes 
63 


and  plates  filled  with  food  of  every  kind. 
The  celestial  forms  upon  which  the 
dishes  and  plates  were  set,  were  forms 
of  art  from  wisdom,  which  cannot  be 
produced  by  any  art  in  the  world,  nor 
described  by  any  words.  The  dishes 
and  plates  were  of  silver,  having  forms 
sculptured  upon  them  like  their  sup- 
ports :  the  cups  were  of  transparent 
gems.  Such  was  the  furniture  of  the 
table. 

743.  The  dress  of  the  prince  and  his 
ministers  was  this :  The  prince  had 
on  a  long  robe  of  a  purple  color, 
spangled  with  stars  of  a  silver  color 
wrought  with  a  needle.  Under  the 
robe  he  wore  a  tunic  of  shining  silk  of 
a  blue  color :  this  was  open  about  the 
breast,  where  was  seen  the  front  part 
of  a  belt,  with  the  ensign  of  his  society. 
The  ensign  was  an  eagle  brooding  over 
her  young  in  the  top  of  a  tree :  this 
was  of  shining  gold  set  round  with  dia- 
monds. The  counsellors  were  dressed 
not  very  differently,  but  without  that 
ensign :  instead  of  it  they  had  sculp- 
tured sapphires  hanging  from  the  neck 
by  a  golden  chain.  The  courtiers  were 
dressed  in  gowns  of  a  brown  color,  in 
which  were  wrought  flowers  around 
young  eagles  :  the  tunics  under  them 
were  of  silk  of  an  opaline  color,  as  also 
were  their  breeches  and  stockings. 
Such  was  their  dress. 

744.  The  familiar  counsellors,  and 
the  privy  counsellors,  and  the  modera- 
tors, stood  around  the  table,  and  by 
order  of  the  prince  they  folded  their 
hands  together,  and  at  the  same  time 
whispered  votive  praise  to  the  Lord  ; 
and  after  this  the  prince  beckoned  to 
them,  and  they  seated  themselves  at 
the  table.  And  the  prince  said  to  the 
ten  strangers,  "  You  also  sit  down  with 
me  :  there  are  your  seats."  And  they 
sat  down  ;  and  the  courtiers  who  were 
before  sent  by  the  prince  to  wait  upon 
them  stood  behind  them.  And  then 
the  prince  said  to  them,  "  Take  each 
of  you  a  plate  from  its  stand,  and  after- 
wards each  a  saucer  from  the  pyramid." 
And  they  did  so ;  and  lo,  instantly  new 
plates  and  saucers  appeared  set  on  in 
the  place  of  them  ;  and  their  cups  were 
filled  with  wine  from  the  fountain  flow- 


498 


Concerning  the  Hohj  Supper. 


ing  from  the  great  pyramid ;  and  they 
began  to  eat.  When  they  had  above  half 
done,  the  prince  addressed  the  ten  in- 
vited guests,  and  said,  "  I  heard,  that 
in  the  earth,  which  is  under  this  heaven, 
you  were  called  together  to  disclose 
your  thoughts  concerning  the  joys  of 
heaven  and  the  eternal  happiness 
thence,  and  that  you  expressed  diverse 
opinions,  each  according  to  the  delights 
of  the  senses  of  his  body.  But  what 
are  the  delights  of  the  senses  of  the 
body,  without  the  delights  of  tiie  soul? 
It  is  the  soul  which  fills  them  with  de- 
light. The  delights  of  the  soul  are  in 
themselves  imperceptible  beatitudes, 
but  they  become  more  and  more  per- 
ceptible as  they  descend  into  the 
thoughts  of  the  mind,  and  from  these 
into  the  sensations  of  the  body.  In  the 
thoughts  of  the  mind  they  are  perceived 
as  happinesses,  in  the  sensations  of  the 
body  as  delights,  and  in  the  body  itself 
as  pleasures  :  eternal  happiness  is  from 
the  former  and  the  latter  together ;  but 
from  the  latter  alone  that  happiness  is 
not  eternal,  but  temporal,  which  comes 
to  an  end  and  passes  away,  and  some- 
times becomes  unhappiness.  You  have 
seen  now  that  all  your  joys  also  are  joys 
of  heaven,  and  more  excellent  than  you 
could  ever  have  conceived ;  but  still 
these  do  not  inwardly  affect  our  minds. 
There  are  three  things  which  as  one 
flow  from  the  Lord  into  our  souls ;  these 
three  as  one,  or  this  trine,  are  love, 
wisdom  and  use ;  but  love  and  wisdom 
do  not  exist,except  ideally,  because  only 
in  the  affection  and  thought  of  the  mind  ; 
but  in  use  really,  because  at  the  same 
time  in  the  act  and  work  of  the  body ; 
and  where  they  exist  really,  there  they 
also  subsist ;  and  because  love  and 
wisdom  exist  and  subsist  in  use,  it  is 
use  that  affects  us ;  and  use  is  faithfully, 
sincerely  and  diligently  to  perform  the 
works  of  one's  function.  The  love  of 
use,  and  thence  an  application  to  use, 
keep  the  mind  from  becoming  dissipat- 
ed, and  from  wandering  about  and  im- 
bibing all  the  inordinate  desires  which 
flow  in  from  the  body  and  from  the 
world  through  the  senses,  with  .allure- 
ments, by  which  the  truths  of  religion 
and  the  truths  of  morality,  with  their 


goods,  are  scattered  to  all  the  winds; 
but  application  of  the  mind  to  use  holds 
and  binds  them  together,  and  disposes 
the  mind  into  a  form  receptive  of  wis- 
dom from  those  truths,  and  then  it 
exterminates  the  fooleries  and  mockeries 
pf  falsities  and  vanities.  But  you  will 
hear  more  about  these  things  from  the 
wise  ones  of  our  society,  whom  I  will 
send  to  you  in  the  afternoon."  Having 
said  this,  the  prince  arose,  and  the  guests 
also  with  him  ;  and  he  said,  "  Peace," 
and  commanded  the  angel,  their  leader, 
to  conduct  them  back  to  their  rooms, 
and  siiow  them  all  the  honors  of  civility, 
and  also  to  call  men  of  politeness  and  affa- 
bility to  entertain  them  with  conversa- 
tion about  the  various  joys  of  this  society. 

7-1.5.  When  they  returned,  it  so  was 
done  ;  and  those  who  were  called  from 
the  city  to  entertain  them  with  conver- 
sation about  the  various  joys  of  the 
society,  came,  and  after  the  usual 
salutations,  they  conversed  with  them, 
as  they  walked,  very  pleasantly.  But 
the  angel,  their  leader,  said,  "  These 
ten  men  were  invited  into  this  heaven 
that  they  miglit  see  its  joys,  and  thence 
receive  a  new  idea  concerning  eternal 
hapjiiness :  tell,  therefore,  some  of  its 
joy.s,  which  affect  the  senses  of  the 
body  :  afterwards  the  wise  are  to  come, 
who  will  tell  some  things  which  render 
those  joys  pleasant  and  happy."  On 
hearing  this,  those  who  were  called 
from  the  city  recounted  these  things  : 
(1.)  There  arc  here  days  of  festivity 
appointed  by  the  prince,  that  the  mind 
may  be  relaxed  from  the  fatigue  which 
the  desire  of  emulation  had  induced 
upon  some.  On  these  days  there  are 
concerts  of  music  and  songs  in  the 
public  places;  and  out  of  the  city  games 
and  shows.  Then  orchestras  are  raised 
in  the  public  places,  surrounded  with 
lattices  formed  of  thick  vines,  from 
which  hang  clusters  of  grapes ;  within 
which,  on  three  elevations,  sit  mu- 
sicians with  stringed  instruments,  and 
with  wind  instruments,  of  tones  high 
and  low,  soft  and  loud  ;  and  at  the 
sides  are  men  singers  and  women  sing- 
ers, and  they  entertain  the  citizens 
with  the  most  delightful  songs  and 
anthems,  choruses  and  solos,  varied  by 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


499 


intervals,  as  to  the  kinds.  Tliese 
things  continue  there,  on  those  days  of 
festivity,  from  morning  to  noon,  and 
after  this  till  evening.  (2.)  Moreover, 
every  morning  there  are  heard,  from  the 
houses  around  the  forum,  the  sweetest 
songs  of  virgins  and  girls,  with  which 
the  whole  city  resounds.  There  is  an 
affection  of  spiritual  love,  which  is  sung 
every  morning,  that  is,  is  sounded  by 
modifications  or  modulations  of  a  musi- 
cal voice,  and  that  affection  is  perceived 
in  the  singing  as  if  it  were  itself:  it 
flows  into  the  souls  of  the  hearers,  and 
excites  them  to  a  correspondence. 
Such  is  heavenly  singing.  The  female 
singers  say  that  the  sound  of  their  sing- 
ing, as  it'  were,  inspires  and  animates 
itself  from  within,  and  delightfully 
exalts  itself  according  to  its  reception 
by  the  hearers.  This  being  ended, 
the  windows  of  the  houses  of  the  forum, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  the  houses  of 
the  streets,  are  shut,  and  also  the  doors ; 
and  the  whole  city  is  still,  nor  is  any 
noise  any  where  heard,  nor  do  any  loi- 
terers appear :  all  then  go  about  the 
duties  of  their  offices.  (3.)  At  noon 
the  doors  are  opened,  and  in  the  after- 
noon the  windows  also,  in  some  places, 
and  sports  of  boys  and  girls  are  seen 
in  the  streets,  their  nurses  and  masters 
regulating  them,  sitting  in  the  porches 
of  the  houses.  (4.)  At  the  sides  of 
the  city,  in  the  outermost  parts  of  it, 
there  are  various  games  of  boys  and 
young  men ;  there  are  games  of  running, 
there  are  games  of  ball,  there  are  games 
with  the  ball  called  racket ;  there  are 
contests  among  the  boys  to  find  who 
are  most  expert  in  speaking,  acting 
and  perceiving,  and  for  those  who  are 
most  expert  some  leaves  of  laurel  are 
given  as  a  reward  ;  besides  many  other 
things,  which  call  forth  into  exercise 
the  latent  talents  of  the  boys.  (5.)  More- 
over, out  of  the  city  there  are  exhibi- 
tions of  comedians  upon  theatres,  rep- 
resenting the  various  proprieties  and 
virtues  of  moral  life,  among  whom 
there  are  also  actors  for  the  sake  of 
relations."  And  one  of  the  ten  asked, 
"  Why  for  the  sake  of  relations  ?"  And 
they  answered,  "  No  virtue,  with  its 
proprieties  and  graces,  can  be  set  forth 


to  the  life,  except  by  relatives  from  the 
greatest  to  the  least  of  them.  The 
actors  represent  the  least  of  them  even 
till  they  become  none;  but  it  is  or- 
dained by  law,  that  they  should  exhibit 
nothing  of  the  opposite,  which  is  called 
dishonorable  and  indecorous,  except 
figuratively,  and,  as  it  were,  remotely : 
the  reason  that  it  is  so  ordained,  is 
because  nothing  that  is  honorable  and 
good,  in  any  virtue,  ever  passes,  by 
successive  progressions,  into  what  is 
dishonorable  and  evil,  but  to  the  least 
degrees  of  it,  even  till  it  perishes;  and 
when  it  perishes  the  opposite  com- 
mences. Wherefore  heaven,  where  all 
things  are  honorable  and  good,  has 
nothing  in  common  with  hell,  where 
all  things  are  dishonorable  and  evil." 

746.  While  they  were  speaking,  a 
servant  came  and  told  them  that  eight 
wise  ones,  by  the  order  of  the  prince, 
had  come,  and  wished  to  enter.  On 
hearing  which,  the  angel  went  and  re- 
ceived them,  and  introduced  them  ;  and 
presently  the  wise  ones,  after  the  usual 
and  proper  civilities,  first  spoke  with 
them  concerning  the  beginnings  and 
increments  of  wisdom,  with  which  they 
intermixed  various  things  respecting  its 
progress,  and  that  wisdom  with  the 
angels  never  ceases  and  comes  to  an 
end,  but  grows  and  increases  to  eternity. 
On  hearing  this,  the  angel  of  the  com- 
pany said  to  them,  "  Our  prince  at  the 
table  spoke  with  them  about  the  seat 
of  wisdom,  that  it  is  in  use.  Do  you 
also,  if  you  please,  speak  with  them 
about  that."  And  they  said,  "  Man, 
when  first  created,  was  imbued  with 
wisdom  and  its  love,  not  for  the  sake 
of  himself,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  com- 
munication of  it  with  others  from  him- 
self Thence  it  is  inscribed  upon  the 
wisdom  of  the  wise,  that  no  one  should 
be  wise  and  live  for  himself  alone,  but 
for  others  at  the  same  time  :  thence  is 
society,  which  otherwise  would  not  be. 
To  live  for  others,  is  to  perform  uses : 
uses  are  the  bonds  of  society,  which 
are  as  many  as  there  are  good  uses, 
and  uses  are  infinite  in  number.  There 
are  spiritual  uses,  which  are  of  love  to 
God  and  love  towards  the  neighbor ; 
there  are  moral  and  civil  uses,  which 


500 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


are  of  the  love  of  the  society  and  state 
in  which  a  man  is,  and  of  the  associates 
and  citizens  with  whom  he  is ;  there 
are  natural  uses,  which  are  of  the  love 
of  the  world  and  its  necessities;  and 
there  are  bodily  uses,  which  are  of  the 
love  of  self-preservation  for  the  sake 
of  higher  uses.    All  these  uses  are 
inscribed  upon  man,  and  they  follow  in 
order  one  after  another;  and  when  they 
are  together,  one  is  in  another.  Those 
who  are  in  the  first  uses,  which  are 
spiritual,  are  also  in  the  following,  and 
they  are  wise ;  but  those  who  are  not 
in  the  first,  and  yet  in  the  second,  and 
thence  in  the  following,  are  not  so  wise, 
but  only  from  external  morality  and 
civility,  appear  as  if  they  were ;  those 
who  are  not  in  the  first  and  second, 
but  in  the  third   and  fourth,  are  not 
at  all  wise,  for  they  are  satans,  for 
they  love  only  the  world, and  themselves 
for  the  sake  of  the  world ;  but  those 
who  are  only  in  the  fourth,  are  the 
least  wise  of  all,  for  they  are  devils, 
because  they  live  for  themselves  alone, 
and  if  for  others,  it  is  only  for  the  sake 
of  themselves.    Moreover,  every  love 
has  its  delight,  for  love  lives  by  this, 
and  the  delight  of  the  love  of  uses  is 
heavenly  delight,  which  enters  the  de- 
lights following  in  order,  and,  according 
to  the  order  of  the  succession,  exalts 
them  and  makes  them  eternal.  .  After 
this  they  enumerated  the  heavenly  de- 
lights proceeding  from  the  love  of  use, 
and  said  that  they  were  myriads  of 
myriads,  and  that  those  who  are  in 
heaven  enter  into  them.    And  thus, 
by  discourses  of  wisdom  concerning  the 
love  of  use,  they  passed  the  day  with 
them  even  till  evening. 

But  towards  evening,  a  footman, 
clothed  in  linen,  came  to  the  ten  stran- 
gers, the  companions  of  the  angel,  and 
invited  them  to  a  wedding  to  be  cele- 
brated the  next  day  ;  and  the  strangers 
were  very  glad  that  they  were  also  to 
see  a  wedding  in  heaven.  After  this 
they  were  led  to  one  of  the  familiar 
counsellors,  and  supped  with  him ; 
and  after  supper  they  returned,  and 
retired  separately,  each  one  into  his 
bed-chamber,  and  slept  till  morning. 
And  then,  when   they  awoke,  they 


heard  the  singing  of  virgins  and  girls, 
from  the  houses  around  the  forum,  of 
which  above.  Then  was  sung  the  affec- 
tion of  conjugial  love ;  by  the  sweetness 
of  which,  being  deeply  affected  and 
moved,  they  perceived  a  blessed  pleas- 
antness infused  into  their  joys,  which 
elevated  them  and  renewed  them. 
When  it  was  time,  the  angel  said, 
"  Prepare  yourselves,  and  put  on  the 
garments  of  heaven,  which  our  prince 
has  sent  to  you."  And  they  put  them 
on,  and  lo,  the  garments  shone  as 
from  a  flammeous  light ;  and  they 
asked  the  angel,  "  Whence  is  this  1 " 
He  answered,  "  Because  you  are  going 
to  a  wedding :  with  us  the  garments 
then  shine  and  become  wedding  gar- 
ments." 

747.  After  this  the  angel  led  them 
to  the  house  of  the  wedding,  and  the 
porter  opened  the  door  ;  and  presently 
they  were  received  within  the  thresh- 
old, and .  saluted  by  an  angel  sent 
from  the  bridegroom,  and  introduced, 
and  led  to  the  seats  appointed  for  them  ; 
and  soon  they  were  invited  into  a  room 
opposite  to  the  bride-chamber,  where 
they  saw,  in  the  middle,  a  table,  on  which 
was  placed  a  magnificent  candlestick, 
with  seven  branches  and  sconces  of  gold ; 
and  upon  the  walls  hung  lamps  of  silver, 
from  which,  when  lighted,  the  atmos- 
phere appeared  as  if  gilded.  And  they 
saw  at  the  sides  of  the  candlestick  two 
tables,  upon  which  loaves  of  bread  were 
placed  in  triple  order ;  and  at  the  four 
corners,  tables  on  which  were  crystal 
cups.  While  they  were  surveying 
those  things,  lo,  a  door  was  opened 
from  a  room  next  to  the  bride-chamber, 
and  they  saw  six  virgins  coming  out, 
and  after  them  the  bridegroom  and  the 
bride,  holding  each  other  by  the  hand, 
and  leading  each  other  to  a  seat  which 
was  placed  opposite  to  the  candlestick, 
on  which  they  seated  themselves,  the 
bridegroom  on  the  left  hand  and  the 
bride  on  his  right,  and  the  six  virgins 
stood  by  the  seat  near  the  bride.  The 
bridegroom  had  on  a  robe  of  glittering 
purple  and  a  tunic  of  shining  fine  linen, 
with  an  cphotl,  upon  which  was  a  plate 
of  gold  set  around  with  diamonds,  and 
on  the  plate  was  engraven  a  young 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


501 


eagle,  the  nuptial  ensign  of  that  society 
of  heaven,  and  a  mitre  covered  the 
bridegroom's  head.  But  the  bride  had 
on  a  scarlet  mantle,  and  under  it  an 
embroidered  gown  reaching  from  her 
neck  to  her  feet,  and  under  her  breast 
a  golden  girdle,  and  upon  her  head  a 
crown  of  gold  with  rubies  set  in  it. 
When  they  had  thus  seated  themselves, 
the  bridegroom  turned  himself  to  the 
bride,  and  put  on  her  finger  a  golden 
ring ;  and  he  took  out  a  pair  of  brace- 
lets and  a  collar  of  pearls,  and  tied  the 
bracelets  on  her  wrists,  and  the  collar 
around  her  neck,  and  said,  "  Accept 
these  pledges."  And  when  she  accepted 
them,  he  kissed  her,  and  said, "  Now  you 
are  mine;  "  and  he  called  her  his  wife. 
This  being  done,  the  guests  exclaimed, 
"  A  blessing  be  upon  you."  Each  one 
exclaimed  this  by  himself,  and  after- 
wards all  of  them  together ;  one  who 
was  sent  from  the  prince  also  exclaimed 
in  his  stead ;  and  at  that  moment 
the  room  opposite  to  the  bride-chamber 
was  filled  with  that  aromatic  smoke, 
which  was  a  sign  of  blessing  from  heav- 
en. And  the  servants  took  the  loaves 
of  bread  from  the  two  tables  near  the 
candlestick,  and  the  cups,  now  filled  with 
wine,  from  the  tables  at  the  corners  of 
the  room,  and  gave  to  each  of  the  guests 
his  loaf  and  his  cup,  and  they  ate  and 
drank.  After  this,  the  husband  and  his 
wife  rose  up,  the  six  virgins,  with  silver 
lamps  now  lighted  in  their  hands,  fol- 
lowing them  to  the  threshold  ;  and  the 
married  pair  entered  the  bride-chamber, 
and  the  door  w  as  shut. 

748.  Afterwards  the  angel,  who  was 
the  leader,  spoke  to  the  guests  concern- 
ing his  ten  companions  ;  that  he  had 
by  command  introduced  them,  and 
shown  them  the  magnificent  things  in 
the  palace  of  the  prince,  and  the  wonders 
there,  and  that  they  had  dined  at  the 
table  with  him,  and  that  afterwards 
they  had  conversed  with  our  wise  ones ; 
and  he  asked,  "  May  they  also  have  some 
conversation  with  you  ? "  And  they  came 
up  and  spoke  with  them.  And  one  of 
the  wise  men  that  attended  the  wed- 
ding said,  "  Do  you  understand  what 
those  things  signify,  which  you  have 
seen  ? "  They  said,  that  they  did  not  very 


well.  And  then  they  asked  him  why 
the  bridegroom,  now  a  husband,  was  in 
such  a  dress.  He  answered  that  the 
bridegroom,  now  a  husband,  represented 
the  Lord,  and  the  bride,  now  a  wife, 
represented  the  church ;  because  a  wed- 
ding in  heaven  represents  the  marriage 
of  the  Lord  with  the  church.  Thence 
it  is,  that  there  was  a  mitre  on  his  head, 
and  he  had  on  a  robe,  a  tunic  and  an 
ephod,  like  Aaron  ;  and  that  there  was 
a  crown  on  the  head  of  the  bride,  now 
a  wife,  and  she  had  on  a  gown  like  a 
queen  ;  but  to-morrow  they  will  be  dress- 
ed differently,  because  this  representa- 
tion lasts  only  to-day.  They  asked 
again,  "  Since  he  represented  the  Lord, 
and  she  the  church,  why  did  she  sit  at 
his  right  hand  V  The  wise  one  an- 
swered, "  Because  there  are  two  things 
which  make  the  marriage  of  the  Lord 
and  the  church,  love  and  wisdom ;  and 
the  Lord  is  love,  and  the  church  is 
wisdom,  and  wisdom  is  at  the  right 
hand  of  love ;  for  the  man  of  the  church 
is  wise  as  of  himself,  and  as  he  be- 
comes wise,  he  receives  love  from  the 
Lord.  The  right  hand  also  signifies 
power,  and  love  has  power  by  means  of 
wisdom.  But,  as  was  said,  after  the 
wedding,  the  representation  is  changed; 
for  then  the  husband  represents  wis- 
dom, and  the  wife  the  love  of  his  wis- 
dom ;  but  this  love  is  not  the  prior  love, 
but  it  is  a  secondary  love,  which  the 
wife  has  from  the  Lord,  through  the  wis- 
dom of  the  husband.  The  love  of  the 
Lord,  which  is  the  prior  love,  is  the  love 
of  becoming  wise,  with  the  husband ; 
wherefore,  after  the  wedding,  both  to- 
gether, the  husband  and  his  wife,  rep- 
resent the  church."  They  asked  again, 
"  Why  did  not  you  men  stand  by  the 
side  of  the  bridegroom,  now  the  hus- 
band, as  the  six  virgins  stood  by  the 
side  of  the  bride,  now  the  wife  1"  The 
wise  one  answered,  "  The  reason  is, 
because  we  to-day  are  numbered  among 
the  virgins,  and  the  number  six  signifies 
all  and  complete."  But  they  said, 
"  What  is  this  ?"  He  answered,  "  Vir- 
gins signify  the  church,  and  the  church 
is  of  both  sexes  ;  wherefore  we  also,  as 
to  the  church,  are  virgins.  That  it  is 
so,  is  evident  from  these  words  in  the 


502 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


Revelation :  These  are  they  who  have 
not  been  defiled  with  women,  for  they 
are  Virgins  ;  and  they  follow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  He  goeth,  xiv.  4.  And 
because  virgins  signify  the  church ,  there- 
fore the  Lord  likened  it  to  ten  Virgins 
invited  to  a  wedding,  Matt.  xxv.  1,  &c. 
And  because  the  church  is  signified  by 
Israel,  Zion  and  Jerusalem,  therefore 
it  is  so  often  said  in  the  Word,  the 
Virgin  and  Daughter  of  Israel,  of 
ZioN  and  of  Jerusalem.  The  Lord 
also  describes  his  marriage  with  the 
church,  in  these  words  in  David  :  The 

QUEEN  AT  THY  RIGHT  HAND,  in  the  best 

gold  of  Ophir;  her  clothing  is  of  wrought 
gold.  She  shall  be  brought  to  the  King  in 

RAIMENT  OF  NEEDLE-WORK;  <Ae  ViRGINS 

her  companions  shall  come  after  her  into 
the  king's  palace,  Psalm  xlv.  9  to  16." 
Afterwards  they  said,  "  Is  it  not  proper 
that  a  priest  should  be  present  and  min- 
ister in  these  things  ?  "  The  wise  one 
answered,  "  This  is  proper  on  earth, 
but  not  in  the  heavens,  on  account  of 
the  representation  of  the  Lord  himself 
and  the  church  :  this  they  do  not  know 
on  earth.  But  still,  with  us  a  priest  min- 
isters at  betrothings,  and  hears,  receives, 
confirms  and  consecrates  the  consent : 
consent  is  the  essential  of  marriage,  and 
the  other  things  which  follow  are  its 
formalities." 

749.  After  this,  the  conducting  angel 
came  to  the  six  virgins,  and  told 
them  also  about  his  companions,  and 
requested  that  they  would  favor  them 
with  their  company.  And  they  came 
up,  but  when  they  were  near,  they  sud- 
denly went  back,  and  entered  the  wo- 
men's apartment,  where  were  also  the 
virgins  their  companions.  On  seeing 
this,  the  conducting  angel  followed 
them,  and  asked  why  they  went  back 
so  suddenly,  without  speaking  with 
them.  And  they  answered,  "  We  could 
not  approach."  And  he  said,  "Why 
is  this?"  And  they  answered,  "We 
do  not  know ;  but  we  perceived  some- 
thing which  repelled  and  led  us  back  : 
they  must  excuse  us."  And  the  angel 
returned  to  his  companions,  and  told 
their  answer,  and  added,  "  I  guess 
that  your  love  of  the  sex  is  not  chaste. 
In  heaven,  we  love  virgins  for  their 


beauty  and  the  elegance  of  their  man- 
ners ;  and  we  love  them  intensely,  but 
chastely."  At  this  his  companions 
laughed,  and  said,  "  You  guess 
rightly.  Who  is  able  to  see  such 
beauties  near,  and  not  desire  some- 
thing?" 

750.  After  this  social  entertainment, 
all  who  had  been  invited  to  the  wedding 
departed,  and  also  those  ten  men  with 
their  angel :  it  was  late  in  the  evening, 
and  they  retired  to  rest.  At  the  dawn 
of  day,  they  heard  a  proclamation.  To- 
day IS  THE  Sabbath  ;  and  they  arose, 
and  asked  the  angel  what  that  was 
for.  He  answered,  "  That  it  was  for 
the  worship  of  God,  which  returns  at 
stated  times,  and  is  proclaimed  by  the 
priests.  It  is  performed  in  our  temples, 
and  lasts  about  two  hours.  Wherefore, 
if  you  like,  come  with  me,  and  I  will 
introduce  you."  And  they  prepared 
themselves,  and  accompanied  the  angel, 
and  entered  ;  and  behold,  the  temple 
was  large,  capable  of  holding  about 
three  thousands.  It  was  of  a  semicir- 
cular form  :  the  benches  or  seats  were 
likewise  curved,  according  to  the 
form  of  the  temple.  The  pulpit  was 
before  them,  placed  back  a  little  from 
the  centre ;  the  door  behind  the  pulpit, 
on  the  left  hand.  The  ten  strangers 
entered  with  the  angel,  their  guide, 
and  the  angel  showed  them  the  seats 
where  they  should  sit,  saying  to  them, 
"  Every  one  that  enters  the  temple 
knows  his  place :  this  he  knows  from 
something  within,  nor  can  he  sit  any 
where  else ;  if  he  does,  he  hears 
nothing  and  perceives  nothing,  and 
also  he  disturbs  order,  which  being 
disturbed,  the  priest  is  not  inspired." 

751.  After  they  had  assembled,  the 
priest  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  preached 
a  sermon  full  of  the  spirit  of  wisdom. 
The  discourse  was  concerning  the 
holiness  of  the  Sacred  Scripture,  and 
concerning  the  conjunction  of  the  Lord 
with  both  worlds,  the  spiritual  and  the 
natural,  by  means  of  it.  In  the  illus- 
tration in  which  he  was,  he  fully  proved 
that  that  Holy  Book  was  dictated  by 
Jehovah  the  Lord,  and  that  tlience  He 
is  in  it,  so  that  He  is  the  wisdom  there ; 
but  that  the  wisdom  which  is  Himself 


Concerning  the  Holy  Supper. 


503 


therein,  lies  concealed  under  the  sense 
of  the  letter,  and  is  not  opened  except 
to  those  who  are  in  the  truths  of  doc- 
trine, and  at  the  same  time  in  the  goods 
of  life :  and  thus  in  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  in  them.  To  the  discourse  he 
subjoined  a  prayer,  and  descended. 
As  the  hearers  were  going  out,  the 
angel  requested  the  priest  to  speak 
some  words  of  peace  to  his  ten  com- 
panions. And  he  came  to  them,  and 
they  conversed  together  for  half  an 
hour ;  and  he  spoke  of  the  Divine 
Trinity,  that  it  is  in  Jesus  Christ,  in 
whom  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
dwelleth  bodily,  according  to  the  dec- 
laration of  the  apostle  Paul ;  and  after- 
wards of  the  union  of  charity  and  faith ; 
but  he  said,  of  the  union  of  charity 
and  truth,  because  faith  is  truth. 


752.  After  expressing  their  thanks, 
they  went  home  ;  and  there  the  angel 
said  to  them,  "This  is  the  third  day 
since  your  ascent  into  the  society  of 
this  heaven,  and  you  were  prepared  by 
the  Lord  to  stay  here  three  days ;  where- 
fore, it  is  time  for  us  to  be  separated : 
take  off,  therefore,  the  garments  sent 
to  you  by  the  prince,  and  put  on  your 
own."  And  when  they  were  in  them, 
they  were  inspired  with  a  desire  of 
withdrawing ;  and  they  withdrew  and  de- 
scended, the  angel  accompanying  them 
as  far  as  to  the  place  of  assembly;  and 
there  they  rendered  thanks  to  the  Lord 
that  He  had  deigned  to  bless  them 
with  knowledge,  and  thence  with  intelli- 
gence, concerning  heavenly  joys,  and 
concerning  eternal  happiness. 


604        The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


CONCERNING  THE  CONSUMMATION  OF  THE  AGE;  CONCERNING 
THE    COMING    OF    THE     LORD;    AND  CONCERNING 
THE  NEW  HEAVEN  AND  THE  NEW  CHURCH. 


753.  I.  That  the  Consummation 
OF  THE  Age  is  the  last  Time  or 
End  of  the  Church. 

On  this  earth  there  have  been  seve- 
ral churches,  and  all  in  the  course  of  time 
have  been  consummated;  and  after 
their  consummation,  new  ones  have  ex- 
isted ;  and  thus  even  to  the  present  time. 
The  consummation  of  the  church  takes 
place  when  no  divine  truth  remains,  ex- 
cept what  is  falsified  or  rejected ;  and 
when  there  is  no  genuine  truth,  no  gen- 
uine good  can  be  given,  since  all  the 
quality  of  good  is  formed  by  truths ; 
for  good  is  the  essence  of  truth,  and 
truth  is  the  form  of  good  ;  and  without 
a  form  quality  is  not  given.  Good  and 
truth  can  no  more  be  separated,  than 
the  will  and  the  understanding,  or,  what 
is  the  same  thing,  than  the  affection  of 
love  and  the  thought  thence :  where- 
fore, when  the  truth  in  the  church  is 
consummated,  the  good  there  is  con- 
summated also ;  and  when  this  is  done, 
then  the  church  has  an  end,  that  is, 
there  is  a  consummation  of  it. 

754.  The  church  is  consummated 
by  various  things,  especially  by  such 
as  make  the  false  appear  as  true  ;  and 
when  that  appears  true,  then  the  good, 
which  in  itself  is  good,  and  is  called 
spiritual  good,  is  not  any  more  given : 
the  good  which  is  then  believed  to  be 
good,  is  only  the  natural  good,  which 
moral  life  produces.  The  causes 
that  truth,  and  together  with  it  good, 
are  consummated,  are  principally  the 
two  natural  loves,  which  are  dia- 
metrically opposite  to  the  two  spiritu- 
al loves,  which  are  called  the  love 
of  self,  and  the  love  of  the  world.  The 
love  of  self,  when  it  is  predominant,  is 


opposed  to  love  to  God ;  and  the  love  of 
the  world,  when  it  is  predominant,  is  op- 
posed to  love  towards  the  neighbor.  The 
love  of  self  is,  to  wish  well  to  one's  self 
alone,  and  to  no  other  except  for  the 
sake  of  self ;  likewise  the  love  of  the 
world ;  and  those  loves,  when  they 
are  indulged,  spread  themselves  like  a 
mortification  through  the  body,  and 
successively  consume  the  whole  of  it. 
That  such  love  has  invaded  churches, 
is  manifestly  evident  from  Babylon 
and  the  description  of  it.  Gen.  xi.  I  to 
9  ;  Isaiah  xiii.  xiv.  xlvii.  ;  Jer.  I. ;  and 
in  Daniel  ii.  31  to  47 ;  iii.  1  to  7,  and 
the  following  verses  ;  v.  vi.  8,  to  the  end ; 
vii.  I  to  14;  and  in  Rev.  xvii.  and 
xviii.,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
each ;  which  at  length  has  exalted  it- 
self to  such  a  degree,  that  it  has  not 
only  transferred  to  itself  the  divine 
power  of  the  Lord,  but  also  it  labors 
with  the  utmost  zeal  to  bring  together 
into  itself  all  the  riches  of  the  world. 
That  similar  loves  would  burst  forth 
from  many  of  the  rulers  of  the  churches 
out  of  Babylon,  unless  their  power  were 
limited,  and  thus  restrained,  may  be 
concluded  from  indications  and  appear- 
ances not  so  vain.  What  else,  then, 
would  be  the  consequence,  than  that 
such  a  man  would  regard  himself  as  a 
god,  and  the  world  as  heaven  ;  and  that 
he  would  pervert  all  the  truth  of  the 
church  ?  For  truth  itself,  which  in  it- 
self is  truth,  cannot  be  known  and  ac- 
knowledged by  the  merely  natural  man, 
nor  can  it  be  given  to  him  by  God,  be- 
cause it  falls  into  what  is  inverted, 
and  becomes  false.  Besides  these 
two  loves,  there  are  still  several  causes 
of  the  consummation  of  good  and  truth, 


and  the  JVew  Heaven  and  the  New  Church. 


505 


and  thence  of  the  consummation  of  the 
church ;  but  tliese  causes  are  secondary 
and  subordinate  to  those  two. 

755.  That  the  consummation  of  the 
age  is  the  last  time  of  the  church,  is 
evident  from  the  passages  in  the  Word, 
where  it  is  named,  as  from  these :  / 
have  heard  from  Jehovah  a  consumma- 
tion and  DECISION  upon  all  the  land, 
Isaiah  xxviii.  22.  A  consummation 
determined,  righteousness  is  overflowed, 
for  the  Lord  Jehovih  of  hosts  is  making 
a  consummation  and  decision  in  the 
whole  land,  x.  22,  23.  In  the  fire  of 
the  zeal  of  Jehovah,  the  whole  land 
shall  be  devoured,  because  He  will  make 
a  speedy  consummation  with  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  Zeph.  i.  18. 
By  land,  in  these  passages,  is  signified 
the  church,  because  the  land  of  Canaan 
is  meant,  where  the  church  was.  That 
the  church  is  signified  by  land,  may  be 
Been  confirmed  from  many  passages 
from  the  Word,  in  the  Apoc.\lypse 
Revealed,  n.  285,  902.  At  length, 
upon  the  bird  of  abominations,  there 
shall  be  desolation,  and  even  to  con- 
su.MMATioN  and  decision  it  shall  drop 
upon  the  devastation,  Dan.  ix.  27. 
That  these  things  were  said  by  Daniel 
concerning  the  end  of  the  present 
Christian  church,  may  be  seen  Matt, 
xxiv.  15.  The  whole  land  shall  be  a 
waste,  yet  I  will  not  make  a  con- 
summation, Jer.  iv.  27.  The  iniquity 
of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  consum- 
mated, Gen.  XV.  16.  Jehovah  said,  I 
win  go  down  and  see  whether  they  have 
made  a  consummation,  aecording  to 
the  cry  which  has  come  to  Me,  xviii.  21 ; 
concerning  Sodom.  The  last  time  of 
the  present  Christian  church  is  also 
meant  by  the  Lord,  by  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  age,  in  these  passages  :  The 
disciples  asked  Jesus,  What  will  be  the 
sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  con- 
summation OF  THE  AGE  ?  Matt.  xxiv.  3. 
In  the  time  of  the  harvest,  I  will  say  to 
the  reapers,  Gather  first  the  tares,  to 
be  burned;  gather  the  wheat  into  the 
barns  :  thus  it  shall  be  in  the  consuai- 
MATioN  of  the  AGE,  Matt.  xiii.  40.  In 
the  consummation  of  the  age,  the 
angels  will  go  forth  and  separate  the 
evilj'rom  tlie  midst  of  the  just,  xiii.  49. 
64 


Jesus  said  to  the  disciples,  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  even  to  the  consummation  ok 
the  age,  xxviii.  20.  It  is  to  be  known, 
that  vastation,  desolation  and  decision 
signify  the  same  as  consummation ;  but 
desolation,  the  consummation  of  truth, 
vastation,  the  consummation  of  good, 
and  decision,  the  full  consummation  of 
both  ;  and  that  the  fulness  of  time,  in 
which  the  Lord  came  into  the  world, 
and  in  which  He  is  to  come,  is  also  a 
consummation. 

756.  The  consummation  of  the  age 
may  be  illustrated  by  various  things  in 
the  natural  world  ;  for  in  it  each  and 
every  thing  that  there  is  upon  the  earth, 
becomes  old,  and  is  consumed ;  but 
by  alternate  changes,  which  are  called 
the  circles  of  things.  Times,  in  gen- 
eral, and  in  particular,  run  through 
these  circles.  In  general,  the  year 
passes  from  spring  to  summer,  and 
through  this  to  autumn,  and  terminates 
in  winter,  and  from  this  returns  to 
spring  ;  but  this  is  a  circle  of  heat. 
In  particular,  the  day  passes  from 
morning  to  noon,  and  through  this  to 
evening,  and  terminates  in  night,  and 
from  this  returns  to  morning  ;  but  this 
is  a  circle  of  light.  Every  man  also 
runs  through  the  circle  of  nature  ;  he 
begins  life  from  infancy,  from  which  he 
goes  on  to  youth  and  manhood,  and  from 
this  to  old  age,  and  dies ;  just  so  every 
bird  of  the  air,  and  every  beast  of  the 
earth.  Every  tree  also  begins  from  the 
germ,  proceeds  to  the  full  stature,  and 
successively  decays  until  it  falls.  The 
case  is  similar  with  every  shrub,  and 
with  every  twig,  yea,  with  every  leaf 
and  flower,  and  also  with  the  ground 
itself,  which  in  time  becomes  sterile ; 
as  also  with  all  stagnant  water,  which 
successively  becomes  putrid.  All  these 
are  alternate  consummations,  which  are 
natural  and  temporary,  but  still  periodi- 
cal ;  for  when  one  thing  has  passed 
from  its  beginning  to  its  end,  another 
similar  one  springs  up ;  thus  every  thing 
is  born,  and  decays,  and  is  again  born, 
in  order  that  creation  may  be  continued. 
That  the  case  is  similar  with  the  church, 
is  because  man  is  the  church,  and  in 
general  constitutes  it ;  and  one  genera- 
tion follows  another,  and  there  is  a  va- 


506         The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


riety  of  all  minds,  and  iniquity,  being 
once  rooted,  as  to  the  inclination  to 
it,  is  transmitted  to  posterity,  and  it 
is  not  extirpated,  except  by  regenera- 
tion, which  is  effected  by  the  Lord 
alone. 

757.  II.  That  at  this  Day  is  the 
LAST  Time  of  the  Christian  Church, 

WHICH   IS    foretold   AND  DESCRIBED 

BY  THE  Lord  in  the  Evangelists, 
AND  in  the  Revelation. 

That  the  consummation  of  the  age 
signifies  the  last  time  of  the  church, 
was  shown  in  the  preceding  article  ; 
thence  it  is  manifest  what  is  meant  by 
the  consummation  of  the  age,  concern- 
ing which  the  Lord  spoke  in  the  Evan- 
gelists, Matt.  xxiv. ;  Mark  xiii.  ;  Luke 
xxi.  ;  for  it  is  read,  As  Jesus  sat  vpon 
the  mount  of  Olives,  the  disciples  came 
to  Him  privately,  saying,  What  is  the 
sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  consum- 
mation of  the  age?  Matt.  xxiv.  3.  And 
then  the  Lord  began  to  foretell  and 
describe  the  consummation,  such  as  it 
is  to  be  successively,  even  to  his  coming : 
and  that  then  He  is  to  come  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  with  virtue  and  glory, 
and  to  gather  together  his  elect ;  beside 
many  other  things,  verses  30,  31, 
which  did  not  come  to  pass  at  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  These  things 
the  Lord  described  there  in  prophetic 
language,  in  which  every  single  word 
has  its  weight :  what  each  one  there  in- 
volves has  been  explained  in  the  Ar- 
cana CfELESTiA,  n.  3353  to  3356, 
3486  to  3489,  3650  to  3655,  3751  to 
3757,  3898  to  3901,  4057  to  4060, 
4229  to  4231,  4332  to  4335,  4422  to 
4424. 

758.  That  all  those  things  which  the 
Lord  spoke  with  the  disciples,  were 
said  concerning  the  last  time  of  the 
Christian  church,  is  very  manifest  from 
the  Revelation,  where  the  like  things 
are  foretold  concerning  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  age,  and  concerning  his 
coming ;  which  all  are  particularly  ex- 
plained in  the  Apocalypse  Revealed, 
published  in  the  year  176(5.  Now,  be- 
cause those  things  which  the  Lord  said 
concerning  the  consummation  of  the 
age,  and  concerning  his  coming,  before 
the  disciples,  coincide  with  those  which 


He  afterwards  revealed  in  the  Reve- 
lation by  John,  concerning  the  same 
things,  it  is  clearly  manifest,  thet  He 
meant  no  other  consummation  than 
that  of  the  present  Christian  church. 
Besides,  it  is  also  prophesied  in  Daniel 
concerning  the  end  of  this  church  ; 
wherefore  the  Lord  says.  When  ye  see 
the  abomination  of  desolation  foretold 
by  the  prophet  Daniel,  standing  in  the 
holy  place;  tchoso  readcth,  let  him  ob- 
serve it  iccll.  Matt.  xxiv.  15  ;  Dan.  ix. 
27 ;  in  like  manner  also  in  the  other 
prophets.  That  there  is  at  this  day 
such  abomination  of  desolation  in  the 
Christian  church,  will  be  still  more  man- 
ifest from  the  Appendix  ;  in  which  it 
will  be  seen,  that  there  is  not  one  gen- 
uine truth  left  in  the  church,  and  also 
that  unless  a  new  church  be  raised  up 
in  (he  place  of  the  present,  7J0  fesh 
could  be  saved,  according  to  the  words 
of  the  Lord  in  Matt.  xxiv.  22.  That 
the  Christian  church,  such  as  it  is  at 
this  day,  is  consummated  and  vastated 
to  £uch  a  degree,  cannot  be  seen  by 
those  on  earth,  who  have  confirmed 
themselves  in  its  falses :  the  reason  is, 
because  a  confirmation  of  the  false  is  a 
denial  of  the  true  ;  wherefore,  it  as  it 
were  veils  the  understanding,  and  there- 
by prevents  the  entrance  of  any  thing 
else,  which  might  pull  up  the  cords  and 
stakes,  with  which  it  has  built  and 
formed  its  system,  as  a  strong  tent. 
Add  to  this,  that  the  natural  rational 
can  confirm  whatsoever  it  pleases,  thus 
the  false  as  well  as  the  true,  and  both, 
when  they  are  confirmed,  appear  in 
similar  light :  and  it  is  not  known 
whether  the  light  be  fatuous,  such  as 
is  given  in  a  dream,  or  whether  it  be 
true  light,  such  as  is  given  in  the  day ; 
but  it  is  quite  otherwise  with  the  spirit- 
ual rational,  in  which  those  are  who 
look  to  the  Lord,  and  from  Him  are  in 
the  love  of  truth. 

759.  It  is  from  this,  that  every  church, 
built  up  by  those  who  see  by  confirma- 
tions, appears  as  if  it  alone  were  in 
the  light,  and  that  all  the  rest,  which 
dissent,  are  in  darkness  ;  for  those  who 
see  by  confirmations  are  not  unlike 
owls,  which  see  light  in  the  shade  of 
night,   and  in  the  day  time,  the  sun 


and  the  JVeiv  Heaven  and  the  JYetv  Church.  507 


and  its  rays,  as  thick  darkness.  Such 
has'  been,  and  such  is  every  church 
which  is  in  falses,  when  it  has  once 
been  founded  by  leaders  appearing  to 
themselves  as  lynxes,  who  have  formed 
to  tiiemselves  a  morning  ligiit  from 
their  own  intelligence,  and  an  evening 
light  from  the  Word.  Did  not  the 
Jewish  church,  when  it  was  entirely 
vastatcd,  which  was  when  our  Lord 
came  into  the  world,  proclaim  by  its 
scribes  and  lawyers,  that  because  it  had 
the  Word,  it  alone  was  in  heavenly  light  1 
when  yet  they  crucified  the  Messiah,  or 
Christ,  who  was  the  Word  itself,  and 
the  all  in  all  of  it !  And  what  else  is 
proclaimed  by  the  church,  which  in 
the  prophets  and  in  the  Revelation  is 
meant  by  Babylon,  than  that  she  is  tlie 
queen  and  mother  of  all  churches,  and 
that  the  rest,  which  recede,  are  spurious 
offspring,  which  are  to  be  excommuni- 
cated ;  and  this,  although  she  has  thrust 
down  the  Lord  the  Savior  from  the 
throne  and  altar,  and  placed  herself 
thereon  ?  Does  not  every  church,  even 
to  the  most  heretical,  when  it  has  once 
been  received,  fill  all  countries  and  cities 
with  the  cry,  that  it  alone  is  orthodox 
and  ecumenical,  and  that  with  it  is  the 
gospel,  which  the  angel  flying  in  the 
midst  of  heaven  announced?  Rev.  xiv. 
6.  And  who  does  not  hear  the  echo 
of  their  voice  from  the  common  people, 
that  it  is  so  ?  Did  the  whole  synod  of 
Dort  see  predestination  otherwise  than 
as  a  star  falling  from  heaven  upon  their 
heads,  and  kiss  that  dogma,  as  the 
Philistines  did  the  idolof  Dagon,  in  the 
temple  of  Ebenezer  at  Ashdod,  and  as 
the  Greeks  did  the  Palladium  in  the 
temple  of  Minerva  ?  For  they  called 
it  the  Palladium  of  religion;  not  know- 
ing that  a  falling  star  is  a  meteor  from 
fatuous  light,  which,  when  it  falls  on 
the  brain,  can  confirm  every  falsity, 
which  is  done  by  fallacies,  so  that  it  is 
believed  to  be  true  light,  and  decreed 
to  be  a  fixed  star,  and  at  length  sworn 
to  be  the  star  of  stars.  Who  speaks 
more  confidently  of  the  certainty  of  his 
fantasy  than  an  atheistic  naturalist  ? 
Does  he  not  laugh  most  heartily  at  the 
divine  things  of  God,  the  celestial  things 
of  heaven,  and  the  spiritual  things  of 


the  church  ?  What  lunatic  does  not 
believe  his  folly  to  be  wisdom,  and 
wisdom  to  be  folly  >.  Who,  by 
the  sight  of  the  eye,  distinguishes 
the  fatuous  light  of  rotten  wood  from 
the  light  of  the  moon  ?  Who  that 
loathes  balsamic  odors,  as  those  who 
are  affected  with  the  morbus  uterinus, 
does  not  repel  them  from  his  nostrils, 
and  prefer  to  them  stinking  odors  ?  &.c. 
These  things  are  adduced  for  the  sake 
of  illustration,  to  show  that  it  is  not 
known  by  natural  light  alone  that  the 
church  is  consummated,  that  is,  that  it 
is  in  mere  falses,  before  truth  shines 
forth  from  heaven  in  its  own  light ;  be- 
cause the  false  does  not  see  the  true, 
but  the  true  sees  the  false  ;  and  every 
man  is  such,  that  he  can  see  and  com- 
prehend the  truth  when  he  hears  it ; 
but  one  who  is  confirmed  in  falses,  can- 
not bring  it  into  the  understanding  so 
that  it  may  remain,  since  it  does  not 
find  any  room,  and  if  by  chance  it  en- 
ters, the  troop  of  falsities  there  gathered 
together,  casts  it  out  as  heterogeneous. 

760.  IIL  This  last  Time  of  the 
Christian  Church  is  the  very  Night 
IN  which  former  Churches  have 
COME  to  their  End. 

That  on  this  earth,  since  its  creation, 
there  have  been  four  churches,  in  gen- 
eral, one  of  which  has  succeeded 
another,  may  be  evident  from  the  Word, 
both  historical  and  prophetical ;  espe- 
cially in  Daniel,  where  those  four 
churches  are  described  by  the  statue 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  seen  in  a  dream, 
Dan.  ii.,  and  afterwards  by  the  four 
beasts  coming  up  out  of  the  sea,  vii. 
The  first  church,  which  is  to  be  called 
the  most  ancient,  existed  before  the 
flood,  the  consummation  or  end  of 
which  is  described  by  the  flood. 
Another  church,  which  is  to  be  called 
the  ancient,  was  in  Asia,  and  partly  in 
Africa,  which  was  consummated  and 
destroyed  by  idolatries.  The  third 
church  was  the  Israelitish,  begun  at 
the  promulgation  of  the  decalogue  upon 
mount  Sinai,  and  continued  by  the 
Word  written  by  Moses  and  the  proph- 
ets, and  consummated  or  ended  by 
the  profanation  of  the  Word ;  the  fulness 
of  which  was  at  the  time  when  the 


608 


The  Consummaiion  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


Lord  came  into  the  world  ;  wherefore, 
Him  who  was  the  Word  they  crucified. 
The  fourth  church  is  the  Christian,  in- 
stituted by  the  Lord,  through  the  evange- 
lists and  the  apostles.  Of  this  there  have 
been  two  epochs ;  one  from  the  time 
of  the  Lord  to  the  council  of  Nice,  and 
the  other  from  that  council  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  But  this,  in  its  progress,  has 
been  divided  into  three  parts,  the 
Greek,  the  Roman  Catholic,  and  the 
Reformed ;  but  still  all  these  are  called 
Christian.  Besides,  within  each  general 
church,  there  have  been  several  particu- 
lar ones,  which,  although  they  have 
receded,  have  still  retained  the  name 
from  the  general  one,  as  the  heresies 
in  the  Christian. 

TGI.  That  the  last  time  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  is  the  very  night  in  which 
former  churches  have  come  to  their 
end,  is  evident  from  the  Lord's  predic- 
tion concerning  it  in  the  evangelists, 
and  in  Daniel.  In  the  evangelists 
from  these  words :  That  they  should  see 
the  abomination  of  desolation ;  and  that 
there  should  be  great  affiiction,  such  as 
was  not  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  until  now,  nor  shall  be  ;  and  that, 
unless  those  days  should  be  shortened, 
no  flesh  could  be  saved ;  and  finally, 
t'lot  the  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and 
the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and 
the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven.  Matt, 
xxiv.  15,  21,  22,  29.  That  time  is 
called  night  also  in  other  places  in  the 
evangelists,  as  in  Luke  :  In  that  night 
there  shall  be  two  in  otte  bed ;  one  shall 
be  taken,  but  the  other  shall  be  left, 
xvii.  34 ;  and  in  John :  /  must  work 
the  works  of  Him  who  sent  Me;  the 
niffht  is  coming  when  no  one  will  be 
able  to  work,  ix.  4.  Since  all  light 
departs  at  midnight,  and  the  Lord  is 
the  true  Light,  John  i.  4,  and  the  fol- 
lowing verses;  viii.  12;  xii.  3.5,  ii6, 
46,  therefore  He  said  to  his  disciples, 
when  He  ascended  into  heaven,  /  am 
with  you  even  to  the  consummation  of 
the  age,  Matt,  xxviii.  20 ;  and  then 
He  departs  from  them  to  a  new  church. 
That  this  last  time  of  the  church  is  the 
very  night  in  which  the  former  churches 
have  come  to  their  end,  is  evident  also 
in  Daniel.from  these  words:  At  length, 


upon  the  bird  of  abominations  shall  he 
desolation,  and  even  to  the  consummation 
and  decision  it  shall  drop  upon  the  dev- 
astation, ix.  27.  That  this  was  fore- 
told concerning  the  end  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  is  clearly  manifest  from 
the  words  of  the  Lord,  Matt.  xxiv.  18, 
and  from  these  in  Daniel,  concerning 
the  fourth  kingdom,  or  concerning  the 
fourth  church,  represented  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's image :  Whereas  thou 
sawcst  iron  mixed  with  miry  clay,  they 
shall  mix  thc?nselves  together  with  the 
seed  of  man,  but  they  shall  not  cohere 
one  with  another,  as  iron  does  not  co- 
here with  clay,  ii.  43.  The  seed  of  man 
is  the  truth  of  the  Word.  And  also 
from  these  concerning  the  fourth 
church,  represented  by  the  fourth  beast 
coming  up  out  of  the  sea  :  /  was  seeing 
in  the  visions  of  the  night,  and  behold, 
a  fourth  beast  terrible  and  dreadful; 
it  shall  devour  all  the  land,  and  trample 
upon  it,  and  lay  it  xoaste,  vii.  7, 
23 ;  by  which  is  meant,  that  it  would 
consummate  every  truth  of  the  church, 
and  that  then  there  will  be  niffht, 
because  the  truth  of  the  church  is  light. 
Many  similar  things  are  predicted  of 
this  church,  in  the  Revelation,  partic- 
ularly in  the  sixteenth  chapter,  where 
mention  is  made  of  the  vials  of  the  anger 
of  God  poured  out  upon  the  earth,  by 
which  are  signified  the  falsities  which 
will  then  overflow  and  destroy  the 
church ;  in  like  manner  in  many 
places  in  the  prophets,  as  in  these: 
Shall  not  the  day  of  Jehovah  be  dark- 
ness, and  not  light  ?  thick  darkness,  and 
no  brightness  ?  Amos  v.  18,20;  Zeph. 
i.  L)  ;  and  also,  In  that  day,  Jehovah 
will  look  dotcn  upon  the  land,  and  be- 
hold darkness,  and  the  light  shall  become 
dark  in  its  ruins,  Isaiah  v.  30  ;  viii.  22. 
The  day  of  Jehovah  is  the  day  of  the 
Lord's  coming. 

762.  That  four  churches,  since  the 
creation  of  the  world,  should  have  exist- 
ed on  this  earth,  is  according  to  divine 
order,  which  is,  that  tliere  should  be  a 
beginning,  and  an  end  of  it,  before  a 
new  beginning  arises.  Thence  it  is, 
that  every  day  begins  from  morning, 
and  advances,  and  ends  in  night,  and 
after  this  it  begins  anew ;  and  also  that 


I 


and  the  New  Heaven  and  the  New  Church. 


509 


every  year  begins  from  spring,  and  pro- 
ceeds through  summer  to  autumn,  and 
ends  in  winter,  and  after  this  it  begins 
again.  It  is  that  these  things  may  take 
place,  that  the  sun  rises  in  the  east,  and 
thence  proceeds  through  the  south  to 
the  west,  and  sets  in  the  north,  whence 
it  rises  again.  It  is  similar  with 
churches:  the  first  of  them,  which  was 
the  most  ancient,  was  as  the  morning, 
the  spring  and  the  east ;  the  second,  or 
the  ancient,  as  the  day,  the  summer 
and  the  south ;  the  third,  as  the  even- 
ing, the  autumn  and  the  west ;  and  the 
fourth,  as  the  night,  the  winter  and  the 
north.  From  these  progressions  ac- 
cording to  order,  the  wise  ancients  con- 
cluded the  four  ages  of  the  world;  the 
first  of  which  they  called  golden,  the 
second  silver,  the  third  copper,  and  the 
fourth  iron ;  with  which  metals  also 
the  churches  themselves  were  repre- 
sented in  the  image  seen  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Besides,  the  church  appears 
before  the  Lord  as  one  man ;  and  this 
greatest  man  must  pass  through  his 
several  ages,  like  an  individual  man  ; 
namely,  from  infancy  to  youth,  and 
through  this  to  manhood,  and  at  length 
to  old  age,  and  then,  when  he  dies,  he 
will  rise  again.  The  Lord  says.  Unless 
a  grain  of  wheat,  falling  into  the  ground, 
die,  it  rcmaineth;  but  if  it  die,  it  hear- 
eth  much  fruit,  John  xii.  24. 

763.  It  is  according  to  order,  that  the 
first  should  proceed  to  its  last,  in  gen- 
eral and  in  particular,  in  order  that  a 
variety  of  all  things  may  exist,  and  by 
varieties  every  quality ;  for  the  quality 
is  perfected  by  differences  relative  to 
things  more  or  less  opposite.  Who 
cannot  see  that  truth  receives  its  quality 
by  means  of  the  false  being  given,  and 
good  by  means  of  evil  being  given ; 
just  as  light  receives  its  quality  by 
means  of  darkness  being  given,  and 
heat  by  means  of  cold  being  given  ? 
What  would  color  be,  if  only  white 
were  given,  and  not  black  ?  The  quality 
of  the  intermediate  colors,  from  any 
other  source,  is  but  imperfect.  What 
is  sense  without  relation  ?  And  what 
is  relation,  but  to  things  opposite?  Is 
not  the  sight  of  the  eye  darkened  by 
white  alone,  and  enlivened  by  a  color 


which  inwardly  derives  something  from 
black,  such  as  the  color  of  green?  Is 
not  the  ear  deafened  by  one  tone  con- 
tinually striking  its  organs,  and  excited 
by  modulation  which  is  varied  by 
relations?  What  is  the  beautiful 
without  relation  to  the  ugly  1  Where- 
fore, that  the  beauty  of  a  virgin  may 
be  exhibited  to  the  life,  in  some 
pictures  an  ugly  image  is  placed 
at  the  side.  What  is  the  pleasant  and 
prosperous  without  relation  to  the  un- 
pleasant and  unprosperous  ?  Who  does 
not  become  delirious  by  the  constant 
contemplation  of  one  idea,  unless  a 
variety  of  such  things  as  tend  to  t he- 
opposite  diversify  it  ?  It  is  similar  in 
the  spiritual  things  of  the  church,  the 
opposites  of  which  refer  themselves  to 
the  evil  and  the  false,  which  yet  are 
not  from  God,  but  from  man,  who  has 
free  agency,  which  he  can  turn  to 
good  use  or  to  bad  use  ;  comparatively, 
as  it  is  with  darkness  and  cold,  these 
are  not  from  the  sun,  but  from  the  earth, 
which,  by  its  circumvolutions,  succes- 
sively withdraws  itself  and  turns  itself, 
and  yet,  without  the  turning  and  with- 
drawing of  it,  there  would  be  no  day 
nor  year,  and  thence  not  any  thing,  nor 
any  man  upon  the  earth.  I  have  heard 
that  the  churches  which  are  in  different 
goods  and  truths,  provided  their  goods 
refer  themselves  to  love  to  the  Lord, 
and  their  truths  to  faith  in  the  Lord, 
are  like  so  many  jewels  in  the  crown 
of  a  king. 

764.  IV.  That  after  this  Night 

THERE  FOLLOWS  A  MoRNING,  AND  THAT 

THIS  IS  THE  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

Since  the  successive  states  of  the 
church,  in  general  and  in  particular, 
are  described  in  the  Word  by  the  four 
seasons  of  the  year,  which  are  spring, 
summer,  autumn  and  winter,  and  by 
the  four  times  of  the  day,  which  are 
morning,  noon,  evening  and  night,  and 
because  the  present  church  in  Christen- 
dom is  the  night,  it  follows,  that  the 
morning  is  at  hand,  that  is,  the  first  of 
a  new  church.  That  the  successive 
states  of  the  church  are  described  in 
the  Word  by  the  four  states  of  the  light 
of  the  day,  is  evident  from  these  pas- 
sages there :  Until  the  evening  and 


510        The.  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


the  MORNING,  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred, then  the  holy  shall  be  justified; 
the  vision  of  the  evening  and  the 
MORNING  is  truth,  Dan.  viii.  14,  16. 
He  calleth  to  me  out  of  Seir,  Watchman, 
watchman,  what  of  the  night  ?  The 
watchman  said,  The  morning  cometh, 
and  also  the  night,  Isaiah  xxi.  11,  12. 
The  end  is  come,  the  morning  is 
come  upon  thee,  O  inhabitant  of  the 
land;  behold,  the  day  is  coming,  the 
morning  is  gone  forth,  Ezek.  vii.  6, 
7,  10.  Jehovah,  in  the  morning,  in  the 
MORNING,  icill  give  his  judgment  to  the 
light,  neither  will  He  fail,  Zeph.  iii. 
5.  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her,  God 
tvill  help  her,  when  she  looks  for  the 
sioRNiNG,  Psalm  xlvi.  6.  I  waited  for 
Jehovah,  my  soul  rvaitcth  for  the  Lord, 
tnore  than  those  who  watch  for  the 
MORNING,  who  watch  for  the  morning; 
because  there  is  with  Him  plenteous  re- 
demption, and  He  will  redeem  Lracl, 
cxxx.  5  to  8.  In  these  passages,  the 
last  time  of  the  church  is  meant  by 
evening  and  night,  and  its  first  time  by 
morning.  The  Lord  himself  also  is 
called  Morning  in  these  passages  :  The 
God  of  hrael  said,  the  Rock  of  Lracl 
spoke  to  me ;  He  is  as  the  light  of  the 

MORNING,   a   MORNING   withojtt  clouds, 

2  Sam.  xxiii.  3,  4.  I  am  the  Root  and 
the  Offspring  of  David,  the  bright  and 
the  Morning  Star,  Rev.  xxii.  16. 
From  the  womb  of  the  morning  thou 
hast  the  dew  of  thy  youth.  Psalm  ex. 
3.  These  passages  are  concerning  the 
Lord.  Since  the  Lord  is  the  Morning, 
therefore,  also,  He  rose  from  the  sepul- 
chre early  in  the  morning,  being  about 
to  institute  a  new  church,  Mark  xvi. 
2,  9.  That  the  coming  of  the  Lord  is 
to  be  expected,  is  manifestly  evident 
from  the  prediction  of  it  by  the  Lord 
in  Mattiiew :  ^4.s-  Jesus  sat  upon  the 
mount  of  Olives,  the  disciples  came  to 
Him,  saying.  Tell  us  what  will  be  the 
sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  consum- 
mation of  the. age,  xxiv.  3.  After  the 
affliction  of  those  days,  the  sun  will  be 
darkened,  and  the  moon  will  not  give 
her  light,  and  the  stars  will  fall  from 
heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens 
will  be  shaken  ;  and  then  shall  appear 
the  sign  of  thf.  Son  of  Man  ;  and 


they  will  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with 
VIRTUE  AND  GLORY,  xxiv.  29,  30 ;  Mark 
xiii.  26 ;  Luke  xxi.  27.  As  the  days  of 
Noah  were,  so  shall  also  the  co.ming  of 
THE  Son  of  Man  be.  Therefore,  be  ye 
also  ready,  because,  in  an  hour  that  ye 
think  not,  the  Son  of  Man  will 
COME,  Matt.  xxiv.  37,  39,  44,  46.  In 
Luke  :  When  the  Son  of  Man  cometh, 
will  He  find  faith  upon  the  earth  ?  xviii. 
8.  In  John :  Jesus  said  concerning 
John,  If  I  will  that  he  reinain  till  I 
come,  xxi.  22,  23.  In  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  :  When  thty  saw  Jesus  taken 
up  into  heaven,  two  men  stood  by  them, 
in  white  apparel,  and  said,  Jesus,  who 
was  taken  up  from  you,  will  so 
come,  even  as  ye  have  seen  Hlltf 
going  into  heaven,  i.  9,  10,  11.  In 
the  Revelation  :  The  Lord  God  of  the 
holy  prophets  hath  sent  his  angel  to 
show  his  servants  the  things  ivhich  7nust 
be  done.  Behold,  I  come  ;  blessed  is 
he  who  keepeth  the  commandments  of 
this  book.  And  behold  I  come,  and 
my  reicard  is  with  Me,  that  I  may  give 
to  every  one  according  to  his  work, 
xxii.  6,  7,  12.  And  again  ;  I  Jesus  have 
sent  my  angel  to  testify  to  you  these 
things  in  the  churches.  I  am  the  Root 
and  the  Offspring  o  f  David,  the  bright 
and  the  Morning  Star.  And  the  spirit 
and  the  bride  say,  come  ;  and  let  him 
that  heartth  say,  come  ;  and  let  him 
that  is  thirsty  come  ;  and  whosoever 
will,  let  him  take  the  jrater  of  life  freely, 
xxii.  16,  17.  And  again  ;  He  that  te.^- 
tifieth  these  things  saith.  Yea,  I  come, 
Amen.  Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus. 
The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
BE  WITH  vou  ALL,  Amen,  xxii.  20,  21. 

766.  The  Lord  is  present  with  every 
man,  and  urges  and  insists  that  He  may 
be  received ;  and  when  man  receives 
Him,  which  is  done  wlien  he  acknowl- 
edges Him  for  his  God,  Creator,  Re- 
deemer and  Savior,  it  is  his  first  coming, 
which  is  called  the  dawn.  From  this 
time,  man,  as  to  the  understanding,  be- 
gins to  be  enlightened  in  spiritual 
things,  and  to  progress  in  wisdom 
more  and  more  interior  ;  and  as  he 
receives  that  from  the  Lord,  so  he 
proceeds  through  the  morning  on  to  the 


and  the  New  Heaven  and  the  New  Church. 


5-11 


day,  and  this  day  continues  with  him 
into  oUl  age,  even  to  death ;  and  after 
this,  he  comes  into  heaven  to  the 
Lord  himself,  and  there,  although  he 
died  an  old  man,  he  is  restored  to  the 
morning  of  his  life,  and  continues  the 
beginnings  of  wisdom,  implanted  in  the 
natural  world,  to  eternity. 
.  767.  A  man  who  is  in  faith  in  the 
Lord,  and  in  charity  towards  the  neigh- 
bor, is  a  church  in  particular :  the 
church  in  general  is  composed  of  those 
similar.  This  is  wonderful,  that  every 
angel  beholds  the  Lord  before  him,  in 
whatsoever  direction  his  body  and  face 
are  turned  ;  for  the  Lord  is  the  sun  of 
the  angelic  heaven,  and  it  is  this  which 
appears  before  their  eyes,  when  they 
are  in  spiritual  meditation.  The  case 
is  similar  with  a  man  in  the  world,  in 
whom  the  church  is,  as  to  the  sight  of 
his  spirit ;  but  because  this  is  veiled 
over  by  the  natural  sight,  which  the 
other  senses  flatter,  the  objects  of 
which  are  such  things  as  are  of  the 
body  and  the  world,  this  state  of  his 
spirit  is  unknown.  This  aspect  of 
the  Lord,  in  whatsoever  direction  they 
are,  derives  its  origin  from  this,  that 
all  truth,  from  which  wisdom  and  faith 
are,  and  all  good,  by  which  love  and 
charity  are,  are  from  the  Lord,  and 
that  they  are  the  Lord's  with  him ; 
and  thence  every  truth  of  wisdom  is  a 
mirror  in  which  the  Lord  is  seen,  and 
every  good  of  love  is  an  image  of  the 
Lord ;  thence  is  this  wonderful  appear- 
ance. But  an  evil  spirit  perpetually 
turns  himself  away  from  the  Lord,  and 
continually  looks  to  his  own  love ;  and 
this,  too,  in  whatsoever  direction  his  face 
and  body  are  turned.  The  cause  is 
the  same,  but  the  case  is  reversed ;  for 
all  evil  is,  in  a  certain  form,  an  image 
of  his  reigning  love,  and  the  false 
thence  exhibits  that  image,  as  in  a  mir- 
ror. That  there  is  also  some  such 
thing  implanted  in  nature,  may  be  con- 
cluded from  certain  plants  springing 
up  among  the  grass,  in  that  they  rise 
above  the  things  with  which  they  are 
surrounded,  that  they  may  look  at  the 
sun ;  and  also  that  some,  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  turn 
themselves  towards  him,  that  thus  they 


may  ripen  under  his  auspices ;  nor  do 
I  doubt  but  that  there  is  a  like  tendency 
and  effort  in  every  twig  and  bough  of 
every  tree ;  but  because  they  have  no 
elastic  power  of  bending  and  turning 
about,  the  act  stops.  That  all  whirl- 
pools of  water  and  quicksands  of  the 
ocean  are  spontaneously  carried  around, 
according  to  the  common  progress  of 
the  sun,  is  obvious  to  the  attentive  ob- 
server. Why  not  man,  who  was  created 
after  the  image  of  God,  unless  by 
means  of  his  free  agency  he  turned  that 
tendency  and  effort,  implanted  by  the 
Creator,  into  another  direction  ?  This 
also  may  be  likened  to  a  bride,  in  that 
she  continually  carries  something  of 
the  image  of  the  bridegroom  in  the 
sight  of  her  spirit,  and  sees  him  in  his 
gifts  as  in  mirrors,  and  longs  for  his 
coming;  and  when  he  comes,  she  re- 
ceives him  with  joy,  in  which  the  love 
of  her  breast  exults. 

768.  V.  That  the  Coming  of  the 
Lord  is  not  his  Coming  to  destroy 

THE  VISIBLE  HeAVEN  AND  THE  HABIT- 
ABLE Earth,  and  to  create  a  New- 
Heaven  AND  A  New  Earth,  as  many 

HITHERTO,  from  NOT  UNDERSTANDING 

the  Spiritual  Sense  of  the  Word, 
have  supposed. 

The  opinion  at  this  day  prevailing 
in  the  churches  is,  that  the  Lord,  when 
He  shall  come  to  the  last  judgment, 
will  appear  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
with  angels  and  the  sound  of  trumpets, 
and  will  gather  together  all  who  dwell 
upon  the  earth,  and  also  those  who  are 
deceased,  and  will  separate  the  evil 
from  the  good,  as  a  shepherd  separates 
the  goats  from  the  sheep  ;  and  that  then 
He  will  cast  the  evil  or  the  goats  into 
hell,  and  raise  up  the  good  or  the 
sheep  into  heaven ;  and  that  then  also 
He  will  create  a  new  visible  heaven 
and  a  new  habitable  earth,  and  upon 
this  send  down  a  city,  which  will  be 
called  the  New  Jerusalem,  the  structure 
of  which  will  be  according  to  the  de- 
scription in  Revelation  xxi. ;  namely, 
of  jasper  and  gold,  and  the  foundations 
of  its  wall  of  every  precious  stone,  and 
its  height,  breadth  and  length  equal, 
each  of  twelve  thousand  furlongs ;  and 
that  all  the  elect,  both  those  who  are 


512         The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


living,  and  those  that  have  died  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  will  be 
gathered  together  into  this  city ;  and 
that  they  will  then  return  into  their 
bodies,  and  enjoy  eternal  bliss  in  that 
magnificent  city,  as  in  their  heaven. 
This  opinion  concerning  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  and  concerning  the  last 
judgment,  is  at  this  day  reigning  in 
Christian  churches. 

769.  Concerning  the  state  of  souls 
after  death,  these  things,  in  general  and 
in  particular,  are  at  this  day  believed; 
that  human  souls  after  death  are  spirits, 
of  which  they  cherish  an  idea  as  of  a 
breath  of  wind  ;  and  that,  because  they 
are  such,  they  are  reserved  until  the 
day  of  the  last  judgment,  either  in  the 
middle  of  the  earth,  where  their  place  is, 
or  in  the  Limbo  of  the  fathers.  But  in 
these  things  they  differ  :  some  suppose 
that  they  are  ethereal  or  aerial  forms, 
and  that  thus  they  are  like  ghosts  and 
spectres,  and  that  some  of  them  dwell 
in  the  air,  some  in  the  woods,  and  some 
in  the  waters ;  but  some  suppose  that 
the  souls  of  the  deceased  are  transferred 
to  the  planets  or  to  the  stars,  and  there 
abodes  are  given  to  them  ;  and  some 
that,  after  thousands  of  years,  tiiey  re- 
turn into  bodies.  But  most  suppose  that 
they  are  reserved  to  the  time  when  all 
the  firmament,  together  with  the  terra- 
queous globe,  will  be  destroyed,  which 
will  be  effected  by  fire,  either  bursting 
forth  from  the  centre  of  the  earth,  or 
cast  down  from  heaven,  like  a  universal 
lightning  :  and  that  then  the  sepulchres 
will  be  opened,  and  the  souls  which  had 
been  reserved,  clothed  again  with  their 
bodies,  and  transferred  into  that  holy 
city  Jerusalem,  and  thus,  upon  another 
earth,  they  will  dwell  together  in  purified 
bodies,  some  below  there,  and  .some 
above,  because  the  height  of  the  city  is 
to  be  twelve  thousand  furlongs,  as  its 
length  and  breadth.  Rev.  xxi.  If). 

770.  When  any  of  the  clergy  or 
laity  are  asked  whether  they  firmly  be- 
lieve all  those  things,  as  that  tiic  an- 
tediluvians, together  with  Adam  and 
Eve,  and  the  postdiluvians,  together 
with  Noah  and  his  sons,  and  also  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob,  together  with  all 
the  prophets  and  apostles,  as  well  as  the 


souls  of  other  men,  are  still  reserved  in 
the  middle  of  the  earth,  or  are  flying 
about  in  the  ether  or  air ;  and  also 
whether  they  believe  that  souls  will  be 
clothed  again  with  their  bodies,  and  be- 
come united  with  them,  which  yet  are 
carcasses  eaten  up  by  worms,  mice  and 
fishes,  and  those  of  the  Egyptians,  as 
mummies,  eaten  up  by  men,  and  some 
merely  skeletons  burnt  up  by  the  sun, 
and  reduced  to  powder  ;  and  likewise 
whether  they  believe  that  the  stars  of 
heaven  will  then  fall  upon  the  earth, 
which  yet  is  smaller  than  one  of  them ; 
are  not  such  things  parado.xes,  which 
reason  itself  dissipates,  as  it  does  things 
that  are  contradictory  .'  But  to  these 
things  some  answer  nothing  ;  some,  that 
those  are  matters  of  faith,  under  obe- 
dience to  which  we  keep  the  under- 
standing ;  some,  that  not  only  these 
things,  but  many  more  that  are  above 
reason,  are  of  the  divine  omnipotence  ; 
and  w  hen  they  name  faith  and  omnipo- 
tence, reason  is  banished,  and  then 
sound  reason  either  disappears  and  be- 
comes as  nothing,  or  becomes  like  a 
spectre,  and  is  called  insanity.  They 
add,  "Are  not  those  things  according 
to  the  Word  ?  Who  will  not  think  and 
speak  from  that  V 

771.  That  the  Word  in  the  letter  is 
written  by  appearances  and  correspon- 
dences, and  tiiat,  therefore,  there  is  in 
every  part  of  it  a  spiritual  sense,  in 
which  the  truth  is  in  its  light,  and  the 
sense  of  the  letter  in  the  shade,  was 
shown  in  the  chapter  concerning  the 
Sacuf.ii  Scripture.  Lest,  therefore,  the 
man  of  the  New  Church,  like  the  man 
of  the  old  church,  should  wander  in  the 
shade,  in  which  the  sense  of  the  letter 
of  the  Word  is,  especially  concerning 
heaven  and  hell,  and  concerning  his 
life  after  death,  and  here  concerning 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,  it  has  pleased 
the  Lord  to  open  the  sight  of  my  spirit, 
and  thus  to  let  me  into  the  spiritual 
world,  and  not  only  to  give  me  to  speak 
with  sjjirits  and  angels,  and  with  rela- 
tions and  friends,  but  with  kings  and 
princes,  who  have  departed  from  the 
natural  world,  but  also  to  see  the  stu- 
pendous things  of  heaven,  and  the  mis- 
erable things  of  hell  ;  and  thus  that 


and  the  Neiv  Heaven  and  the  Neio  Church. 


513 


man  does  notlive  in  some  unknown  place 
of  the  earth,  nor  fly  about  blind  and  dumb 
in  the  air, or  in  empty  space ;  but  thathe 
lives  as  man  in  a  substantial  body,  in  a 
much  more  perfect  state,  if  he  comes 
among  the  blessed,  than  before,  when 
he  lived  in  the  material  body.  There- 
fore, lest  man  should  become  more 
deeply  grounded  in  the  opinion  con- 
cerning the  destruction  of  the  visible 
heaven  and  the  habitable  earth,  and 
thus  concerning  the  spiritual  world,  from 
ignorance,  which  is  the  source  of  nat- 
uralism, and  tiien,  at  the  same  time,  athe- 
ism, which,  at  this  day,  among  the  learn- 
ed, has  begun  to  take  root  in  the  interior 
rational  mind,  should,  like  a  mortifica- 
tion in  the  flesh,  spread  itself  around 
more  widely,  even  into  his  external 
mind,  from  which  he  speaks,  it  has  been 
enjoined  upon  me  by  the  Lord,  to  pro- 
mulgate some  of  the  things  seen  and 
heard,  both  concerning  Heaven  and 
Hell,  and  concerning  the  Last  Judg- 
ment, and  also  to  explain  the  Apoca- 
lypse, where  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  former  heaven,  and  the  new 
heaven,  and  the  holy  Jerusalem,  are 
treated  of;  from  which,  when  read  and 
understood,  any  one  may  see  what  is 
meant  there  by  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
and  by  the  new  heaven,  and  by  the 
New  Jerusalem. 

772.  VI.  That  this  Coming  of  the 
Lord,  which  is  the  Second,  is  in  Or- 
der that  the  Evil  may  be  separated 
from  the  Good,  and  that  those 
mav  be  saved  who  have  believed 
and  do  believe  in  Him  ;  and  that  a 
New  Angelic  Heaven  m.\y  be  form- 
ed from  them,  and  a  New  Church 
ON  Earth  ;  and  that  without  it 
NO  Flesh  could  be  saved.  Matt, 
xxiv.  22. 

That  this  second  coming  of  the  Lord 
is  not  to  destroy  the  visible  heaven  and 
the  habitable  earth,  has  been  shown  in 
the  preceding  article.  That  it  is  not 
to  destroy  any  thing,  but  to  build  up, 
consequently  not  to  condemn,  but  to 
save  those  who  have  believed  in  Him 
since  his  first  coming,  and  who  will 
hereafter  believe,  is  evident  fi-om  these 
words  of  the  Lord :  God  sent  not  his 
Son  into  the  world  to  judge  the  world, 
65 


but  that  the  world  might  be  saved  through 
Him.  He  that  believeth  in  Him  is  not 
judged,  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  al- 
ready judged,  because  he  hath  not  be- 
lieved in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,  John  iii.  17.  And  in 
another  place ;  If  any  one  hear  my  words, 
and  yet  believe  not,  I  judge  him  not ;  for 
I  came  not  to  judge  the  loorld,  but  to 
save  the  world.  He  that  despiseth  Me, 
and  rccciveth  not  my  words,  hath  that 
which  judgeth  him  ;  the  Word  which  I 
have  spoken,  that  loill  judge  him,  xii. 
47,  48.  That  the  last  judgment  took 
place  in  the  spiritual  world  in  the  year 
1757,  was  shown  in  a  little  work  con- 
cerning the  Last  JudgmexNT,  published 
at  London,  in  the  year  1758 ;  and  fur- 
ther, in  a  Continuation  concerning 
IT,  published  at  Amsterdam,  1763 ; 
which  I  testify,  because  I  saw  it  with 
my  eyes  in  full  wakefulness. 

773.  That  the  coming  of  the  Lord  is 
to  form  a  new  heaven  of  those  who 
have  believed  in  Him,  and  to  institute 
a  new  church  of  those  who  hereafter 
believe  in  Him,  is  because  those  two 
things  are  the  ends  of  his  coming. 
The  very  end  of  the  creation  of  the 
universe  was  no  other,  than  that  an 
angelic  heaven  might  be  formed  from 
men,  in  which  all  who  believe  in  God 
are  to  live  in  eternal  blessedness  :  for 
the  Divine  Love,  which  is  in  God,  and 
essentially  is  God,  cannot  intend  any 
thing  else,  and  the  Divine  Wisdom, 
which  also  is  in  God,  and  is  God,  can- 
not produce  any  thing  else.  Since  the 
creation  of  the  universe  had  for  its 
end  an  angelic  heaven  from  the  human 
race,  and  at  the  same  time  a  church  on 
earth, — for  through  this  man  will  pass 
into  heaven, — and  since  the  salvation  of 
men,  which  is  effected  among  men  who 
are  born  in  the  world,  is  thus  a  contin- 
uation of  creation, — therefore  it  is  said 
everywhere  in  the  Word,  <o  create;  and 
by  it  is  meant  to  form  for  heaven  ;  as 
in  these  passages :  Create  in  me  a 
clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  firm 
spirit  in  the  midst  of  me,  Psalm  li.  10. 
Thou  openest  thy  hand,  they  are  f  iled 
with  good ;  Thou  scndcst  forth  thy 
spirit,  they  are  created,  civ.  28,  30. 
The  people  that  shall  be  created  shall 


614         The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


praise  Jah,  cii.  18.  T%ms  said  Jehovah 
thy  Creator,  Jacob,  thy  Former, 
Israel;  I  have  redeemed  thee,  I  have 
called  thee  by  my  name.  Every  one 
called  by  my  name,  for  my  glory  I  have 
CREATED  him,  Isaiah  xliii.  1,  7.  In 
the  day  that  thou  wast  created,  thry 
were  prepared.  Thou  wast  perfect  in 
thy  ways  in  the  day  that  thou  wast 
CREATED,  until  pervcrseness  teas  found 
in  thee,  Ezek.  xxviii.  13,  15.  These 
are  concerning  the  king  of  Tyre :  That 
they  may  see,  know,  attend  and  under- 
stand, that  the  hand  of  Jehovah  hath 
done  this,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel 
hath  CREATED  it,  xli.  20.  Hence  it  is 
evident  what  is  meant  by  creating,  in 
the  following  passages  :  Jehovah,  who 
CREATETH  the  heovcns,  strctchcth  out  the 
earth,  giveth  soul  to  the  people  upon  it, 
and  spirit  to  those  who  tcalk  in  it,  xlii. 
5 ;  xlv.  12,  18.    Behold,  I  create  a 

NEW   HEAVEN   AND  A  NEW  EARTH  ;  rc- 

joice  for  ever  in  that  which  I  create. 

Behold,  I  AM  ABOUT  TO  CREATE  JERU- 
SALEM an  exultation,  Ixv.  17,  18. 

774.  The  presence  of  the  Lord  is 
perpetual  with  every  man,  both  evil  and 
good,  for  without  his  presence  no  man 
lives  ;  but  his  coming  is  only  with  those 
who  receive  Him,  who  are  those  who 
believe  in  Him  and  do  his  command- 
ments. The  perpetual  presence  of  the 
Lord  causes  man  to  become  rational, 
and  enables  him  to  become  spiritual  : 
this  is  done  by  the  light  proceeding 
from  the  Lord,  as  a  sun  in  the  spiritual 
world,  which  man  receives  with  the  un- 
derstanding ;  and  that  light  is  truth,  by 
which  he  has  rationality.  But  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  is  with  tho.so  who 
conjoin  heat  to  that  light,  that  is,  love 
to  truth  ;  for  the  heat  proceeding  from 
that  same  sun  is  love  to  God  and  to- 
wards the  neighbor.  The  presence 
only  of  the  Lord,  and  the  illustration 
of  the  understanding  thence,  may  be 
compared  with  the  presence  of  solar 
light  in  the  world  ;  unless  this  be  con- 
joined with  heat,  all  things  become  des- 
olate upon  earth ;  but  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  may  be  compared  with  the 
coming  of  heat,  which  takes  place  in 
the  time  of  spring  ;  and  because  then 
heat  conjoins  itself  to  light,  the  earth 


is  softened,  the  seeds  spring  up  and 
bear  fruit.  Such  is  the  parallelism 
between  spiritual  things,  in  which  the 
spirit  of  man  is,  and  natural  things,  in 
which  his  body  is. 

775.  It  is  the  same  with  the  man  of 
the  church,  in  the  concrete,  or  in  the 
compound,  as  it  is  with  an  individual 
man,  or  in  particular.  Man,  in  the  con- 
crete, or  compound,  is  a  church  among 
many;  and  man  in  an  individual  or  par- 
ticular capacity,  is  a  church  in  each 
one  among  those  many.  It  is  accord- 
ing to  divine  order  that  there  should  be 
generals  and  particulars,  and  that  both 
should  be  together  in  every  thing,  and 
that  particulars  should  not  otherwise 
exist  and  subsist ;  as  there  would  not 
beany  particulars  inwardly  in  man,  un- 
less there  were  generals,  by  which  they 
are  encompassed.  The  particulars  in 
man  are  the  viscera  and  the  parts  of  them , 
and  the  generals  arc  the  covermgs, 
which  are  not  only  around  the  whole 
man,  but  also  around  each  of  the  viscera, 
and  around  each  part  of  them.  The 
case  is  similar  in  every  beast,  bird  and 
worm  ;  and  likewise  in  every  tree,  shrub 
and  seed  ;  nor  could  sound  be  given 
from  strings  or  by  the  breath,  unless 
there  were  something  most  general, 
from  which  each  part  of  the  modula- 
tion derived  its  general,  that  it  might 
exist.  It  is  similar  also  with  every 
sense  of  the  body,  as  with  seeing,  hear- 
ing, smelling,  tasting  and  touching; 
and  likewise  it  is  similar  with  all  the 
internal  senses,  which  arc  of  the  mind. 
These  things  are  adduced  for  the  sake 
of  illustration,  that  it  may  be  known 
that  there  are  also  in  the  church  gener- 
als and  particulars,  and  likewise  things 
most  general ;  and  that  it  is  thence,  that 
four  churches  have  preceded  in  order, 
from  whicli  progression  the  most  gen- 
eral thing  of  the  church  arose,  and  suc- 
cessively, the  generals  and  particulars 
of  every  one.  In  man  also  there  are 
two  most  general  things,  from  which  all 
his  generals  and  each  of  his  particulars 
derive  their  existence.  Those  two 
most  general  things  in  his  body  are 
the  heart  and  lungs,  and  in  his  spirit 
the  will  and  understanding ;  on  these 
and  those  all  things  of  his  life,  both  in 


and  the  New  Heaven  and  the  New  Church. 


515 


general  and  in  particular,  depend,  which 
without  them  would  fall  to  pieces  and 
die.  It  would  be  similar  with  the 
whole  angelic  heaven,  and  with  the 
whole  human  race,  yea,  with  the  whole 
created  world,  unless  all  things  in  gen- 
eral, and  each  in  particular,  depended 
on  God,  his  love  and  wisdom. 

776.  VII.  That  this  second  Com- 
ing OF  THE  Lord  is  not  in  Person, 

BUT  that  it  is  in  THE  WoRD,  WHICH 

IS  FROM  Him,  and  is  Himself. 

It  is  read  in  many  places,  that  the 
Lord  is  to  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
as  Matt.  xvii.  5 ;  xxiv.  30 ;  xxvi.  04  ; 
Mark  xiv.  61,  62;  Luke  ix.  34,  35; 
xxi.  27;  Rev.  i.  7;  xiv.  14;  Dan.  vii. 
13.  But  hitherto  no  one  has  known 
what  was  meant  by  the  clouds  of 
heaven  :  they  have  believed  that  He 
would  appear  in  them  in  person.  But 
that,  by  the  clouds  of  heaven,  is  meant 
the  Word  in  the  sense  of  the  letter,  and 
by  glory  and  virtue,  in  which  also  He 
is  then  to  come.  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  is 
meant  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word, 
has  been  hitherto  concealed,  because 
no  one  has  ever  yet  even  conjectured, 
that  there  is  in  the  Word  any  spiritual 
sense,  such  as  it  is  in  itself.  Now, 
because  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word 
has  been  opened  to  me  by  the  Lord, 
and  it  has  been  given  to  me  to  be 
together  with  angels  and  spirits  in 
their  world,  as  one  of  them,  it  has  been 
discovered,  that  by  the  clouds  of  heaven 
is  meant  the  Word  in  the  natural 
sense,  and  by  glory,  the  Word  in  the 
spiritual  sense,  and  by  virtue,  the 
power  of  the  Lord  by  means  of  the 
Word.  That  the  clouds  of  heaven 
signify  that,  may  be  seen  from  these 
passages  in  the  Word :  Not  like  the 
God  of  Jesliurun,  riding  in  heaven, 
and  in  magnificence  upon  the  clouds, 
Deut.  xxxiii.  26,  27.  Sing  unto  God, 
praise  His  name,  extol  Him  that 
ridcth  upon  the  clouds.  Psalm  Ixviii.  4. 
Jehovah  riding  upon  a  swift  cloud, 
Isaiah  xix.  1.  To  ride  signifies  to  in- 
struct in  divine  truths  from  the  Word ; 
for  a  horse  signifies  the  understanding 
of  the  Word :  see  Apocalypse  Re- 
vealed, n.  298.  Who  does  not  see 
that  God  does  not  ride  upon  the  clouds  ? 


Again  ;  God  rode  upon  cherubs,  and 
made  his  pavilion  the  clouds  of  the 
heavens,  Psalm  xviii.  10  to  13.  Cher- 
ubs also  signify  the  Word :  see  Apoca- 
lypse Revealed,  n.  239,  672.  Jeho- 
vah bindeth  the  waters  in  his  clouds  ;  He 
spreadeth  out  his  cloud  over  his  throne. 
Job  xxvi.  8,  9.  Give  strength  to  Je- 
hovah, strength  upon  the  clouds,  Ixviii. 
34.  Jehovah  hath  created  upon  every 
habitation  of  Zion  a  cloud  by  day,  for 
upon  all  the  glory  there  shall  be  a  cov- 
ering, Isaiah  iv.  5.  The  Word,  in 
the  sense  of  the  letter,  also  was  repre- 
sented by  the  cloud  in  which  Jehovah 
descended  upon  mount  Sinai,  when 
He  promulgated  the  law :  the  things 
of  the  law  which  were  then  promulgated 
were  the  first  fruits  of  the  Word.  For 
confirmation  these  things  also  are  to  be 
added.  There  are  clouds  in  the  spiritual 
world  as  well  as  in  the  natural  world, 
but  from  another  origin.  In  the  spir- 
itual world  there  are  sometimes  bright 
clouds  above  the  angelic  heavens,  but 
dark  clouds  over  the  hells :  the  bright 
clouds  over  the  angelic  heavens  signify 
obscurity  there,  fi-om  the  literal  sense 
of  the  Word ;  but  when  those  clouds 
are  dispersed,  they  signify  that  they  are 
in  its  clear  light  from  the  spiritual  sense ; 
but  the  dark  clouds  over  the  hells  sig- 
nify the  falsification  and  profanation  of 
the  Word.  The  origin  of  this  signifi- 
cation of  clouds  in  the  spiritual  world, 
is,  because  the  light  which  proceeds 
from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  there,  signifies 
divine  truth;  wherefore  He  is  called 
the  Light,  John  i.  9 ;  xii.  35.  Thence 
it  is  that  the  Word  itself,  which  is  kept 
in  the  recesses  of  the  temples  there, 
appears  encompassed  with  a  bright 
light,  and  the  obscurity  of  it  is  induced 
by  clouds. 

777.  That  the  Lord  is  the  Word,  is 
evident  from  these  words  in  John : 
In  the  beginning  iras  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  God  was 
the  Word;  and  the  Word  became  flesh, 
i.  1,  14.  That  the  Word  there  is  the 
divine  truth,  is  because  Christians  have 
divine  truth  from  no  other  source  than 
from  the  Word,  which  is  a  fountain 
from  which  all  the  churches  named 
from  Christ  draw  living  waters  in  their 


516         The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


fulness,  although  as  in  a  cloud  in  which 
its  natural  sense  is,  but  in  glory  and 
virtue,  in  which  its  spiritual  and  celes- 
tial sense  is.  That  there  are  three 
senses  in  the  Word, — natural,  spiritual 
and  celestial, — one  within  another,  was 
shown  in  the  chapter  concerning  the 
Sacred  Scripture,  and  in  the  chapter 
concerning  the  Decalogue  or  Cate- 
chism. Thence  it  is  manifest,  that  by 
the  Word,  in  John,  is  meant  the  Divine 
Truth.  John  also  testifies  the  same  in 
his  first  epistle :  We  know  that  the 
Son  of  God  hath  come  and  given  us 
understanding  that  we  may  know  the 
True,  and  we  are  in  the  True,  in  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  v.  20.  And  there- 
fore the  Lord  so  often  said.  Verily 
[Amen]  /  say  iinto  you;  for  amen  in 
the  Hebrew  language  is  truth ;  and 
tliat  He  is  the  Amen,  may  be  seen  Rev. 
iii.  14  ;  and  the  Truth,  John  xiv.  6. 
When,  also,  the  learned  of  this  age  are 
asked  what  they  understand  by  the 
Word  in  John  i.  1,  they  say,  that 
they  understand  the  Word  in  its  super- 
eminence  ;  and  what  else  is  the  Word 
in  its  supereminence,  than  divine  truth  ? 
Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  the  Lord  is 
also  now  to  appear  in  the  Word.  The 
reason  that  He  is  not  to  appear  in 
person,  is  because,  since  his  ascension 
into  heaven.  He  is  in  the  glorified  Hu- 
man ;  and  in  this  He  cannot  appear  to 
any  man,  unless  He  first  open  the  eyes 
of  liLs  spirit ;  and  these  cannot  be 
opened  in  any  one  who  is  in  evils,  and 
thence  in  falses  ;  thus  not  in  any  of 
the  goats  which  he  sets  at  the  left  hand. 
Wherefore,  when  He  manifested  Him- 
self to  the  disciples,  he  first  opened 
their  eyes;  for  it  is  read.  And  their 
eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  Him ; 
but  He  became  invisible  to  them,  Luke 
xxiv.  ;n.  The  case  was  similar  with 
the  women  at  the  sepulchre  after  the 
resurrection;  wherefore  they  at  that 
time  also  saw  angels  sitting  in  the 
sepulchre  and  speaking  with  them, 
whom  no  man  can  see  with  the  material 
eye.  That  neither  did  the  apostles, 
before  the  Lord's  resurrection,  see  the 
Lord  in  the  glorified  Human,  with  the 
eyes  of  the  body,  but  in  the  spirit 
(which  appears,  after  awaking,  as  if  it 


were  in  sleep),  is  evident  from  his 
transfiguration  before  Peter,  James 
and  John,  in  that  their  eyes  were 
heavy  with  sleep,  Luke  ix.  32.  Where- 
fore, it  is  a  vain  thing  to  believe  that 
the  Lord  is  to  appear  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven  in  person ;  but  He  is  to  appear 
in  the  Word,  which  is  fi-om  Him,  thus 
is  Himself 

778.  Every  man  is  his  own  love  and 
his  own  intelligence,  and  whatever  pro- 
ceeds from  him  derives  its  essence  from 
those  two  essentials  or  properties  of  his 
life  ;  wherefore  the  angels  know  a  man, 
what  he  is  essentially,  from  a  short  in- 
tercourse with  him,  his  love  from  the 
sound  of  his  voice,  and  his  intelligence 
from  his  speech  :  the  reason  is,  because 
there  are  two  universals  of  the  life  of 
every  man,  the  will  and  the  under- 
standing ;  and  the  will  is  the  recepta- 
cle and  habitation  of  his  love,  and  the 
understanding  is  the  receptacle  and 
habitation  of  his  intelligence  ;  where- 
fore all  the  things  that  proceed  from 
man,  whether  it  be  action  or  speech, 
make  the  man  and  are  the  man  him- 
self In  like  manner,  but  in  a  super- 
eminent  degree,  the  Lord  is  Divine 
Love  and  Divine  Wisdom,  or,  what  is 
the  same,  Divine  Good  and  Divine 
Truth  ;  for  his  will  is  of  the  divine 
love,  and  the  divine  love  is  of  his  will, 
and  his  understanding  is  the  divine 
wisdom,  and  the  divine  wisdom  is  his 
understanding  ;  the  human  form  is  the 
continent  of  them ;  hence  it  may  be 
conceived  how  the  Lord  is  the  Word. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  he  who  is 
against  the  Word,  that  is,  against  the 
divine  truth  there,  consequently  against 
the  Lord  and  his  church,  is  his  own 
evil  and  his  own  false,  both  as  to  the 
mind  and  as  to  its  effects  ft-om  the 
body,  which  refer  themselves  to  actions 
and  words. 

779.  VIII.  That  this  second 
Coming  of  the  Lord  is  effected  by 

MEANS  OF  A  MaN,  BEFORE  WHOM  He 

has  manifested  himself,  and  whom 
He  has  filled  with  his  Spirit,  to 

TEACH    THE   DocTRINES  OK  THE  NeW 

Church  through  the  Word  from 
Him. 

Since   the  Lor<^  cannot  manifest 


and  the  JVew  Heaven  and  the  JVew  Church. 


517 


Himself  in  person,  as  has  been  shown 
just  above,  and  yet  He  has  foretold  that 
He  would  come  and  establish  a  New 
Church,  which  is  the  New  Jerusalem, 
it  follows,  that  He  is  to  do  it  by  means 
of  a  man,  who  is  able  not  only  to  re- 
ceive the  doctrines  of  this  church  with 
his  understanding,  but  also  to  publish 
them  by  the  press.  That  the  Lord  has 
manifested  Himself  before  me,  his 
servant,  and  sent  me  on  this  office,  and 
that,  after  this,  He  opened  the  sight  of 
my  spirit,  and  thus  let  me  into  the 
.  spiritual  world,  and  gave  me  to  see  the 
heavens  and  the  hells,  and  also  to  speak 
with  angels  and  spirits,  and  this  now 
continually  for  many  years,  I  testify  in 
truth  ;  and  also  that,  from  the  first  day 
of  that  call,  I  have  not  received  any 
thing  which  pertains  to  the  doctrines 
of  that  church  from  any  angel,  but 
from  the  Lord  alone,  while  I  read  the 
Word. 

780.  To  the  end  that  the  Lord  might 
be  constantly  present,  he  has  disclosed 
to  me  the  spiritual  sense  of  his  Word, 
in  which  divine  truth  is  in  its  light,  and 
in  this  He  is  continually  present ;  for 
his  presence  in  the  Word  is  only  by 
means  of  the  spiritual  sense  :  through 
the  light  of  this  He  passes  into  the 
shade  in  which  the  sense  of  the  letter 
is;  comparatively  as  it  happens  with 
the  light  of  the  sun  in  the  day-time,  by 
the  interposition  of  a  cloud.  That  the 
sense  of  the  letter  of  the  Word  is  as  a 
cloud,  and  the  spiritual  sense  glory, 
and  the  Lord  himself  the  sun  from 
which  the  light  proceeds,  and  that  thus 
the  Lord  is  the  Word,  has  been  demon- 
strated above.  That  the  glory  in  which 
He  is  to  come.  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  signifies 
divine  truth  in  its  light,  in  which  the 
spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  is,  appears 
clearly  from  these  passages :  The 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  desert,  Pre- 
pare a  way  for  Jehovah ;  the  glory  of 
Jehovah  shall  he  revealed,  and  all  flesh 
shall  see,  Isaiah  xl.  3,  5.  Be  thou  en- 
lightened, because  thy  light  hath  come, 
and  the  glory  of  Jehovah  hath  risen 
upon  thee,  ix.  1  to  the  end.  I  roill  give 
Thee  for  a  covenant  to  the  people,  for 
the  light  of  the  nations  ;  and  my 
glory  /  icill  not  give   to  another, 


xlii.  6,  8;  xlviii.  11.  Thy  light  shall 
break  forth  as  the  morning ;  the  glory 
OF  Jehovah  shall  gather  thee  up,  Iviii. 
8.  All  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
the  glory  of  Jehovah,  Num.  xiv.  8 ; 
Isaiah  vi.  1,  2,  3;  Ixvi.  18.  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word;  in  Him  was 
life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men. 
He  was  the  true  light.  And  the  Word 
became  flesh,  and  toe  saw  his  glory, 

THE  GLORY  AS  OF  THE  ONLY  BEGOTTEN 

OF  THE  Father,  John  i.  1,  4,  9,  14. 

The  heavens  shall  tell  the  glory  op 
God,  Psalm  xix.  1.  The  glory  of  God 
shall  enlighten  the  New  Jerusalem,  and 
the  Lamb  shall  be  its  light,  and  the  na- 
tions which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  his 
LIGHT,  Rev.  xxi.  23,  24,  25 ;  besides 
in  many  other  places.  That  glory  sig- 
nifies divine  truth  in  its  fulness,  is  be- 
cause every  thing  magnificent  in  heav- 
en is  from  the  light  which  proceeds 
from  the  Lord,  and  tlie  light  proceed- 
ing from  Him,  as  a  sun  there,  in  its 
essence  is  divine  truth. 

781.  IX.  That  this  is  meant,  in 
THE  Revelation,  by  the  New  Heav- 
en and  New  Earth,  and  the  New 
Jerusalem  descending  thence. 

It  is  read  in  the  Revelation,  I  saw 
a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  because 
the  former  heaven  and  the  former  earth 
had  passed  away.  And  I  John  saw 
the  holy  city.  New  Jerusalem,  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared 
as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband,  xxi. 
1,  2.  The  like  also  is  read  in  Isaiah; 
Behold,  I  create  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth ;  rejoice  and  exult  for  ever ;  and 
behold,  I  am  to  create  Jerusalem  an  ex- 
ultation and  her  people  a  joy,  Ixv.  17, 
18.  It  has  been  shown  above,  in  this 
chapter,  that  the  Lord  is  at  this  day 
forming  a  new  heaven  of  the  Chris- 
tians who  acknowledged  in  the  world, 
and  were  able  to  acknowledge  after 
their  departure  out  of  the  world,  that 
He  is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth, 
according  to  his  words  in  Matt, 
xxviii.  18. 

782.  That  a  New  Church  is  meant 
by  the  New  Jerusalem  coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven,  Rev.  xxi,  is 
because  Jerusalem  was  the  metropolis 
in  the  land  of  Canaan ;  and  there  was 


518         The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


the  temple,  the  altar,  there  sacrifices 
were  offered,  and  thus  divine  worship 
itself  performed,  to  which  every  male 
in  the  land  was  commanded  to  come 
three  times  in  a  year ;  and  also  because 
the  Lord  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  taught 
in  his  temple,  and  afterwards  glorified 
his  Human  there ;  thence  it  is,  that 
by  Jerusalem  is  signified  the  church. 
That  the  church  is  meant  by  Jerusalem, 
is  very  evident  from  the  prophecies  in 
the  Old  Testament  concerning  a  new 
church  to  be  instituted  by  the  Lord,  in 
that  it  is  there  called  Jerusalem.  The 
passages  themselves  will  only  be  ad- 
duced, from  which  every  one  endued 
with  interior  reason  may  see  that  the 
church  is  there  meant  by  it.  Let  these 
passages  only  be  adduced  thence  :  Be- 
hold, I  create  a  new  heaven  and  a 
NEW  EARTH  ;  the  former  shall  not  he 
remembered.  Behold,  I  am  to  create 
Jerusalem  an  exultation,  and  her  peo- 
ple a  joy,  that  I  may  exult  over  Jeru- 
salem, and  rejoice  over  my  people. 
Then  the  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed 
together;  they  shall  not  do  evil  in  all 
the  mountain  of  my  holiness,  Isaiah  Ixv. 
17,  19,  25.  For  Zion's  sake  I  will 
not  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's 
sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  the  righteous- 
ness thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and 
the  salvation  thereof  as  a  lamp  that 
burneth.  Then  the  nations  shall  see 
thy  rightcous7iess,  and  all  kings  thy 
glory ;  and  thou  shall  be  called  by  a 
new  name,  ichich  the  mouth  of  Jehovah 
shall  utter.  And  thou  shall  be  a  crown 
of  glory  and  a  royal  diadem  in  the 
hand  of  thy  God;  Jehovah  shall  delight 
in  thee,  and  thy  land  shall  be  married. 
Behold,  thy  salvation  shall  come ;  be- 
hold, His  reward  is  with  Him.  And 
they  shall  call  them  the  holy  people, 
the  redeemed  of  Jehovah ;  and  thou 
shall  be  called  a  city  sought  for,  not 
forsaken,  Ixii.  1  to  4,  11,  12.  Awake, 
aicake,  ptd  on  thy  strength,  O  Zion; 
put  on  the  garments  of  thy  beauty,  O 
Jerusalem,  the  city  of  holiness ;  be- 
cause henceforth  there  shall  no  more 
come  into  thee  the  uncircumcised  and 
the  unclean.  Shake  thyself  from  the 
dust,  arii;e,  sit  doicn,  O  Jerusalem. 
The  people  shall  know  my  name  in  that 


day,  for  it  is  I  that  speak,  behold,  I. 
Jehovah  hath  comforted  his  people.  He 
hath  redeemed  Jerusalem,  lii.  1,  2,  6, 
9.  Shout,  O  daughter  of  Zion,  rejoice 
with  all  thy  heart,  O  daughter  of  Je- 
rusalem ;  the  King  of  Israel  is  in  the 
midst  of  thee ;  fear  not  evil  any  more.  He 
will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy.  He  will 
rest  in  his  love,  He  will  exult  over  thee 
with  shouting.  I  will  give  you  for  a 
name  and  for  a  praise  to  all  the  people 
of  the  earth,  Zeph.  iii.  14  to  17,  20. 
Thus  said  Jehovah,  thy  Redeemer, 
saying  to  Jerusaleim,  Thou  shall  be 
inhabited,  Isaiah  xliv.  24,  26.  Thus 
said  Jehovah,  I  will  return  to  Zion, 
and  will  dicell  in  the  midst  of  Je- 
rusalem ;  whence  Jerusalem  shall 
be  called  the  city  of  truth,  and  the 
mountain  of  Jehovah  of  hosts  the 
mountain  of  holiness,  Zech.  viii.  3,  20 
to  23.  Then  ye  shall  know  that  I  Je- 
hovah am  thy  God,  dicelling  in  Zion, 
the  motintain  of  holiness  ;  and  Jerusa- 
lem shall  be  holiness.  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass  in  that  day,  the  mountains  shall 
drop  new  wine,  and  the  hills  shall fow 
with  milk ;  and  Jerusalem  shall  remain 
from  generation  to  generation ,  Joel  iv. 
17  to  21.  In  that  day,  the  branch  of 
Jehovah  shall  be  for  beauty  and  glory ; 
and  it  shall  be,  that  he  that  is  left  in 
Zion,  and  he  that  remaineth  in  Jeru- 
salem, shall  be  called  holy,  every  one 
that  is  written  for  life  in  Jerusalem, 
Isaiah  iv.  2,  3.  In  the  end  of  the  days, 
the  mountain  cf  the  house  of  Jehovah 
shall  be  established  on  the  top  of  the 
mountains ;  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go 
forth  doctrine,  and  the  Word  of  Jeho- 
vah out  of  Jerusalem,  Micah  iv.  1,  2. 
At  that  time  they  shall  call  Jerusalem 
the  throne  of  Jehovah,  and  all  the  na- 
tions shall  be  gathered  together,  on  ac- 
count  of  the  name  of  Jehovah,  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  neither  shall  they  go  any  more 
after  the  confirmation  of  their  evil 
heart,  Jer.  iii.  17.  Look  upon  Zion, 
the  city  of  our  stated  feast ;  let  your 
eyes  see  Jerusalem  a  quiet  habitation,  a 
tabernacle  which  shall  not  be  taken 
down  ;  the  stakes  of  it  shall  not  be  re- 
moved for  ever,  and  the  cords  o  f  it  shall 
not  be  broken,  Isaiah  xxxiii.  20;  be- 
sides other  places  also,  as  Isaiah  xxiv. 


and  the  JVew  Heaven  and  the  JVetv  Church. 


5]9 


523  ;  xxxvii.  32 ;  Ixvi.  10  to  14 ;  Zech. 
XU.3,  OtolO;  xiv.  8,  11,12,21;  Mai. 
iii.  4  ;  Psalm  cxxii.  1  to  7  ;  cxxxvii. 
5,  6,  7.  That  by  Jerusalem  there  is 
meant  the  church  which  was  to  be  in- 
stituted by  the  Lord,  and  not  the 
Jerusalem  inhabited  by  the  Jews,  is 
manifest  from  every  part  of  its  descrip- 
tion in  the  passages  adduced ;  as  that 
Jehovah  God  would  create  a  new  heav- 
en and  a  new  earth,  and  also  Jerusalem 
at  the  same  time ;  and  that  this  would 
be  a  crown  of  glory  and  a  royal  diadem ; 
that  it  was  to  be  called  holiness,  the 
city  of  truth,  the  throne  of  Jehovah,  a 
quiet  habitation,  a  tabernacle  that  shall 
not  be  taken  down  ;  that  there  the 
wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed  together ; 
and  it  is  said,  that  there  the  mountains 
shall  drop  new  wine,  and  the  hills  shall 
flow  with  milk,  and  it  sliall  remain 
from  generation  to  generation  ;  beside 
many  other  things  ;  also  concerning 
the  people  there,  that  they  should  be 
holy,  every  one  written  for  life ;  that 
they  should  be  called  the  redeemed  of 
Jehovah.  Moreover,  in  all  those  pas- 
sages, the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  treated 
of,  especially  his  second  coming,  when 
Jerusalem  will  be  such  as  it  is  there 
described ;  for  before,  she  was  not 
married,  that  is,  made  the  bride  and 
wife  of  the  Lamb,  as  it  is  said  of  the 
New  Jerusalem  in  the  Revelation.  The 
former  or  present  church  is  meant  by 
Jerusalem  in  Daniel,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  it  is  there  described  by 
these  words  :  Know  and  perceive,  f?'om 
the  going  forth  of  the  word  for  re- 
storing and  building  Jerusalem,  even  to 
the  Prince  Messiah,  shall  be  seven 
Weeks ;  afterwards ,  in  sixty  and  two 
weeks,  the  street  and  the  trench  shall  be 
restored  and  built,  but  in  troublesome 
times,  ix.  25.  But  the  end  of  it  is  de- 
scribed there  by  these  words :  At  length, 
upoji  the  bird  of  abominations  shall  be 
desolation,  and  even  to  the  consumma- 
tion and  decision  it  shall  drop  upon  the 
devastation,  ix.  27.  These  last  are 
the  things  that  are  meant  by  these 
words  of  the  Lord  in  Matthew :  When  ye 
shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 
foretold  by  the  prophet  Daniel,  stand- 
ing in  the  holy  place,  let   him  that 


readcth  observe  it  well,  xxiv.  15.  That 
by  Jerusalem,  in  the  passages  above 
adduced,  was  not  meant  the  Jerusalem 
inhabited  by  the  Jews,  may  be  evident 
from  the  passages  in  the  Word,  where 
it  is  said  of  this,  that  it  was  entirely 
ruined,  and  that  it  was  to  be  destroyed  ; 
as  Jer.  v.  1 ;  vi.  6,  7  ;  vii.  17,  18,  &c. ; 
viii.  6,  7,  8,  &.c. ;  ix.  10,  11,  13,  &,c. ; 
xiii.  9,  10,  14  ;  xiv.  16 ;  Lam.  i.  8,  9, 
17 ;  Ezek.  iv.  1  to  the  end  ;  v.  9  to 
the  end ;  xii.  18,  19 ;  xv.  6,  7,  8 ;  xvi. 
1  to  63  ;  xxiii.  1  to  40 ;  Matt,  xxiii. 
37,  38;  Luke  xix.  41  to  44;  xxi.  20, 
21,  22;  xxiii.  28,  29,30;  besides  in 
many  other  places;  also  where  it  is 
called  Sodom,  Isaiah  iii.  9 ;  Jer.  xxiii. 
14  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  46,  48,  and  in  other 
places. 

783.  That  the  church  is  the  Lord's, 
and  that  from  a  spiritual  marriage, 
which  is  that  of  the  good  and  the  true, 
the  Lord  is  called  Bridegroom  and 
Husband,  and  the  church  the  bride 
and  wife,  is  known  to  Christians  from 
the  Word,  particularly  from  these  pas- 
sages. John  says  concerning  the  Lord, 
He  who  hath  the  Bride  is  the  Bride- 
groom ;  but  the  friend  of  the  Bride- 
groom, who  standeth  and  heareth  Him, 
rejoiceth  on  account  of  the  Bride- 
groom's VOICE,  John  iii.  29.  Jcsjis 
said,  While  the  Bridegroom  is  with 
them,  the  sons  of  the  wedding  cannot 
fast.  Matt.  ix.  15  ;  Mark  ii.  19,20 ;  Luke 
V.  35.  /  saiD  the  holy  city,  Neio  Je- 
rusalem, coming  doton  from  God  out  of 
heaven,  prepared  as  a  Bride  adorned 
FOR  her  Husband,  Rev.  xxi.  2.  The 
angel  said  to  John,  Come,  and  I  will 
show  thee  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's 
Wife  ;  and  from  the  mountain  he 
showed  him  the  holy  city  Jerusalem, 
xxi.  9,  10.  The  time  of  the  Lamb's 
wedding  hath  come,  and  his  Wife 
hath  prepared  herself.  Blessed  are 
those  toho  are  called  to  the  loedding 
supper  of  the  Lamb,  xix.  7,  9.  /  am 
the  Root  and  the  Offspring  of  David, 
the  bright  and  the  Morning  Star :  The 
Spirit  and  the  Sride  say,  Come; 
and  let  him  that  is  thirsty  come;  and 
whosoever  will,  let  him  take  of  the  roater 
of  life  freely.  Rev.  xxii.  16,  17. 

784.  It  is  according  to  divine  order, 


520        The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  hord, 


that  a  new  heaven  should  be  formed 
before  a  New  Church  on  earth ;  for 
the  church  is  internal  and  external, 
and  the  internal  church  makes  one 
with  the  church  in  heaven,  thus  with 
heaven ;  and  the  internal  is  to  be  formed 
before  the  external,  and  afterwards  the 
external  by  the  internal :  that  it  is  so, 
is  known  among  the  clergy  in  the 
world.  As  this  new  heaven,  which 
makes  the  internal  of  man,  increases, 
so  far  the  New  Jerusalem,  that  is,  the 
New  Church,  comes  down  from  that 
heaven  ;  wherefore,  this  cannot  be  done 
in  a  moment,  but  it  is  done  as  the 
falses  of  the  former  church  are  re- 
moved ;  for  what  is  new  cannot  enter 
where  falses  have  been  ingenerated, 
unless  these  are  eradicated,  which  will 
be  done  among  the  clergy,  and  thus 
among  the  laity ;  for  the  Lord  said, 
iVo  one  puttcih  new  wine  into  old  bottles, 
else  the  bottles  break,  and  the  wine 
runneth  out;  but  they  put  new  wine 
into  neio  bottles,  and  both  are  preserved 
together,  Matt.  ix.  17;  Mark  ii.  22; 
Luke  V.  37,  38.  That  these  things 
cannot  be  done,  except  at  the  consum- 
mation of  the  age,  by  which  is  meant 
the  end  of  the  church,  is  evident  from 
these  words  of  the  Lord  :  Jesus  said. 
The  kingdom  of  the  heavens  is  like  a 
man  that  sowed  good  seed  in  his  fcld; 
but  while  7nen  slept,  his  enemy  came 
and  sowed  tares  and  went  aivay.  Hut 
when  the  blade  had  sprung  up,  then  the 
tares  also  appeared.  The  servants 
came  and  said  to  him.  Wilt  thou  that 
we  go  and  gather  up  the  tares  ?  Hut 
he  said  to  them,  No;  lest  perhaps,  in 
gathering  the  tares,  yc  should  root  up 
the  wheat  with  them.  Let  them  both 
grow  together  till  the  harvest,  and  in 
the  time  of  the  harvest,  I  will  say  to 
the  reapers.  Gather  fir. tt  the  tares,  and 
hitid  them  up  in  bundles  for  l>urning ; 
but  gather  the  wheat  into  my  barn. 
The  harvest  is  the  consummation  o  f  the 
age ;  as  tares  arc  gathered  and  burned 
in  the  fire,  so  shall.it  be  in  the  consum- 
mation of  the  age,  Matt.  xiii.  24  to 
30,  39,  40.  By  wheat  there  are  meant 
the  truths  and  goods  of  the  N<!w 
Church,  and  by  tares,  the  falses  and 
evils  of  the  former.    That  by  the  con- 


summation of  the  age  is  meant  the 
end  of  the  church,  may  be  seen  in  the 
first  article  of  this  chapter. 

785.  That  there  is  in  every  thing  an 
internal  and  an  external,  and  that  the 
external  depends  on  the  internal,  as 
the  body  on  the  soul,  is  evident  from 
every  single  thing  in  the  world,  when 
rightly  viewed.  With  man  this  is 
manifest :  his  whole  body  is  from  his 
mind,  and  thence,  in  every  thing  that 
proceeds  from  man,  there  is  an  internal 
and  an  e.\ternal ;  in  every  action  of 
man  there  is  the  will  of  the  mind,  and 
in  every  expression  there  is  the  under- 
standing of  the  mind  ;  in  like  manner 
in  each  of  his  senses.  In  every  bird 
and  beast,  yea,  in  every  insect  and 
worm,  there  is  an  internal  and  an  ex- 
ternal ;  and  also  in  every  tree,  plant 
and  twig ;  yea,  in  every  stone  and 
particle  of  dust.  Some  instances 
are  sufficient  to  illustrate  this,  concern- 
ing the  silkworm,  the  bee  and  the  dust. 
The  internal  of  the  silkworm  is  that 
from  which  its  external  is  induced  to 
make  silk,  and  afterwards  to  fly  away 
as  a  butterfly.  The  internal  of  the 
bee  is  that  from  which  its  external  is 
induced  to  suck  honey  out  of  flowers, 
and  to  build  cells  in  wonderful  forms. 
The  internal  of  the  small  dust  of  the 
ground,  from  which  its  external  is  in- 
clined, is  its  tendency  to  make  seeds 
vegetate  :  it  exhales  from  its  little  bosom 
something  which  insinuates  itself  into 
the  inmost  parts  of  the  seed,  and  pro- 
duces tills;  and  that  internal  follows  its 
vegetation  even  to  the  new  seed.  The 
case  is  similar  in  the  opposite?,  in  which 
also  there  is  an  internal  and  an  ex- 
ternal, as  in  a  spider ;  the  internal  of 
which,  from  which  its  external  is  in- 
clined, is  the  faculty,  Jind  thence  the 
inclination,  to  weave  a  curious  web,  in 
the  middle  of  which  it  lies  in  wait  for 
tlif  flics  which  fly  into  it,  which  it  eats. 
Tlie  like  is  in  every  other  noxious 
worm,  and  in  every  serpent,  and  also 
in  every  wild  beast  of  the  forest ;  like- 
wise in  every  wicked,  cunning  and 
deceitful  man. 

786.  X.  That  THIS  New  Church  IS 
THE  Crown  ok  all  th e  Churi  h  es  that 

HAVE  hitherto  BEEN  IN  THE  WoRLD. 


and  the  JVew  Heaven 

It  has  been  shown  above,  that  there 
have  been  four  churches,  in  general, 
since  the  beginning,  in  this  earth  ;  one 
before  tlie  flood,  another  after  the  flood, 
a  third  called  the  Israelitish  church, 
and  a  fourth  the  Christian ;  and  be- 
cause all  churches  depend  on  the 
knowledffc  and  acknowledgment  of 
one  God,  with  whom  the  man  of  the 
church  can  be  conjoined,  and  all  the 
four  churches  have  not  been  in  that 
truth,  it  follows  that  a  church  is  to 
succeed  those  four,  which  will  know 
and  acknowledge  one  God.  The  di- 
vine love  of  God  had  nothing  else  for 
an  end,  when  He  created  the  world, 
than  that  He  might  conjoin  man  to 
Himself,  and  Himself  to  man,  and  thus 
dwell  with  man.  That  the  former 
churches  were  not  in  the  truth,  is, 
because  the  most  ancient  church,  which 
was  before  the  flood,  worshipped  an 
invisible  God,  with  whom  there  can  be 
no  conjunction.  The  ancient  church, 
which  was  after  the  flood,  did  in  like 
manner.  The  Israelitish  church  wor- 
shipped Jehovah,  who  in  Himself  is  an 
invisible  God,  Exod.  xxxiii.  18  to  23 ; 
but  under  a  human  form,  which  Jeho- 
vah God  put  on  by  means  of  an  angel, 
in  which  He  appeared  to  Moses,  Abra- 
ham, Sarah,  Hagar,  Gideon,  Joshua, 
and  sometimes  to  the  prophets  ;  which 
human  form  was  representative  of  the 
Lord  who  was  to  come ;  and  because 
this  was  representative,  therefore  also 
each  and  every  thing  in  their  church 
was  made  representative.  That  the 
sacrifices  and  the  rest  of  their  worship 
represented  the  Lord,  who  was  to  come, 
and  that  they  were  abrogated  when 
he  came,  is  known.  But  the  fourth 
church,  which  was  called  the  Christian, 
did,  indeed,  acknowledge  one  God  with 
the  mouth,  but  in  three  persons,  each 
of  whom  singly  or  by  himself  was  God, 
and  thus  a  trinity  divided,  and  not 
united  in  one  person  ;  thence  the  idea 
of  three  Gods  was  fixed  in  the  mind, 
although  in  the  lips  there  was  a  con- 
fession of  one.  And,  moreover,  the 
doctors  of  the  church,  from  their 
doctrine  itself,  which  they  composed 
aftei  the  council  of  Nice,  teach,  that 
men  must  believe  in  God  the  Father, 
66 


and  the  JVew  Church.  521 

God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost, 
all  invisible,  because  existing  in  a  simi- 
lar divine  essence  before  the  world 
was ;  and  yet,  as  was  said  above,  there 
can  be  no  conjunction  with  an  invisible 
God ;  not  as  yet  knowing  that  the  one 
God,  who  is  invisible,  came  into  the 
world  and  assumed  the  Human,  not 
only  that  He  might  redeem  men,  but 
also  that  He  might  become  visible,  and 
thus  capable  of  being  conjoined ;  for 
it  is  read.  The  Word  teas  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God  ;  and  the 
Word  became  flesh,  John  i.  1,  14; 
and  in  Isaiah,  A  Child  is  born  to  us ; 
a  Son  is  given  to  us,  whose  name  shall 
be  called  God,  Hero,  the  Father  of 
eternity,  ix.  6 ;  and  in  the  prophets 
many  times,  that  Jehovah  himself  was 
to  come  into  the  world,  and  to  be  the 
Redeemer ;  which  also  He  became  in 
the  Human  which  He  assumed. 

787.  That  this  church  is  the  crown 
of  all  the  churches  that  have  hitherto 
been  in  the  world,  is,  because  it  will 
worship  one  visible  God,  in  whom  is 
the  invisible  God,  as  the  soul  is  in  the 
body.  That  thus  and  no  otherwise  there 
can  be  conjunction  of  God  with  man, 
is  because  man  is  natural,  and  thence 
thinks  naturally ;  and  the  conjunction 
must  be  in  his  thought,  and  thus  in  the 
affection  of  his  love,  and  this  is  effected 
when  man  thinks  of  God  as  Man. 
Conjunction  with  an  invisible  God  is 
like  conjunction  of  the  sight  of  the  eye 
with  the  expanse  of  the  universe,  of 
which  it  sees  no  end ;  and  also  like 
sight  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean,  which 
falls  into  the  air  and  into  the  sea,  and 
perishes  ;  but  conjunction  with  a  visible 
God  is  like  the  sight  of  a  man,  in  the 
air  or  on  the  sea,  spreading  out  his  hands 
and  inviting  to  his  arms ;  for  all  con- 
junction of  God  with  man  must  also  be 
a  reciprocal  one  of  man  with  God,  and 
this  other  reciprocal  cannot  be  given, 
except  with  a  visible  God.  That  God 
was  not  visible  before  He  assumed  the 
Human,  the  Lord  himself  also  teaches 
in  John  :  Ye  have  not  heard  the  voice  of 
the  Father,  at  any  time,  nor  seen  his 
shape,  V.  37  ;  and  in  Moses :  No  one 
can  see  God  and  live,  Exod.  xxxiii.  20. 
But  that  He  is  seen  through  his  Human, 


522 


The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the  Coming  of  the  Lord, 


in  John  :  No  one  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time  ;  the  only  begotten  Son,  icho  is 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath 
brought  Him  forth  to  view,  i.  18  ;  and 
again  :  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  Way,  the 
Truth  and  the  Life ;  no  one  cometh  to 
the  Father,  except  through  3Ie.  He 
that  hioweth  Me,  knuweth  the  Father, 
and  He  that  seeth  Me,  seeth  the  Father, 
xiv.  6,  7,  9.  That  there  is  conjunc- 
tion with  the  invisible  God  through 
Him  who  is  visible,  thus  through  the 
Lord,  He  teaches  in  these  passages  : 
Jesus  said.  Abide  in  Me  and  I  in  you ; 
he  that  abideth  in  Me  and  I  in  him,  the 
same  beareth  much  fruit,  John  xv.  4, 
5.  In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I 
am  in  the  Father,  and  ye  in  3Te,  and  I 
in  you,  xiv.  20.  I  have  given  to  them 
the  glory  which  Thou  gavest  to  Me, 
that  they  may  be  one,  as  we  are  one. 
I  in  them  and  Thou  in  Me ;  that  the  love 
tcith  which  Thou  hast  loved  Me,  may 
be  in  them,  and  I  in  them,  xvii.  21,  22, 
23,  26  ;  and  also  vi.  56.  Moreover, 
that  He  and  the  Father  are  one,  and 
that  any  one  must  believe  in  Him  in 
order  to  have  eternal  life.  That  sal- 
vation depends  on  conjunction  with 
God,  has  been  abundantly  shown 
above. 

788.  That  this  church  is  to  succeed 
the  churches  which  have  existed  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  and  that 
it  is  to  endure  for  ages  of  ages,  and 
that  thus  it  is  to  be  the  crown  of  all 
the  churches  that  have  been  before, 
was  prophesied  by  Daniel ;  first,  when 
he  told  and  explained  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar his  dream  concerning  the  four 
kingdoms,  by  which  are  meant  the 
four  churches,  represented  by  the  statue 
seen  by  him  ;  saying,  In  the  days  of 
these,  the  God  of  heaven  sh<dl  cause  to 
arise  a  kingdom,  which  shall  not  perish 
for  ages  ;  and  it  shall  consume  nil  those 
kingdoms,  but  it  shall  stand  for  ages, 
Dan.  ii.  44  ;  and  that  this  should  be 
done  by  the  stone,  which  became  a  great 
rock,  filling  the  whole  earth,  35.  By 
a  reck  in  the  Word  is  meant  the  Lord 
as  to  divine  truth.  And  the  same 
prophet  elsewhere  says ;  /  was  seeing 
in  the  visions  of  the  night,  and  behold, 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  as  if  were,  the 


Son  of  Man ;  to  Him  was  given  domin- 
ion, and  glory,  and  a  kingdom;  and  all 
people,  nations  and  tongues  shall  tcorship 
Him.  His  dominion  is  the  dominion 
of  an  age  which  tcill  not  pass  away, 
and  his  kingdom  one  which  will  not 
perish,  vii.  13,  14.  And  this  he 
says  after  he  had  seen  the  four  beasts 
coming  up  out  of  the  sea,  verse  3 ; 
by  which  also  the  four  former  churches 
were  represented.  That  these  things 
were  prophesied  by  Daniel  concerning 
this  time,  is  evident  from  his  words,  xii. 
4,  and  also  from  the  words  of  the  Lord, 
Matt.  xxiv.  15,  30.  The  hke  is  said  in 
the  Revelation  :  The  seventh  angel 
sounded;  then  there  came  great  voices 
from  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of 
the  tcorld  are  become  the  kingdom  of 
otir  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  He 
shall  reign  for  ages  of  ages,  xi.  15. 

7r^9.  Besides,  the  rest  of  the  proph- 
ets have,  in  many  places,  predicted 
concerning  this  church,  what  it  is  to 
be  ;  from  which  these  few  will  be  ad- 
duced. In  Zechariah  :  There  shall  be 
one  day  which  shall  be  known  to  Jeho- 
vah, not  day  nor  night,  because  about 
the  time  of  evening  there  shall  be  light. 
In  that  day,  living  waters  shall  go  forth 
out  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  Jehovah  shall 
be  King  over  all  the  earth.  In  that 
day,  Jehovah  shall  be  one,  and  his 
name  one,  xiv.  7,  8,  9.  In  Joel  :  It 
shall  came  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  the 
mountains  shall  drop  new  wine,  and  the 
hills  shall fow  with  milk,  and  Jerusa- 
lem shall  remain  to  generation  and  gen- 
eration, iv.  17  to  21.  In  Jeremiah: 
yit  that  time  they  shall  call  Jerusalem 
the  throne  of  Jehovah,  and  all  the  gen- 
tiles shall  be  gathered  together,  on  ac- 
count (f  th(  name  of  Jehovah,  to  Jeru- 
scdem  ;  neither  shall  they  go  any  more 
after  the  con  firmation  of  their  evil  heart, 
iii.  17;  Rev.  xxi.  24,26.  In  Isaiah: 
Let  thy  eyes  see  Jerusalem  a  quiet  hab- 
itation, a  tabernacle  which  .<hall  not  be 
taken  down ;  its  stakes  shall  never  be 
removed,  and  its  cords  shall  not  be  bro- 
ken, xxxiii.  20.  In  these  passages,  by 
Jerusalem  is  meant  the  holy  New  Jeru- 
salem, described  in  Rev.  xxi.,  by  which 
is  meant  the  New  Church.  Again  in 
Isaiah  :    There  shall  go  forth  a  Rod 


and  the  JVeiv  Heaven  and  the  JVew  Church. 


523 


out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  and  righteous- 
ness shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and 
truth  the  girdle  of  his  thighs.  Where- 
fore the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb, 
and  the  leopard  with  the  kid,  and  the 
calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  falling 
together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead 
them.  And  the  coio  and  the  bear  shall 
feed,  and  the  young  ones  shall  lie  down 
together ;  and  the  sucking  child  shall 
play  on  the  hole  of  the  viper,  and  the 
weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  over 
the  den  of  the  basilisk.  They  shall 
not  do  evil,  nor  corrupt  themselves,  in 
all  the  mountain  of  my  holiness  ;  for 
the  earth  shall  befall  of  the  knowledge 
of  Jehovah.  It  shall  come  to  pass  in 
that  day,  the  7iations  shall  seek  the 
Root  of  Jesse,  which  standeth  for  an 
e}isign  of  the  people,  and  his  rest  shall 
be  glorious,  xi.  1,  5  to  10.  That  such 
things  have  not  as  yet  existed  in  the 
churches,  and  especially  in  the  last,  is 
known.  In  Jeremiah :  Behold  the 
days  are  coming,  in  which  I  will  make 
aneto  covenant.  And  this  shall  be' the 
covenant :  I  will  give  my  law  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  will  write  it  on  their 
heart ;  and  I  icill  be  to  them  a  God,  and 
they  shall  be  to  Me  a  people ;  they  all 
shall  know  Me,  from  the  least  of  them 
even  to  the  greatest  of  them,  xxxi.  31 
to  34 ;  Rev.  xxi.  3.  That  these  things 
have  not  been  given  hitherto  in  the 
churches,  is  also  known  :  the  reason 
was,  because  they  did  not  approach  a 
visible  God,  whom  all  shall  know,  and 
because  He  is  the  Word,  or  the  law, 
which  He  will  put  in  the  midst  of  them, 
and  write  it  on  their  heart.  In  Isaiah  : 
For  Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest, 
until  the  righteousness  thereof  go  forth 
as  brightness,  and  the  salvation  thereof 
as  a  lamp  that  burnetii.  And  thou  shall 
be  called  by  a  neio  name,  which  the 
mouth  of  Jehovah  shall  utter.  Arid  thou 
shall  be  a  crown  of  glory  and  a  dia- 
dem OF  ROYALTY  in  the  hand  of  thy  God. 
Jehovah  will  delight  in  thee,  and  thy 
land  shall  be  married.  Behold,  thy 
Salvation  shall  come ;  behold,  his  reward 
is  with  Him ;  and  they  shall  call  them 


the  people  of  holiness,  the  redeemed 
of  Jehovah ;  and  thou  shall  be  called  a 
city  sought,  and  not  deserted. 

790.  What  this  church  is  to  be,  is 
described  at  large  in  the  Revelation, 
where  it  is  treated  of  the  end  of  the 
former  church,  and  the  rise  of  the  New. 
This  New  Church  is  described  by  the 
New  Jerusalem,  and  by  its  magnificent 
things,  and  that  it  is  to  be  the  bride 
and  wife  of  the  Lamb,  xix.  7 ;  xxi.  2,  9. 
Besides,  I  will  take  from  the  Revela- 
tion only  these  words.  When  the  New 
Jerusalem  was  seen  to  descend  from 
heaven,  it  is  said,  Behold  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell 
with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people, 
and  He  will  be  with  them  their  God. 
And  the  nations  that  are  saved  shall 
walk  in  his  light,  and  there  shall  not 
be  night  there.  I  Jesus  have  sent  my 
angel  to  testify  to  you  these  things  in 
the  churches.  I  am  the  Root  and  the 
Offspring  of  David,  the  bright  and 
the  morning  Star.  The  Spirit  and 
the  Bride  say,  Come ;  and  let  him  that 
heareth  say.  Come;  and  let  him  that 
is  thirsty  come ;  and  whosoever  will, 
let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely. 
Yea,  come,  Lord  Jesus,  Amen,  xxi. 
3,  4,  25 ;  xxii.  16,  17,  20. 


791.  A  Memorandum.  After  this 
work  was  finished,  the  Lord  called 
together  his  twelve  disciples,  who  fol- 
lowed Him  in  the  world ;  and  the  next 
day  He  sent  them  all  out  into  the 
whole  spiritual  world,  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  that  the  Lord  God  Jesus 
Christ  reigns,  whose  reign  will  be 
for  ages  of  ages,  according  to  the 
prediction  by  Daniel,  vii.  13,  14;  and 
in  Rev.  xi.  15;  and  that  they  are 
blessed  who  come  to  the  wedding-supper 
of  the  Lamb,  xix.  9.  This  was  done 
on  the  19th  day  of  June,  in  the  year 
1770.  This  was  meant  by  these  words 
of  the  Lord :  He  will  send,  his  angels, 
and  they  shall  gather  together  his  elect 
from  one  end  of  the  heavens  even  to  the 
other.  Matt.  xxiv.  31. 


SUPPLEMENT. 


CONCERNING  THE  SPIRITUAL  WORLD. 


The  spiritual  world  has  been  treated 
of  in  a  particular  work  concerning 
Heaven  and  Hell,  in  which  many 
things  of  that  world  are  described  ;  and 
because  every  man  after  death  comes 
into  that  world,  the  state  of  men  there 
is  also  described.  Who  does  not 
know,  or  may  not  know,  that  man  lives 
after  death ;  both  because  he  is  born  a 
man,  created  an  image  of  God,  and 
because  the  Lord  teaches  it  in  his 
Word  I  But  what  life  he  is  to  live,  has 
been  hitherto  unknown.  It  has  been 
believed,  that  then  he  would  be  a  soul, 
of  which  they  entertained  no  other 
idea  than  as  of  ether  or  air,  thus  that 
it  is  breath  or  spirit,  such  as  man 
breathes  out  of  his  mouth  when  he 
dies, in  which,  nevertheless,  his  vitality 
resides ;  but  that  it  is  without  sight 
such  as  is  of  the  eye,  without  hearing 
such  as  is  of  the  ear,  and  without 
speech  such  as  is  of  the  mouth ;  when 
yet  man  after  death  is  equally  a  man, 
and  such  a  man,  that  he  does  not 
know  but  that  he  is  still  in  the  former 
world.  He  walks,  runs  and  sits,  as  in 
the  former  world  ;  he  lies  down,  sleeps 
and  wakes  up,  as  in  the  former  world ; 
he  eats  and  drinks,  as  in  the  former 
world ;  he  enjoys  conjugial  delight,  as 
in  the  former  world ;  in  a  word,  he  is 
a  man  as  to  all  and  every  particular. 
Whence  it  is  manifest,  that  death  is 
not  an  extinction,  but  a  continuation 
of  life,  and  that  it  is  only  a  transition. 

793.  That  man  is  equally  a  man 
after  death,  although  he  does  not  then 
appear  to  the  eyes  of  the  material  body, 
may  be  evident  from  the  angels  seen 
by  Abraham,  Hagar,  Gideon,  Daniel, 
and  some  of  the  prophets ;  from  the 
angels  seen  in  the  Lord's  sepulchre, 
and  afterwards  many  times  by  John, 
concerning  whom  in  the  Revelation ; 


and  especially  from  the  Lord  him- 
self, who  showed  that  he  was  a  man 
by  the  touch  and  by  eating ;  and 
yet  he  became  invisible  to  their  eyes. 
Who  caa  be  so  delirious  as  not  to  ac- 
knowledge, that,  although  He  was  in- 
visible. He  was  still  equally  a  Man? 
The  reason  why  they  saw  Him,  was, 
because  then  the  eyes  of  their  spirit 
were  opened ;  and  when  these  are 
opened,  the  things  which  are  in  the 
spiritual  world  appear  as  clearly  as 
those  which  are  in  the  natural  world. 
The  difference  between  a  man  in  tlie 
natural  world  and  a  man  in  the  spirit- 
ual" world  is,  that  the  latter  is  clothed 
with  a  substantial  body,  but  the  former 
with  a  material  body,  in  which  inward- 
ly is  his  substantial  body ;  and  a  sub- 
stantial man  sees  a  substantial  man  as 
clearly  as  a  material  man  sees  a  ma- 
terial man ;  but  a  substantial  man 
cannot  see  a  material  man,  nor  a  ma- 
terial man  a  substantial  man,  on  ac- 
count of  the  difference  between  ma- 
terial and  substantial,  which  is  such  as 
may  be  described,  but  not  in  a  few 
words. 

794.  From  the  things  seen  for  so 
many  years  I  can  relate  the  following : 
That  there  are  lands  in  the  spiritual 
world  as  well  as  in  the  natural  world, 
and  that  there  are  also  plains  and  val- 
leys, and  mountains  and  hills,  and  like- 
wise fountains  and  rivers ;  that  there 
are  paradises,  gardens,  groves  and 
woods;  that  there  are  cities,  and  in 
them  palaces  and  houses;  and  also 
that  there  are  writings  and  books; 
that  there  are  employments  and  trad- 
ings ;  and  that  there  are  gold,  silver 
and  precious  stones;  in  a  word,  that 
there  are  all  things  whatsoever,  that  are 
in  the  natural  world  ;  but  those  in  heav- 
en are  immensely  more  perfect.  But 


Concerning  Luther. 


525 


the  difference  is,  that  all  things  that 
are  seen  in  the  spiritual  world,  are 
created  in  a  moment  by  the  Lord,  as 
houses,  paradises,  food  and  other  things ; 
and  that  they  are  created  for  corre- 
spondence with  the  interiors  of  the 
■ingels  and  spirits,  which  are  their 
affections  and  thoughts  thence ;  but 
that  all  things  that  are  seen  in  the 
natural  world  exist  and  grow  from 
seed. 

795.  Since  it  is  so,  and  I  have 
daily  spoken  there  with  the  nations 
and  people  of  this  world,  thus  not  only 
with  those  who  are  in  Europe,  but  also 
with  those  who  are  in  Asia  and  in 
Africa,  thus  with  those  who  are  of 
various  religions,  I  shall  add,  as  a  con- 
clusion to  this  work,  a  short  description 
'of  the  state  of  some  of  them.  It  is  to 
be  observed,  that  the  state  of  every 
nation  and  people  in  general,  as  well 
as  of  each  individual  in  particular,  in 
the  spiritual  world,  is  according  to  the 
acknowledgment  of  God  and  the 
worship  of  Him ;  and  that  all  who  in 
heart  acknowledge  a  God,  and  after 
this  time,  those  who  acknowledge  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  God,  th'e  Re- 
deemer and  Savior,  are  in  heaven ; 
and  that  those  who  do  not  acknowledge 
Him,  are  under  heaven,  and  are  there 
instructed  ;  and  that  those  who  receive, 
are  raised  up  into  heaven,  and  that 
those  who  do  not  receive,  are  cast  down 
into  hell.  Among  these  also  those 
come,  who,  like  the  Socinians,  ap- 
proached only  God  the  Father;  and 
who,  like  the  Arians,  denied  the  divinity 
of  the  Lord's  Human ;  for  the  Lord 
said,  I  AM  THE  Way,  the  Truth,  and 
THE  Life ;  no  one  cometh  to  the 
F.VTHER,  except  THROUGH  Me  ;  and 
to  Philip,  who  wished  to  see  the  Father, 

THAT  HE  THAT  SEETH  AND  KNOWETH 
Me,  SEETH  AND  KNOWETH  THE  FA- 
THER, John  xiv.  6,  &c. 


796.  Concerning    Luther,  Me- 

L.VNCHTHON  AND  CalVIN,  IN  THE  SPIR- 
ITUAL World. 

With  these  three  leaders,  who  were 
the  reformers  of  the  Christian  church, 
I   have  often   conversed,  and  have 


thence  been  instructed  what  was  the 
state  of  their  life,  from  the  beginning 
even  to  this  day.  With  respect  to 
Luther,  from  the  first  time,  when  he 
came  into  the  spiritual  world,  he  was 
a  most  strenuous  asserter  and  defender 
of  his  dogmas ;  and  his  zeal  for  them 
increased,  as  the  multitude  increased, 
that  approved  and  favored,  from  the 
earth.  A  house  was  given  to  him 
there,  such  as  he  had  had  in  the  life 
of  the  body  at  Eisleben,  and  there,  in 
the  middle,  he  erected  a  seat,  a  little 
elevated,  on  which  he  sat,  and  through 
an  open  door  he  admitted  hearers,  and 
disposed  them  in  ranks.  He  put  those 
in  the  seat  nearest  to  him  who  were 
most  favorable  to  his  dogmas,  and  be- 
hind them  he  placed  those  who  were 
less  favorable ;  and  then  he  spoke 
right  on  ;  and,  occasionally,  permitted 
questions  to  be  asked,  so  that,  when 
he  had  finished  what  he  had  to  say,  he 
might  begin  again  from  some  new 
topic.  From  this  general  favor  he  at 
length  acquired  the  power  of  persua- 
sion, which,  in  the  spiritual  world,  is  of 
such  efficacy,  that  no  one  is  able  to 
resist  it,  or  to  speak  against  what  is 
said.  But,  because  this  was  a  species 
of  the  incantation  in  use  among  the 
ancients,  he  was  seriously  forbidden  to 
speak  from  that  persuasion  any  more  ; 
and  afterwards  he  taught,  as  before, 
from  the  memory  and  the  understand- 
ing. Such  persuasion,  which  is  a 
species  of  incantation,  springs  from  the 
love  of  self,  from  which,  at  length,  it 
becomes  such,  that  when  any  one  con- 
tradicts, it  not  only  attacks  the  thing 
in  question,  but  also  the  person  him- 
self This  was  the  state  of  his  life 
until  the  last  judgment,  which  took 
place  in  the  spiritual  world  in  the  year 
1757.  The  year  after,  he  was  trans- 
ferred from  his  first  house  to  another, 
and  then,  at  the  same  time,  into  another 
state;  and  because  he  heard  that  I, 
who  am  in  the  natural  world,  spoke 
with  those  who  are  in  the  spiritual 
world,  he,  among  several  others,  came 
to  me ;  and  after  some  questions  and 
answers,  he  perceived,  that  there  is  at 
this  day  an  end  of  the  former  church, 
and  the  beginning  of  the  new  one, 


526 


Concerning  Melanchthon. 


concerning  which  Daniel  prophesied, 
and  which  the  Lord  himself  foretold  in 
the  evangelists ;  and  that  this  New 
Church  is  meant  by  the  New  Jerusalem 
in  the  Revelation,  and  by  the  everlast- 
ing gospel,  which  the  angel  flying  iu 
the  midst  of  heaven  preached  to  those 
who  dwell  upon  the  earth,  xiv.  6. 
Then  he  became  very  indignant  and 
stormed ;  but  as  he  perceived  that  the 
New  Heaven,  which  was  made  and  is 
being  made  by  those  who  acknowledge 
the  Lord  alone  for  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth,  according  to  His  words, 
Matt,  xxviii.  18;  and  as  he  observed 
the  congregations  assembled  before 
him  to  be  daily  decreasing,  his  storming 
ceased ;  and  then  he  came  nearer  to 
me,  and  began  to  speak  more  familiarly 
with  me.  And  after  he  was  convinced, 
that  he  had  taken  his  principal  dogma 
concerning  justification  by  faith  alone, 
not  from  the  Word,  but  from  his  own 
intelligence,  he  suffered  himself  to  be 
instructed  concerning  the  Lord,  con- 
cerning charity,  concerning  true  faith, 
concerning  free  agency,  and  further 
concerning  redemption  ;  and  this  solely 
from  the  Word.  At  length,  after  con- 
viction, he  began  to  favor,  and  then  to 
confirm  himself  more  and  more  in  the 
truths  of  which  the  New  Church  is 
built  up.  At  this  time  he  was  with 
nic  daily ;  and  then,  as  often  as  he 
recollected  those  truths,  he  began  to 
laugh  at  his  former  dogmas,  as  being 
diametrically  opposite  to  the  Word. 
And  I  lieard  him  say,  "  Do  not  wonder 
that  I  seized  upon  faith  alone,  as  justi- 
fying, and  excluded  charity  from  its 
spiritual  essence,  and  also  took  away 
from  men  all  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things,  besides  many  other  things, 
which  depend  on  faith  alone,  when 
once  received,  as  hooks  on  a  chain ; 
since  my  end  was,  to  be  torn  away 
from  the  Roman  Catholics,  which  end 
I  could  not  otherwise  reach  and  ob- 
tain. Wherefore,  I  do  not  wonder  that 
I  erred,  but  I  do  wonder  that  one  de- 
lirious man  should  be  able  to  make  so 
many  delirious  (and  at  his  side,  he 
looked  upon  some  dogmatical  writers, 
celebrated  in  their  time,  faithful  fol- 
lowers of  his  doctrine),  that  they  did 


not  see  the  oppositions  in  the  Sacred 
Scripture,  when  yet  they  are  very 
manifest."  It  was  said  to  me,  by  the  ex- 
ploring angels,  that  that  champion  was 
in  a  state  of  conversion  before  many 
others,  who  had  confirmed  themselves 
in  justification  by  faith  alone,  since,  in 
his  childhood,  before  he  began  to  make 
a  reformation,  he  was  imbued  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  preeminence  of  charity; 
for  which  reason  also,  both  in  his 
writings  and  preaching,  he  taught  so 
excellently  concerning  charity ;  whence 
it  came  to  pass,  that  the  faith  of  justi- 
fication, with  him,  was  implanted  in  his 
external  natural  man,  but  not  rooted  in 
his  internal  spiritual  man.  But  the 
case  is  otherwise  with  those,  who,  in 
their  childhood,  confirm  themselves 
against  the  spirituality  of  charity :  which 
also  is  done  of  itself,  when  justification 
by  faith  alone  is  established  by  con- 
firmations. I  have  spoken  with  the 
prince  of  Saxony,  with  whom  Luther 
had  been  in  the  world.  He  told  me 
that  he  often  reproved  him;  particularly, 
because  he  separated  charity  from 
faith,  and  declared  this  and  not  that  to 
be  saving ;  when  yet  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
ture not  only  joins  together  those  two 
universal  means  of  salvation,  but  also 
Paul  prefers  charity  to  faith,  in  saying. 
That  there  are  three  things,  faith,  hope 
and  eharity,  and  that  the  greatest  of 
these  is  charity,  1  Cor.  xiii.  13;  but 
that  Luther  as  often  replied,  that  he 
could  not  do  otherwise,  on  account  of 
the  Roman  Catholics.  This  prince  is 
among  the  happy. 

797.  With  respect  to  Melanchthon, 
it  has  been  given  me  to  know  many 
things  concerning  his  condition,  what  it 
was  when  he  first  came  into  the  spiritual 
world,  and  what  it  was  afterwards,  not 
only  from  the  angels,  but  also  from 
himself;  for  I  have  spoken  with  him 
several  times,  but  not  so  often  and  so 
intimately  as  with  Luther.  The  reason 
that  I  have  not  spoken  so  often  and  so 
intimately,  was,  because  he  could  not 
approach  me  so  well,  since  he  applied 
his  attention  only  to  justification  by 
faith  alone,  but  not  to  charity  ;  and  I 
was  surrounded  by  angelic  spirits,  who 
are  in  charity,  and  they  prevented  his 


Concerning  Melanchthon. 


527 


coming  to  me.  I  heard,  that  as  soon 
as  he  entered  the  spiritual  world,  a 
house  was  prepared  for  him,  similar  to 
the  house  in  which  he  lived  in  the 
world.  This  also  is  the  case  with  most 
of  the  new  comers ;  whence  they  do 
not  know  but  that  they  are  still  in  the 
natural  world,  and  that  the  time  elapsed 
since  death  has  been  only  as  a  sleep. 
In  his  cliamber,  also,  there  were  many 
similar  things,  a  similar  table,  a  similar 
desk  with  drawers,  and  also  a  similar 
library.  Wherefore,  <is  soon  as  he 
came  thither,  as  if  he  had  just  awaked 
from  sleep,  he  seated  himself  at  the 
table,  and  continued  to  write,  and  then 
concerning  justification  by  faith  alone, 
and  so  for  several  days ;  and  nothing  at 
all  concerning  charity.  This  being 
perceived  by  the  angels,  he  was  asked 
by  messengers,  why  he  did  not  write 
also  concerning  charity.  He  replied, 
that  there  was  nothing  of  the  church 
in  charity,  for  if  that  should  be  received 
as  an  essential  attribute  of  the  church, 
man  would  also  claim  to  himself  the 
merit  of  justification  and  thence  of 
salvation,  and  thus  also  faith  would 
be  deprived  of  its  spiritual  essence. 
When  the  angels  who  were  over  his 
head  perceived  this,  and  the  angels  who 
were  associated  with  him,  when  he  was 
out  of  his  house,  heard  it,  they  with- 
drew ;  for  angels  are  associated  with 
every  new  comer,  in  the  beginning. 
Some  weeks  after  this,  the  things  which 
were  of  use  to  him  in  his  chamber, 
began  to  be  obscured,  and  finally  to 
vanish  away ;  and  at  length,  to  such  a 
degree,  that  nothing  remained  there  ex- 
cept the  table,  paper  and  ink ;  and,  more- 
over, his  chamber,  as  to  its  walls,  ap- 
peared to  be  plastered  with  lime,  and 
the  floor  to  be  covered  over  with  a  yel- 
low material  like  brick,  and  he  himself 
to  be  in  a  coarser  garment.  When  he 
wondered  at  this,  and  asked  those  around 
him  why  it  was,  he  received  answer, — 
"  Because  he  had  removed  charity  from 
the  church,  which  yet  is  the  heart  of 
it."  But  because  he  so  often  contra- 
dicted and  continued  to  write  concern- 
ing faith,  as  the  only  essential  of  the 
church,  and  means  of  salvation,  and  to 
remove  charity  more  and  more,  sud- 


denly he  seemed  to  himself  under 
ground,  in  a  certain  work-house,  where 
similar  ones  were,  and  when  he  wished 
to  go  out  thence,  he  was  retained  ;  and 
it  was  told  him  that  no  other  lot  awaits 
those  who  have  turned  charity  and 
good  works  out  of  the  doors  of  the 
church.  But  since  he  was  one  of  the 
reformers  of  the  church,  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  Lord  he  was  taken  out 
thence,  and  sent  back  to  his  former 
chamber,  where  were  only  a  table,  pa- 
per and  ink  ;  but  still,  from  the  ideas 
confirmed  in  him,  he  soiled  the  paper 
with  the  like  error ;  wherefore,  he  could 
not  be  kept  from  being  alternately  let 
down  to  his  captive  companions,  and 
alternately  released  ;  and  when  he  was 
released,  he  appeared  clad  in  a  hairy 
garment,  because  faith  without  charity 
is  cold.  He  told  me  himself,  that  there 
was  another  chamber  adjoining  his,  on 
the  back  side  of  the  house,  in  which 
there  were  three  tables,  at  which  three 
similar  to  him  sat,  who  also  had  cast 
out  charity  into  exile ;  and  that  some- 
times a  fourth  table  also  appeared  there, 
upon  which  monstrous  things,  in  various 
forms,  were  seen,  by  which,  however, 
they  were  not  deterred.  He  said  that 
he  conversed  with  them,  and  was  by 
them  daily  more  and  more  confirmed. 
But  after  some  time,  being  struck  with 
fear,  he  began  to  write  something  con- 
cerning charity  ;  but  what  he  wrote  on 
the  paper  one  day,  he  did  not  see  the 
next ;  for  this  is  the  case  with  every 
one  there,  when  he  puts  any  thing  upon 
paper  from  the  external  man  only,  and 
not  at  the  same  time  from  the  internal, 
thus  from  compulsion  and  not  from 
freedom,  it  is  obliterated  of  itself.  But 
after  the  new  heaven  began  to  be 
established  by  the  Lord,  fi-om  the  light 
from  this  heaven  he  began  to  think, 
that  perhaps  he  might  be  in  error ; 
wherefore,  from  anxiety  on  account  of 
his  condition,  he  felt  some  interior 
ideas  impressed  on  him  concerning 
charity,  in  which  state  he  consulted 
the  Word  ;  and  then  his  eyes  were 
opened,  and  he  saw  that  the  whole  of 
it  was  full  of  LOVE  TO  God  and  love 

TOWARDS  THE   NEIGHBOR  ;  thus  that  it 

was,  as  the  Lord  says,  that  on  those 


528 


Concerrnng  Calvin. 


two  commandments  hang  the  law  and 
the  prophets,  that  is,  the  whole  Word. 
From  this  time  he  was  transferred  in- 
teriorly into  the  south,  towards  the  west, 
and  thus  into  another  house,  from 
which  he  spoke  with  me,  saying,  that 
now  his  writing  concerning  charity  did 
not  vanish  as  before,  but  that  the  next 
day  it  appeared  obscurely.  This  I 
wondered  at,  that  when  he  walks,  his 
steps  are  heard,  like  those  who  go  with 
iron  shoes  on  a  stone  pavement.  To 
which  it  IS  to  be  added,  that  when  any 
new  comers  from  the  world  enter  his 
chamber,  for  the  sake  of  seeing  him 
and  speaking  with  him,  he  would  call 
one  of  the  magical  spirits,  who  were 
able  to  induce  various  beautiful  appear- 
ances, who  then  adorned  his  chamber 
with  decorations  and  tapestry  embroi- 
dered with  roses,  and  also,  as  it  were, 
with  a  library  in  the  middle :  but  as 
soon  as  they  departed,  those  appear- 
ances vanished,  and  the  former  plaster- 
ing of  lime  and  emptiness  returned ; 
but  this  when  he  was  in  his  former 
slate. 

798.  Concerning  Calvin,  I  have 
heard  the  following  things :  I.  Thai 
when  he  first  came  into  the  spiritual 
world,  he  believed  no  otherwise  than 
that  he  was  still  in  the  world  where  he 
was  born  ;  and  although  he  heard  from 
the  angels,  who  were  associated  with 
him  at  his  first  entrance,  that  he  was 
now  in  their  world,  and  not  in  his  for- 
mer world,  he  said,  "  I  have  the  same 
body,  the  same  hands  and  the  like 
senses."  But  the  angels  instructed  him 
that  he  was  now  in  a  substantial  body, 
and  that  before  he  was  not  only  in  the 
same,  but  also  in  a  material  body, 
which  invested  the  substantial ;  and 
that  the  material  body  had  been  cast 
off,  while  the  substantial  remained, 
from  which  man  is  man.  This  at  first 
he  understood  ;  but  the  next  day  he  re- 
turned into  his  former  faith,  that  he 
was  still  in  the  world,  where  he  was 
born  :  the  reason  was,  because  he  was 
a  sensual  man,  believing  nothing  but 
what  he  derived  from  the  objects  of  the 
senses  of  the  body.  Thence  it  was, 
that  he  concluded  all  the  dogmas  of  his 
faith  from  his  own  intelligence,  and  not 


from  the  Word.  Whenever  he  quoted 
the  Word,  he  did  it  for  the  sake  of  the 
common  people,  that  they  might  favor 
him  with  their  assent.  II.  That  after 
this  first  period,  having  left  the  angels, 
he  wandered  about  and  inquired  where 
those  were,  who,  in  ancient  times,  be- 
lieved in  Predestination  ;  and  it  was 
said  to  him,  that  they  were  removed 
from  hence,  and  shut  up  and  concealed ; 
and  that  there  was  no  way  open  to 
them,  except  on  the  back  side,  under 
ground ;  but  that  the  disciples  of  Godos- 
chalchus  still  go  about  freely,  and 
sometimes  are  gathered  together  in  a 
place,  which,  in  spiritual  language,  is 
called  Pyris.  And  because  he  desired 
their  company,  he  was  conducted  to 
the  assembly,  where  some  of  them 
were  standing ;  and  when  he  came 
among  them,  he  was  in  the  delight  of 
his  heart,  and  contracted  an  interior 
friendship  with  them.  III.  But  after 
the  followers  of  Godoschalchus  were 
led  away  to  their  brethren  in  the  cav- 
ern, he  became  weary ;  wherefore  he 
sought  here  and  there  for  an  asylum, 
and  at  length  was  received  into  a  cer- 
tain society,  where  were  merely  simple 
ones,  and  among  them  also  religious 
ones  :  and  when  he  observed  that  they 
did  not  know,  nor  were  able  to  com- 
prehend any  thing  about  predestination, 
he  betook  himself  to  one  corner  of 
the  society,  and  there  lay  concealed 
for  a  considerable  time  ;  neither  did 
he  open  his  mouth  concerning  any 
thing  of  the  church  :  this  was  provided, 
that  he  might  recede  from  his  error 
concerning  predestination,  and  that  the 
companies  of  those,  who,  after  the  synod 
of  Dort,  adhered  to  that  destestable 
heresy,  might  be  filled  up,  who  all  were 
successively  sent  into  the  cavern  to 
their  companions.  IV.  At  last,  when 
it  was  asked  by  the  modern  predesti- 
narians,  where  Calvin  was,  and,  on 
searching  for  him,  he  was  found  in  the 
extreme  confines  of  a  certain  society, 
which  consisted  of  simple  ones,  he 
was  then  called  forth  thence,  and 
led  to  a  certain  governor,  who  had 
swallowed  similar  dregs.  He  therefore 
received  him  into  his  house,  and  kept 
him,  and  this  until  the  new  heaven  be- 


Concerning  Calvin. 


529 


gan  to  be  instituted  by  the  Lord  ;  and 
then,  because  the  governor,  his  keeper, 
was  cast  out,  together  with  all  his  com- 
pany, Calvin  betook  himself  to  a  cer- 
tain house  occupied  by  harlots,  and 
there  remained  for  some  time.  V.  And 
because  he  then  enjoyed  the  liberty  of 
wandering  about,  and  also  of  coming 
nearer  to  the  lodgings  where  I  was,  it  was 
given  me  to  speak  with  him ;  and  first 
concerning  the  new  heaven,  which  at 
this  day  is  being  formed  of  those  who 
acknowledge  the  Lord  alone  for  the 
God  of  heaven  and  earth,  according  to 
his  words  in  Matt,  xxviii.  18  ;  and  that 
I  these  believe  that  He  and  the  Father 
I  are  one,  John  x.  30 ;  and  that  He  is 
in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  Him ; 
I  and  that  he  that  seeth  and  knoweth 
I  Him,  seeth  and  knoweth  the  Father, 
i  xiv.  6  to  11 ;  and  that  thus  there  is  one 
t  God  in  the  church,  as  in  heaven.  On 
hearing  these  things  said  by  me,  he 
was  at  first  silent,  as  usual ;  but  after  a 
half  an  hour,  he  broke  silence,  and  said, 
"  Was  not  Christ  a  man,  the  son  of 
Mary,  who  was  married  to  Joseph  ? 
How  can  a  man  be  adored  as  God  ?" 
And  I  said,  "  Is  not  Jesus  Christ,  our 
Redeemer  and  Savior, God  and  Man?" 
To  which  he  replied,  "  He  is  God  and 
Man  ;  but  still  divinity  is  not  his,  but 
the  Father's."  And  I  asked,  "  Where, 
then,  is  Christ  V  He  said,  "  He  is  in 
the  lowest  parts  of  heaven ;  "  which  he 
confirmed,  by  his  humiliation  before 
the  Father,  and  by  his  suffering  Him- 
self to  be  crucified.  To  these  he  add- 
ed jests  against  the  worship  of  Him, 
which  then  rushed  into  his  memory 
from  the  world,  which  in  the  sum  were, 
that  the  worship  of  Him  was  nothing 
else  than  idolatry ;  and  he  wished  to 
add  abominable  things  concerning  that 
worship,  but  the  angels  who  were  with 
me  closed  his  lips.  But  I,  from  the 
zeal  of  converting  him,  said  that  the 
Lord  our  Savior  is  not  only  God  and 
Man,  but  also  that  in  Him,  God  is  Man 
and  Man  God ;  and  this  I  confirmed 
from  Paul,  that  in  Him  dwclleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily, 
Colos.  ii.  9 ;  and  from  John,  that  He 
is  the  true  God  and  eternal  Life,  1 
Epist.  V.  20,  21 ;  and  also  from  these 
67 


words  of  the  Lord  himself:  That  it  is 
the  will  of  the  leather,  that  every  one 
that  believeth  in  the  Son  should  have 
eternal  life ;  and  that  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  anger  of 
God  abideth  on  him,  John  iii.  36  ;  vi. 
40  ;  and  moreover,  that  the  confession 
of  faith,  which  is  called  the  Athanasian, 
dictates  that  in  Christ,  God  and  Man 
are  not  two,  but  one ;  and  that  they  are 
in  one  person,  like  the  soul  and  body 
in  man.  On  hearing  these  things,  he 
replied,  "  What  are  all  these  things, 
which  you  have  brought  forward  from 
the  Word,  but  empty  sounds  ?  Is  not 
the  Word  the  book  of  all  heresies  1 
And  thus  it  is  like  a  vane  upon  the  top 
of  houses  and  ships,  which  is  carried 
about  hither  and  thither  according  to 
the  wind.  It  is  Predestination 
ALONE  which  establishes  all  things  of 
religion :  this  is  the  habitation  of  all 
things  of  religion,  and  the  tabernacle 
of  the  congregation ;  and  the  faith,  by 
which  justification  and  salvation  are 
effected,  is  the  sacred  recess  and  sanc- 
tuary there.  Has  any  man  free  agency 
in  spiritual  things  ?  Are  not  all  things 
of  salvation  gratuitous  ?  Wherefore, 
the  arguments  against  these  things, 
and  thus  against  predestination,  I  hear 
and  perceive  no  otherwise,  than  as  eruc- 
tations from  the  stomach,  and  as  bori- 
bogmos;  and  because  it  is  so,  I  have 
thought  with  myself,  that  a  temple, 
where  they  teach  about  any  thing  else, 
and  from  the  Word,  and  the  congrega- 
tion then  assembled,  is  like  a  mena- 
gerie, in  which  sheep  and  wolves  are 
put  together,  but  the  wolves  are  muz- 
zled by  the  laws  of  civil  justice,  lest 
they  should  fall  upon  the  sheep  (by  the 
sheep  I  mean  the  predestinate)  and 
that  the  preachings  there  are  then  only 
as  sobbings  from  the  breast.  But  I 
will  give  my  confession,  which  is  this  : 
There  is  a  God,  and  He  is  omnipotent ; 
and  there  is  no  salvation  for  any  others 
than  those  who  are  elected  and  predes- 
tinated by  God  the  Father,  and  every 
one  else  is  doomed  to  his  lot,  that  is,  to 
his  fate."  On  hearing  these  words,  in 
great  heat  I  rejoined,  "  You  talk 
impiously ;  begone,  you  evil  spirit. 
Do  you  not  know,  because  you  are  in 


530 


Concerning  the  Ihitch. 


the  spiritual  world,  that  there  is  a  heav- 
en and  that  there  is  a  hell,  and  that 
predestination  involves  that  some  were 
assigned  to  heaven,  and  some  to  hell? 
Can  you  thus  form  to  yourself  any 
other  idea  of  God,  than  as  of  a  tyrant, 
who  admits  his  clients  into  the  city, 
and  casts  out  the  rest  into  a  place  of  ex- 
ecution ?  Wherefore,  be  ashamed  of 
yourself."  Afterwards  I  read  to  him 
what  is  written  in  the  dogmatical  booli 
of  the  Evangelical,  called  Formula 
CoNcoRDiyE,  Concerning  the  errone- 
ous doctrine  of  the  Calvinists,  con- 
cerning the  Worship  of  the  Lord,  and 
concerning  Predestination.  Concern- 
ing the  Worship  of  the  Lord,  these 
things :  That  it  is  damnable  idolatry, 
if  the  trust  and  faith  of  the  heart  be 
placed  in  Christ,  not  only  as  to  his 
divine,  but  also  as  to  his  human  nature, 
and  the  honor  of  adoration  be  directed 
to  both.  And  concerning  Predesti- 
nation, these  :  That  Christ  did  not  die 
for  all  men,  but  only  for  the  elect. 
That  God  created  the  greatest  part  of 
men  for  eternal  damnation,  and  is  un- 
willing that  the  greatest  part  should  be 
converted  and  live.  That  the  elect  and 
regenerate  cannot  lose  faith  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  although  they  should  com- 
tnit  great  crimes  and  sins  of  every  kind. 
But  that  those  who  are  not  elected  are 
necessarily  damned,  and  cannot  attain  to 
salvation,  although  they  should  be  bap- 
tized a  thousand  times,  and  come  to  the 
eucharist  every  day,  and  besides  lead 
as  holy  and  blameless  lives  as  ever  can 
be  done,  p.  837,  838,  of  the  Leipsic 
edition,  published  in  the  year  175G. 
After  reading  the  above,  I  asked  him 
whether  the  things  which  are  written 
in  that  book  were  from  his  doctrine  or 
not ;  and  he  replied,  that  they  were  ; 
but  that  he  did  not  remember  whether 
those  very  words  flowed  from  his  pen, 
although  they  did  from  his  mouth.  On 
hearing  this,  all  the  servants  of  the 
Lord  retired  from  him  ;  and  he  hastily 
betook  himself  to  the  way  leading  to  a 
cave,  where  those  were  who  had  con- 
firmed in  themselves  the  execrable  dog- 
ma of  predestination.  Afterwards,  I 
spoke  with  some  of  tiioso  who  were 
imprisoned  in  that  cave,  and  asked 


about  their  condition.  And  they  said 
that  they  were  forced  to  labor  for 
victuals,  and  that  they  all  were  ene- 
mies one  to  another  ;  and  that  every 
one  sought  a  cause  of  doing  evil  to 
another ;  and  that  they  also  did  evil, 
whenever  they  found  any  slight  cause, 
and  that  this  was  the  delight  of  their 
life.  Besides,  see  what  is  written  con- 
cerning Predestination,  and  the  Pre- 
destinarians,  above,  n.  485  to  488. 

799.  I  have  conversed  with  many 
others,  as  well  the  followers  of  those 
three  as  with  heretics ;  and  it  was 
given  me  to  conclude  concerning  them 
all,  that  as  many  of  them  as  had  lived 
a  life  of  charity,  and  especially  those 
who  loved  truth,  because  it  is  truth,  in 
the  spiritual  world  suffer  themselves  to 
be  instructed,  and  receive  the  doctri- 
nals  of  the  New  Church  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  those  who  have  confirmed 
themselves  in  the  falses  of  religion, 
and  also  those  vvho  have  lived  a  bad 
life,  do  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  in- 
structed ;  and  that  these  remove  them- 
selves by  degrees  from  the  new  heaven, 
and  join  themselves  together  with  their 
like,  who  are  in  hell,  where  they  con- 
firm themselves  more  and  more  against 
the  worship  of  the  Lord,  and  are  so 
obstinate  against  it,  that  they  cannot 
bear  to  hear  the  name  of  Jesus.  But 
the  case  is  opposite  in  heaven,  where 
all  unanimously  acknowledge  the  Lord 
for  the  God  of  heaven. 


800.   CoNCERMNC    THE    DuTCH  IN 

THE  Spiritual  World. 

In  the  work  concerning  Heaven 
AND  Hei.l,  it  is  related  that  Christians, 
with  whom  the  Word  is  read,  and 
there  is  a  knowledge  and  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  Lord  the  Redeemer  and 
Savior,  are  in  the  middle  of  the  na- 
tions and  people  of  the  whole  spiritual 
world  ;  because  the  greatest  spiritual 
light  is  with  them,  and  the  light  is  prop- 
agated thence,  as  from  a  centre,  in  all 
directions,  even  to  the  farthest  circum- 
ference, according  to  what  was  shown 
in  the  chapter  concerning  the  Sacred 
ScRiPTimE,  above,  n.  2G7  to  272.  In 
this  middle,  occupied  by  Christians,  the 


Concerning  the  Dutch. 


531 


Reformed  have  places  allotted  to  them, 
according  to  their  reception  of  spiritual 
light  from  the  Lord  ;  and  because  the 
Dutch  possess  that  light  more  deeply 
and  fully  inserted  in  their  natural  light, 
and  are  thence  more  receptible  than 
others  of  such  things  as  are  of  reason, 
therefore  they  have  obtained  habita- 
tions iu  that  middle  occupied  by  Ciiris- 
tians,  in  the  east  and  south  ;  in  the 
east,  from  the  faculty  of  receiving 
spiritual  heat,  and  in  the  south,  from 
the  faculty  of  receiving  spiritual  light. 
That  the  quarters  in  the  spiritual  world 
are  not  like  the  quarters  in  the  natural 
world,  and  that  habitations  according 
to  quarters  are  habitations  according  to 
the  reception  of  faith  and  love,  and 
that  those  are  in  the  east,  wlio  excel  in 
love,  and  those  in  the  south,  who  excel 
in  intelligence,  may  be  seen  iu  the 
work  concerning  Heaven  and  Hell, 
n.  141  to  153. 

801.  The  reason  why  the  Dutch  are 
in  those  quarters  of  the  middle  space 
occupied  by  Christians,  is  also  because 
trading  is  their  final  love,  and  money  is 
a  mediate  subservient  love,  and  that 
love  is  spiritual :  but  when  money 
is  the  final  love,  and  trading  is  the 
mediate  subservient  love,  as  it  is  with 
the  Jews,  that  love  is  natural  and  is 
derived  from  avarice.  That  the  love 
of  trading,  when  it  is  the  final  love,  is 
spiritual,  is  from  its  use,  in  that  it  is  con- 
ducive to  the  general  good,  with  which 
the  particular  good  of  the  individual 
indeed  coheres,  and  this  appears  before 
that,  because  the  man  thinks  from  his 
natural  man.  But  still,  when  trading 
is  the  end,  it  is  also  that  love,  and  every 
one  is  regarded  in  heaven  according  to 
his  final  love ;  for  the  final  love  is  as 
the  ruler  of  a  kingdom,  or  as  the  mas- 
ter of  a  house,  and  the  other  loves  are 
as  its  subjects  and  servants  ;  and  also 
the  final  love  resides  in  the  highest  and 
inmost  regions  of  the  mind,  and  the 
mediate  loves  are  below  and  out  of  it, 
and  they  serve  it  at  its  nod.  The 
Dutch  are  before  others  in  this  spiritual 
love ;  but  the  Jews  are  in  an  inverted 
love,  wherefore  their  love  of  trading  is 
merely  natural,  in  which  there  is  noth- 


ing latent  from  the  general  good,  but 
only  from  the  particular. 

802.  The  Dutch  are  fixed  in  the 
principles  of  their  religion  more  firmly 
than  others,  neither  are  they  moved 
away  from  them;  and  if  they  are  con- 
vinced, that  this  or  that  is  not  accord- 
ing to  the  truth,  still  they  do  not  affirm, 
but  turn  themselves  back  and  remain 
unmoved  :  thus  also  they  remove  them- 
selves from  the  interior  intuition  of  truth, 
for  they  keep  their  rational  under  obe- 
dience. Since  they  are  such,  therefore, 
after  death,  when  they  come  into  the 
spiritual  world,  they  are  prepared  in  a 
peculiar  manner  for  receiving  the 
spiritual  things  of  heaven,  which  are 
divine  truths.  They  are  not  taught, 
because  they  do  not  receive,  but  heav- 
en is  described  to  them,  what  it  is,  and 
then  it  is  given  them  to  ascend  thither 
and  see  it ;  and  then  whatever  agrees 
with  their  genius  is  infused  into  them: 
thus,  being  sent  down,  they  return  to 
their  own  with  a  full  desire  of  henven. 
If  they  do  not  then  receive  this  truth, 
that  God  is  one  in  person  and  essence, 
and  that  the  Lord,  the  Redeemer  and 
Savior,  is  that  God,  and  that  the 
Divine  Trinity  is  in  Him ;  and  also 
this  truth,  that  faith  and  charity,  in 
knowledge  and  discourse,  do  not  effect 
any  thing,  without  the  life  of  them,  and 
that  they  are  given  by  the  Lord,  when, 
after  examination,  men  perform  actual 
repentance — if  they  turn  themselves 
away  from  those  truths,  when  they  are 
taught,  and  still  think  of  God,  that 
there  are  three  as  to  persons,  and  of 
religion,  only  that  it  is,  they  are  re- 
duced to  a  state  of  wretchedness,  and 
their  trade  is  taken  away  from  them, 
until  they  see  themselves  reduced  to  ex- 
tremities ;  and  then  they  are  brought 
to  those,  who,  because  they  are  in  di- 
vine truths,  abound  in  all  things,  and 
with  whom  trade  flourishes ;  and  there 
the  thought  is  insinuated  into  them 
from  heaven,  whence  it  is  that  they  are 
so,  and  at  the  same  time  a  reflection 
upon  their  faith  and  upon  their  life, 
that  they  shun  evils  as  sins  ;  they  also 
inquire  a  little,  and  perceive  an  agree- 
ment with  their  own  thought  and  re- 


632 


Concerning  the  Dutch. 


flection,  and  this  is  done  by  turns.  At 
length,  they  think  of  themselves,  that, 
in  order  to  get  out  of  their  state  of 
wretchedness,  they  must  believe  in  like 
manner,  and  live  in  like  manner  ;  and 
then,  as  they  receive  that  faith,  and 
live  that  life  of  charity,  there  is  given 
to  them  opulence  and  happiness  of 
life.  In  this  manner  those,  who,  in  the 
world,  led  any  life  of  charity,  are  amend- 
ed by  themselves,  and  prepared  for 
heaven.  These  afterwards  become 
more  constant  than  others,  so  that  they 
may  be  called  constancies  ;  nor  do  they 
suffer  themselves  to  be  led  away  by 
any  reasoning,  fallacy,  obscurity  in- 
duced by  sophistry,  or  by  preposterous 
vision  from  confirmations  alone  ;  for  they 
become  more  clear-sighted  than  be- 
fore. 

803.  The  doctors  who  instruct  in 
their  schools  study  very  zealously  the 
mysteries  of  the  present  faith,  especially 
those  who  are  called  CoccEiANs ;  and 
because  the  dogma  of  predestination  in- 
evitably results  from  those  mysteries, 
and  this  too  was  established  by  the 
synod  of  Dort,  it  also  is  inseminated  and 
implanted,  as  seed  taken  from  the  fruit 
of  any  tree  is  planted  in  a  field. 
Thence  it  is,  that  the  laity  talk  much 
among  themselves  about  predestina- 
tion, but  in  different  ways  :  some  em- 
brace it  with  both  hands,  some  only 
take  it  with  one  hand  and  laugh  at  it, 
and  some  cast  it  away  as  a  snake ;  for 
they  are  ignorant  of  the  mysteries  of 
faith,  from  wiiich  that  viper  was  hatch- 
ed. The  reason  that  they  are  ignorant 
of  these  mysteries  is  because  they  are 
intent  on  their  business,  and  the  mys- 
teries of  that  faith  indeed  touch  their 
understanding,  but  do  not  penetrate 
into  it;  wherefore,  the  dogma  of  pre- 
destination, with  the  laity,  and  also  with 
the  clergy,  is  like  an  image  in  the  hu- 
man form,  placed  upon  a  rock  in  the 
sea,  with  a  great  shell  in  its  hand, 
which  shines  from  gold  ;  at  the  sight  of 
which  some  captains,  as  they  sail  by, 
lot  down  the  sail  of  the  mast,  for  the 
sake  of  honoring  and  venerating  it ; 
some  only  wink  at  it  with  their  eyes, 
and  salute  it ;  and  some  hiss  at  it,  as 


something  ridiculous.  It  is  also  like 
an  unknown  bird  from  India  placed 
upon  a  high  tower,  which  some  affirm 
to  be  a  turtle,  some  conjecture  to  be  a 
cock,  and  some  with  an  oath  exclaim, 
Certainly  it  is  an  owl. 

804.  The  Dutch  are  easily  distin- 
guished from  others,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  because  they  appear  in  garments 
like  those  which  they  wore  in  the  nat- 
ural world,  with  the  distinction,  that 
those  appear  in  finer  ones,  who  have 
received  faith  and  spiritual  life.  The 
reason  why  they  are  clothed  in  the  like 
garments,  is,  because  they  remain 
constantly  in  the  principles  of  their 
religion ;  and  all  in  the  spiritual  world 
are  clothed  according  to  them ;  where- 
fore, those  there  who  are  in  divine 
truths  have  white  garments  and  of 
fine  linen. 

805.  The  cities  in  which  the  Dutch 
live  are  guarded  in  a  singular  manner: 
all  the  streets  in  them  are  covered  with 
roofs,  and  there  are  gates  in  the  streets, 
so  that  they  may  not  be  seen  from  the 
rocks  and  hills  round  about :  this  is 
done  on  account  of  their  inherent  pru- 
dence in  concealing  their  designs,  and 
not  divulging  their  intentions ;  for 
such  things,  in  the  spiritual  world,  are 
drawn  forth  by  inspection.  When  any 
one  comes  for  the  purpose  of  exploring 
their  state,  and  is  about  to  go  out,  he 
is  led  to  the  gates  of  the  streets,  which 
arc  shut,  and  thus  is  led  back  and  led 
to  others,  and  this  even  to  the  highest 
degree  of  vexation,  and  then  he  is  let 
out :  this  is  done  that  he  may  not  return. 
Wives,  who  affect  dominion  over  their 
husbands,  live  at  one  side  of  the  city, 
and  do  not  meet  their  husbands,  except 
when  they  are  invited,  which  is  done 
in  a  civil  manner ;  and  then  they  also 
lead  them  to  houses,  where  consorts 
live  without  exercising  dominion  over 
each  other,  and  show  them  how  clean 
and  elegant  their  houses  are,  and  what 
enjoyment  of  life  they  have,  and  that 
they  have  these  things  from  mutual 
and  conjugal  love.  Those  wives  who 
attend  to  these  things,  and  are  affected 
by  them,  cease  to  exercise  dominion, 
and  live  together  with  their  husbands ; 


Concerning  the  English. 


533 


and  then  they  have  a  habitation  as- 
signed to  them  nearer  to  the  middle, 
and  are  called  angels :  the  reason  is, 
because  truly  conjugal  love  is  heavenly 
love,  which  is  without  dominion. 


■    806.  Concerning  the  English  in 

'  THE  Spiritual  World. 

There  are  two  states  of  thought 
with  man,  external  and  internal : 
man  in  the  external  is  in  the  nat- 
ural world,  in  the  internal  he  is  in 
the  spiritual  world.  These  states 
make  one  with  the  good,  but  not  one 
with  the  evil.  What  man  is,  as  to  his 
internal,  seldom  appears  in  the  world, 
since  from  infancy  he  has  learned  to 
be  moral  and  rational,  and  loves  to 
appear  so;  but  in  the  spiritual  world 
it  clearly  appears  what  he  is,  for  then 
man  is  a  spirit,  and  the  spirit  is  the 
internal  man.  Now,  because  it  has 
been  given  me  to  be  in  that  world,  and 
there  to  see  what  is  the  quality  of  the 
internal  men  from  one  kingdom  and 
from  another,  I  ought,  because  it  is 
important,  to  make  it  manifest. 

807.  With  respect  to  the  English 
nation,  the  best  of  them  are  in  the 
centre  of  all  Christians,  because  they 
have  interior  intellectual  light :  this 
does  not  appear  to  any  one  in  the 
natural  world,  but  it  appears  conspic- 
uously in  the  spiritual  world :  this  light 
they  derive  from  the  liberty  of  speaking 
and  writing,  and  thereby  of  thinking  : 
with  others,  who  are  not  in  such  liberty, 
that  light,  not  having  any  outlet,  is 
obstructed.  That  light,  indeed,  is  not 
active  of  itself,  but  it  is  made  active  by 
others,  especially  by  men  of  reputation 
and  authority  :  as  soon  as  any  thing  is 
said  by  them,  that  light  shines  forth. 
For  this  reason  they  have  moderators 
appointed  over  them,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  priests  are  given  to  them  of 
high  reputation  and  eminent  talents, 
in  whose  opinions,  from  this  their  nat- 
ural disposition,  they  acquiesce. 

808.  There  is  a  similitude  of  minds 
among  them,  in  consequence  of  which 
they  contract  a  familiarity  with  friends, 
who  are  from  their  nation,  and  seldom 
with  others :  they  also  render  mutual 


assistance;  and  they  love  sincerity. 
They  are  lovers  of  their  country,  and 
zealous  for  its  glory  ;  and  they  regard 
foreigners,  as  one  looking  through  a 
telescope,  from  the  top  of  his  palace, 
regards  those  who  dwell  or  wander 
about  out  of  the  city.  The  political 
affairs  of  their  kingdom  occupy  their 
minds  and  possess  their  hearts,  some- 
times to  such  a  degree  as  to  withdraw 
their  spirits  from  studies  of  sublimer 
judgment,  by  which  superior  intelli- 
gence is  acquired  :  these  studies,  in- 
deed, are  zealously  prosecuted  by  those 
among  the  young,  who  attend  to  such 
things  in  the  public  seminaries ;  but 
they  pass  away  like  phenomena.  But 
still,  by  those  political  affairs,  their  ra- 
tionality is  made  lively,  and  sparkles 
with  light,  of  which  they  form  beautiful 
images ;  as  a  crystal  prism,  turned 
towards  the  sun,  forms  rainbows,  and 
tinges  a  plane  object  with  brilliant 
colors. 

809.  There  are  two  great  cities,  like 
London,  into  which  most  of  the  English 
come  after  death :  it  has  been  given 
me  to  see  the  former  city,  and  also  to 
walk  over  it.  The  middle  of  that  city 
is  where  the  merchants  meet  in  Lon- 
don, which  is  called  the  Exchange : 
there  the  moderators  dwell.  Above 
that  middle  is  the  east,  below  it  is  the 
west,  on  the  right  side  is  the  south,  on 
the  left  side  is  the  north.  In  the 
eastern  quarter  those  dwell  who  have 
preeminently  led  a  life  of  charity  :  there 
are  magnificent  palaces.  In  the  south- 
ern quarter  the  wise  dwell,  with 
whom  there  are  many  splendid  things. 
In  the  northern  quarter  those  dwell 
who  have  preeminently  loved  the  lib- 
erty of  speaking  and  writing.  In 
the  western  quarter  those  dwell  who 
boast  of  justification  by  faith  alone. 
On  the  right  there,  in  this  quarter,  is 
the  entrance  into  this  city,  and  also  a 
way  out  of  it :  those  who  live  ill  are 
sent  out  there.  The  ministers  who 
are  in  the  west,  and  teach  that  faith 
alone,  dare  not  enter  the  city  through 
the  great  streets,  but  through  narrow 
alleys,  since  no  other  inhabitants  are 
tolerated  in  the  city  itself,  than  those 
who  are  in  the  faith  of  charity.    I  have 


534 


Concerning  the  Germans. 


lieard  them  complaining  of  the  preach- 
ers from  the  west,  that  they  compose 
their  sermons  with  such  art  and  elo- 
quence, and  introduce  into  them  the 
strange  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith, 
that  they  do  not  know  whether  good 
ought  to  be  done  or  not.  They  preach 
faith  as  intrinsic  good,  and  separate 
this  from  the  good  of  charity,  which 
they  call  meritorious,  and  thus  not 
acceptable  to  God.  But  when  those 
who  dwell  in  the  eastern  and  southern 
quarters  of  the  city  hear  such  sermons, 
they  go  out  of  the  temples ;  and  the 
preachers  afterwards  are  deprived  of 
the  priestly  office. 

810.  I  heard  afi:erwards  several 
reasons  why  those  preachers  are  de- 
prived of  the  priestly  office.  They 
said  that  the  principal  one  was,  that 
they  do  not  make  their  sermons  from 
the  Word,  and  thus  from  the  Spirit  of 
God,  but  from  their  rational  light,  and 
thus  from  their  own  spirit.  They  take 
texts,  indeed,  from  the  Word,  as  pre- 
ludes ;  but  these  they  only  touch  with 
their  lips,  and  leave  them  as  things 
not  savory,  and  then  choose  something 
savory  from  their  own  intelligence, 
which  they  roll  in  the  mouth,  and  turn 
upon  the  tongue,  as  rich  dainties,  and 
thus  teach.  They  said,  that  thence 
there  was  no  more  spirituality  in  their 
harangues  than  there  is  in  the  songs 
of  nightingales;  and  that  their  alle- 
gorical ornaments  were  like  false  hair 
beautifully  trimmed  and  whitened  with 
barley  flour,  upon  a  bald  head.  The 
mystical  things  of  their  sermons,  con- 
cerning justification  by  faith  alone, 
they  compared  to  the  quails  from  the 
sea  cast  upon  the  camp  of  the  sons  of 
Israel,  of  which  several  thousands  of 
the  people  died.  Num.  xi. ;  but  theolo- 
gical doctrine  concerning  charity  and 
faith  together,  they  compared  to  the 
manna  from  heaven.  Once  I  heard 
their  ministers  conversing  together 
about  faitli  alone,  and  I  saw  a  certain 
image  formed  by  them,  which  repre- 
sented their  faith  alone  :  this  appeared 
in  their  light,  which  was  that  of  fan- 
tasy, like  a  great  giant ;  but  when  the 
light  from  heaven  was  let  in,  it  appear- 
ed above  like  a  monster,  and  below 


like  a  serpent ;  on  seeing  which,  they 
retreated,  and  it  was  thrown  by  the  by- 
standers into  a  pond. 

811.  The  other  great  city,  also  called 
London,  is  not  in  the  middle  of  the 
Christian  region,  but  at  a  distance  from 
it,  to  the  north :  into  that  those  come, 
after  death,  who  are  inwardly  evil. 
In  the  middle  of  it,  there  is  an  open 
communication  with  hell,  by  which 
also  they  are  occasionally  swallowed  up. 

812.  From  those  who  are  from  Eng- 
land, in  the  spiritual  world,  it  has 
been  perceived  that  they  have  a  two- 
fold theology,  one  from  the  doctrine  of 
their  faith,  and  the  other  from  the 
doctrine  of  charity.  That  from  the 
doctrine  of  faith  is  held  by  those  who 
are  initiated  into  the  priesthood,  and 
that  from  the  doctrine  of  charity,  by 
many  of  the  laity,  especially  those  who 
reside  in  Scotland  and  in  its  confines. 
With  these  the  Solifidians  are  afraid 
to  enter  the  lists,  since  they  fight  both 
from  the  Word  and  from  reason.  This 
doctrine  of  charity  is  held  forth  in  the 
exhortation,  read  in  the  temples  every 
sabbath  day,  to  those  who  attend  the 
sacrament  of  the  supper ;  in  which  it 
is  openly  said,  that  if  they  are  not  in 
charity,  and  do  not  shun  evils  as  sins, 
they  cast  themselves  into  eternal  dam- 
nation ;  and  that  otherwise,  if  they 
come  to  the  holy  communion,  the  devil 
will  enter  into  tlicm,  as  he  entered  into 
Judas. 


813.   CoNCEUNINfi  THE  GERMANS  IN 

THE  Spiritual  World. 

It  is  known  that  the  inhabitants 
of  every  kingdom  divided  into  several 
provinces,  are  not  of  a  like  genius ; 
and  that  they  differ  from  each  other, 
particularly,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the 
several  climates  of  the  globe  differ, 
generally ;  but  that  still  a  common 
genius  reigns  among  those  who  are 
under  one  king,  and  thence  under  one 
statute  law.  With  respect  to  Germany, 
it  is  divided  into  more  governments 
than  the  kingdoms  around  it.  There 
is  an  empire  there,  under  the  general 
authority  of  which  they  all  are  ;  but 
still  the  prince  of  each  government 


Conctrninn;  the  Germans. 


535 


enjoys  despotic  right,  in  his  particular 
government ;  lor  there  are  there  great- 
er and  smaller  dukedoms,  and  each 
duke  is  as  a  monarch  in  his  own  duke- 
dom. And,  moreover,  religion  there  is 
divided;  in  some  dukedoms  they  are 
evangelical,  so  called;  in  some  they 
are  reformed ;  and  in  some  they  are 
papists.  Since  there  is  such  a  diversity 
of  governments,  and  also  of  religions, 
it  is  more  difficult  to  describe  the  Ger- 
mans, as  to  their  minds,  inclinations 
and  lives,  from  things  seen  in  the 
spiritual  world,  than  the  nations  and 
{)eople  el.'?ewliere  ;  but  because  a  com- 
mon genius  reigns  every  where  among 
people  of  the  same  language,  that,  from 
ideas  collected  together,  may  in  some 
degree  be  seen  and  described. 

814.  Since  the  Germans  are  under  a 
despotic  government,  in  each  particu- 
lar dukedom,  therefore  they  are  not  in 
the  liberty  of  speaking  and  writing,  as 
the  Dutch  and  Britons  are ;  and  when 
the  liberty  of  speaking  and  writing  is 
restrained,  the  liberty  of  thinking,  that 
is,  of  viewing  things  in  their  amplitude, 
is  also  at  the  same  time  held  under 
restraint.  For  it  is  as  the  cistern  of  a 
fountain  encompassed  around,  from 
which  the  water  therein  is  elevated  even 
to  tiie  orifice  of  the  stream,  whence  the 
stream  itself  no  longer  jets ;  thought  is 
like  the  stream,  and  speech  thence  is 
like  the  cistern.  In  a  word,  influx 
adapts  itself  to  efflux;  and  so  does  the 
understanding  from  above  to  the  degree 
of  the  liberty  of  speaking  and  acting 
out  the  thoughts.  Wherefore,  that  no- 
ble nation  attends  little  to  the  things  of 
judgment,  but  to  the  things  of  memory  ; 
which  is  the  reason  why  they  are  de- 
voted particularly  to  literary  history, 
and  in  their  books  trust  to  the  men  of 
reputation  and  authority  among  them, 
and  quote  the  opinions  of  these  in 
abundance,  and  subscribe  to  some  one. 
This  their  slate  is  represented  in  the 
spiritual  world  by  a  man  who  carries 
books  under  his  arms ;  and  when  any 
one  contends  about  any  matter  of  judg- 
ment, he  says,  "  I  will  give  you  an 
answer;"  and  immediately  he  takes  out 
some  book  under  his  arm,  and  reads. 

815.  From  this  their  state  proceed 


many  consequences,  and  among  them 
this ;  that  they  keep  the  spiritual  things 
of  the  church  inscribed  on  the  memo- 
ry, and  seldom  elevate  them  into  the 
higher  understanding,  but  only  let 
them  into  the  lower  understanding, 
from  which  they  reason  concerning 
them :  thus  they  do  altogether  differ- 
ently from  free  nations  :  these,  as  to  the 
spiritual  things  of  the  church,  which 
are  called  theological,  are  like  eagles 
which  raise  themselves  up  to  whatever 
height  they  please ;  but  the  nations 
which  are  not  free  are  like  swans  in 
a  river.  And  free  nations  are  also 
like  tiie  larger  stags  with  high  horns, 
which  run  through  plains,  groves  and 
woods  with  full  license ;  but  nations 
which  are  not  free  are  like  stags  kept 
in  parks,  that  they  may  be  for  the  use 
of  the  prince.  Further,  people  of 
freedom  are  like  flying  horses,  called 
by  the  ancients  Pegasuses,  which  fly 
not  only  over  seas,  but  also  over  hills, 
which  are  called  Parnassian,  and  like- 
wise over  the  seats  of  the  muses  be- 
neath them  ;  but  people  who  are  not 
made  free,  are  like  horses  of  noble 
breed  beautifully  caparisoned  in  the 
stables  of  kings.  Similar  to  these  are 
the  differences  of  judgments  in  the 
mystical  things  of  theology.  The 
clergy  there,  when  they  are  pupils, 
write  down  maxims  from  the  mouth  of 
the  teachers  in  the  public  seminaries, 
and  keep  them  as  tokens  of  their  eru- 
dition ;  and  when  they  are  inaugurated 
into  the  priestly  office,  or  are  appointed 
lecturers  in  the  public  schools,  they 
derive  their  canonical  discourses,  the 
latter  from  the  chair,  and  the  former 
from  the  pulpit,  as  much  as  possible 
from  the  maxims  of  which  we  have 
just  now  spoken.  Their  priests  who  do 
not  teach  from  orthodoxy,  generally 
preach  the  Holy  Spirit  and  his  wonder- 
ful operations  and  excitations  of  holiness 
in  the  heart ;  but  those  who  teach  from 
the  modern  orthodoxy  concerning  faith, 
appear  to  the  angels  as  if  they  were 
distinguished  with  a  wreath  formed  of 
leaves  of  the  beech-tree ;  but  those 
who,  from  the  Word,  teach  concerning 
charity  and  its  works,  appear  as  if  they 
were  adorned  with  a  wreath  formed  of 


536 


Concerning  the  Papists. 


the  odoriferous  leaves  of  the  laurel. 
The  evangelical  there,  in  their  con- 
tentions with  the  reformed  about 
truths,  appear  as  if  they  tore  their 
clothes,  because  clothes  signify  truths. 

816.  I  asked  where  the  people  of 
Hamburg  are  found  in  the  spiritual 
world ;  and  it  was  said,  that  they  no 
where  appear  collected  into  one  society, 
and  still  less  into  any  one  state,  but 
that  they  are  dispersed  and  intermixed 
with  the  Germans,  in  various  quarters ; 
and  when  the  reason  was  asked,  it  was 
said  to  be  this,  that  their  minds  are  con- 
tinually looking  abroad,  and,  as  it  were, 
travelling  out  of  their  city,  and  very 
little  within  it ;  for  as  the  state  of  a 
man's  mind  is,  in  the  natural  world, such 
is  its  state  in  the  spiritual  world  ;  for 
the  mind  of  man  is  his  spirit,  or  the 
posthumous '  man  that  lives  after  his 
departure  out  of  the  material  body. 

817.  Concerning  the  Papists  in 
THE  Spiritual  World. 

The  papists,  in  the  spiritual  world, 
appear  around  and  beneath  tlie  Prot- 
estants, and  they  are  distinguished  by 
bounds,  which  they  are  forbidden  to 
pass ;  but  still  the  monks,  by  clandes- 
tine arts,  procure  for  themselves  a  com- 
munication, and  also  send  out  emissaries 
through  unknown  paths,  that  they  may 
seduce  ;  but  they  are  searcliod  out,  and 
after  they  have  been  punished,  tliey  are 
either  sent  back  to  their  companions, 
or  cast  down. 

818.  Since  the  last  judgment,  which 
took  place  in  the  spiritual  world,  in  the 
year  1757,  the  state  of  all,  and  thus 
also  of  them,  is  so  changed,  that  it  is 
not  lawful  for  them  to  gather  themselves 
together  into  companies  as  before  ;  hut 
for  every  love,  both  good  and  evil,  there 
are  appointed  ways,  which  tliose  who 
come  from  the  world,  iminediatciy 
enter,  and  go  to  the  societies  corre- 
sponding tothcir  loves  :  thus  the  evil  are 
conveyed  to  societies  which  arc;  in  hell, 
and  the  good  to  societies  which  are  in 
heaven:  thus  precaution  is  taken,  that 
they  may  not  form  to  themselves  artifi- 
cial heavens  as  before.  Such  societies, 
in  the  world  of  spirits,  which  is  in  tlie 
middle  between  heaven  and  hell,  are 


manifold,  for  there  are  as  many  as  there 
are  different  kinds  and  sorts  of  the 
affections  of  the  love  of  good  and  evil ; 
and  in  the  mean  time,  before  they  are 
either  elevated  into  heaven  or  cast 
down  into  hell,  they  are  in  spiritual 
conjunction  with  men  of  the  world, 
because  that  they,  also,  are  in  the  middle 
between  heaven  and  hell. 

819.  The  ])apists  have  a  certain 
council-house,  in  the  southern  quarter, 
towards  the  east,  in  which  their  pre- 
lates meet  together  and  consult  about 
the  various  matters  of  their  religion, 
especially  how  the  common  people  may 
be  kept  in  blind  obedience,  and  how 
their  own  dominion  may  be  extended  ; 
but  no  one  is  admitted  into  it,  who,  in 
the  world,  had  been  a  pope,  because 
something  like  divine  authority  is  fixed 
in  his  mind,  in  consequence  ot  his  hav- 
ing arrogated  to  himself  the  power  of 
the  Lord  in  the  world.  Neither  is  any 
cardinal  permitted  to  enter  into  that 
council-house,  and  this  on  account  of 
supereminence  :  these,  however,  collect 
themselves  together  in  a  large  conclave 
under  them,  and  after  staying  there 
some  days,  they  are  removed,  but  it 
was  not  given  me  to  know  whither. 
There  is  also  another  jilace  of  meeting 
in  the  southern  (|uarter,  towards  the 
west :  the  business  there  is  to  let  the 
credulous  common  people  into  heaven. 
There  thoy  form  around  tiiemsehes 
several  societies,  which  are  in  various 
external  delights:  in  some  tiiere  are 
dances,  in  sonic  concerts  of  music,  in 
some  processions,  in  some  theatres 
and  theatrical  exhibitions  ;  in  some 
there  are  those,  who,  by  fantasies,  in- 
duce various  species  of  magnificence ;  in 
some  they  only  tell  fortunes  and  crack 
jokes;  in  some  they  hold  friendly  con- 
versation together,  in  one  place  about 
religious  affairs,  in  another  about  civil 
affairs,  and  in  another  about  wanton 
sports,  &c.  Into  some  one  of  these 
.societies  they  introduce  the  credulous, 
according  to  the  pecidiar  pleasure  of 
each  one,  calling  it  heaven ;  but  after 
they  have  been  there  one  or  two  days, 
they  all  grow  weary  and  depart,  because 
those  delights  are  external  and  not  in- 
ternal :  thus  also  many  are  led  away 


Concerning  the  Papists. 


537 


from  the  frivolous  things  of  faith  con- 
cerning the  power  of  introducing  into 
heaven.  As  it  respects  their  worship, 
in  particular,  it  is  almost  like  their 
worship  in  the  world :  it  consists  in 
like  manner  in  masses,  which  are  not 
said  in  the  common  language  of  spirits, 
but  composed  of  high-sounding  words, 
inspiring  external  sanctity  and  trem- 
bling, which  they  do  not  at  all  under- 
stand. 

820.  All  who  come  into  the  spiritual 
world  from  the  earth,  are  kept  in  the 
confession  of  faith  and  in  the  religion 
of  their  country,  in  the  beginning ;  thus 
also  are  the  papists;  wherefore,  they 
always  have  some  representative  pope 
set  over  them,  whom  also  they  adore  in 
a  similar  manner  as  in  the  world.  Sel- 
dom any  pope  in  the  world,  after  his 
j  departure  thence,  is  set  over  them ;  but 
1  still  he  who  discharged  the  office  of 
pope  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  was 
I  appointed  over  them,  because  he  had 
cherished  in  his  heart  the  idea  that  the 
Word  was  more  holy  than  it  is  believed 
to  be,  and  that  the  Lord  was  to  be 
worshipped.  It  was  given  me  to  speak 
with  him ;  and  he  said,  that  he  adored 
the  Lord  alone,  because  He  is  God, 
who  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,  according  to  his  words.  Matt, 
xxviii.  18 ;  and  that  invocations  of  the 
saints  are  mockeries  ;  and  also  that  in 
the  world  he  intended  to  restore  that 
church,  but  that  he  could  not,  for  rea- 
sons which  he  mentioned.  I  saw  him, 
when  that  great  northern  city,  in  which 
the  papists  and  the  reformed  were 
together,  was  destroyed,  in  the  day  of 
the  last  judgment,  carried  out  in  a 
litter  and  conveyed  to  a  place  of  safety. 
At  the  sides  of  the  great  society,  in 
which  he  acts  as  pope,  there  are  schools 
established,  to  which  those  go  who  are 
in  doubt  or  difficulty  respecting  religion ; 
and  there  there  are  converted  monks, 
who  teach  them  concerning  God  the 
Savior  Christ,  and  also  concerning  the 
holiness  of  the  Word  ;  and  the  monks 
leave  it  to  their  option  to  turn  away 
their  minds  from  the  sanctifications 
introduced  into  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  Those  who  receive  are  intro- 
duced into  a  large  society,  where  those 
68 


are  who  have  receded  from  the  wor- 
ship of  the  pope  and  saints;  and  when 
they  come  into  it,  they  are  like  those 
who  have  been  awaked  out  of  a  deep 
sleep ;  and  like  those  who  come  from 
the  dreariness  of  winter  to  the  pleasant- 
ness of  spring  ;  and  like  one  sailing, 
when  he  touches  the  port;  and  then 
they  are  invited  by  those  who  are  there 
to  feasts,  and  noble  wine  is  given  them 
to  drink  out  of  crystal  cups.  And  I 
heard  that  the  angels  from  heaven  send 
down  to  the  host  a  plate,  upon  which 
there  is  manna,  in  like  form,  and  of 
like  taste,  as  that  sent  down  upon  the 
camp  of  the  sons  of  Israel  in  the 
desert;  which  plate  is  carried  around 
to  the  guests,  and  to  every  one  is  given 
the  liberty  of  tasting  it. 

82L  All  those  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic religion,  who,  when  they  find  them- 
selves to  be  alive  after  death,  and  in 
the  former  world  had  thought  more 
about  God  than  about  the  pope,  and 
had  done  works  of  charity  from  a  simple 
heart,  after  they  have  been  instructed 
that  the  Lord  himself,  the  Savior  of  the 
world,  reigns  here,  are  easily  led  away 
from  the  superstitious  things  of  that 
religion.  To  these  the  transition  from 
popery  to  Christianity  is  as  easy  as  it  is 
to  enter  into  a  temple  through  open 
doors  ;  and  as  it  is  to  pass  by  the  sen- 
tinels in  the  courts  into  the  palace, 
when  the  king  commands  ;  and  as  it  is 
to  lift  up  the  countenance  and  look 
up  to  heaven,  when  voices  are  heard 
thence.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
as  difficult  to  withdraw  those  from  the 
superstitious  things  of  that  religion, 
who,  in  the  course  of  their  life  in  the 
world,  seldom  if  ever  thought  about 
God,  and  loved  that  worship  only  on 
account  of  its  festivities,  as  it  is  to 
enter  into  a  temple,  when  the  doors 
are  shut ;  and  as  it  is  to  pass  by  the 
sentinels  in  the  courts  into  the  palace, 
when  the  king  forbids  ;  and  as  it  is  for 
a  snake  in  the  grass  to  lift  up  its  eyes 
to  heaven.  It  is  wonderful,  that  none 
of  those  who  come  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  into  the  spiritual 
world,  see  heaven  there,  where  the 
angels  are  :  there  is,  as  it  were,  a  dark 
cloud  over   them,  which  terminates 


538 


Concerning  the  Popish  Saints. 


their  vision  ;  but  as  soon  as  any  con- 
verted one  comes  to  those  who  are 
converted,  heaven  is  opened,  and  some- 
times they  see  angels  there  in  white 
garments,  to  whom  also  they  are  ele- 
vated, after  having  completed  the  time 
of  preparation. 


822.  Concerning  the  Popish 
Saints  in  the  Spiritual  World. 

It  is  known  that  man  has  innate 
or  hereditary  evil  from  parents,  but  it 
is  known  to  few  in  what  that  dwells, 
in  its  fulness  :  it  dwells  in  the  love  of 
possessing  the  goods  of  all  others,  and 
in  the  love  of  ruling ;  for  this  latter 
love  is  such,  that  as  far  as  the  reins  are 
given  to  it,  so  far  it  bursts  forth,  until 
it  burns  with  the  desire  of  ruling  over 
all,  and  at  length  wishes  to  be  invoked 
and  worshipped  as  a  god.  This  love  is 
the  serpent,  which  deceived  Eve  and 
Adam ;  for  it  said  to  the  woman,  God 
doth  know  in  the  day  that  ye  eat  of  the 
fruit  of  that  tree,  your  eyes  will  be 
opened,  and  then  ye  will  he  as  God, 
Gen.  iii.  4,  5.  As  far,  therefore,  as 
man,  without  restraint,  rushes  into  this 
love,  so  far  he  averts  himself  from  God, 
and  turns  to  himself,  and  becomes  a 
worshipper  of  himself;  and  then  he 
can  invoke  God  with  a  warm  mouth 
from  the  love  of  self,  but  with  a  cold 
heart  from  contempt  of  God.  And 
then  also  the  divine  things  of  the 
church  may  serve  for  means ;  but  be- 
cause the  end  is  dominion,  the  means 
are  regarded  no  more  than  as  they  are 
subservient  to  it.  Such  a  person,  if  he 
is  exalted  to  the  highest  honors,  is,  in 
his  own  imagination,  like  Atlas  bearing 
the  terraqueous  globe  upon  his  shoul- 
ders ;  and  like  Phoebus  with  his  horses 
carrying  the  sun  around  the  world. 

823.  Since  man  hereditarily  is  such, 
therefore  all,  who,  by  papal  bulls,  have 
been  made  saints,  in  the  spiritual  world 
are  removed  from  the  eyes  of  others 
and  concealed,  and  all  intercourse  with 
their  worshippers  is  taken  away  from 
them :  the  reason  is,  lest  that  most 
pernicious  root  of  evil  should  be  excited 
in  them,  and  they  should  be  brought 
into  such  fantastic  deliriums  as  there 


are  with  demons.  Into  such  deliriums 
those  come,  who,  while  they  live  in  the 
world,  zealously  aspire  to  be  made 
saints  after  death,  that  they  may  be 
invoked. 

824.  Many  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
persuasion,  especially  the  monks,  when 
they  come  into  the  spiritual  world, 
inquire  for  the  saints,  particularly  the 
saint  of  their  order;  but  they  do  not  find 
them,  at  which  they  wonder ;  but  after- 
wards they  are  instructed  that  they  are 
mixed  together,  either  with  those  who 
are  in  heaven  or  with  those  who  are 
in  the  earth  below  ;  and  that,  in  either 
case,  they  know  nothing  of  the  worship 
and  invocation  of  themselves,  and  that 
those  who  do  know  and  wish  to  be  in- 
voked, fall  into  deliriums  and  talk 
foolishly.  The  worship  of  saints  is 
such  an  abomination  in  heaven,  that, 
if  they  only  hear  it,  they  are  filled  with 
horror ;  since,  as  far  as  worship  is  as- 
cribed to  any  man,  so  far  it  is  with- 
held from  the  Lord ;  for  thus  He 
alone  is  not  worshipped,  and  if  the 
Lord  alone  is  not  worshipped,  a  dis- 
crimination is  made,  which  destroys 
communion  and  the  happiness  of  life 
flowing  from  it.  That  I  might  know 
what  the  Roman  Catholic  saints  are, 
in  order  that  I  might  make  it  known, 
as  many  as  a  hundred  were  brought 
forth  from  the  earth  below,  who  knew 
of  their  canonization.  They  ascended 
behind  my  back,  and  only  a  few  before 
my  face,  and  I  spoke  with  one  of  them, 
who  they  said  was  Xavier.  He,  while 
he  talked  with  me,  was  like  a  fool ;  yet 
he  could  tell,  that  in  his  place,  where 
he  was  shut  up  with  others,  he  was  not 
a  fool,  but  that  he  becomes  a  fool  as 
often  as  he  thinks  that  he  is  a  saint, 
and  wishes  to  be  invoked.  A  like 
murnmr  I  heard  from  those  who  were 
behind  my  back.  It  is  otherwise  with 
the  saints  so  called  in  heaven :  these 
know  nothing  at  all  of  what  is  done  on 
earth  ;  nor  is  it  given  them  to  speak 
with  any  of  the  Roman  Catholic  per- 
suasion, who  are  in  that  superstition, 
lest  any  idea  of  that  thing  shoiild  enter 
into  them. 

825.  From  this  their  state,  every  one 
may  conclude,  that  invocations  of  them 


Concerning  the  Ma/iumetans. 


539 


are  only  mockeries;  and,  moreover,  I 
can  assert,  that  they  do  not  liear  their 
invocations  on  earth  any  more  than 
their  images  do  at  the  sides  of  the 
streets,  nor  any  more  than  the  walls  of 
the  temple,  nor  any  more  than  the 
birds  that  build  their  nests  in  towers. 
It  is  said,  by  their  servants  on  earth, 
that  the  saints  reign  in  heaven  together 
with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  but  this 
is  a  figment  and  a  falsehood,  for  tiiey 
no  more  reign  with  the  Lord,  than  an 
hostler  with  a  king,  a  porter  with  a 
grandee,  or  a  footman  with  a  primate ; 
for  John  the  Baptist  said  concerning 
the  Lord,  that  he  loas  not  worthy  to 
unloose  the  latchet  of  His  shoe,  Mark 
i.  7 ;  John  i.  27 :  what  then  are  those 
who  are  such? 

826.  There  appears  sometimes  to 
the  people  of  Paris,  who  are  in  the 
spiritual  world,  in  a  society,  a  certain 
woman  of  a  common  stature,  in  shining 
raiment,  and  of  a  face  as  it  were  holy, 
and  she  says  that  she  is  Genevieve  ; 
but  when  any  begin  to  adore  her,  then 
her  face  is  immediately  changed,  and 
also  her  raiment,  and  she  becomes  like 
an  ordinary  woman,  and  reproves  them 
for  wishing  to  adore  a  woman,  who 
among  her  companions  is  in  no  higher 
estimation  than  as  a  maid  servant, 
wondering  that  the  men  of  the  world 
should  be  captivated  by  such  trifles. 

827.  To  the  above  I  shall  add  this, 
which  is  most  worthy  of  attention. 
Once,  M.A.RY  the  Mother  of  the 
Lord  passed  by,  and  was  seen  over 
head  in  white  raiment;  and  then,  stop- 
ping a  while,  she  said,  that  she  was  the 
mother  of  the  Lord,  and  that  He  was 
indeed  born  of  her  ;  but  that  He,  being 
made  God,  put  off  all  the  human  from 
her,  and  that,  therefore,  she  now  adores 
Him  as  her  God ;  and  that  she  is  un- 
wiiling  that  any  one  should  acknowl- 
edge Him  for  her  son,  since  in  Him  all 
is  Divine. 


828.  Concerning  the  Mahomet.\ns 
IN  the  Spiritual  World. 

The  Mahometans,  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  appear  behind  the  papists 
111  the  west,  and  make,  as  it  were,  a 


circle.  The  reasoil  that  they  appear 
next  after  the  Christians  is,  because 
they  acknowledge  our  Lord  as  the 
greatest  Prophet,  the  wisest  of  all,  who 
was  sent  into  the  world  to  teach  men ; 
and  also  as  the  Son  of  God.  Every 
one  in  that  world  dwells  at  a  distance 
from  the  middle,  where  the  Christians 
are,  according  to  his  confession  of  the 
Lord  and  of  one  God  ;  for  that  conjoins 
minds  to  heaven,  and  makes  the  dis- 
tance from  the  east,  over  which  the 
Lord  is. 

829.  Since  religion  resides  in  the 
highest  things  with  man,  and  from  the 
highest  his  lower  things  derive  life  and 
light,  and  because  Mahomet  is  always 
in  their  minds  in  connection  with  re- 
ligion, therefore,  some  Mahomet  is 
always  placed  in  their  view ;  and  that 
they  may  turn  their  faces  towards  the 
east,  over  which  the  Lord  is,  therefore 
he  is  placed  beneath  the  middle,  occu- 
pied by  Christians.  It  is  not  Mahomet 
himself,  who  wrote  the  Koran,  but 
another,  who  fills  his  place ;  nor  is  it 
always  the  same ;  but  he  is  changed. 
Once,  it  was  one  from  Saxony,  who, 
being  taken  by  the  Algerines,  became 
a  Mahometan.  He,  because  he  had 
also  been  a  Christian,  was  led  several 
times  to  speak  with  them  of  the  Lord, 
that  He  was  not  the  Son  of  Joseph,  but 
the  Son  of  God  himself  That  Ma- 
homet was  afterwards  succeeded  by 
others.  In  the  place  where  that  rep- 
resentative Mahomet  has  his  seat, 
there  appears  a  fire,  as  of  a  little  torch, 
that  he  may  be  known  ;  but  that  fire  is 
conspicuous  only  to  Mahometans. 

830.  Mahomet  himself,  who  wrote 
the  Koran,  does  not  at  this  day  come 
into  view.  It  was  told  me,  that  at  first 
he  presided  over  them  ;  but  because  he 
wished  to  rule  over  all  things  of  their 
religion,  as  a  god,  he  was  cast  out  of 
his  seat,  which  he  had  under  the  pa- 
pists, and  sent  down  to  the  right  side 
near  the  south.  Once,  a  certain  society 
of  Mahometans  was  instigated,  by  ma- 
licious persons,  to  acknowledge  Ma- 
homet as  a  god  ;  and,  in  order  to  ap- 
pease the  sedition,  Mahomet  was  raised 
up  from  the  earth  below  and  shown ; 
and  then  he  was  seen  by  me  also.  He 


540 


Concerning  the  Mahometans. 


appeared  similar  to  corporeal  spirits, 
who  have  no  interior  perception,  his 
face  verging  towards  black ;  and  I 
heard  him  speak  these  words,  "  I  am 
your  Mahomet ; "  and  presently  he 
seemed  to  sink  down. 

831.  The  Mahometans  are  hostile 
to  the  Christians,  principally  on  ac- 
count of  the  faith  of  three  divine  persons, 
and  thence  the  worship  of  three  Gods, 
as  so  many  Creators ;  and  to  the  Ro- 
man Catholics,  moreover,  on  account 
of  their  bending  the  knee  before  images  ; 
and  thence  they  call  the  latter  idolaters, 
and  the  former  fanatics,  saying  that 
they  make  a  three-headed  God,  and 
that  they  say  one,  and  mutter  three ; 
consequently,  that  they  divide  omnipo- 
tence, and  out  of  one  and  of  one  make 
three ;  and  that  thus  they  are  like 
Fauns  with  three  horns,  one  for  each 
God,  and  at  the  same  time  three  for 
one  God ;  and  that  thus  they  pray, 
thus  they  sing,  and  thus  they  preach 
from  the  pulpit. 

832.  Mahometans,  like  all  the  nations 
who  acknowledge  one  God,  and  love 
what  is  just,  and  do  good  from  religion, 
have  their  own  heaven,  but  out  of  tiie 
Ciiristian.  But  the  Mahometan  heaven 
is  distinguished  into  two  :  in  the  lower 
one,  they  live  honestly  with  several 
wives,  but  no  others  are  elevated  thence 
into  the  upper  heaven,  than  those  who 
give  up  their  concubines  and  acknowl- 
edge the  Lord  our  Savior,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  his  dominion  over  heaven 
and  hell.  I  have  heard  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  them  to  think  that  God  the 
Father  and  our  Lord  arc  one,  but  that 
it  is  possible  for  them  to  believe  that 
He  rules  over  the  heavens  and  the 
hells,  because  He  is  the  Son  of  God 
tlie  Father.  This  faith  with  them  is 
that  by  which  an  ascent  into  the  upper 
heaven  is  given  to  them  by  the  Lord. 

833.  That  the  Mahometan  religion 
has  been  received  by  more  nations 
than  the  Christian  religion,  may  be  an 
offence  to  those  who  think  concerning 
the  Divine  Providence,  and  at  the 
same  time  believe  that  none  can  be 
saved,  except  those  who  are  born 
Christians ;  but  the  Mahometan  religion 
is  not  an  offence  to  those  who  believe 


that  all  things  are  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence :  these  inquire,  in  what  it  is, 
and  they  also  find.  It  is  in  this,  that 
the  Mahometan  religion  acknowledges 
the  Lord  for  the  greatest  Prophet,  the 
wisest  of  all,  and  also  for  the  Son  of 
God  ;  but  because  they  have  made  only 
the  Koran  the  book  of  their  religion, 
and  thence  Mahomet,  who  wrote  it,  is 
fixed  in  their  thoughts,  and  they  offer 
to  him  some  worship,  therefore  they 
think  but  little  concerning  our  Lord. 
That  it  may  be  fully  known,  that  that 
religion  was  raised  up  by  the  Divine 
Providence  of  the  Lord,  to  destroy  the 
idolatries  of  many  nations,  it  shall  be 
told  in  some  order  ;  but  first  concern- 
ing the  origin  of  idolatries.  Before 
that  religion,  idolatrous  worship  was 
spread  abroad  into  very  many  king- 
doms of  the  world :  the  reason  was, 
because  the  churches,  before  the  coming 
of  the  Lord,  were  all  representative 
churches;  such  also  was  the  Israelitish 
church ;  there  the  tabernacle,  the  gar- 
ments of  Aaron,  the  sacrifices,  all 
things  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  and 
also  the  statutes,  represented ;  and 
among  the  ancients,  the  science  of  cor- 
respondences, which  also  is  the  science 
of  representations,  was  the  very  .science 
of  sciences,  and  was  particularly  culti- 
vated by  the  Egyptians  ;  hence  their 
hieroglyphics.  From  that  science  they 
knew  what  animals  of  every  kind  sig- 
nified, and  also  what  was  signified  by 
trees  of  every  kind,  as  also  what  by 
mountains,  hills,  rivers,  fountains,  and 
also  what  by  the  sun,  moon  and  stars. 
By  that  science  they  also  had  knowl- 
edge of  spiritual  things,  since  those 
things  which  were  represented,  being 
sucii  as  are  of  .spiritual  wisdom  with 
the  angels  in  heaven,  were  the  origins. 
Now,  because  all  their  worship  was 
representative,  consisting  of  mere  cor- 
respondences, therefore  they  had  wor- 
ship on  mountains  and  hills,  and  also 
in  groves  and  gardens ;  and  therefore 
they  consecrated  fountains,  and  also 
made  carved  horses,  oxen,  calves, 
lambs,  yea,  birds,  fishes  and  serpents, 
and  placed  them  near  the  temples  and 
in  their  courts,  and  also  at  home,  in 
order  according  to  the  spiritual  things 


Concerning  the  Africans. 


541 


of  the  church,  to  which  they  corre- 
sponded, or  which  they  represented  and 
thence  signified.  After  a  time,  when 
the  science  of  correspondences  was 
I  obliterated,  posterity  began  to  worship 
i  the  carved  images  themselves,  as  in 
themselves  holy,  not  knowing  that  their 
forefathers  did  not  see  any  thing  holy 
in  them,  but  only  that  they  represented 
holy  things  according  to  correspon- 
dences. Hence  arose  the  idolatries 
which  had  filled  so  many  kingdoms  of 
the  world.  That  those  idolatries  might 
be  extirpated,  it  was  permitted,  by  the 
Divine  Providence  of  the  Lord,  that  a 
new  religion,  accommodated  to  the 
genius  of  the  Orientals,  should  be  in- 
troduced, in  which  there  should  be 
also  something  fi-om  both  Testaments 
of  the  Word,  and  which  should  teach 
that  the  Lord  came  into  the  world,  and 
that  He  was  the  greatest  Prophet,  the 
wisest  of  all,  and  the  Son  of  God. 
Tliis  was  done  by  Mahomet,  from 
whom  that  religion  derived  its  name. 
Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  this  re- 
ligion was  raised  up  of  the  Divine 
Providence  of  the  Lord,  and  accommo- 
dated, as  was  said,  to  the  genius  of  the 
Orientals,  that  it  might  destroy  the 
idolatries  of  so  many  nations,  and  give 
some  knowledge  concerning  the  Lord, 
before  they  should  come,  as  they  do  after 
death,  into  the  spiritual  world.  This 
religion  would  not  have  been  received 
by  so  many  kingdoms,  and  could  not 
have  extirpated  the  idolatries  there, 
unless  it  had  been  made  suitable  to  the 
ideas  of  their  thoughts,  especially  unless 
polygamy  had  been  permitted ;  because 
the  Orientals,  without  that  permission, 
would  have  burned  with  the  filthy  lusts 
of  adultery,  more  than  the  Europeans, 
and  would  have  perished. 

834.  Once  it  was  given  me  to  per- 
ceive what  is  the  heat  of  their  poly- 
.  gamical  love.  I  spoke  with  one  who 
i  filled  the  place  of  Mahomet,  and  that 
vicar,  after  some  discourse  with  him  at 
a  distance,  sent  to  me  an  ebony  spoon, 
and  other  things,  which  were  indica- 
tions that  they  were  from  him.  And 
then,  at  the  same  time,  there  was  opened 
a  communication,  from  various  places, 
for  their  polygamical  love,  which,  from 


some  places,  was  felt  like  the  heat  in 
baths  after  bathing  ;  from  some,  like 
the  heat  in  kitchens,  where  flesh  is 
being  boiled  ;  fi-om  some,  like  the  heat 
in  places  where  fetid  esculents  are 
exposed  for  sale  ;  from  some,  like  that 
in  the  cellars  of  apothecaries,  where 
emulsions  and  similar  things  are  pre- 
pared ;  from  some,  like  the  heat  in  stews 
and  brothels  ;  and  from  some,  like  that 
in  shops  where  skins,  hides  and  shoes 
are  sold.  There  was  also  in  that  heat 
something  rancid,  austere  and  burn- 
ing, from  jealousy.  But  the  heat  in 
the  Christian  heavens,  where  the  de- 
light of  their  love  is  felt  as  an  odor,  is 
fragrant  as  in  gardens  and  vineyards, 
and  as  in  rose-beds;  and  in  some  places, 
like  the  odor  in  shops  where  spices 
are  sold ;  and  in  some,  like  that  in  wine- 
presses and  wine-cellars.  That  the 
delights  of  loves,  in  the  spiritual  world, 
are  frequently  felt  as  odors,  has  been 
shown  every  where  in  my  Relations 
after  the  chapters. 


835.  Concerning  the  Africans  in 
THE  Spiritual  World  ;   and  also 

SOMETHING  CONCERNING  THE  GeN- 
TILES. 

The  Gentiles,  who  have  not  known 
any  thing  concerning  the  Lord,  appear 
in  the  spiritual  world  beyond  those  who 
have ;  so  much  so  that  the  outermost 
borders  are  made  by  no  others  than 
those  who  are  altogether  idolaters,  and 
in  the  former  world  had  worshipped  the 
sun  and  moon.  But  those  who  acknowl- 
edge one  God,  and  make  precepts,  such 
as  those  in  the  decalogue,  precepts  of 
religion,  and  thence  of  life,  more  im- 
mediately communicate  with  Christians 
in  the  middle ;  for  the  communication 
is  not  so  intercepted  by  Mahometans  and 
papists.  The  Gentiles  also  are  dis- 
tinguished according  to  their  genius 
and  capacities  of  receiving  light  through 
the  heavens  from  the  Lord ;  for  some 
of  them  are  interior  and  some  exterior, 
which  they  derive  partly  from  climate, 
partly  from  parentage,  partly  from 
education,  and  partly  from  religion. 
The  Africans  are  more  interior  than 
the  rest. 


542 


Concerning  the  Africans. 


836.  All  who  acknowledge  and  wor- 
ship one  God,  the  Creator  of  the  uni- 
verse, entertain  the  idea  of  a  man 
respecting  God :  they  say  that  no  one 
can  have  any  other  idea  of  God.  When 
they  hear  that  many  entertain  an  idea 
concerning  God  as  of  ether  or  of  a 
cloud,  they  ask  where  they  are ;  and 
when  it  is  said  that  they  are  among 
Christians,  they  deny  that  it  is  possible. 
But  it  is  answered,  that  they  have  such 
an  idea  from  this,  that  God,  in  the  Word, 
is  called  a  spirit,  and  they  think  noother- 
wise  of  spirit,  than  as  of  the  substance 
of  ether,  or  of  some  form  of  a  cloud ; 
not  knowing  that  every  spirit  and  every 
angel  is  a  man.  But  still  inquiry  was 
made  whether  their  spiritual  idea  was 
similar  to  their  natural ;  and  it  was 
found  that  it  was  not  similar  with  those 
who  interiorly  acknowledge  the  Lord 
the  Savior  for  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth.  I  heard  a  certain  presbyter  say, 
that  no  one  can  have  an  idea  of  Divine 
Human  ;  and  I  saw  him  transferred  to 
the  Gentiles,  to  those  more  and  more 
interior,  and  also  to  their  heavens,  and 
at  length  to  the  Christian  heaven ;  and 
every  where  there  was  given  a  com- 
munication of  their  interior  perception 
concerning  God  ;  and  he  observed  that 
they  had  no  other  idea  concerning  God, 
than  that  of  a  Divine  Man ;  and  that 
man,  who  is  his  image  and  likeness, 
could  not  have  been  created  by  any 
other. 

837.  Since  the  Africans  are  superior 
to  the  rest  in  interior  judgment,  I  have 
had  conversation  with  them, on  subjects 
of  deeper  investigation  ;  and  lately  con- 
cerning God  ;  concerning  the  Lord  the 
Redeemer  ;  and  concerning  the  interior 
and  exterior  man  ;  and  because  they 
were  delighted  with  that  conversation, 
I  shall  here  mention  some  things,  which 
they  perceived  from  interior  sight, 
concerning  those  three  subjects.  Con- 
cerning God  they  said,  That  He 
surely  came  down  and  presented 
himself  to  the  sight  of  men,  because 
He  is  their  Creator,  Guardian  and 
Guide,  and  because  the  human  race  is 
his ;  and  that  He  sees,  surveys  and 
provides  each  and  all  the  things  that 
are  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth, 


and  their  goods  as  in  Himself,  and 
Himself  as  in  them :  the  reason  is, 
because  He  is  the  sun  of  the  angelic 
heaven,  which  is  seen  as  high  above 
the  spiritual  world  as  the  sun  of  the 
earth  is  above  the  natural  world ;  and 
He  who  is  the  sun,  sees,  surveys  and 
provides  for  each  and  all  of  the  things 
that  are  beneath  ;  and  because  it  is  his 
divine  love  which  appears  as  a  sun,  it 
follows  that  He  provides  for  the  greatest 
and  the  least  such  things  as  are  of  life, 
and  for  men  such  things  as  are  of  love 
and  wisdom ;  the  things  which  are  of 
love  by  means  of  the  heat  thence,  and 
the  things  which  are  of  wisdom  by 
means  of  the  light  thence.  If,  there- 
fore, you  form  to  yourselves  an  idea 
concerning  God,  that  He  is  the  sun  of 
the  universe,  surely  from  that  idea  you 
will  see  and  acknowledge  his  omni- 
presence, omniscience  and  omnipo- 
tence. 

838.  Further,  I  had  conversation 
with  them  concerning  the  Lord 
THE  S.wioR.  And  it  was  said  that  God, 
in  his  essence,  is  Divine  Love,  and  that 
Divine  Love  is  as  the  purest  fire  ;  and 
because  love,  viewed  in  itself,  cannot 
intend  any  thing  else  than  to  become 
one  with  another  whom  it  loves,  and 
the  Divine  Love  nothing  else  than  to 
unite  itself  to  man  and  man  to  itself, 
so  that  it  may  be  in  him,  and  he  in  it; 
and  because  the  Divine  Love  is  as  the 
purest  fire,  it  is  manifest  that  God,  be- 
cause He  is  such,  could  not  possibly 
be  in  man,  and  cause  man  to  be  in  Him, 
for  thus  He  would  reduce  the  whole 
man  to  the  thinnest  vapor.  But  be- 
cause God,  from  his  essence,  burned 
with  the  love  of  uniting  Himself  with 
man,  it  was  necessary  that  He  should 
veil  Himself  over  with  a  body  accom- 
modated to  reception  and  conjunction  ; 
wherefore  He  came  down  and  assumed 
the  Human,  according  to  the  order 
established  by  Himself  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world ;  which  was,  that  He 
should  be  conceived  by  a  virtue  propa- 
gated from  Himself,  be  carried  in  the 
womb,  be  born,  and  then  grow  in  wis- 
dom and  love,  and  thus  approach  to 
union  with  his  Divine  Origin  ;  and  that 
tlms  God  became  Man,  and  Man  God. 


Concerning  the  Africans. 


543 


That  it  is  so,  the  Scripture  concerning 
Him,  which  is  with  Christians,  and  is 
called  the  Word,  manifestly  teaches 
and  testifies  ;  and  God  himseh'',  who,  in 
his  Human,  is  called  Jesus  Christ,  says. 
That  the  Father  is  in  Him  and  He  in 
the  Father ;  and  that  he  that  seeth  Him 
seeth  the  Father ;  besides  many  more 
things  to  the  same  purpose.  Reason 
also  sees,  that  God,  whose  love  is  as  the 
purest  fire,  could  not  otherwise  unite 
Himself  to  man  and  man  to  Himself. 
Can  the  fire  of  the  sun,  such  as  it  is  in 
itself,  touch  man,  still  less  enter  into 
him,  unless  it  veil  its  rays  with  atmos- 
pheres, and  thus,  by  a  tempered  heat, 
present  itself  accommodated  ?  Can 
pure  ether  encompass  a  man,  and  still 
less  flow  into  the  bronchicB  of  his  lungs, 
unless  it  be  thickened  with  air,  and 
thus  adapt  itself  ?  A  fish  cannot  live 
in  the  air,  but  in  an  element  suited  to 
its  life.  Yea,  a  king  on  earth  cannot, 
in  his  own  person,  or  immediately,  ad- 
minister all  and  each  of  the  things  in 
his  kingdom,  except  by  superior  and 
inferior  governors,  who  together  con- 
stitute his  royal  body.  Nor  can  the 
soul  of  a  man  make  itself  visible  to 
another,  hold  intercourse  with  him, 
and  communicate  tokens  of  its  love, 
except  through  the  body.  How  then 
can  God,  except  through  the  Human, 
which  is  his  ?  On  hearing  these  things, 
the  Africans  perceived  them  better 
than  the  rest,  because  they  are  more 
interiorly  rational,  and  each  favored 
them  according  to  his  perception. 

839.  Lastly,  we  discoursed  concern- 
ing the  Interior  and  Exterior  Man. 
And  it  was  said,  that  men  who  per- 
ceive things  interiorly,  are  in  the  light 
of  truth,  which  is  the  light  of  heaven ; 
and  that  men  who  perceive  things 
exteriorly,  are  in  no  light  of  truth,  be- 
cause only  in  the  light  of  the  world ; 
and  that  thus  interior  men  are  in  intelli- 
gence and  wisdom,  but  exterior  men 
in  insanity  and  preposterous  vision  ; 
that  interior  men  are  spiritual,  because 
they  think  from  the  spirit  elevated 
above  the  body,  wherefore  they  see 
truths  in  the  light ;  but  that  exterior 
men  are  sensual-natural,  because  they 
think  from  the  fallacies  of  the  senses  of 


the  body  ;  wherefore  they  see  truths  as 
in  a  thick  cloud,  and  when  they  revolve 
them  in  their  minds,  they  see  falses  as 
truths ;  that  internal  men  are  like 
those  who  stand  on  a  mountain  in  a 
plain,  or  on  a  tower  in  a  city,  or  on  a 
beacon  in  the  sea ;  but  external  men 
are  like  those  who  stand  in  a  valley 
under  a  mountain,  or  in  a  vault  under 
a  tower,  or  in  a  boat  under  a  beacon, 
who  see  only  the  nearest  things.  And 
further,  internal  men  are  like  those  who 
dwell  in  the  second  or  third  story  of  a 
house  or  palace,  the  walls  of  which 
are  continued  windows  of  crystal  glass, 
who  see  through  into  the  city  round 
about  to  a  great  extent,  and  know  every 
little  building  there ;  but  external  men 
are  like  those  who  dwell  in  the  lowest 
story,  the  windows  of  which  are  made 
of  paper  pasted  together,  who  do  not 
see  even  a  single  street  out  of  the 
house,  but  only  the  things  that  are 
within  the  house,  and  these  not  with- 
out a  candle  or  a  fire.  Internal  men 
also  are  like  eagles  which  soar  on  high, 
and  see  far  and  wide  all  things  under 
them  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  external 
men  are  like  cocks,  which  stand  on  a 
post,  and  crow  aloud  before  the  hens 
which  walk  on  the  ground.  And, 
moreover,  internal  men  perceive  that 
the  things  which  they  know  are  to  the 
things  which  they  do  not  know,  as  the 
water  in  an  urn  is  to  the  water  in  a 
lake;  but  external  men  do  not  perceive 
but  that  they  know  all  things.  The 
Africans  were  delighted  with  this  dis- 
course, because,  from  the  interior  sight, 
in  which  they  excel,  they  acknowledged 
that  it  was  so. 

840.  Since  the  Africans  are  such, 
therefore,  there  is  at  this  day  a  revela- 
tion made  to  them,  which,  having  com- 
menced, goes  from  its  region  around, 
but  not  yet  to  the  seas.  They  despise 
foreigners  coming  from  Europe,  who 
believe  that  man  is  saved  by  faith  alone, 
and  thus  by  only  thinking  and  speak- 
ing, and  not  at  the  same  time  by  will- 
ing and  doing ;  saying  that  there  is  no 
man  that  has  any  worship  who  does 
not  live  according  to  his  religion  ;  and 
if  not,  he  cannot  but  become  stupid 
and  wicked,  because  then  he  does  not 


544 


CoTvcerning  the  Jews. 


receive  any  thing  from  heaven.  They 
also  call  ingenious  wickedness  stupidity, 
because  there  is  not  any  life  in  it,  but 
death.  I  have  spoken  several  times 
with  Augustine,  who,  in  the  third  age, 
had  been  bishop  at  Hippo  in  Africa. 
He  said  that  he  is  there  at  this  day, 
and  inspires  into  them  the  worship  of 
the  Lord,  and  that  there  is  hope  of  the 
propagation  of  this  new  gospel  into 
the  neighboring  regions  there.  I  heard 
the  joy  of  the  angels  at  that  revelation, 
because  by  it  there  is  opened  to  them 
a  commimication  with  the  rational 
human,  hitherto  closed  up  by  the  uni- 
versal dogma,  that  the  understanding 
is  to  be  under  obedience  to  ecclesias- 
tical faith. 


841.  Concerning  the  Jews  in 
THE  Spiritu.\l  World. 

The  Jews,  before  the  last  judgment, 
which  took  place  in  the  year  1757, 
appeared  at  the  left  side  of  the  middle 
occupied  by  Christians,  in  a  valley 
there  :  after  that,  they  were  transferred 
to  the  north,  and  were  forbidden  to 
have  intercourse  with  Christians,  ex- 
cept those  wandering  out  of  the  cities. 
There  are  in  that  quarter  two  great 
cities,  into  which  the  Jews  after  death 
arc  transferred,  which,  before  the  judg- 
ment, they  called  Jerusalem,  but  after 
that,  by  anotiier  name ;  because,  since 
the  judgment,  by  Jerusalem  is  meant 
the  church,  as  to  doctrine,  in  which 
the  Lord  alone  is  worsliipped.  Con- 
verted Jews  arc  set  over  them  in  their 
cities,  who  admonish  them  not  to  .--peak 
reproachfully  of  Christ,  and  they  pun- 
ish those  who  still  do  it.  The  streets 
of  their  cities  are  filled  up  with  dirt 
even  to  the  ankles,  and  their  houses 
with  filthiness,  which  causes  them  to 
smell  so  offensively  that  they  cannot  be 
approached.  Afterwards,  I  observed 
that  some  of  that  nation  also  obtained 
a  place  of  abode  in  the  southern  quar- 
ter ;  and  when  I  asked  who  they  were, 
it  was  said,  that  they  were  those  who 
made  little  account  of  the  worship  of 
the  rest,  and  hesitated  in  their  minds 
respecting  the  Messiah,  whether  he  is 
ever  to  come;  and  also  who  thought 


concerning  various  things  in  the  world 
from  reason,  and  lived  according  to  it. 
The  Jews  who  are  called  Portuguese 
constitute  the  greatest  part  of  these. 

842.  There  sometimes  appears  to 
the  Jews  an  angel  above,  of  a  middling 
stature,  with  a  rod  in  his  hand,  and  he 
makes  them  believe  that  he  is  Moses, 
and  exhorts  them  to  desist  from  the 
folly  of  expecting  the  Messiah  even 
there,  because  the  Messiah  is  Christ, 
who  governs  them  and  all,  and  that  he 
knows  it,  and  also  knew  concerning 
Him,  when  he  was  in  the  world  ;  on 
hearing  which  they  retire,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  them  forget,  and  a  few 
retain.  Those  who  do  retain,  are  sent 
into  the  synagogues,  which  consist  of 
the  converted,  and  they  are  instructed  ; 
and  after  they  are  instructed,  new 
garments  are  given  to  them  instead  of 
tattered  ones ;  and  the  Word,  neatly 
written,  is  given  to  them  ;  and  also  a 
decent  habitation  in  the  city.  Those 
who  do  not  receive  are  cast  down,  and 
many  into  woods  and  deserts,  where 
tiiey  practise  robberies  among  them- 
selves. 

843.  Tiie  Jews  trade  in  that  world, 
as  in  the  former  world,  with  various 
things,  especially  with  precious  stones, 
wiiich,  by  unknown  ways,  they  procure 
for  themselves  from  heaven,  where 
there  are  precious  stones  in  abundance. 
The  cause  of  their  trading  with  pre- 
cious stones,  is,  because  they  read  the 
Word  in  its  original  language,  and 
esteem  the  sense  of  its  letter  holy; 
and  precious  stones  correspond  to  the 
sense  of  the  letter.  That  the  spiritual 
origin  of  those  stones  is  the  sense  of 
the  letter  of  the  Word,  and  that  thence 
is  their  correspondence,  may  be  seen 
above,  in  the  chapter  concerning  the 
Sac  red  Scripture,  n.  217,218.  They 
can  also  make  similar  ones  by  art,  and 
induce  the  fantasy  that  they  are  genu- 
ine ;  but  these  are  severely  fined  by 
their  governors. 

844.  The  Jews  arc  more  ignorant 
than  others  that  they  are  in  the  spiritual 
world,  but  believe  that  they  are  still  in 
the  natural  world  :  the  reason  is,  be- 
cause they  are  altogether  external  men, 
and  do  not  think  any  thing  concerning 


Coacludiiig  Relation. 


545 


religion  from  within ;  vvlierefore  also 
they  talk  about  the  Messiah  just  as  tliey 
did  before  ;  and  some  say  that  he  will 
come  with  David,  and,  shining  with  dia- 
dems, will  go  before  them,  and  introduce 
them  into  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  in 
the  way,  by  lifting  up  his  rod,  lie  will 
dry  up  the  rivers,  which  they  will  pass 
over;  and  that  the  Christians,  whom, 
among  themselves,  they  also  call  Gen- 
tiles, will  then  take  hold  of  the  skirts 
of  their  garments,  humbly  begging  that 
they  may  be  permitted  to  accompany 
them ;  and  that  they  will  receive  the 
rich  according  to  their  wealtii,  and  tliat 
these  will  serve  them.  They  confirm 
themselves  in  tliese  things,  by  what  is 
read  in  Zechariah  viii.  23,  and  in 
Isaiah  Ixvi.  20 ;  and  concerning  David, 
that  he  is  to  come  and  to  be  their  king 
and  shepherd,  from  Jeremiah  xxx.  9, 
and  from  Ezekiel  xxxiv.  23  to  25, 
xxxvii.  23  to  2G  ;  being  altogether  un- 
willing to  hear,  that  by  David  there,  is 
meant  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  by 
Jews  there,  are  meant  those  who  will 
be  of  his  church. 

845.  When  they  are  asked  whether 
they  firmly  believe  that  they  all  are  to 
come  into  tlie  land  of  Canaan,  they  say 
that  then  all  will,  and  that  then  the 
Jews  who  are  deceased  are  to  rise 
again,  and  that,  from  their  sepulchres, 
they  are  to  enter  into  tiiat  land.  When 
it  is  replied,  that  they  can  never  come 
out  of  sepulchres,  since  they  live  them- 
selves after  death,  they  answer,  that 
they  are  then  to  descend,  and  to 
enter  into  their  bodies,  and  thus  to  live. 
When  it  is  said,  that  that  land  cannot 
contain  them  all,  they  answer,  that 
it  will  then  be  enlarged.  When  it  is 
said,  that  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah, 
because  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  is  not 
to  be  upon  earth,  but  in  heaven,  they 
answer  that  tlie  land  of  Canaan  will 
then  be  heaven.  When  it  is  said,  that 
they  do  not  know  where  Bethlehem 
Ephratah  is,  where  the  Messiah  will  be 
born,  according  to  the  prediction  in 
Micah  V.  2,  and  in  David,  Psalm  cxxxii. 
(5,  they  answer  that  the  mother  of  the 
Messiah  still  is  to  bring  forth  there  ; 
and  some,  tint  where  she  brings  forth, 
there  is  Bethlehem.  When  it  is  said, 
69 


How  can  the  Messiah  dwell  with  those 
who  are  so  bad  !  and  it  is  confirtned 
by  many  passages  from  Jeremiah,  and 
especially  from  the  song  of  Moses, 
Deut.  xxxii.  that  they  are  the  worst, 
they  answer  that  among  the  Jews  there 
are  both  good  and  bad,  and  that  the 
bad  are  there  meant.  When  it  is  said, 
that  their  rise  was  from  a  Canaanitess, 
and  from  the  whoredom  of  Judah  with 
his  daughter-in-law.  Gen.  xxxviii.  they 
answer  that  it  was  not  whoredom  ;  but 
when  it  is  rejoined,  that  still  Judah 
commanded  that  she  should  be  brought 
forth  and  burned  on  account  of  whore- 
dom, they  go  away  to  consult ;  and 
after  consultation,  they  say.  It  was 
only  the  office  of  her  husband's  brother, 
which  neither  his  second  son  Onan, 
nor  his  third  son  Selah,  performed  ;  and 
to  this  they  add,  that  very  many  of 
them  are  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  who  had 
the  priesthood  ;  it  is  sufficient  that  we 
all  are  from  the  loins  of  Abraham. 
When  it  is  said  to  them,  that  there  is 
inwardly  in  the  Word  a  spiritual  sense, 
in  which  Christ  or  the  Messiah  is  much 
treated  of,  they  answer  that  it  is  not  so; 
but  some  of  them  say  that  inwardly  in 
the  Word,  or  at  the  bottom  of  it,  there 
is  nothing  but  gold  ;  besides  other  like 
things. 

846.  Once  I  was  raised  up,  as  to  my 
spirit,  intothe  angelic  heaven,  and  into  a 
society  there  ;  and  then  some  of  the  wise 
there  came  to  me,  and  said,  "  Witat, 

IS   THERE  NEW  FROM  THE  EARTH  ?"  I 

said  to  them,  "This  is  new,  that  the 
Lord  has  revealed  secrets,  which,  in  ex- 
cellence, exceed  the  secrets  hitherto 
revealed  since  the  beginning  of  the 
church."  They  asked,  "  What  are  they?" 
I  said  that  they  were  the.se  :  I.  That  in 
the  Word,  in  all  and  every  part  of  it, 
there  is  a  Spiritual  Sense  correspond- 
ing to  the  natural  sense ;  and  that  the 
Word,  by  means  of  that  sense,  is  a  con- 
junction of  the  men  of  the  church  with 
the  Lord,  and  also  a  consociation  with 
the  angels,  and  that  the  holiness  of 
the  Word  resides  in  that  sense.  II. 
That  the  Correspondences  of  which 
the  spiritual  sense  consists,  are  dis- 
closed.   And  the  angels  asked,  "  Did 


546 


Concluding  Relation. 


not  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  know 
about  correspondences  before  V  I 
said  that  they  did  not  know  any  thing 
at  all,  and  that  they  have  been  con- 
cealed now  for  thousands  of  years,  that 
is,  ever  since  the  time  of  Job  ;  and 
that,  with  those  who  lived  at  that  time 
and  before  it,  the  science  of  correspond- 
ences was  the  science  of  sciences, 
from  wliich  they  had  wisdom,  because 
knowledge  concerning  spiritual  tilings, 
which  are  of  heaven  and  the  church  ; 
but  that  that  science,  because  it  was 
turned  into  an  idolatrous  science,  was, 
by  the  Divine  Providence  of  the  Lord, 
so  obliterated  and  lost,  that  no  one  saw 
any  sign  of  it ;  but  that  still  it  is  now 
disclosed  by  the  Lord,  that  there  may 
be  effected  a  conjunction  of  the  men 
of  the  church  with  Him,  and  a  conso- 
ciation with  angels ;  and  these  are 
effected  by  means  of  the  Word,  in 
which  ail  and  each  of  the  things  are 
correspondences.  The  angels  rejoiced 
greatly  that  it  had  pleased  the  Lord  to 
reveal  this  great  secret,  which  had 
been  so  deeply  hidden  for  thousands  of 
years ;  and  they  said  that  it  was  done 
in  order  that  the  Christian  church, 
which  was  founded  upon  the  Word,  and 
now  is  at  its  end,  may  again  revive  and 
derive  spirit,  through  heaven,  from  the 
Lord.  They  asked  whether  it  was  at 
this  day  disclosed,  by  means  of  that 
science,  what  Baptism  and  what  tiic 
Holy  Supper  signify,  concerning 
which  they  have  hitherto  thought  such 
various  things.  And  I  answered,  that 
it  was.  III.  Further,  1  said,  that  a 
revelation  has  been  made  at  this  day 
by  the  Lord  concerning  the  Life  of 
MEN  AFTF.R  DEATH.  The  angcls  Said, 
"  Why  concerning  the  life  after  death  ? 
Who  does  not  know  that  man  lives 
after  death  ?"  I  answered,  "  They 
know,  and  they  do  not  know.  They 
say  that  the  man  does  not,  but  his  soul, 
and  that  this  lives  as  a  spirit ;  and  they 
entertain  an  idea  concerning  spirit  as 
of  wind  or  ether ;  and  that  the  man 
does  not  live  till  the  day  of  the  last 
judgment,  and  that  then  the  things  of 
the  body,  which  they  had  left  in  tlie 
world,  although  eaten  up  by  worms, 
mice  and  fishes,  would  be  again  col- 


lected together,  and  be  fitted  togetlier 
again  into  a  body,  and  tiiat  men  are 
thus  to  rise  again."  The  angels  said, 
"  Vrhat  is  this  f  Who  does  not  know 
that  man  lives  as  a  man  after  death, 
with  the  difference  only  that  he  then 
lives  a  substantial  man,  and  not  a  ma- 
terial one,  as  before ;  and  that  a  sub- 
stantial man  sees  a  substantial  man, 
just  as  a  material  man  a  material  one  ; 
and  that  they  know  not  one  point  of 
dilTerence,  except  that  they  are  in  a 
more  perfect  stale  ?"  IV.  The  angels 
asked,  "  What  do  they  know  of  our 
world,  and  of  Hi:avf,.\  Ax\d  Hell  ?"  I 
answered,  tiiat  tiiey  knew  nothing  at 
all  ;  but  that  it  is,  at  this  day,  disclosed 
by  llie  Lord,  what  the  world  is,  in  which 
angels  and  spirits  live  ;  thus  what  heav- 
en is,  and  what  hell  is ;  and  also  that 
angels  and  spirits  are  in  conjunction 
witl;  men;  besides  many  wonderful 
things  concerning  them.  The  angels 
were  glad  tliat  it  had  pleased  the  Lord 
to  disclose  such  things,  that  man  might 
no  longer,  tiirough  ignorance,  be  in 
doubt  concerning  his  immortality.  V. 
Again  I  said,  that  it  is  at  this  day  re- 
vealed by  tlie  Lord,  that  in  your  world 
tiiere  is  another  sun  than  in  ours,  and 
that  the  sun  of  your  world  is  pure  love, 
and  that  the  sun  of  our  world  is  pure 
fire  ;  and  that,  therefore,  all  that  pro- 
ceeds from  your  sun,  because  it  is  pure 
love,  partakes  of  life  ;  and  that  all  that 
proceeds  from  our  sun,  because  it  is 
pure  fire,  partakes  nothing  of  life  ;  and 
tiiat  thence  is  the  distinction  between 
Spiuiti'al  am>  Natural,  which  dis- 
tinction, hitlierto  unknown,  is  also  dis- 
closed ;  from  which  it  is  made  known 
whence  the  light  is,  which  enlightens 
the  human  understanding  with  wisdom, 
and  whence  the  heat  is,  which  enkin- 
dles the  human  will  with  love.  VI. 
Moreover,  it  is  disclosed  that  tiicre  arc 
three  degrees  of  life,  and  that  thence 
there  are  three  heavens,  <ind  that  the 
mind  of  man  is  distinguished  into  those 
degrees  ;  and  that  tlience  man  corre- 
sponds to  the  three  heavens.  The 
angels  said,  "  Did  they  not  know  this 
before?"  I  answered,  that  they  knew 
concerning  degrees  between  more  and 
less,  but  nothing  concerning  degrees 


Concluding 

between  prior  and  posterior.  YII. 
The  angels  asked,  whether  any  thing 
more  beside  those  had  been  revealed.  I 
said  thai  there  had,  many  things  more, 
which  are  concerning  the  Last  Jlog- 
MENT  ;  concerning  the  Lord,  that  He 
is  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth ;  that 
God  is  one  both  in  person  and  essence, 
in  whom  is  a  Divine  Trinity,  and  that 
He  is  the  Lord ;  also  concerning  the 
New  Church  to  be  instituted  by  Him, 
and  concerning  the  Doctrine  of  that 
church;  concerning  the  Holiness  of' 
the  Sacred  Scripture  ;  that  the  Apoca- 
lypse also  is  revealed  ;  and,  moreover, 
concerning  the  Lvhabitants  of  the 
Planets  ;  and  concerning  the  Earths 
in  the  universe;  besides  many  memo- 
rable and  wonderful  things  from  the 
spiritual  world,  by  which  many  things 
that  are  of  wisdom  have  been  disclosed 
from  heaven. 

847.  After  these  things,  I  said  to 
the  angels,  that  something  more  had 
been  revealed  in  the  world  by  the 
Lord.  They  asked  what  it  was. 
I  said,  concerning  truly  Conjugial 
Love,  and  concerning  its  spiritual 
delights.  And  the  angels  said,  "  Who 
does  not  know  that  the  delights  of  con- 
jugial love  exceed  the  delights  of  all 
loves?  And  who  cannot  think,  that 
all  the  blessedness,  satisfactions  and 
delights  which  can  ever  be  conferred 
by  the  Lord,  are  collected  into  some 
love,  since  it  corresponds  to  the  love 
of  the  Lord  and  the  church,  and 
that  the  receptacle  of  them  is  truly 
conjugial  love,  which  can  receive  and 
perceive  them  to  the  full  sense  1"  I 
answered,  that  they  do  not  know  this, 
because  they  have  not  approached  the 
Lord,  and,  therefore,  have  not  shunned 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  so  could  not 
be  regenerated ;  and  truly  conjugial 
love  is  solely  from  the  Lord,  and  is 
given  to  those  who  are  regenerated  by 
Him  ;  and  these  also  are  they  who  are 
received  into  the  Lord's  New  Church, 
which  is  meant  in  the  Revelation  by 
the  New  Jerusalem.  To  this  I  added, 
that  I  was  in  doubt  whether  the  people 
in  the  world  at  this  day  would  believe 
that  that  love  is  in  itself  spiritual,  and 
thence  from  religion,  because  they  en- 


r  Relation.  547 

tertain  only  a  corporeal  idea  concerning 
it ;  consequently,  that,  because  it  is 
according  to  religion,  it  is  spiritual 
with  the  spiritual,  natural  with  the 
natural,  and  merely  carnal  with  adul- 
terers. 

848.  The  angels,  on  hearing  these 
and  the  former  things,  rejoiced  exceed- 
ingly ;  but  they  perceived  sadness  in 
me,  and  asked,  "  Whence  is  your  sad- 
ness ?"  I  said,  that  those  secrets 
revealed  by  the  Lord,  although  they 
exceed,  in  excellence  and  dignity,  all 
the  knowledges  hitherto  communicated, 
still  are  not  reputed  on  earth  as  of  any 
value.  The  angels  wondered  at  this, 
and  desired  of  the  Lord  that  they  might 
be  permitted  to  look  down  into  the 
world ;  and  they  looked  down,  and 
behold  !  mere  darkness  there.  And  it 
was  said  to  them,  that  those  secrets 
should  be  written  on  a  paper,  and  be  sent 
down  to  the  earth,  and  they  would  see 
a  prodigy.  And  it  was  done  so ;  and 
behold,  the  paper  on  which  those  se- 
crets were  written,  was  sent  down  from 
heaven,  and  in  its  progress,  while  it 
was  yet  in  the  spiritual  world,  it  slione 
like  a  star  ;  but  when  it  descended  into 
the  natural  world,  the  light  disappeared, 
and  as  it  fell  down,  it  became  dark 
And  when  it  was  sent  down  by  the 
angels  into  companies,  where  were  the 
learned  and  erudite  from  some  of  the 
clergy  and  laity,  a  murmur  w'as  heard 
from  many,  in  which  were  these  expres- 
sions :  "  What  is  this  ?  Is  it  any  thing  ? 
Of  what  concern  is  it,  whether  we 
know  those  things,  or  do  not  know 
them?  Are  they  not  fetuses  of  the 
brain?"  And  it  appeared  as  if  some 
took  the  paper  and  folded  it,  and  rolled 
and  unrolled  it  with  their  fingers ;  and 
also  as  if  some  tore  it  to  pieces,  and 
wished  to  trample  it  under  their  feet; 
but  they  were  restrained  by  the  Lord 
from  that  enormity.  It  was  commanded 
the  angels  to  take  it  back,  and  preserve, 
and  keep  it;  and  because  the  angels 
became  sad,  and  thought  how  long 
this  would  be,  it  was  said.  Even  for  a 
time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time,  Rev. 
xii.  14. 

849.  After  this,  I  heard  a  hostile 
murmur  from  below,  and  at  the  same 


548 


Concluding  Relation. 


time  these  words,  "  Do  Miracles,  and 
WE  WILL  BELIEVE."  And  I  replied, 
"Are  not  those  things  miracles?" 
And  it  was  answered,  "  They  are  not." 
And  I  asked,  "  What  miracles,  then  ?" 
And  it  was  said,  "  Manifest  and  reveal 
future  events,  and  we  will  have  faith." 
But  I  answered,  "  Such  things  are  not 
given  by  the  Lord,  since,  as  far  as  man 
knows  the  future,  so  far  his  reason  and 
understanding,  with  his  prudence  and 
wisdom,  sink  into  indolence,  become 
torpid,  and  decay."  And  again  I  asked, 
"What  other  miracles  shall  I  do?" 
And  they  cried,  "Do  such  as  Moses 
did  in  Egypt."  And  I  replied,  "Per- 
haps you  would  harden  your  hearts 
against  them,  as  Pharaoh  and  the 
Egyptians  did."  And  they  answered 
that  they  would  not.  And  again 
I  said,  "Assure  me  that  you  would  not 
dance  around  a  golden  calf  and  wor- 
ship it,  as  the  posterity  of  Jacob  did, 
in  the  space  of  a  month  after  they  saw 
the  whole  of  mount  Sinai  burning,  and 
heard  Jehovah  himself  speaking  out  of 
the  fire ;  thus  after  a  miracle  which 
was  tlie  greatest  of  all.  (.4  golden  calf, 
in  tin:  spiritual  srnsc,  is  the  pleasure  of 
the  flesh.)  And  it  was  answered  from 
below,  "  We  will  not  be  like  the  pos- 
terity of  Jacob."  But  then  I  heard 
this  said  to  them  from  heaven,  "If  ye 
believe  not  Moses  and  tlie  prophets, 
that  is,  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  ye  will 
not  believe  from  miracles,  any  more 
than  the  posterity  of  Jacob  did  in  the 
desert,  nor  any  more  than  they  did, 
when  they  saw  with  their  eyes  the 
miracles  done  by  the  Lord  himself, 
when  He  was  in  the  world." 

850.  After  this,  I  saw  some  ascending 
from  below,  whence  those  things  were 
heard,  who,  addressing  me  in  a  grave 
tone,  said,  "  Why  did  your  Lord  reveal 
those  secrets,  which  you  have  just 
enumerated  in  a  long  series,  to  you 
who  are  a  layman,  and  not  to  some  one 
of  the  clergy?"  To  whicli  I  answered, 
that  this  was  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  the  Lord,  who  prepared  me 
for  this  office  from  my  earliest  youth. 
But  yet  I  will  ask  you  in  return, "Why 
did  the  Lord,  when  He  was  in  the 
world,  choose  fishermen  for  disciples, 


and  not  some  of  the  lawyers,  scribes 
priests  or  rabbies  ?  Discuss  this  among 
yourselves,  and  conclude  from  judg- 
ment, and  you  will  discover  the  reason." 
On  hearing  these  words,  a  murmur 
was  made,  and  after  this,  silence. 

85L  I  foresee  that  many,  who  read 
the  Relations  after  the  chapters,  will 
believe  that  they  are  inventions  of  the 
imagination ;  but  I  assert  in  truth, 
that  they  are  not  inventions,  but  were 
truly  seen  and  heard ;  not  seen  and 
heard  in  any  state  of  the  mind  buried 
in  sleep,  but  in  a  state  of  full  wake- 
fulness. For  it  has  pleased  the  Lord 
to  manifest  Himself  to  me,  and  to  send 
me  to  teach  those  things  which  will  be 
of  his  New  Church,  whicli  is  meant  by 
the  New  Jerusalem  in  the  Revelation; 
for  which  end  He  has  opened  the  in- 
teriors of  my  mind  or  spirit,  by  which 
it  has  been  given  me  to  be  in  the 
spiritual  world  with  angels,  and  at  the 
same  time  in  the  natural  world  with 
men,  and  this  now  for  twenty-seven 
years.  Who  in  the  Christian  world 
would  have  known  any  thing  concern- 
ing Heaven  and  Hell,  unless  it  had 
jileased  the  Lord  to  open  in  some  one 
the  sight  of  his  spirit,  and  to  show  and 
teacli  ?  That  such  things  as  are  de- 
scribed in  tlie  Relations,  appear  in 
the  heavens,  is  manifestly  evident  Irom 
the  like  things,  which  were  seen  by 
John,  and  described  in  the  Revelation, 
as  also  which  were  seen  and  described 
in  the  Word  of  the  Old  Testament  by 
the  Prophets.  In  the  Revelation  are 
these :  That  he  saw  the  Son  of  Ma.v 
in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks; 
that  he  saw  a  tabernacle,  a  temple,  an 
ark  and  an  altar  in  heaven ;  a  book 
sealed  with  seven  seals,  the  book  open, 
and  thence  horses  going  forth ;  four 
animals  around  the  throne;  twelve 
thousand  chosen  out  of  each  tribe ; 
locusts  ascending  out  of  the  abyss ;  a 
woman  bringing  forth  a  male  child,  and 
fleeing  into  the  desert  on  account  of 
the  dragon  ;  two  beasts,  one  ascending 
out  of  the  sea,  the  other  out  of  the 
earth ;  an  angel  flying  in  the  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel ; 
a  sea  of  glass  mixed  with  fire  ;  seven 
angels  having  the  seven  last  plagues  ; 


Concluding  Relation. 


549 


vials  poured  out  by  them,  into  the 
earth,  into  the  sea,  into  tlie  rivers,  into 
the  sun,  into  the  throne  of  the  beast, 
into  the  Eupiirates,  and  into  the  air ; 
a  woman  sitting  upon  a  scarlet  beast ; 
the  dragon  cast  out  into  a  lake  of  fire 
and  sulphur ;  a  white  horse ;  a  great 
supper ;  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
(^arth ;  the  holy  Jerusalem  coming 
down  out  of  heaven,  described  as  to 
tlic  gates,  the  wall  and  its  foundations; 
also  a  river  of  the  water  of  life,  and 
trees  of  life  bearing  fruit  every  month  ; 
beside  many  more  things  ;  all  which 
were  seen  by  John,  and  seen  while  as 
to  his  spirit  he  was  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  in  heaven.  Beside  the 
things  which  were  seen  by  the  apostles 
after  the  Lord's  resurrection,  as  those 
which  were  seen  afterwards  by  Peter, 
Acts  xi. ;  and  also  those  seen  and  heard 
by  Paul.  Moreover,  those  which  were 
seen  by  the  Prophets  in  the  Old 
Testament;  as  by  Ezekiel,  that  he 
saw  four  animals  which  were  cherubs, 
Ezek.  i.  and  x. ;  also  a  new  temple  and 
a  new  earth,  and  an  angel  measuring 
them,  xl.  to  xlviii. ;  that  he  was  carried 
away  to  Jerusalem,  and  saw  there 
abominations;  and  also  intoChaldea; 
viii.  xi.  The  case  was  similar  with 


Zechariah  ;  that  he  saw  a  man  riding 
among  the  myrtle  trees,  Zech.  i.  8 ; 
that  he  saw  four  horns,  and  afterwards 
a  man  with  a  measuring  line  in  his 
hand,  ii. ;  that  he  saw  a  flying  roll,  and 
an  ephah,  v.  1,6;  that  he  saw  four 
chariots  between  two  mountains,  and 
horses,  vi.  1,  &/C. :  and  likewise  with 
Daniel  ;  that  he  saw  four  beasts 
ascending  out  of  the  sea,  Dan.  vii.  1, 
&LC. ;  that  he  saw  the  Son  of  Man 
coming  with  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
whose  dominion  will  not  pass  away, 
and  whose  kingdom  will  not  perish, 
vii.  13,  14;  that  he  saw  the  battles 
of  the  ram  and  the  he-goat,  viii.  1, 
&-C. ;  that  he  saw  the  angel  Gabriel, 
and  talked  with  him,  ix. ;  that  Elisha's 
boy  saw  chariots  and  horses  of  fire 
around  Elisha,  and  that  he  saw  them 
when  his  eyes  were  opened,  2  Kings 
vi.  17.  From  these  and  many  other 
things  in  the  Word,  it  is  evident  that 
the  things  which  exist  in  the  spiritual 
world  have  appeared  to  many,  before 
and  since  the  coming  of  the  Lord : 
what  wonder  that  they  should  also 
now,  when  the  church  is  commencing, 
and  the  New  Jerusalem  coming  down 
out  of  heaven? 


550 


A  THEOREM 


PROPOSED    BY  A    CERTAIN    DUKE,  AN    ELECTOR  IN   GERMANY,  WHO  ALSO  HAD 
THE  HIGHEST  ECCLESIASTICAL  DIGNITY. 


Once  in  the  spiritual  world,  I  saw  a  certain  duke,  an  elector  in  Germany, 
who  also  had  had  the  highest  dignity  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  near  him  two 
bishops,  and  also  two  ministers ;  and  at  a  distance  I  heard  what  they  said  among 
themselves.  The  electoral  duke  asked  the  four  standing  by  him,  whether  they 
knew  what  makes  the  head  of  religion  in  Christendom.  The  bishops  answered, 
"The  head  of  religion  in  Chistendom  is  Faith  alone  justifying  and  s.^ving." 
He  asked  again,  "  Do  you  know  what  lies  inwardly  concealed  in  that  faith  t 
Open  it,  look  into  it,  and  tell."  They  answered,  "  That  inwardly  in  it  there 
lies  concealed  nothing  else  but  the  Merit  and  Righteousness  of  the  Lord 
the  Savior."  To  this  the  electoral  duke  said,  "  There  is  concealed  in  it,  then, 
the  Lord  the  Savior  in  his  Human,  in  which  He  is  called  Jesus  Christ  ;  be- 
cause He  alone,  in  his  Human,  was  righteousness."  To  this  they  said,  "  This 
certainly  and  inevitably  follows."  The  electoral  duke  insisted,  saying,  "  Open 
that  faith  and  look  into  it  further,  and  search  well,  whether  there  be  any  thing 
else  therein."  And  the  ministers  said,  "  There  is  also  concealed  therein  the 
Grace  of  God  the  Father."  To  which  the  electoral  duke  said,  "  Conceive 
and  perceive  rightly,  and  you  will  see,  that  there  is  the  Grace  of  the  Son  with 
the  Father,  for  He  asks  and  intercedes.  Wherefore,  I  tell  you,  since  you  con- 
fess, venerate  and  kiss  that  faith  alone  of  yours,  you  will  by  all  means  confess, 
venerate  and  kiss  the  Lord  the  Savior  alone  in  his  Human  ;  for,  as  was  said 
above,  He  in  his  Human  was  and  is  Righteousness.  That  He,  in  this  also,  is 
Jehovah  and  God,  I  saw  in  the  Sacred  Letters,  from  these  passages :  Behold 
the  days  will  come,  token  I  shall  raise  up  to  David  a  rightcoi/s  Branch,  who 
shall  reign  a  King,  and  shall  be  prospered ;  and  this  is  the  name  which  they 
shall  call  Him,  Jehovah  our  Righteousness,  Jer.  xxxiii.  15,  IG  :  in  Paul: 
In  Jesus  Christ  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelleth  bodily,  Coloss.  ii.  9 : 
and  in  John  :  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  God  and  eternal  Life,  1  John  v.  20, 
2L    Wherefore,  aJso,  He  is  called  the  God  of  Faith,  Phil.  iii.  9." 


551 


INDEX  OF  THE  RELATIONS. 


I. 

I  HEARD  some  new  comers  conversing'  together  about  three  divine  persons  from 
eternity ;  and  then  a  certain  one,  who,  in  the  world,  had  been  a  primate,  opened  the 
ideas  of"  his  thought  concerning  that  mystery,  saying,  That  it  had  been  and  was  still 
his  mind,  that  three  in  heaven  sit  upon  high  thrones ;  God  the  Father  upon  a  throne 
of  the  finest  gold,  with  a  sceptre  in  his  hand  ;  God  the  Son  at  his  right  hand,  upon 
a  throne  of  the  purest  silver,  with  a  crown  upon  his  head  ;  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
upon  a  throne  of  shining  crystal,  holding  in  his  hand  the  dove,  in  which  he  appeared, 
■when  Christ  was  baptized  ;  and  that  round  about  them,  lamps,  hanging  in  triple  order, 
glittered  from  precious  stones  ;  and  that  at  a  distance,  in  the  circus,  stood  innumera- 
ble angels  adoring  and  glorifying.  And,  moreover,  he  spoke  concerning  the  Holy 
Ghost,  how  he  introduces  faith,  purifies  and  justifies.  He  said  that  many  of  his  order 
favored  his  ideas  ;  believing  that  I  also,  because  I  was  a  layman,  should  have  faith  in 
them.  But  then,  leave  of  speaking  being  given  to  me,  I  said  that,  from  my  child- 
hood, I  had  cherished  the  idea  that  God  is  one  ;  wherefore  I  explained  to  him  what 
the  trinity  involves ;  what  a  throne,  sceptre  and  crown  signify,  when  they,  in  the 
Word,  are  predicated  of  God.  To  which  I  added,  that  all  who  believe  that  there  are 
three  divine  persons  ftom  eternity,  cannot  but  believe  that  there  are  three -Gods. 
And,  moreover,  that  the  divine  essence  is  not  divisible,    n.  16. 

n. 

A  discourse  of  the  angels  concerning  God,  that  his  Divine  is  Di\'ine  Esse  in  itself, 
and  not  from  itself ;  and  that  it  is  One,  the  Same,  Itself,  and  Indivisible  ;  also,  that 
God  is  not  in  place,  but  with  those  who  are  in  place ;  and  that  his  Divine  Love 
appears  to  the  angels  as  a  sun,  and  that  the  heat  thence  in  its  essence  is  love, 
and  the  light  thence  in  its  essence,  wisdom,   n.  25. 

That  the  proceeding  divine  attributes,  which  are  creation,  redemption  and  re- 
generation, are  of  one  God,  and  not  of  three,    n.  26. 

HI. 

Since  I  perceived  that  a  vast  multitude  of  men  are  in  tlie  persuasion,  that  all  things 
are  of  nature,  and  thence  that  nature  is  the  creator  of  the  universe,  in  a  certain 
gymnasium,  where  there  were  such,  I  spoke  with  a  certain  ingenious  one  respecting 
these  three  things  :  ].  ifhether  nature  be  of  life,  or  whether  life  be  of  nature.  2.  IFhether 
the  centre  be  of  the  expanse,  or  whether  the  expanse  be  of  the  centre.  3.  Concerning  the 
centre  and  expanse  of  nature  and  of  life.  And  that  the  centre  of  nature  is  the  sun 
of  the  natural  world,  and  the  expanse  of  this,  its  world  itself;  and  that  the  centre  of 
life  is  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  expanse  of  this,  its  world  itself;  which 
were  canvassed  on  botli  sides,  and  finally  it  was  shown  which  was  true.    n.  35. 

IV. 

That  I  was  brought  into  a  certain  theatre  of  wisdom,  where  were  assembled  an- 
gelic spirits  from  the  four  quarters,  upon  whom  it  had  been  enjoined  to  canvass  three 
arcana ;  1.  What  is  the  image  of  God,  and  what  the  likeness  of  God.  2.  JfTiy  man 
is  not  bom  into  the  science  of  any  love,  when  yet  beasts  and  birds  are  bom  into  the 


662 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


science  of  all  their  loves.  3.  What  the  tree  of  life  signifies,  arid  the  tree  of  the  kmwl- 
edge  of  good  and  evil.  And,  moreover,  that  they  should  join  those  three  together 
into  one  sentence,  and  refer  this  to  the  angels ;  which  being  done,  the  sentence  was 
referred,  and  it  was  accepted  by  the  angels,  n.  48. 

V. 

That  from  e\Tl  spirits  just  above  hell,  there  was  heard,  as  it  were,  a  noise  of  the 
sea,  which  was  a  tumult  that  existed  among  them,  because  they  heard  above  them, 
that  God  Almighty  had  bound  himself  to  order.  And  that  some  ascended  thence  and 
spoke  to  me  sharply  concerning  that  subject,  saying  that  God,  because  He  is 
almighty,  is  not  bound  to  any  order.  And  being  questioned  concerning  order,  I  said,  1. 
That  God  is  order  itself  2.  That  He  created  man  from  order,  in  order,  and  to  order. 
3.  That  He  created  his  rational  mind  according  to  the  order  of  the  spiritual  world, 
and  his  body  according  to  the  order  of  the  natural  world.  4.  That  thence  it  is  a 
law  of  order,  that  man  from  his  little  spiritual  world,  or  microiiramis,  sliould  govern  his 
little  natural  world,  or  microcosm ;  as  God,  from  his  macrouranus,  or  the  spiritual 
world,  governs  his  macrocosm,  or  the  natural  world.  5.  That  tlience  more  laws  of 
order  flow  forth,  some  of  which  were  added.  What  afterwards  happened  to  those  spirits 
is  described  n,  71. 

VI. 

Concerning  the  reasoning  of  some  from  Holland  and  Britain,  in  the  spiritual  world, 
concerning  Imputation  and  Predestination.  On  one  side,  why  God,  because  He  is 
almighty,  does  not  impute  the  righteousness  of  his  Son  to  all,  and  thus  make  them 
redeemed ;  when  yet,  because  He  is  almighty,  He  can  make  all  the  satans  of  hell 
angels  of  heaven ;  yea,  if  it  be  his  good  pleasure.  He  can  make  Lucifer,  the  dragon, 
and  all  the  goats,  archangels  ;  and  what  need  of  but  a  single  word  for  this  ?  On  tlie 
other  .side,  that  God  is  order  itself,  and  that  He  can  do  nothing  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  his  order,  because  this  would  be  to  do  contrary  to  Himself;  besides  other  things, 
by  which  they  sported  among  themselves  concerning  this  subject.    7i.  72. 

VII. 

That  afterwards  I  spoke  with  those  who  were  in  the  faith  of  predestination,  who 
deduced  it  from  the  absolute  power  or  omnipotence  of  God  ;  and  that  otherwise,  the 
power  of  God  would  be  less  than  that  of  a  king,  a  monarch  in  the  world,  who  can 
turn  the  laws  of  justice,  as  the  palms  of  his  hands,  and  act  absolutely,  as  Octavius 
Augustus,  and  also  absolutely  as  Nero.  To  which  it  was  replied,  that  God  created 
the  world,  and  all  and  every  thing  of  it,  from  Himself  as  order,  and  thus  put  order 
into  every  thing ;  and  that  "the  laws  of  liis  order  are  as  many  as  the  truths  in  tlio 
Word  :  and  then  were  mentioned  some  of  the  laws  of  order,  and  what  ones  wrrc 
on  Uie  part  of  God,  and  what  on  the  part  of  man  ;  and  that  they  cannot  be  changed, 
because  God  is  order  itself ;  and  that  man  was  created  an  image  of  his  order.    ?i.  73. 

vni. 

That  I  spoke  with  persons  assembled  from  the  clergy  and  laity,  concerning  the 
Divine  Omnipotence ;  who  said,  that  omnipotence  was  imlimited,  and  that  limited 
omnipotence  was  a  contradiction.  To  which  it  was  replied,  that  it  is  not  a  contra- 
diction to  act  omnipotently  according  to  the  laws  of  justice  with  judgment ;  it  is  said 
also  in  David,  that  justice  and  judgment  are  the  support  of  God's  throne.  Psalm 
Ixxxix.  14;  and  that  it  is  not  a  contradiction  to  act  omnipotently  according  to  the 
laws  of  love  from  wisdom;  but  that  it  is  a  contradiction,  that  God  can  act  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  justice  and  love,  and  that  this  would  be  from  no  judgment  and  wi.-jdom; 
and  that  such  a  contradiction  the  faith  of  the  present  church  involves,  tliat  God  can 
make  the  unjust  just,  and  confer  on  the  impious  all  the  girts  of  salvation,  and  Uw 
rewards  of  life  ;  besides  more  concerning  this  faith,  and  concerning  omnipotence,  n.  74 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


553 


IX. 

Once,  when  I  was  in  meditation  concerning  the  creation  of  the  universe  by  God,  I 
was  led  away  in  spirit  to  some  wise  ones,  who  at  first  complained  of  the  ideas  enter- 
tained by  them  in  the  world,  which  were  concerning  the  creation  of  the  universe  out 
of  chaos,  and  concerning  creation  out  of  nothing,  because  they  obscure,  pervert 
and  destroy  meditation  concerning  the  creation  of  the  universe  by  God.  Wherefore, 
on  being  asked  what  my  mind  was,  I  delivered  this :  That  it  is  vain  to  conclude  any 
thing  but  what  is  fantastical,  concerning  the  creation  of  the  universe,  unless  it  be 
known  that  there  are  two  worlds,  the  spiritual  and  the  natural ;  and  that  in  each  there 
is  a  sun  ;  and  that  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world  is  pure  love,  in  the  midst  of  which  is 
God,  and  that  from  it  are  all  spiritual  things,  which  in  thejriselves  are  substantial ; 
and  that  the  sun  of  the  natural  world  is  pure  fire,  and  that  from  it  are  all  natural 
things,  which  in  themselves  are  material ;  and  that  from  these  things  being  known, 
it  may  be  concluded  concerning  the  creation  of  the  universe,  that  it  is  from  God ;  and 
in  what  manner ;  which  also  was  briefly  delineated,    n.  76. 

X. 

That  some  satans  of  hell  desired  to  speak  with  the  angels  of  heaven,  for  the 
purpose  that  they  might  convince  them  that  all  things  are  from  nature,  and  that  God 
is  only  a  word,  unless  nature  be  meant.  And  it  was  permitted  that  they  should 
ascend ;  and  then  some  angels  descended  from  heaven  into  the  world  of  spirits,  that 
they  might  hear  them  ;  who  being  seen,  the  satans  ran  furiously  up  to  them,  saying, 
"  You  are  called  angels,  because  you  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  nature  is 
not  any  thing  respectively  ;  and  yet  you  believe  those  things,  although  it  is  contrary 
to  all  the  senses.  Which  sense  of  your  five  feels  any  thing  else  than  nature?"  After 
these  and  many  other  bitter  words,  the  angels  recalled  to  their  remembrance,  that 
they  now  lived  after  death,  and  that  they  did  not  before  believe  even  this.  And  then 
they  made  them  see  the  beautiful  and  splendid  things  of  heaven ;  and  they  said  that 
these  things  were  there,  because  all  there  believe  in  God.  And  afterwards  they 
made  them  see  the  ugly  and  filthy  things  of  hell,  saying  that  these  things  were  there, 
because  all  there  believe  in  nature.  The  satans,  from  seeing  those  things,  at  first 
were  convinced  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  created  nature  ;  but  as  they  de- 
scended, the  love  of  evil  returned  and  closed  up  their  understanding  from  above ; 
which  being  closed  up,  they  believed  as  before,  that  all  things  are  of  nature,  and 
nothing  of  God.   n.  77. 

XI. 

A  type  of  the  creation  of  the  universe,  to  the  life,  was  shown  to  me  by  the 
angels.  I  was  brought  into  heaven,  and  it  was  given  to  see  there  all  things  which 
were  of  the  animal  kingdom,  all  which  were  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  all  which 
were  of  the  mineral  kingdom,  which  were  altogether  similar  to  the  objects  of  those 
three  kingdoms  in  the  natural  world.  And  then  they  said,  "  All  those  things  are 
created  in  a  moment  by  God,  and  they  subsist  as  long  as  the  angels  are  in  a  state 
of  love  and  faith  as  to  thought ;  and  that  that  instantaneous  creation  evidently  testifies 
the  creation  of  similar  things,  yea,  a  similar  creation  in  the  natural  world,  with  the 
difference  only,  that  natural  things  clothe  spiritual,  and  that  that  clothing  was  provided 
by  God  for  the  sake  of  the  generations  of  one  from  another,  by  means  of  which  creation 
is  perpetuated.  Consequently,  that  the  creation  of  the  universe  was  effected  in  like 
manner  as  it  is  every  moment  in  heaven.  But  still,  that  all  things  in  the  three 
kingdoms  of  nature,  that  are  noxious  and  filthy,  which  are  enumerated,  were  not 
created  by  God,  but  arose  together  with  hell."    n.  78. 

XII. 

A  conversation  with  some,  who  in  the  world  were  celebrated  for  erudition,  con- 
cerning the  creation  of  the  universe  ;  who,  speaking  from  the  same  ideas  that  they 
before  entertained,  said — one,  that  nature  created  itself ;  another,  that  nature  col- 
lected its  elements  into  vortexes,  and  that,  from  the  collision  of  these,  the  earth  was 
fonned ;  and  the  third,  that  it  was  from  chaos,  which  he  equalled  in  magnitude  to  a 
70 


554 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


great  part  of  the  universe  ;  and  that  at  first  there  burst  forth  thence  the  purest  things, 
of  which  the  sun  and  stars  were  formed;  and  that  afterwards  those  less  pure,  of 
which  the  atmospheres,  and  lastly  the  gross  things,  of  which  the  terraqueous  globe 
consists.  To  the  question,  "  Whence  were  human  souls  ?"  they  said,  that  the  ether 
brought  itself  together  into  little  discrete  balls,  and  that  these  infuse  themselves  into 
those  who  are  about  to  be  born,  and  make  souls,  and  that  after  death  they  fly  off  to 
the  former  host  in  the  ether,  and  thence  return  into  others,  according  to  the  metemp- 
sychosis of  the  ancients.  After  this,  a  certain  priest,  by  solid  reasons  for  the  crea- 
tion of  the  universe  by  God,  reduced  all  the  things  that  were  said  to  a  flashy  hodge- 
podge, and  put  them  to  shame,  but  still  they  retained  their  former  deliriums,    n.  79. 

XIII. 

With  a  certain  satan,  concerning  God,  concerning  the  angelic  heaven,  and  con- 
cerning religion,  who,  because  he  knew  no  other  than  that  he  was  still  in  the  former 
world,  said  that  God  is  the  universe,  and  that  the  angelic  heaven  is  the  atmospheri- 
cal firmament,  and  that  religion  is  an  amulet  of  the  common  people ;  besides  many 
more  foolish  things.  But  when  it  was  again  brought  to  his  remembrance,  tliat  now 
he  lived  after  death,  and  that  before  he  did  not  believe  that  life,  at  that  moment 
he  confessed  that  he  was  insane  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  turned  himself  about,  and  went 
back,  he  was  insane,  just  as  before,    n.  80. 

XIV. 

That  in  the  night,  I  saw  an  ignis  fatuus  falling  down  to  the  earth,  which  by  many 
is  called  a  dragon.  I  observed  the  place  where  it  fell.  There  was  there  sulphurous 
earth  mixed  with  iron  dust ;  and  when,  in  the  morning,  I  looked  thither,  I  saw  there 
two  tents,  and  then  presently  a  spirit  fell  down  from  heaven,  to  whom  I  went  and 
asked  why  he  fell  down  from  heaven.  He  answered,  that  he  was  cast  down  by  the 
angels  of  Michael,  because  he  said  that  God  the  Father  and  his  Son  are  two,  and  not 
one.  And  he  said,  that  the  whole  angelic  heaven  believes  that  God  the  Father  and 
his  Son  are  one,  as  the  soul  and  body  are  one ;  and  that  they  confirm  this  by  many 
things  from  the  Word  ;  and  moreover  from  reason,  that  the  soul  of  the  son  is  only 
from  the  father  ;  and  that  it  is  also  thence  in  the  body  a  likeness  of  the  father.  And 
he  added,  that  he  indeed  confessed  in  heaven,  as  before  on  earth,  that  God  is  one  ;  but 
because  the  confession  of  the  mouth  and  the  thought  of  the  mind  disagreed  in  this, 
they  said  that  I  did  not  believe  in  any  God,  because  one  dissipates  the  other.  And  he 
said  that  this  was  the  cause  of  his  being  cast  down.  The  next  day,  returning  to  the 
same  place,  I  saw  two  statues  of  like  dust,  which  was  a  mixture  of  sulphur  and  iron, 
instead  of  the  two  tents,  one  of  whicii  represented  the  faith  of  the  present  church,  and 
the  other  its  charity,  both  beautifully  clothed  ;  but  the  garments  were  induced  by  fan- 
tasies. But  because  they  were  of  that  dust,  in  consequence  of  rain  sent  down  from 
heaven,  they  both  began  to  boil  and  to  blaze,    ti.  110. 

XV. 

That,  in  the  spiritual  world,  it  is  not  lawful  for  any  one  to  speak  otherwise  than  he 
thinks ;  if  he  does,  that  which  is  hypocritical  is  manifestly  heard  ;  and  that,  therefore, 
in  hell  no  one  can  name  Jcsxis,  because  Jesus  signifies  salvation.  By  this  it  was  there 
proved,  how  many  in  the  Christian  world,  at  this  day,  believe  that  Christ,  also  as  to 
his  Human,  is  God.  Wherefore,  when  many  of  the  clergy  and  laity  had  assembled,  it 
was  proposed  to  them,  that  they  should  say  Divine  IIi'man  ;  but  still  scarcely  any 
could  extract  these  two  words  together  from  the  thought,  and  thus  oiiunciate  them. 
It  was  confirmed  before  them,  by  many  things  from  the  Word,  that  the  Lord,  as  to 
the  Human  also,  was  God ;  as  by  those  which  are  in  Matt,  xxviii.  It* ;  .Tohn  i.  1,2, 
14  ;  xvii.  2;  Colos.  ii.  9;  1  John  v.  20  ;  and  also  elsewhere:  but  still  tlioy  could  not 
speak  out  Divine  Human ;  and,  what  they  wondered  nt,  that  neither  could  the  Evan- 
gelical, although  their  orthodoxy  teaches.  That,  in  Christ,  God  is  Man  and  Man  God: 
and  still  more,  that  neither  could  the  Monks,  who  yet  most  devoutly  adore  the  body 
of  Christ  in  the  eucharist.  From  these  things  it  was  found,  that  Christians,  at  this 
day,  as  to  the  greater  part,  are  interiorly  either  Arians  or  Socinians :  and  that  these, 
if  they  adore  Christ  as  God,  are  hypocrites,    n.  111. 


Index  of  the  Relations, 


555 


XVI. 

An  altercation  concerning  the  little  treatise,  "A  Brief  Exposition  of  the 
Doctrine  of  the  New  Church,"  published  by  me  at  Amsterdam;  and  concerning 
this  there,  especially.  That  not  God  the  Father,  but  the  Lord  God  the  Redeemer,  is  to 
be  addressed  and  adored ;  arguing,  that  still  it  is  said  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  Our  Father, 
who  art  in  the  heavens,  hallowed  be  thy  name ;  thy  kingdom  come ;  consequently  that 
God  the  Father  is  to  be  addressed.  To  settle  which  strife,  I  was  sent  for ;  and  then 
I  demonstrated,  that  God  the  Father  cannot  be  addressed  in  his  Divine,  but  in  his 
Human  ;  and  because  the  Divine  and  the  Human  in  Him  are  one  Person,  that  the 
Lord  is  that  Father ;  which  also  was  confirmed  from  the  Word ;  as  well  from  the 
Word  of  the  Old  Testament,  where  the  Son  of  God  is  called  the  Father  of  eternity, 
and  in  many  places  Jehovah  the  Redeemer,  Jehovah  Righteousness,  and  the  God  of 
Israel,  as  from  the  Word  of  the  New  Testament  often ;  and  thus  that  when  the  Lord 
God  the  Redeemer  is  addressed,  the  Father  is  addressed ;  and  that  then  his  name  is 
hallowed,  and  his  kingdom  comes  ;  besides  more.    n.  112. 

XVII. 

That  I  saw  an  army  upon  red  and  black  horses,  all  in  it  turned  as  to  their  faces  to 
the  tails  of  the  horses,  and  as  to  the  hinder  part  of  their  heads  to  their  heads,  crying 
for  battle  against  those  who  were  riding  upon  white  horses  ;  and  that  that  ludicrous 
army  issued  forth  from  the  place  which  is  called  Armageddon,  Rev.  xvi.  16 ;  and 
that  it  consisted  of  those,  who  in  youth  imbued  the  dogmas  concerning  justification 
by  faith  alone,  and  who  afterwards,  when  they  were  promoted  to  eminent  offices, 
rejected  the  things  which  are  of  faith  and  religion,  from  the  internals  of  their  mind 
to  the  externals  of  their  body,  where,  finally,  they  vanished.  Described  as  they  ap- 
peared in  Armageddon  ;  and  it  was  heard  thence,  that  they  wished  to  engage  with  the 
angels  of  Michael,  which  also  was  given,  but  at  some  distance  from  hence  ;  and  that 
here  it  was  disputed  between  them  concerning  the  meaning  of  the  words  in  the 
Lord's  prayer.  Our  Father,  who  art  in  the  heavens,  hallowed  be  thy  name  ;  thy  kingdom, 
come.  And  then  it  was  said  by  the  angels  of  Michael,  that  the  Lord,  the  Redeemer 
and  Savior,  is  Father  to  all  in  the  heavens ;  since  He  taught,  that  the  Father  and  He 
are  one ;  that  the  Father  is  in  Him,  and  He  in  the  Father ;  and  that  he  that  seeth 
Him  seeth  the  Father ;  that  all  things  of  the  Father  are  in  Him ;  also,  that  it  is  the 
will  of  the  Father  that  they  should  believe  in  the  Son,  and  that  those  who  believe  not 
the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  that  the  anger  of  God  will  abide  on  them ;  also,  that 
He  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  and  that  He  has  power  over  all  flesh ;  and 
moreover,  that  no  one  has  seen,  or  can  see,  God  the  Father,  but  the  Son  alone,  who 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father ;  besides  more.  After  this  combat,  the  Armageddons 
being  convinced,  some  of  them  were  cast  into  the  abyss,  mentioned  Revelation  ix., 
and  some  of  them  were  sent  forth  into  a  desert,    n.  113. 

xvin. 

That  I  was  in  a  temple,  in  which  there  were  no  windows,  but  a  large  aperture  in 
the  roof,  and  that  those  assembled  there  conversed  together  about  Redemptiopj, 
saying  unanimously,  that  redemption  was  made  by  the  passion  of  the  cross.  But 
when  they  were  in  that  conversation,  a  black  cloud  covered  the  aperture  of  the  roof, 
whence  it  became  dark  in  the  temple ;  but  that,  a  little  afterwards,  that  cloud  was 
dispersed  by  angels,  that  descended  from  heaven,  who  then  sent  down  one  of  their 
number  into  the  temple  to  instruct  them  about  redemption.  He  said  that  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross  was  not  redemption,  but  that  redemption  was  the  subjugation  of  the 
hells,  the  establishment  of  order  in  the  heavens,  and  thus  the  restitution  of  all  things, 
which  were  in  disorder,  both  in  the  spiritual  world  and  in  the  natural  world ;  and  that 
without  it  no  flesh  could  have  been  saved.  And  concerning  the  passion  of  the  cross, 
he  said,  that  by  it  was  completed  the  inmost  unition  with  the  Father ;  and  that  when 
it  is  taken  for  redemption,  many  things  unworthy  of  God,  yea,  abominable,  follow  as 
consequences ;  as  that  He  passed  sentence  of  condemnation  upon  the  whole  human 
race,  and  that  the  Son  took  it  upon  Himself,  and  that  thus  He  propitiated  the  Father,  and 


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Index  of  the  Relations. 


by  intercession  reduced  Him  to  his  divine  essence,  which  is  love  and  wisdom ;  besides 
many  more  things,  which  it  is  scandalous  to  attribute  to  God.    n.  134. 

XIX. 

That  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world  was  seen,  in  which  Jeiiovah  God  is,  in  his  Hu- 
man :  and  then  this  was  heard  from  heaven,  That  God  is  One.  But  when  this 
glided  down  into  the  spiritual  world,  it  was  turned  according  to  the  forms  of  the 
minds  there,  and  at  length  into  three  Gods ;  which  also  one  there  reasoning  con- 
firmed by  these  things :  That  there  is  one  who  created  all  things,  another  who  re- 
deemed all,  and  a  third  who  operates  all  things ;  also  that  there  is  one  who  im- 
putes, another  who  mediates,  and  a  third  who  inscribes  those  things  on  man, 
and  thus  puts  in  faith,  by  which  he  justifies  him.  But  because  the  faith  of  three 
Gods  had  perverted  the  whole  Christian  church,  from  the  perception  given,  I  dis- 
closed to  them  what,  with  the  one  God,  is  meant  by  Mediation,  Intercession,  Pro- 
pitiation and  Expiation ;  namely,  that  those  four  are  attributes  of  the  Human  of  Je- 
hovah God ;  that  because  Jehovah  God  without  the  Human  cannot  approach  man,  nor 
be  approached  by  man.  Mediation  signifies  that  the  Human  is  what  is  intermediate ; 
that  Intercession  signifies  that  it  mediates  perpetually ;  that  Propitiation  signifies  that 
there  is  free  access  for  every  man  to  God,  and  that  Expiation  signifies  that  there  is 
also  for  sinners  ;  and  all  these  things  through  the  Human,    n.  135. 

XX. 

That  I  entered  into  a  gymnasium,  where  it  was  canvassed,  how  that  is  to  be  un- 
derstood, which  is  said  concerning  the  Son  of  God,  that  He  sits  at  the  Right 
Hand  of  the  Father.  Concerning  this  there  were  various  opinions;  yet  it  was 
the  opinion  of  all  that  the  Son  actually  sits  thus ;  but  they  were  canvassing 
why  it  was  so.  Then  some  supposed  tiiat  it  was  done  on  account  of  redemption ; 
some  that  it  was  from  love ;  some,  that  He  might  be  a  counsellor ;  some,  that  He 
might  have  honor  from  the  angels ;  some,  because  it  was  given  him  to  reign  instead 
of  the  Father ;  some,  that  he  might  be  heard  with  the  right  ear  by  those  for  whom 
He  intercedes.  Besides,  they  also  canvassed.  Whether  the  Son  of  God  from  eternity 
sits  thus,  or  whether  the  Son  of  God  born  in  the  world.  Having  heard  these  tilings, 
I  raised  my  hand,  requesting  that  I  might  be  permitted  to  say  something,  and  to  tell 
what  is  meant  by  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  And  I  said,  "  The  omnipotence  of 
God,  by  means  of  the  Human  which  he  assumed,  is  meant;  for  by  means  of  tliis  He 
wrought  redemption,  that  is,  subjugated  the  hells,  created  a  new  angelic  heaven,  and 
instituted  a  new  church."  That  this  is  meant  by  sitting  at  the  right  hand,  I  con- 
firmed from  the  Word,  in  which  power  is  signified  by  the  right  hand  ;  and  afterwards 
it  was  confirmed  from  heaven,  by  the  appearance  of  a  right  hand  over  them,  from  tlie 
power  of  which,  and  the  terror  thence,  they  all  became  almost  lifeless,    n.  13G. 

XXI. 

That,  in  the  spiritual  world,  I  was  brought  into  a  council-house,  in  which  wore 
assembled  the  celebrated  ones  who  lived  before  the  Nicene  council,  and  were  called 
Apostolic  Fathers  ;  and  also  the  renowned  ones  who  lived  after  that  council ;  and  I 
saw  that  some  of  the  latter  appeared  with  a  beardless  chin,  and  in  wigs  of  women's 
hair  neatly  trimmed  ;  but  all  the  former  in  a  bearded  chin,  and  in  natural  hair.  Before 
them  stood  a  man,  the  judge  and  arbiter  of  the  writings  of  this  age,  who  commenced 
by  a  certain  lamentation,  saying,  "  A  man  from  the  laity  has  risen  up,  who  has  dragged 
down  our  faith  out  of  its  sanctuary,  which  yet  is  a  star  shining  day  and  night  before 
us ;  but  this  is  done  because  that  man  is  blind  in  the  mysteries  of  that  faith,  and 
does  not  see  in  it  tlie  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  thus  not  the  woiulerful  things  of  its 
justification ;  when  yet  that  faith  is  in  three  divine  persons,  and  thus  in  tlie  whole 
God  ;  and  because  he  has  transferred  his  faith  to  the  second  person,  and  not  to  tiiis, 
but  to  his  Human,  it  cannot  be  otherwise  than  that  naturalism  should  spring  thence." 
Those  who  lived  nftor  the  Nicene  council  favored  his  speech,  saying,  "  That  it  is 
impossible  that  there  should  be  any  other  faith,  and  from  any  other  source."  But  the 
Apostolic  Fathers,  who  lived  before  that  age,  being  indignant,  related  many  things 
which  are  said  in  heaven  concerning  the  Nicene  and  Athanasian  faith,  which  may  be 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


657 


seen.  But  because  the  president  of  the  council  was  consociated,  as  to  the  spirit, 
with  that  writer  in  Leipsic,  I  addressed  him,  and  demonstrated  from  the  Word,  that 
Christ,  also  as  to  the  Human,  is  God  ;  and  also  from  the  dogmatical  book  of  the 
Evangelical,  called  Formula  Concordi-e,  That  in  Christ  God  is  Man  and  Man 
God;  as  also  that  the  Augsburg  Confession  very  highly  approves  of  the  worship  of  Him; 
besides  more  ;  at  which  he  was  silent,  and  turned  himself  away.  Afterwards  I  spoke 
with  a  certain  spirit,  who  was  consociated  with  an  eminent  man  in  Gottenburg,  who 
defiled  the  worship  of  the  Lord  with  a  still  greater  reproach.  But  at  length  those 
two  reproaches  were  declared  to  be  lies  craftily  invented  for  averting  the  wills,  and 
deterring  them  from  the  holy  worship  of  the  Lord.    n.  137. 

xxn. 

That  there  appeared  a  smoke  ascending  from  the  lower  earth,  and  it  was  said  that 
smokes  are  nothing  else  than  falses  in  a  heap.  And  then  some  angels  had  a  desire  of 
exploring  what  the  falses  were,  which  thus  smoked ;  and  they  descended,  and  found 
four  troops  of  spirits,  two  of  which  were  of  the  learned  and  unlearned  of  the  clergy, 
and  two  of  the  learned  and  unlearned  of  the  laity,  who  all,  among  themselves,  con- 
firmed that  an  invisible  God  is  to  be  worshipped,  and  that  the  worshippers  then  have 
holiness  and  audience ;  otherwise  if  a  visible  God  should  be  worshipped.  Holiness 
and  audience  from  an  invisible  God  they  confirmed  by  various  things  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  they  acknowledge  three  Gods  from  eternity,  who  are  invisible.  But  it  was 
shown,  that  the  worship  of  an  invisible  God,  and  still  more  of  three  invisible  ones,  is 
no  worship.  To  confirm  this,  Socinus  and  Arius,  with  some  of  their  followers,  who 
all  had  worshipped  an  invisible  Divinity,  were  brought  forth  from  below  ;  who,  when 
they  spoke  from  the  natural  or  external  mind,  said  that  there  is  a  God,  although  He 
is  invisible  ;  but  when  their  external  mind  was  shut,  and  the  internal  was  opened,  and 
firom  this  they  were  forced  to  make  their  confession  concerning  God,  they  said, 
"  What  is  God  ?  We  have  not  seen  his  shape,  nor  heard  his  voice.  Wliat,  then,  is  God, 
but  an  ideal  entity  or  nature  ?"  But  they  were  instructed,  that  it  had  pleased 
God  to  descend  and  assume  the  Human,  that  they  might  see  his  shape  and  hear  his 
voice  ;  but  this  in  tlieir  ears  was  to  no  purpose,    n.  159. 

XXHL 

First,  concerning  the  stars  in  the  natural  world  ;  that  perhaps  they  might  be  of  the 
same  number  as  the  angelic  societies  in  heaven,  since  every  society  there  sometimes 
shines  as  a  star.  Afterwards,  I  spoke  with  the  angels  concerning  a  certain  way, 
which  appears  filled  with  innumerable  spirits,  and  that  it  is  the  way  by  which  all,  who 
depart  out  of  the  natural  world,  pass  into  the  spiritual  world.  To  this  way  I  went  in 
company  with  angels  ;  and  we  called  from  that  way  twelve  men,  and  asked  what  they 
believed  concerning  heaven  and  hell,  and  concerning  a  life  after  death  ;  and  because 
they  were  recently  from  the  world,  and  knew  no  otherwise  than  that  they  were  stiU 
in  the  natural  world,  they  answered  from  the  idea  which  they  brought  with  them. 
The  First,  "  That  all  who  live  morally  come  into  heaven ;  and  that  no  one  comes 
into  hell,  because  all  live  morally."  The  Second,  "That  God  governs  heaven,  and 
the  devil  hell ;  and  because  they  are  opposite,  one  calls  good  what  the  other  calls  evil ; 
and  that  the  man  who  is  a  dissembler,  because  he  stands  on  the  side  of  both,  can  live 
under  the  dominion  of  one  equally  as  under  the  dominion  of  the  other."  The  Third, 
"That  there  is  no  heaven  nor  hell.  Who  has  come  thence  and  told  ?"  The  Fourth, 
"That  no  one  could  return  thence  and  tell,  because  man,  when  he  dies,  is  either  a 
spectre  or  wind."  The  Fifth,  "  That  we  must  wait  till  the  day  of  the  last  judg- 
ment, and  then  they  will  tell,  and  you  will  know  all  about  it."  But  when  he  said 
this,  he  laughed  in  his  heart.  The  Sixth,  "  How  can  the  soul  of  man,  which  is  only 
wind,  reenter  its  body,  eaten  up  by  worms,  and  be  clothed  with  a  skeleton  either 
burnt  up  or  reduced  to  dust."  The  Seventh,  "That  men  no  more  live  after  death 
than  beasts  and  birds.  Are  not  these  equally  rational .'"  The  Eighth,  "  I  believe 
there  is  a  heaven,  but  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  hell,  because  God  is  almighty,  and 
is  able  to  save  all."  The  Ninth,  "That  God,  because  He  is  gracious,  cannot  send 
any  one  to  eternal  fire."  The  Tenth,  "That  no  one  can  come  into  hell,  because 
God  sent  his  Son,  who  has  made  expiation  for  all,  and  taken  away  the  sins  of  all. 
What  can  the  devil  do  against  that  ?"    The  Eleventh,  who  was  a  priest,  "  That  those 


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Index  of  the  Relations. 


only  are  saved  who  have  obtained  faith,  and  that  election  is  according  to  the  will  of 
the  Almighty."  The  Twelfth,  who  was  a  politician,  "  I  do  not  say  any  thing  about 
heaven  and  hell ;  but  let  the  priests  preach  about  them,  that  the  minds  of  the  com- 
mon people  may  be  kept  bound,  by  an  invisible  bond,  to  the  laws  and  rulers."  On 
hearing  these  things,  the  angels  were  astonished ;  but  they  waked  them  up  by  in- 
structing them,  that  they  were  now  living  after  death ;  and  he  introduced  them  into 
heaven,  but  they  did  not  stay  there  long,  because  it  was  found  that  they  were  merely 
natural,  and  that  thence  the  hinder  part  of  their  heads  was  excavated ;  concerning 
which  excavation  and  the  cause  of  it,  lastly,  something  is  said,  n.  160. 

XXIV. 

That  there  was  heard  a  sound  as  of  a  mill,  and  tliat,  following  tlie  sound,  I  saw  a 
house  full  of  chinks,  into  which  there  was  an  entrance  open  under  ground,  and  in  it 
a  man  collecting  from  the  Word  and  books  many  things  concerning  Justification 
BT  FAITH  alone  ;  and  that  scribes  at  his  side  were  writing  his  collections  upon  paper ; 
and  to  the  question,  what  he  was  now  collecting,  he  said  this,  tliat  God  the 
Father  fell  out  of  favor  towards  the  human  race,  and  that  He,  therefore,  sent  the  Son 
to  make  expiation  and  propitiation.  To  which  I  answered,  that  this  is  contrary  to 
Scripture,  and  contrary  to  reason,  that  God  could  fall  out  of  favor  ;  thus  He  would 
also  fall  out  of  his  essence,  and  thus  would  not  be  God.  And  when  I  demonstrated 
this  even  to  conviction,  he  grew  warm,  and  commanded  the  scribes  to  cast  me  out. 
But  when  I  went  out  of  my  own  accord,  he  threw  after  me  a  book,  which,  by  chance, 
his  hand  took  hold  of ;  and  that  book  was  the  Word.    n.  161. 

XXV. 

It  was  disputed  among  spirits,  whether  any  one  can  see  any  genuine  truth  in  the 
Word,  unless  he  goes  immediately  to  the  Lord,  who  is  the  Word  itself.  But,  because 
there  were  those  who  contradicted,  an  experiment  was  made ;  and  then  those  who 
went  to  God  the  Father,  did  not  see  any  truth ;  but  all  who  went  to  the  Lord  saw. 
During  this  disputation,  some  spirits  ascended  out  of  the  abyss,  of  which  Rev.  ix., 
where  they  canvass  the  mysteries  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  saying  that  they  go 
to  God  the  Father,  and  see  their  mysteries  in  clear  light.  But  it  was  answered,  that 
they  see  them  in  fatuous  light,  and  that  they  have  not  even  a  single  truth ;  at  which 
being  indignant,  they  brought  forth  from  the  Word  many  things  wliich  were  true  ; 
but  it  was  said  to  them,  that  they  were  true  in  themselves,  but  in  them  falsified. 
That  it  was  so,  was  proved  by  their  being  led  into  a  house,  where  there  was  a  table, 
into  which  light  from  heaven  flowed  directly ;  and  it  was  said  to  them,  that  they 
should  write  those  truths,  which  they  had  brought  forth  from  the  Word,  upon  paper, 
and  lay  it  upon  that  table  ;  which  being  done,  that  paper,  on  which  the  truths  were 
written,  slioiie  like  a  star ;  but  when  they  came  up  and  fixed  their  eyes  upon  it,  the 
paper  appeared  blackened  as  by  soot.  And  afterwards  they  were  led  to  another 
similar  table,  upon  which  lay  the  Word  encircled  with  a  rainbow  ;  whicli  when  a 
certain  champion  of  the  doctrine  of  faith  alone  touched  witli  his  hand,  an  explosion 
was  made,  as  from  a  gun,  and  he  was  cast  into  a  corner  of  the  room,  and  lay  as 
dead  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour.  From  these  things,  they  were  convinced  that  all 
the  truths,  which  were  with  them  from  tlie  Word,  were  true  in  themselves,  but 
falsified  in  them.    n.  102. 

XXVI. 

That  there  are  climates  in  the  spiritual  world,  as  in  the  natural  world ;  and  that 
thence  also  there  are  northern  zones,  where  are  snow  and  ice.  Once  being  brought 
thither  in  spirit,  I  entered  a  temple  then  covered  over  witli  snow,  illuminated  within 
by  lamps,  where,  behind  the  altar,  there  was  seen  a  table,  upon  which  was  written  this, 
The  divi.ne  Trimty,  Fathf.r,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  who  essentially  are  one,' 
BUT  PERSONALLY  THREE.  And  I  heard  a  priest  preaching  about  four  mysteries  or 
faith,  respecting  which  the  understanding  is  to  be  kept  under  the  obedience  of  faith,  ■ 
wiiich  may  be  seen.  After  the  discourse,  the  hearers  tliankcd  the  priest  for  liis  sermon' 
so  full  of  wisdom.  But  when  I  asked  them  whether  they  understood  any  thing,  thej' 
answered,  "We  caught  all  with  full  ears ;  why  do  you  ask  whether  we  understood  ?  Is' 
not  the  understanding  amazed  in  such  things  ?"  To  this  the  priest,  being  present,  added, 


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559 


'•Because  you  have  heard  and  not  understood,  you  are  blessed,  since  thence  is  your 
salvation,"  &.c.  n.  185. 

XXVII. 

That  THE  HUMAN  MtND  is  distinguished  into  three  regions,  like  the  heaven  in 
which  angels  are  ;  and  that  theological  things,  with  those  who  love  truths  because 
they  are  truths,  reside  in  the  highest  region  of  the  mind ;  and  that  under  them,  in  the 
middle  region,  moral  things,  but  under  these,  political  things  ;  and  that  the  various 
sciences  make  the  door.  But  that  theological  things,  with  those  who  do  not  love 
truths,  sit  in  the  lowest  region,  and  mingle  themselves  there  with  man's  own  things, 
and  thus  with  the  fallacies  of  the  senses ;  and  that  thence  it  is,  that  some  cannot 
perceive  theological  things  at  all.    n.  186. 

XXVIII. 

That  I  was  brought  to  a  place,  where  were  those  who  are  meant  by  the  false 
PROPHET  in  the  Revelation;  and  by  those  there  I  was  invited  to  see  their  temple; 
and  I  followed  and  saw  in  it  the  image  of  a  woman  clothed  in  a  scarlet  robe,  holding 
in  her  right  hand  a  golden  coin,  and  in  her  left  a  chain  of  pearls ;  but  these  things 
were  induced  by  fantasy.  But  when  the  interiors  of  the  mind  were  opened  by  the 
Lord,  instead  of  the  temple,  there  was  seen  a  house  full  of  chinks  ;  and  instead  of  the 
woman,  there  was  seen  a  beast,  such  as  is  described,  Revelation  xiii.  2 ;  and  under 
the  floor  there  a  bog,  in  which  lay  the  Word,  deeply  concealed.  But  presently,  an 
eastern  wind  blowing  up,  the  temple  was  carried  away,  and  the  bog  dried  up,  and 
the  Word  appeared ;  and  then,  by  the  light  from  heaven,  there  appeared  there  a 
Tabernacle,  like  that  of  Abraham,  when  the  three  angels  came  and  told  him  con- 
cerning Isaac,  who  was  about  to  be  born  ;  and  afterwards,  light  being  sent  forth  from 
the  second  heaven,  instead  of  the  tabernacle  there  appeared  a  Temple,  such  as  had 
been  at  Jerusalem ;  and  after  this,  a  light  shone  upon  it  from  the  third  heaven,  and 
then  the  temple  disappeared,  and  there  was  seen  a  House  alone,  standing  upon  the 
foundation  stone,  where  the  Word  was.  But  because  too  great  sanctity  then  filled 
their  minds,  this  light  was  withdrawn,  and  instead  of  it,  light  from  the  second 
heaven  was  let  in,  from  which  the  view  of  the  temple  returned,  and  within  in  it  that 
of  the  tabernacle,   n.  187. 

XXIX. 

That  there  was  seen  a  magnificent  palace,  in  which  there  was  a  temple,  and  in  this 
seats  were  placed  in  triple  order ;  in  it  there  was  a  council  convoked  by  the  Lord,  in 
which  they  deliberated  concerning  the  Lord  the  Savior,  and  concerning  the 
Holy  Spirit  ;  and  when  as  many  of  the  clergy  were  present  as  there  were  seats, 
they  entered  the  council ;  and  because  it  was  concerning  the  Lord,  the  first  pro- 
position was.  Who  assumed  the  Human  in  the  virgin  Mary.'  And  then  the 
angel  standing  at  the  table  read  before  them  what  the  angel  Gabriel  said  to  Mary : 
The  Holy  Spirit  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Most  High 

SHALL  overshadow   THEE  ;  AND  THE  HoLY  ThING   THAT   SHALL  BE  BORN  OF  THEE 

SHALL  BE  CALLED  THE  SoN  OF  GoD,  Luko  i.  35 ;  and  also  from  Matt.  i.  20,  25. 
And  moreover  many  things  from  the  prophets,  that  Jehovah  himself  was  about  to  come 
into  the  world,  and  that  Jehovah  himself  is  called  Savior,  Redeemer  and  Righteous- 
ness :  from  which  it  was  concluded  that  Jehovali  himself  assumed  the  Human. 
Another  deliberation  concerning  the  Lord  was,  whether  the  Father  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  not  thus  one,  as  the  soul  and  body  are  one  ;  and  this 
was  confirmed  from  many  passages  in  the  Word,  and  also  from  the  general  creed 
of  the  present  church  ;  from  which  it  was  concluded,  that  the  soul  of  the  Lord  was 
from  God  the  Father,  and  thence  that  his  Human  is  Divine ;  and  that  this  is  to  be 
approached  as  the  Father  is  approached,  since  Jehovah  God  by  it  sent  Himself  into 
the  world,  and  made  Himself  visible  to  the  eyes  of  men,  and  thus  also  accessible. 
The  third  deliberation  followed,  which  was  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  and  then 
first  the  idea  concerning  three  divine  persons  from  eternity  was  shaken  oflT,  and  it 
was  proved  from  the  Word,  that  the  Holy  Divine,  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit, 
proceeds  out  of  the  Lord  from  the  Father.  At  length,  from  what  was  deliberated  in 
this  council,  this  conclusion  was  made :  That  in  the  Lord  the  Savior  there  is  a  Di- 
vine Trinity,  which  is  the  Divine  from  which,  which  is  called  the  Father,  the  Divine 


660 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


Human,  which  is  called  the  Son,  and  the  Divine  Proceeding,  which  is  called  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  and  that  thus  there  is  one  God  in  the  church.  After  the  council  was 
ended,  splendid  garments  were  given  to  those  who  sat  in  it,  and  they  were  led  into 
the  new  heaven,    n.  188. 

XXX. 

That  I  saw  in  a  certain  stable  great  purses,  in  which  there  was  silver  in  great 
plenty,  and  by  them  young  men  as  guards ;  in  the  next  room,  modest  virgins  with  a 
chaste  wife  ;  and  also  in  another  room,  two  infants  ;  and  at  last  a  harlot  and  dead 
horses.  And  afterwards  I  was  instructed  what  each  of  those  things  signified ;  and 
that  by  them  was  represented  and  described  the  Word,  as  it  is  in  itself,  and  as  it  is 
at  this  day.    n.  277. 

XXXI. 

That  ^VTiting  was  seen,  such  as  there  is  in  the  highest  or  third  heaven,  which  con- 
sisted of  inflected  letters,  with  little  horns  turning  upwards  ;  and  it  was  said  that  the 
Hebrew  letters,  in  the  most  ancient  time,  were  somewhat  similar  to  them,  when  they 
were  more  inflected  than  they  are  at  this  day  ;  and  that  the  letter  h,  which  was  added 
to  the  names  of  Abram  and  Sarai,  signifies  infinite  and  eternal.  They  explained 
before  me  the  sense  of  some  words  in  Psalm  xxxii.  2,  from  the  letters  only  or  sylla- 
bles there,  which  is,  TTiat  the  Lord  is  merciful  also  to  those  who  do  evil.    ?».  278. 

XXXII. 

That  before  the  Israelitish  Word  there  was  a  Word,  the  prophetical  books  of 
which  were  called  Enunciations,  and  the  historical,  the  Wars  of  Jeiiovah;  and 
besides  tliesf?,  also  one  called  the  book  of  Jasher  ;  which  three  also  are  named  incur 
Word :  and  that  that  ancient  Word  was  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  Syria,  Mesopotamia, 
Arabia,  Assyria,  Chaldea,  Egypt,  Tyre,  Zidon  and  Nineveh ;  but  that  this,  because  it 
was  full  of  such  correspondences  as  remotely  signify  celestial  and  spiritual  things, 
which  gave  occasion  to  idolatries,  of  the  Divine  Providence  disappeared.  I  heard 
that  Moses  copied  out  of  that  Word  the  things  which  he  related  concerning  the 
Creation,  Adam  and  Eve,  the  Flood,  and  concerning  Noah,  and  concerning  his  three 
sons,  but  no  furtiier.  That  tliat  same  Word  is  still  reserved  with  the  people  in 
Great  Tartary,  and  that  they  draw  from  it  the  precepts  of  their  faith  and  life,  was 
related  to  me  in  tiie  spiritual  world  by  the  angels  thence,    n.  27i). 

XXXIII. 

That  those  who  are  in  the  spiritual  world  cannot  appear  to  those  who  are  in  the 
natural  world,  nor  conversely  ;  thus  spirits  and  angels  cannot  appear  to  men,  nor 
men  to  spirits  and  angels,  on  account  of  the  distinction  between  spiritual  and 
natural  ;  or,  what  is  the  same,  between  substantial  and  material.  It  is  from  this 
origin  that  spirits  and  angels  have  altogether  a  different  language,  different  writing, 
and  also  different  thougiit,  from  what  men  have.  Tiiat  it  is  so,  was  made  manifest 
by  lively  experience,  which  was  done  by  their  entering  by  turns  to  their  companions, 
and  returning  to  me,  and  thus  comparing.  Thence  it  was  discovered,  tliat  there  is 
not  even  one  word  of  spiritual  langvuige  similar  to  any  word  of  natural  language  ; 
and  that  their  writing  consisted  of  syllables,  each  of  which  involves  the  sense  of 
some  thing ;  and  that  the  ideas  of  tlieir  thought  do  not  fall  into  the  ideas  of  natural 
thought.  The  cause  of  these  distinctions  is,  that  spirits  and  angels  are  in  prin- 
ciples, but  men  in  derivatives ;  or  that  the  former  are  in  prior  things,  from  which, 
as  causes,  are  posterior  things,  and  men  in  posterior  things  from  tliem.  It  was  said 
tliat  there  is  a  similar  distinction  between  the  languages,  writings  and  thoughts  of 
the  angels  of  the  third  heaven  and  the  angels  of  the  second,    n.  280. 

XXXIV. 

Concerning  the  state  of  men  after  death,  in  general,  and  concerning  the 
state  of  those  who  have  confirmed  themselves  in  falses,  in  particular.  Concerning 
the  latter  and  the  former  these  things  were  observed:  1.  That  men  are  most  com- 
monly resuscitated  the  third  day  after  death,  and  that  then  they  know  no  otherwise 


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561 


than  that  they  are  still  living  in  the  former  world.  2.  That  all  flow  into  the  world, 
which  is  in  the  middle  between  heaven  and  hell,  which  is  called  the  world  of  spirits. 
3.  That  there  they  are  transferred  into  various  societies,  and  thus  are  explored  as  to 
their  quality.  4.  That  there  the  good  and  faithful  are  prepared  for  heaven,  and  the 
evil  and  unfaithful  for  hell.  5.  That  after  the  preparation,  which  lasts  some  years,  a 
way  is  opened  for  the  good  to  some  society  in  heaven,  where  they  are  to  live  forever, 
but  a  way  for  the  evil  into  hell ;  besides  many  more  things.  Afterwards  hell  ia 
described  as  it  is ;  and  that  there  those  are  called  satans,  who  are  in  falses  from  con- 
firmation, and  devils,  who  are  in  evils  of  life.    n.  281. 

XXXV. 

That  from  the  lower  earth  next  above  hell,  I  heard  the  vociferations,  O  how  just  ! 

0  HOW  LEAR.NED  !  O  HOW  WISE  !  and  because  I  wondered  that  there  should  be  there 
also  any  just,  learned  and  wise,  I  descended,  and  first  went  to  the  place  where  they 
were  crying,  O  how  just  !  and  I  saw  there,  as  it  were,  a  tribunal,  and  in  it  judges  of 
injustice,  who  could  dexterously  pervert  the  laws,  and  turn  judgments  to  the  favor  of 
any  one  whatever;  and  that  thus  their  judgments  were  only  arbitrary  judgments;  and 
when  the  sentences  were  carried  out  to  the  clients,  then  they  cried  a  long  way,  O 
hoio  just !  Concerning  these,  the  angels  afterwards  said,  that  such  cannot  see  any 
thing  at  all  of  what  is  just.  After  a  while,  those  judges  were  cast  into  hell,  and  their 
books  were  turned  into  placards,  and,  instead  of  judging,  there  was  given  to  them  the 
office  of  preparing  paint,  with  which  they  daubed  the  faces  of  harlots,  and  thus  turned 
them  into  beauties,    n.  832. 

XXXVI. 

Afterwards,  I  went  on  to  the  place  where  it  was  cried,  O  how  learned  !  and  I 
saw  a  company  of  those  who  reasoned,  whether  it  be  so  or  not,  and  did  not  think, 
THAT  IT  IS  so  ;  and  thence  they  stopped  at  the  first  step  concerning  any  subject 
whatever;  and  thus  they  only  touched  it  from  without,  and  did  not  enter:  thus  also 
concerning  God,  whether  there  be  a  God.  That  I  might  know  for  certain  whether 
they  were  such,  I  proposed  to  them.  What  will  be  the  religion  by  which  man  is  savedf 
They  replied  that,  1.  It  is  to  be  canvassed  whether  religion  be  any  thing.  2.  Whether 
one  religion  effect  more  than  another.  3.  Whether  there  be  any  eternal  life,  and 
thus  whether  there  be  any  salvation.  4.  Whether  there  be  a  heaven  and  a  hell. 
And  then  they  began  to  canvass  the  first.  Whether  religion  be  any  thing.  And  they 
said  that  that  needed  so  much  investigation,  that  it  could  not  be  finished  in  the  space 
of  a  year  ;  and  one  among  them  said,  that  it  could  not  in  the  space  of  a  hundred  years  ; 
to  which  I  replied,  that  in  the  mean  time  they  were  without  religion.  But  still  they 
canvassed  this  first  point  so  artfully,  that  the  company  standing  by  cried,  0  how 
learned !  It  was  said  to  me  by  the  angels,  that  such  appear  like  carved  images  ;  and 
that  afterwards  they  are  sent  out  into  deserts,  where,  among  themselves,  they  prate 
and  speak  only  vain  things,    n.  333. 

XXXVII. 

I  went  on  further,  to  the  third  company,  where  I  heard  the  cry,  O  how  wise!  and 

1  found  that  there  were  assembled  those  who  cannot  see  whether  truth  be  truth,  but 
still  can  make  whatever  they  please  appear  as  truth,  and  thence  are  called  Confirm- 
ERS.  That  they  were  such,  I  observed  also  from  various  answers  to  propositions,  as 
that  they  could  make  it  true  that  faith  is  the  all  of  the  church,  and  afterwards  that 
charity  is  the  all  of  the  church,  and  also  that  faith  and  charity  together  are  the  all  of 
the  church  ;  and  because  they  confirmed  whichever  of  them  they  liked,  and  adorned 
them  with  appearances  so  that  they  shone  like  truths,  therefore  the  by-standers  cried, 
O  hoio  wise!  Afterwards,  some  ludicrous  things,  also,  were  proposed  to  them,  that 
they  might  make  them  true  ;  for  they  say  that  there  is  nothing  true,  except  what  man 
makes  true.  The  ludicrous  things  were  these  :  that  light  in  darkness,  and  darkness 
light;  and  also  that  a  crow  is  white,  and  not  black;  which  two  they  made  appear 
altogether  as  true  :  the  confirmations  of  them  may  be  seen  tliere.  Concerning  them, 
it  was  said  to  me  by  the  angels,  that  such  do  not  possess  even  a  grain  of  understanding, 
eince  all  that  is  above  the  rational  with  them  is  shut  up,  and  that  all  that  is  below  the 
rational,  open,  and  this  can  confirm  whatever  it  likes,  but  cannot  see  any  truth  to  be 


562 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


truth  ;  wherefore,  this  is  not  the  property  of  an  intelligent  man  ;  but  that  to  be  able  to 
see  that  the  true  is  true,  and  the  false  is  false,  and  to  confirm  it,  is  the  property  of  an 
intelligent  man.    n.  334. 

XXXVIII. 

I  spoke  with  spirits,  who,  in  the  natural  world,  were  renowned  for  the  fame  of  eru- 
dition, who  then,  among  themselves,  disputed  about  connate  ideas,  whether  men  have 
any,  as  beasts  have  ;  and  then  a  certain  angelic  spirit  thrust  himself  in,  and  said, 
"  You  dispute  about  goats'  hair.  Men  have  no  connate  ideas,  nor  have  beasts  any 
connate  :"  at  which  words  all  grew  warm :  but  afterwards,  opportunity  of  speaking  being 
given,  he  spoke  first  concerning  beasts,  that  they  have  no  connate  ideas :  the  reason 
is,  because  they  do  not  think,  but  only  operate  from  instinct,  which  they  have  from 
their  natural  love,  which  makes  what  is  analogous  to  will  with  them,  flows  immediately 
into  the  senses  of  their  body,  and  excites  that  which  agrees  with  and  favors  the  love ; 
and  yet  ideas  are  predicated  only  of  thought.  That  beasts  have  only  sensation,  and 
no  thought,  he  confirmed  by  various  things,  especially  by  the  wonderful  things  which 
are  known  respecting  spiders,  bees  and  silk-worms,  saying,  "  Does  a  spider  think  in 
its  little  head,  when  it  forms  its  web,  that  it  is  to  be  so  connected  for  the  sake  of 
these  or  those  uses  ?  Does  a  bee  think  in  its  little  head,  From  these  flowers  I  will 
suck  honey,  and  from  these  wax ;  out  of  this  I  will  build  little  cells  in  a  continuous 
series,  and  in  these  I  will  put  honey  in  abundance,  that  it  may  be  sufficient  also  for 
the  winter?  besides  more  things.  Does  the  silk-worm  tliink  in  its  little  head.  Now  I 
will  betake  myself  to  spinning  silk,  and  when  I  have  spun  it,  then  I  shall  fly  off"  and 
sport  with  my  companions,  and  provide  for  myself  a  posterity  ?"  besides  similar  things 
with  beasts  and  birds.  Concerning  men,  he  said,  that  every  mother  and  nurse,  and 
the  fiither  also,  knows  that  infants  recently  born  have  no  connate  ideas,  and  that  they 
have  not  any  ideas  before  they  have  learned  to  think,  and  that  then  ideas  rise  up  and 
are  made  according  to  every  quality  of  the  thought,  which  they  had  imbibed  by  in- 
struction; and  that  this  is  the  case,  because  man  h;is  nothing  dsn  born  with  him  but 
a  faculty  for  knowing,  understanding  and  being  wise,  and  an  inclination  for  loving  not 
only  himself  and  the  world,  but  also  the  neighbor  and  God.  These  things  Leibnitz 
and  WoLFius  heard  at  a  distance,  and  Leibnitz  favored,  but  Wolfius  did  not.    n.  335. 

XXXIX. 

Once  a  certain  angelic  spirit  illustrated  what  faith  and  charity  ahe,  and  what 
their  conjunction  eflTects.  He  illustrated  it  by  comparison  w  ith  ligiit  and  lieat,  which 
meet  together  in  a  third;  because  the  light  in  heaven,  in  its  essence,  is  the  truth  of 
faith,  and  the  heat  there,  in  its  essence,  is  tlie  good  of  charity ;  consecjuently  that  as 
light  without  heat,  such  as  there  is  in  the  time  of  winter,  strips  the  trccjs  of  leaves  and 
fruits,  so  faith  without  charity;  and  that  as  light  conjoined  to  heat,  such  as  there  is  in 
the  time  of  spring,  vivifies  all  things,  so  faith  conjoined  to  charity,    n.  385. 

XL. 

That  two  angels  descended,  one  from  the  eastern  heaven,  where  they  are  in  love, 
and  the  other  from  the  southern  heaven,  where  they  are  in  wisdom,  and  spoke  concern- 
ing the  essence  of  the  heavens,  whether  it  were  love,  or  whether  wisdom  ;  and  they 
agreed  that  it  is  love  and  thence  wisdom ;  consequently,  that  tlie  heavens  were 
created  by  God,  from  love  by  wisdom,    n.  386. 

XLI. 

That  after  that,  I  entered  a  certain  garden,  where  I  was  led  around  by  a  certain 
spirit,  and  at  length  to  a  palace,  which  was  called  the  TEi»iri.K  of  Wisdom,  which 
was  quadrangular,  the  walls  of  crystal,  the  roof  of  jasper,  the  underpinning  of  various 
precious  stones.  And  he  said  that  no  one  could  enter  into  it,  unless  he  believe  that 
that  which  he  knows,  understands  and  comprehends  is  respectively  so  little,  that  it  is 
scarcely  any  thing.  And  because  I  believed  it,  it  was  given  me  to  enter  ;  and  it  was 
seen  that  the  whole  of  it  was  constructed  for  the  form  of  light.  In  that  temple  I  re- 
lated what  I  had  lately  heard  from  the  two  angels  concerning  love  and  wisdom  ;  and 
they  asked,  "  Did  they  not  also  speak  concerning  the  third,  which  is  use  ?"    And  they 


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563 


said  that  love  and  wisdom  without  use,  are  only  ideal  entities,  but  that  in  use  they  be- 
come real,  and  that  it  is  similar  with  charity,  faith  and  good  works,    n.  387. 

XLII. 

That  one  of  the  spirits  of  the  dragon  invited  me  to  see  the  delights  of  his  love  ;  and 
he  led  me  to  something  like  an  amphitheatre,  upon  the  benches  of  which  sat  satyrs 
and  harlots.  And  then  he  said,  "  Now  you  will  see  our  sport."  And  he  opened  a 
door,  and  let  in,  as  it  were,  bullocks,  rams,  kids  and  lambs  ;  and  presently,  through 
another  door,  he  let  in  lions,  panthers,  tigers  and  wolves,  which  rushed  upon  the  flock 
and  mangled  and  killed  it ;  but  all  those  things,  which  were  seen,  were  induced  by  fan- 
tasies. Having  seen  this,  I  said  to  the  dragon,  "  After  a  while,  you  will  see  this  theatre 
turned  into  a  lake  of  fire  and  sulphur."  The  sport  being  finished,  the  dragon  went 
out,  attended  by  his  satyrs  and  harlots,  and  saw  a  flock  of  sheep,  from  which  he  in- 
ferred that  a  city  of  the  Jerusalemites  was  in  the  neighborhood ;  on  seeing  which,  he 
was  seized  with  the  desire  of  taking  it,  and  casting  out  the  inhabitants  ;  but  because 
it  was  surrounded  with  a  wall,  he  intended  to  take  it  by  stratagem.  And  then  he  sent 
one  skilled  in  incantation,  who  spoke  craftily  with  the  citizens  concerning  faith  and 
charity  ;  especially,  which  of  them  is  the  primary,  and  whether  charity  contributes 
any  thing  to  salvation.  But  the  dragon,  enraged  at  the  answer,  went  out  and  gath- 
ered together  many  of  his  crew,  and  began  to  besiege  the  city  ;  but  when  he  was 
in  the  effort  of  taking  and  seizing  it,  fire  from  heaven  consumed  them,  according  to 
what  was  foretold  in  Revelatio.v  xx.  8,  9.    n.  388. 

XLIII. 

Once  there  was  a  paper  sent  down  from  heaven,  in  which  there  was  an  exhortation 
that  they  should  acknowledge  the  Lord  the  Savior  for  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth, 
according  to  his  words.  Matt,  xxviii.  18.  But  two  bishops,  who  were  there,  were  con- 
sulted, what  they  should  do  ;  who  said  that  they  should  send  the  paper  back  to  heaven, 
whence  it  came ;  and  when  it  was  done,  that  society  sunk  down,  but  not  very  deep. 
The  next  day,  some  ascended  thence  and  told  what  lot  they  underwent  there,  and 
also  that  there  they  went  to  the  bishops  and  reproved  them  for  their  advice,  and  that 
they  spoke  many  things  concerning  the  state  of  the  church  at  this  day,  and  found 
fault  with  their  doctrine  concerning  the  Trinity,  concerning  justifying  faith,  concern- 
ing charity,  and  concerning  other  things  which  were  of  the  orthodoxy  of  the  bishops, 
and  requested  that  they  would  desist  from  them,  because  they  were  contrary  to  the 
Word  ;  but  to  no  purpose.  And  because  they  called  their  faith  dead  and  also  diabol- 
ical, according  to  James  in  his  Epistle,  one  of  the  bishops  took  off  the  mitre  from  his 
head,  and  laid  it  down  upon  the  table,  saying  that  he  would  not  take  it  up  again,  before 
he  had  punished  the  sarcastic  speeches  concerning  his  faith.  But  then  there  appeared 
a  monster  ascending  from  below,  similar  to  the  beast  described  in  Revelation  xiii.  1, 
2,  which  took  up  the  mitre  and  carried  it  away.    n.  389. 

XLIV. 

That  I  went  to  a  certain  house,  where  those  who  were  assembled  were  arguing 
one  with  another,  whether  the  good  which  a  man  does  in  the  state  of  justification  by 
faith,  be  the  good  of  religion  or  not.  There  was  an  agreement,  that  by  the  good  of  reli- 
gion is  meant  the  good  which  contributes  to  salvation.  But  their  opinion  prevailed, 
who  said,  that  all  the  good  that  man  does,  does  not  contribute  any  thing  to  salvation ; 
since  no  voluntary  good  of  man  can  be  conjoined  with  what  is  gratuitous,  because 
salvation  is  bestowed  freely ;  that  neither  can  any  good  from  man  be  conjoined  with 
the  merit  of  Christ,  by  which  alone  salvation  is  given  ;  that  neither  can  the  operation  of 
man  be  conjoined  with  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  does  all  things  without 
the  help  of  man.  From  which  it  was  concluded,  that  good  works,  even  in  the  state 
of  justification  by  faith,  contribute  nothing  to  salvation,  but  faith  alone.  On  hearing 
these  things,  two  gentiles,  who  stood  in  the  door,  said  to  each  other,  "  These  have  not 
any  religion.  Who  does  not  know  that  to  do  good  to  the  neighbor  for  the  sake  of 
God,  thus  from  God  and  with  God,  is  religion  ?"    n.  390. 


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XLV. 

I  heard  the  angels  lamenting  that  there  was  such  Spiritttai,  Indigence  at  this 
day  in  the  church,  that  they  know  nothing  more  than  that  there  are  three  divine  per- 
sons from  eternity,  and  that  faith  alone  saves ;  and  concerning  the  Lord,  only  the 
historical  things ;  and  that  they  are  deeply  ignorant  of  the  things  which  are  related 
in  the  Word  concerning  the  Lord,  his  unity  with  the  Father,  his  divinity  and  power. 
And  they  said  that  a  certain  angel  was  sent  down  by  them  to  see  whether  there  were 
such  indigence  at  this  day  among  Christians  ;  and  that  he  asked  a  certain  one  what  his 
religion  was.  He  answered,  that  it  was  faith.  And  that  then  he  asked  him  about 
redemption,  regeneration  and  salvation.  He  answered,  that  they  all  were  of  faith ; 
and  also  concerning  charity,  that  it  is  in  faith  ;  and  who  can  do  good  from  himself? 
To  whom  afterwards  the  angel  said,  "You  have  answered  like  one  who  plays  with  one 
tone  of  a  pipe  :  I  hear  only  faith  ;  but  if  you  know  nothing  else  but  that,  you  know 
nothing."  And  then  he  led  him  to  his  companions  in  a  desert,  where  there  was 
not  even  grass.    Besides  more.    n.  39L 

XLVL 

That  I  saw  five  gymnasiums  surrounded  with  various  light,  and  that  with  many  I 
entered  into  the  first,  which  was  seen  as  if  in  flammeous  light.  Many  were  assem- 
bled there,  and  the  president  proposed  that  they  should  declare  their  opinions  concern- 
ing Charity  :  and  after  they  had  begun.  The  First  said.  That  his  opinion  was,  that 
charity  was  morality  inspired  by  faith.  The  Second,  That  it  was  piety  inspired  by 
pity.  The  Third,  That  it  was  to  do  good  to  every  one,  both  good  and  bad.  The 
Fourth,  That  it  was  in  every  way  to  serve  one's  relations  and  friends.  The  Fikth, 
That  it  was  to  give  alms  to  the  poor  and  to  help  the  needy.  The  Sixth,  That  it  was 
to  build  hospitals  for  the  reception  of  invalids  and  orphans.  The  Seventh,  Tliat  it 
was  to  enrich  temples  and  to  do  good  to  their  ministers.  The  Eighth,  That  it  was 
the  old  Christian  brotherhood.  The  Ninth,  That  it  was  to  forgive  every  one  his 
trespasses.  Each  of  them  amply  confirmed  his  opinion  ;  wliich  tilings,  because  they 
are  many,  cannot  be  transferred  hither;  wherefore  they  maybe  seen  in  the  Relation 
itself.  After  this,  there  was  given  to  me,  also,  an  opportunity  of  expressing  my  opinion  ; 
and  I  said,  that  charity  was  to  act  from  the  love  of  justice  with  judgment,  in  every 
work  and  duty,  but  from  love  not  from  any  other  source  tiian  from  the  Lord  the  Savior; 
and  after  this  was  demonstrated,  I  added,  th;it  all  those  things  which  were  said  above,  by 
the  nine  celebrated  men,  concerning  charity,  were  excellent  examples  of  charity,  pro- 
vided they  be  done  from  justice  with  judgment ;  and  because  justice  and  judgment  are 
from  no  other  source  than  from  the  Lord  the  Savior,  tliat  they  be  done  by  man  from 
Him.  This  was  approved  by  most,  in  the  internal  man,  but  not  as  yet  so  in  the 
external,    n.  459. 

XLVn. 

That  at  a  distance  there  was  heard,  as  it  were  a  gnashing  of  teeth,  and  intermixed 
with  it,  as  it  were  a  knocking ;  and  I  went  towards  the  sounds,  and  saw  a  little  house 
built  of  rushes  glued  together;  and  instead  of  the  gnashing  of  teeth,  and  the  sound  of 
knocking,  I  heard  within,  in  the  little  house,  altercations  about  faitii  and  charity,  which 
of  them  was  the  essential  of  the  ciiurch.  And  those  who  were  for  faith,  brought  for- 
ward their  Eirguments,  saying,  that  faith  was  spiritual,  because  from  God,  but  charity 
natural,  because  from  man.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  were  for  charity  said,  that 
charity  was  spiritual,  and  faith  natural,  unless  it  be  conjoined  to  charity.  To  these 
things,  a  certain  syncratist,  wishing  to  settle  tiie  dispute,  added,  confirming  that  faith 
was  spiritual  and  charity  only  natural.  But  it  was  said,  tliat  moral  life  was  twofold, 
spiritual  and  natural,  and  that  in  the  man  who  lives  from  the  Lord,  it  is  spiritual-moral, 
but  in  the  man  who  does  not  live  from  the  Lord,  it  is  natural-moral,  such  as  is  given 
with  the  evil,  and  sometimes  with  the  spirits  in  hell.    n.  4G0. 

XLvin. 

That  in  spirit  I  was  brought  into  a  certain  garden,  in  the  southern  quarter,  and  that 
I  saw  some  sitting  there  under  a  certain  laurel,  eating  figs,  wiiom  I  asked  how  they 
understood  that  man  can  do  good  from  God,  and  yet  still  as  from  himself.    And  they 


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answered,  That  God  works  good  inwardly  in  man,  but  if  man  does  it  from  his  own  will 
and  from  his  own  understanding,  that  he  defiles  it,  so  that  it  is  no  more  good.  But  to 
that  I  said,  that  man  is  only  an  organ  of  life,  and  that  if  he  believes  in  the  Lord,  lie 
may  do  good  of  himself  from  Him ;  but  if  he  does  not  believe  in  the  Lord,  and  still 
more,  if  he  does  not  believe  in  any  God,  he  may  do  good  of  himself  from  hell ;  and  fur- 
ther, that  the  Lord  has  given  to  man  the  free  choice  of  doing  from  the  one  or  from  the 
other.  That  the  Lord  has  given  this  freedom,  was  confirmed  from  the  Word,  in  that 
he  commanded  man  to  love  God  and  the  neighbor,  to  produce  the  goods  of  charity  as 
a  tree  produces  fruits,  and  to  do  his  commandments  that  he  may  be  saved,  and  that 
every  one  would  be  judged  according  to  his  deeds  ;  and  that  these  and  those  things 
would  not  have  been  commanded,  if  man  could  not  do  good  of  himself  from  God.  After 
these  things  were  said,  I  gave  them  shoots  from  a  certain  vine,  and  the  shoots  in 
their  hands  put  forth  grapes ;  besides  other  things,    n.  461 . 

XLIX. 

That  I  saw  a  magnificent  Dock,  and  in  it  vessels  large  and  small,  and  upon  the 
decks,  boys  and  girls,  who  were  waiting  for  turtles  to  rise  up  out  of  the  sea ;  and 
when  they  emerged,  I  saw  that  they  had  two  heads,  one,  which  at  pleasure  they  drew 
back  into  the  shells  of  their  body,  and  another,  which  appeared  in  form  as  a  man,  and 
from  this  they  spoke  with  the  boys  and  girls  ;  and  these,  on  account  of  their  elegant 
discourses,  caressed  them  and  also  gave  them  presents.  These  things  being  seen,  it 
was  explained  by  an  angel  what  they  signified,  namely ;  that  there  are  men  in  the 
world,  and  thence  as  many  spirits  after  death,  who  say  that  God,  with  those  who  have 
got  faith,  does  not  see  any  thing  that  they  think  and  do,  but  only  looks  at  the  faith, 
which  he  has  hid  in  the  interiors  of  their  mind ;  and  that  those  same  persons,  before 
the  congregations  in  temples,  bring  forth  holy  things  from  the  Word,  altogether  as 
others,  but  these  from  the  greater  head  which  appears  as  a  man,  in  which  they  then 
insert  the  little  one,  or  draw  this  into  the  body.  That  the  same  persons  afterwards 
were  seen  in  the  air  in  a  vessel  with  seven  sails  flying,  and  those  in  it  in  laurels  and 
in  purple  garments,  crying,  that  they  were  the  heads  of  the  wise  of  all  the  clergy ; 
but  tlie  things  seen  were  the  images  of  pride  flowing  forth  from  the  ideas  of  their 
mind.  And  when  they  were  upon  the  earth,  I  spoke  with  them,  first  from  reason,  and 
afterwards  from  the  Sacred  Scripture ;  and  by  many  tilings  I  demonstrated,  that  their 
doctrine  was  unsound,  and,  because  contrary  to  the  Sacred  Scripture,  from  hell ;  but 
the  arguments,  by  which  I  demonstrated  those  things,  cannot  be  transferred  hither,  on 
account  of  their  prolixity  ;  wherefore  they  may  be  seen  in  the  Relation  itself  Also, 
that  afterwards  they  were  seen  in  a  sandy  valley,  in  garments  of  rags,  and  girded 
asit  were,  with  fishing  nets  around  the  loins,  through  which  their  nakedness  appeared; 
and  at  last  they  were  sent  down  into  a  society,  which  is  next  to  the  Machiavelians. 
n.  4G2. 

L. 

That  there  was  called  together  a  convention,  which  sat  in  a  round  temple,  in  which, 
at  the  sides,  were  altars,  by  which  the  members  of  the  convention  sat,  but  there  was 
no  primate  there ;  wherefore,  each  one  of  himself  rushed  forth  into  the  midst,  and 
spoke  out  the  feelings  of  his  mind.  And  there  was  begun  a  discourse  concerning 
Free  Agency  in  spiritual  things.  And  the  First,  rushing  forth,  cried.  That  man 
had  no  more  free  agency  in  those  things  than  Lot's  wife,  when  she  was  turned  into  a 
statue  of  salt.  The  Second,  That  he  had  no  more  than  a  beast  or  a  dog.  The  Third, 
That  he  had  no  more  than  a  mole,  or  than  an  owl  in  the  light  of  day.  The  Fourth, 
That  if  man  had  free  agency  in  spiritual  things,  he  would  become  a  maniac,  and  be- 
lieve himself  to  be  as  God,  who  can  regenerate  and  save  himself  The  Fifth  read 
from  the  book  of  the  Evangelical,  called  Formula  Concordi,e,  That  manhas  no  more 
free  agency  in  spiritual  things  than  a  stock  or  a  stone,  and  that  he  has  no  ability  at 
all  concerning  tfiose  things,  to  understand,  think,  will,  and  not  even  to  apply  and  accom- 
Tnodate  himself  to  receive  tvhat  is  spiritual ;  besides  more  things,  of  which  above,  n. 
464.  After  these  things  were  said,  there  was  also  given  to  me  an  opportunity  of 
speaking  ;  and  I  spoke  and  said,  "  What  else  is  man,  without  free  agency  in  spiritual 
things,  but  a  brute  ?  And  without  it,  to  what  purpose  are  all  theological  things  ?"  But 
to  this  they  replied,  "  Read  our  theological  things,  and  you  will  not  find  therein  any 
thing  spiritual,  and  that  this  is  so  concealed  within  them,  that  not  even  a  shadow  of  it 


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appears.  Wherefore,  read  what  our  theology  teaches  concerning  justification,  that  is, 
concerning  the  remission  of  sins,  regeneration,  sanctification  and  salvation ;  you  will 
not  see  there  any  thing  spiritual,  because  they  flow  in  through  faith,  without  any 
consciousness  of  man.  It  has  also  removed  charity  far  from  what  is  spiritual,  and  also 
repentance  from  contact  with  it.  And  besides,  as  to  redemption,  it  attributes  to  God 
purely  natural  human  properties,  as  that  He  concluded  the  human  race  under  univer- 
sal damnation ;  that  the  Son  took  that  upon  Himself,  and  that  thus  He  propitiated  the 
Father ;  and  what  else  are  intercession  and  mediation  with  the  Father  ?  From  these 
things  it  is  evident,  that,  in  all  our  theology,  there  is  nothing  spiritual,  and  not  even 
rational,  but  merely  what  is  natural  below  them."  But  then  suddenly  a  thunderbolt 
was  heard  from  heaven,  and  the  members  of  the  convention,  being  thence  terrified, 
rushed  forth,  and  each  one  fled  into  his  own  hruse.    n.  503. 

LI. 

That  I  spoke  with  two  spirits,  one  of  whom  loved  what  is  good  and  true,  and  the 
other  what  is  evil  and  false ;  and  I  found  that  both  enjoyed  a  similar  faculty  of  think- 
ing rationally.  But  when  he  who  loved  wiiat  is  evil  and  false  was  left  to  himself,  I 
saw,  as'it  were,  that  smoke  ascended  from  hell  and  extinguished  the  lucidity  which  was 
above  his  memory ;  but  when  he  who  loved  what  is  good  and  true  was  left  to  himself, 
I  saw  that,  as  it  were,,  a  gentle  flame  descended  from  heaven  and  illuminated  the  re- 
gion of  his  mind  above  the  memory,  and  thence  also  the  things  that  were  below  it. 
Afterwards  I  spoke  with  him,  who  loved  what  is  evil  and  false,  concerning  Free 
Agency  in  spiritual  things;  and  he,  only  at  the  mention  of  it,  grew  warm,  and 
cried,  that  no  one  can  move  his  foot  or  hand  to  do  any  spiritual  good,  nor  his  tongue  and 
mouth  to  speak  any  spiritual  truth,  and  thus  that  he  cannot  apply  and  accommodate 
himself  to  receive  any  such  thing.  Is  not  man  in  such  things  dead,  and  merely  pas- 
sive ?  How  can  what  is  dead  and  merely  passive  do  good,  and  speak  trutli  of  itself? 
Does  not  our  church  also  speak  so?  But  the  other,  who  loved  what  is  good  and  true, 
concerning  free  agency  in  spiritual  things,  spoke  thus  :  "  What  would  the  whole  Word 
be  without  it?  And  what  the  church,  what  religion,  what  the  worship  of  God,  thus 
what  the  ministry,  without  it?  And  from  the  light  of  my  understanding,  I  know  that 
man,  witliout  that  spiritual  freedom,  would  not  be  man,  but  a  beast ;  for  that  he  ig 
man,  and  not  a  beast,  is  from  that  freedom ;  and  moreover,  that  man  without  free 
agency  in  spiritual  things,  would  not  have  life  after  death,  thus  not  eternal  life,  be- 
cause not  anj'  conjunction  with  God ;  wherefore,  to  deny  it  is  the  part  of  tliosc  who 
are  insane  in  spiritual  thmgs."  Afterwards  tliere  was  seen,  as  it  were,  a  horned  ser- 
pent upon  a  tree,  which  reached  fruit  thence  to  him  who  denied  free  agency  in  spir- 
itual things  ;  which  being  eaten,  there  appeared  smoke  ascending  from  hell,  which  ex- 
tinguished the  higher  part  of  his  rational  mind  as  to  light.    ji.  504. 

LII. 

There  was  heard  a  grating  noise,  as  of  two  mill-stones  striking  against  each  other; 
and  I  went  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  sound,  and  saw  a  house,  in  which  were  many 
little  cells,  in  wliich  the  learned  of  this  age  wore  sitting  and  confirming  justification 
by  faith  alone  ;  and  going  up  to  one,  I  asked  what  he  was  now  studying.  He  answer- 
ed, "Concerning  the  Act  of  Justification,  which  is  the  head  of  all  things  of  doc- 
trine in  our  ortliodoxy."  And  I  asked  whether  ho  knew  any  sign,  when  justifying 
faith  entcr.s,  and  when  it  has  entered.  And  he  said,  that  tliis  was  done  passively,  and 
not  actively.  To  which  I  replied  that,  "If  you  take  away  what  is  active  in  it,  you 
also  take  away  what  is  receptive  ;  and  thus  that  act  would  be  only  something  purely 
ideal,  which  is  called  an  imaginary  entity,  and  thus  notliing  more  than  the  statue 
Lot's  wife,  tinkling  from  mere  salt,  when  struck  with  a  scribe's  pen,  or  his  finger  nail." 
The  man,  growing  warm,  took  a  candlestick,  in  order  to  throw  at  ine  ;  but  then,  the 
light  being  extinguished,  he  threw  it  at  his  companion,    n.  505. 

LIII. 

There  were  seen  two  flocks,  one  of  sheep  and  the  other  of  goats ;  but  when  they 
were  viewed  closely,  instead  of  goats  and  sheep,  men  were  seen  ;  and  it  was  perceiv- 
ed, that  the  flock  of  goats  consisted  of  those  wiio  make  faitli  alone  saving,  and  the 


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567 


flock  of  sheep,  of  those  who  make  charity  and  at  the  same  time  faith.  To  the  ques- 
tion, Why  there?  those  who  were  seen  as  goats  said,  That  they  were  sitting  as  a 
council,  since  it  was  disclosed  to  them,  that  the  saying  of  Paul,  That  man  is  justified 
by  faith,  toithout  the  works  of  the  laiv,  Rom.  iii.  28,  is  not  rightly  understood  ;  since  by 
faith  there,  is  not  meant  the  faith  at  this  day,  but  faith  in  the  Lord  the  Savior ;  and  by 
the  works  of  the  law,  are  not  meant  the  works  of  the  law  of  the  decalogue,  but  the 
works  of  the  Mosaic  law,  which  were  rituals ;  which  also  was  demonstrated.  And 
they  said,  that  they  had  concluded  that  faith  produces  good  works,  as  a  tree  produces 
fruit.  Those  who  constituted  the  flock  of  sheep  favored  them ;  but  then  an  angel, 
standing  between  the  two  flocks,  cried  to  the  flock  of  sheep,  "  Do  not  listen,  because 
they  have  not  receded  from  their  former  faitli."  And  he  divided  the  flock  of  goats 
into  two,  and  said  to  those  on  the  left  hand,  "Join  yourselves  to  the  goats  ;  but  I  tell  you 
beforehand,  that  a  wolf  is  about  to  come,  which  will  seize  them  and  you  with  them." 
But  then  inquiry  was  made,  how  they  understood,  that  faith  produces  good  works,  as 
a  tree  produces  fruit ;  and  it  was  found  out,  that  their  perception  concerning  the  con- 
junction of  faith  and  charity  was  altogether  different  from  that  comparison,  and  thus 
that  it  was  a  fallacious  mode  of  speaking.  When  these  things  were  understood,  the 
flocks  of  sheep  reunited  themselves  into  one,  as  before,  to  which  some  of  the  goats 
adjoined  tnemselves,  confessing  tliat  charity  is  the  essence  of  faith,  and  that  thus  faith 
separate  from  it,  is  only  natural,  but  conjoined  to  it,  it  becomes  spiritual,    n.  506. 

LIV. 

A  discourse  with  angels  concerning  the  three  loves,  which  are  universal,  and  thence 
with  every  man ;  which  are  the  Love  of  the  neighbor,  or  the  Love  of  uses, 
which  in  itself  is  spiritual ;  the  Love  of  the  world,  or  the  Love  of  possessing 
WEALTH,  which  in  itself  is  material;  and  the  Love  of  self,  or  the  Love  of  rul- 
ing over  others,  which  in  itself  is  corporeal ;  and  that  when  those  three  loves  are 
rightly  subordinated  with  man,  man  is  truly  man,  and  that  they  are  then  rightly  subor- 
dinated, when  the  love  of  the  neighbor  makes  the  head,  the  love  of  the  world  the  body, 
and  the  love  of  self  the  feet:  it  is  altogether  otherwise  when  they  sit  with  man  con- 
trary to  order.  And  it  was  shown  what  man  is  when  the  love  of  the  world  makes 
the  head,  and  what  he  is  when  the  love  of  self ;  that  then  he  is  an  inverted  man  ;  as 
to  the  interiors  of  his  mind,  a  wild  beast,  and  as  to  the  exteriors  of  it,  and  thence  of  the 
body,  a  stage-player.  After  this,  there  was  seen  a  certain  devil  ascending  from 
below,  having  a  dark  face  with  a  white  circle  around  the  head ;  and  he  said  that  he  was 
Jjiicifer,  although  he  was  not ;  and  that,  in  his  internals,  he  was  a  devil,  but  in  his  ex- 
ternals an  angel  of  light :  and  he  told,  that  in  externals,  he  was  moral  among  the 
moral,  rational  among  the  rational,  yea,  spiritual  among  the  spiritual ;  and  that  when  he 
was  in  the  world,  he  preached,  and  that  then  he  uttered  imprecations  against  evil 
doers  of  every  kind,  and  that  thence  he  was  called  Son  of  the  morning ;  and,  what  he 
himself  wondered  at,  that  when  he  was  upon  the  pulpit,  he  perceived  no  otherwise 
than  that  it  was  so,  as  he  spoke  ;  but  otherwise  when  he  was  out  of  the  temple.  He 
said  the  reason  was,  because  in  the  temple  he  was  in  his  externals,  and  then  only  in 
the  understanding,  but  out  of  the  temple  in  his  internals,  and  then  in  the  will ;  and 
thus  that  the  understanding  elevated  him  into  heaven,  but  the  will  draws  him  down 
into  hell ;  but  that  the  will  prevails  over  the  understanding,  because  the  former  dis- 
poses the  latter  at  its  beck  and  nod.  After  this,  the  devil,  who  pretended  to  be 
Lucifer,  glided  down  into  hell.    n.  507. 

LV. 

There  was  seen  a  round  temple,  the  roof  of  which  was  in  the  shape  of  a  crown,  the 
walls  continuous  windows  of  crystals,  the  gate  of  a  pearly  substance :  in  it  there  was 
a  sort  of  pulpit,  upon  which  was  the  Word  encompassed  M'ith  a  sphere  of  light.  In 
the  middle  of  the  temple  there  was  a  sacred  recess,  before  which  there  was  a  veil, 
but  now  withdrawn,  in  which  there  stood  a  cherub  with  a  sword  vibrating  in  his  hand. 
After  these  things  were  seen,  they  were  explained  before  me,  one  by  one,  what  they 
signified,  which  may  be  seen.  Upon  the  gate  there  was  this  writing.  Now  it  is  law- 
ful ;  which  signified,  that  now  it  is  lawful  to  enter  intellectually  into  the  mysteries 
of  faith  ;  and  it  was  given  me  to  perceive,  that  it  was  very  dangerous  to  enter  with 
the  understanding  into  dogmas  of  faith,  which  are  from  one's  own  intelligence  and 


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Index  of  the  Relations. 


thence  in  falses,  and  still  more  to  confirm  them  from  the  Word ;  and  that,  therefore, 
by  the  Divine  Providence,  the  Word  was  taken  away  from  the  Roman  Catholics,  and 
that,  with  Protestants,  it  is  shut  up  by  their  dogma.  That  the  understanding  is  to  be 
kept  under  obedience  to  their  faith.  But  because  the  dogmas  which  are  of  the  New 
Church  are  all  from  the  Word,  that  in  it,  it  is  lawful  to  enter  with  the  understanding, 
because  they  are  continuous  truths  from  the  Word,  which  also  shine  before  the  under- 
standing. This  was  what  is  meant  by  the  writing  upon  the  gate.  Now  it  is  lawful, 
and  by  the  circumstance,  that  the  veil  of  the  sacred  recess  was  withdrawn,  within 
which  there  stood  a  cherub.  After  this,  there  was  brought  to  me  a  paper  from  an  in- 
fant, who  was  an  angel  in  the  third  heaven,  in  which  was  written,  Enter  hereafter 

INTO  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  WORD,  HITHERTO  SHUT  UP;  FOR  ALL  ITS  TRUTHS  ARE 
SO  MANY  MIRRORS  OF  THE  LoRD.     71.  508. 

LVI. 

That  I  was  seized  with  a  grievous  disease,  from  the  smoke  which  came  in  from  the 
Jerusalem,  which,  in  Rev.  xi.  8,  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt ;  and  that  I  was  seen  by 
those  who  were  in  that  city  as  dead,  saying  thus  one  to  another,  that  I  was  not  worthy 
of  burial,  just  as  it  is  said  concerning  the  two  witnesses  in  the  same  chapter  in  the 
Revelation ;  and  in  the  mean  time  I  heard  blasphemies  in  abundance,  from  the  citi- 
zens, on  account  of  my  having  preached  repentance,  and  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Clirist. 
But  because  judgment  came  upon  them,  I  saw  that  that  whole  city  fell  down,  and  was 
overflowed  with  waters;  and  afterwards,  that  they  were  running  about  among  the 
heaps  of  stones,  and  lamenting  on  account  of  their  lot ;  when  yet  tliey  had  believed, 
that,  by  the  iaith  of  their  church,  they  were  bom  again  and  thus  righteous  ;  but  it  was 
said  to  them,  that  they  were  any  thing  else  than  such,  since  they  liad  never  performed 
any  actual  repentance,  and  that  thence  tlicy  did  not  know  one  damnable  evil  with 
them.  Afterwards  it  was  said  to  thorn  from  heaven,  that  faith  in  the  Lord,  and  repent- 
ance, are  the  two  means  of  regeneration  and  salvation ;  and  that  this  was  very  well 
known  from  the  Word,  and  moreover,  from  the  decalogue,  baptism,  and  the  holy  sup- 
per ;  concerning  which  see  in  the  Relatio.n.    «.  567. 

LVII. 

That  all,  who  after  death  come  into  the  spiritual  world,  at  first  for  a  time  are  kept 
in  externals,  in  which  they  were  in  tlie  natural  world  ;  and  because  most,  while  they 
are  in  externals,  live  morally,  frequent  temples,  and  |)ray  to  God,  they  believe  that 
they  shall  certainly  come  into  heaven;  but  they  arc  instructed  that  every  man  after 
death  successively  puts  off  tiie  external  man,  and  the  internal  man  is  opened,  and  tlicn 
the  man  is  known,  as  he  is  in  himself,  since  man  is  man  from  tiie  will  and  understand- 
ing, and  not  only  from  action  and  speech  ;  and  that  thence  it  is,  that  man  can,  in  ex- 
ternals, appear  as  a  siieep,  although  in  internals  lie  is  as  a  wolf:  and  that  he  is  such, 
in  his  internal  man,  unless  he  explore  the  evils  of  his  will,  and  thence  of  the  intention, 
and  repent  of  them  ;  besides  more.    n.  .')()8. 

LVIII. 

That  every  love  breathes  forth  a  delight,  but  that  the  delights  ok  loves  are  but 
little  felt  in  the  natural  world,  but  manifestly  in  the  spiritual  world  ;  and  that  in  this 
they  are  sometimes  turned  into  odors ;  and  that  tiien  it  is  perceived  what  the  delights 
are,  and  of  what  love  ;  and  that  tlie  delights  of  the  love  of  good,  such  as  are  in  the 
heavens,  are  perceived  as  fragrances  in  gardens  and  flower-beds  ;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  the  delights  of  the  love  of  evil,  such  as  arc  in  hell,  as  stenches  and  stinks  from 
bogs  and  privies ;  and  that,  because  they  are  so  opposite,  the  devils  are  tortured 
when  they  feel  any  sweet  odor  from  heaven,  and,  on  the  other  liand,  tlie  angels  are 
tortured  when  they  feel  stinking  ones  from  hell.  That  it  is  so,  was  confirmed  by  two 
examples.  It  is  from  this  cause,  that  the  oil  of  anointing  was  prepared  from  aromat- 
ics,  and  that  it  is  said  concerning  Jchovaii,  that  he  smelled  a  grateful  odor  from  the 
burnt-offerings  ;  and  on  the  other  liaiul,  tliat  it  was  commanded  the  sons  of  Israel,  that 
they  should  carry  unclean  things  out  of  their  canip,  and  that  they  should  bury  their 
excrements ;  for  their  camp  represented  heaven,  and  the  desert  out  of  it  represented 
hell.    n.  569. 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


569 


LIX. 

That  a  certain  novitiate  spirit,  who  in  the  world  meditated  much  concerning  heaven 
and  hell,  desired  to  know  what  is  the  quality  of  the  one  and  the  other ;  and  that  it  was 
said  to  him  from  heaven.  Inquire  what  delight  is,  and  you  will  know.  Where- 
fore, going  away,  he  inquired,  but,  among  spirits  merely  natural,  in  vain.  But  he  was 
led  to  three  companies,  in  order ;  to  one,  where  they  explored  ends,  and  thence  were 
called  wisdoms ;  to  another,  where  they  investigated  causes,  and  thence  were  called 
intelligences  ;  and  to  a  third,  where  tliey  examined  effects,  and  thence  were  called 
sciences  ;  and  by  the  latter  and  the  former,  he  was  instructed,  that  every  angel,  spirit 
and  man  has  life  from  the  delight  of  his  love  ;  and  that  the  will  and  thought  cannot 
move  at  all,  except  from  the  delight  of  some  love  ;  and  that  this  is,  to  every  one,  that 
which  is  called  good.  And,  moreover,  that  the  delight  of  heaven  is  the  delight  of 
doing  good,  and  that  the  delight  of  hell  is  the  delight  of  doing  evil.  That  he  might 
be  further  instructed,  a  devil  providentially  ascended,  and,  before  him,  described  the 
delights  of  hell,  that  they  were  the  delights  of  revenging,  of  committing  whoredom,  of 
defrauding  and  of  blaspheming ;  and  that  those  things,  when  they  are  felt  there  as 
odors,  are  felt  as  balsams ;  whence  he  called  them  the  delights  of  their  nostrils,    n.  570. 

LX. 

That  there  was  seen  a  company  of  spirits  praying  to  God,  that  He  would  send  angels 
to  instruct  them  concerning  various  things  which  are  of  faith,  because  in  most  things 
tliey  hesitated,  since  churches  differ  so  one  from  another,  and  all  their  ministers  say. 
Believe  us ;  we  are  the  ministers  of  God,  and  we  know.  And  there  appeared 
angels,  whom  they  questioned  respecting  charity  and  faith,  respecting  repentance, 
respecting  regeneration,  respecting  God,  respecting  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and 
respecting  baptism  and  the  holy  supper ;  to  each  of  which  the  angels  answered  so 
that  they  fell  into  their  understanding  ;  saying  further,  that  all  that  which  does  not  fall 
into  the  understanding  is  like  what  is  sown  in  the  sand,  which,  however  it  is  watered 
by  the  rain,  still  withers  away ;  and  that  the  understanding,  closed  up  from  religion, 
no  longer  sees  any  thing  in  the  Word,  from  the  light  which  is  therein  from  the  Lord ; 
yea,  that  if  one  reads  it,  he  becomes  more  and  more  blind  in  the  things  of  faith  and 
salvation,    n.  621. 

LXI. 

How  man,  when  he  is  prepared  for  heaven,  enters  it ;  namely,  that,  after  prepara- 
tion, he  sees  a  way  which  leads  to  the  society  in  heaven  in  which  he  is  to  live  to  eter- 
nity ;  and  that,  near  the  society,  there  is  a  gate  which  is  opened ;  and  that,  after 
entrance,  it  is  inquired  whether  there  is  in  him  similar  light  and  similar  heat,  that  is, 
similar  good  and  truth,  as  in  the  angels  of  that  society ;  which  being  found  out,  he 
goes  about  and  inquires  where  his  house  is ;  for  there  is  for  every  novitiate  angel  a 
new  house,  which  being  found,  he  is  received  and  numbered  as  one  among  them. 
But  those  in  whom  there  is  not  the  light  and  heat,  that  is,  the  good  and  truth  of  heaven, 
have  this  hard  lot,  that,  when  they  enter,  they  are  miserably  tortured,  and  from  the 
torture  cast  themselves  down  headlong.  This  happens  to  them  from  the  sphere  of 
the  light  and  heat  of  heaven,  in  the  opposite  of  which  they  are  ;  and  they  afterwards 
no  longer  desire  heaven,  but  are  consociated  with  their  like  in  hell.  Thence  it  is 
manifest,  that  it  is  vain  to  think  that  heaven  is  only  an  admission  from  favor,  and  that 
those  who  are  admitted  enjoy  the  joys  there,  as  those  who,  in  the  world,  enter  into 
the  house  of  a  wedding,    n.  622. 

LXH. 

That  many,  who  believed  that  heaven  was  only  an  admission  from  favor,  and,  afler 
admission,  eternal  joy,  by  permission  ascended  into  heaven ;  but  that,  because  they 
could  not  bear  the  light  and  heat,  that  is,  the  faith  and  love  there,  they  cast  themselves 
down  headlong ;  and  that  then  they  were  seen,  by  those  who  stood  below,  as  dead 
horses.  Among  those  who  stood  below,  and  saw  them  thus,  there  were  boys  with 
their  master  ;  and  he  instructed  them  what  the  appearing  as  dead  horses  signified,  and 
then  who  they  are  who  at  a  distance  appear  so ;  saying  that  they  are  those,  who,  when 
they  read  the  Word,  think  materially,  and  not  spiritually,  concerning  God,  concerning 
the  neighbor,  and  concerning  heaven ;  and  that  those  think  materially  concerning  God, 


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Index  of  the  Relations. 


who  think  from  person  concerning  essence  ;  concerning  the  neighbor,  from  the  face 
and  speech  concerning  quality ;  and  concerning  heaven,  from  place  concerning  the 
state  of  love  there  ;  but  that  those  think  spiritually  who  think  concerning  God  from 
essence,  and  thence  concerning  person ;  concerning  the  neighbor  from  quality,  and 
thence  concerning  the  face  and  speech ;  and  concerning  heaven  from  the  state  of  love 
there,  and  thence  concerning  place.  And  afterwards  he  taught  them  that  a  horse 
signifies  the  understanding  of  the  Word ;  and  because  the  Word,  with  tliose  who 
think  spiritually,  when  they  read  it,  is  a  living  letter,  that  tlierefore  those  appear,  at  a 
distance,  as  live  horses ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  because  the  Word,  with  those  who 
think  materially,  when  they  read  it,  is  a  dead  letter,  that  these,  therefore,  at  a  distance, 
appear  as  dead  horses,    n.  623. 

LXTII. 

That  there  was  seen  an  angel,  with  a  paper  in  his  hand,  upon  which  was  written, 
THE  Marriage  of  good  and  truth,  descending  from  heaven  into  the  world  ;  and  it 
was  seen  that  that  paper  shone  in  heaven,  but,  in  its  descent,  gradually  less  and  less, 
until  neither  the  paper  nor  the  angel  appeared,  except  only  before  some  unlearned 
ones,  who  were  in  a  simple  heart :  before  these,  the  angel  explained  what  the  mar- 
riage of  good  and  truth  involves,  namely,  that  all  and  each  of  the  things,  in  the  whole 
heaven  and  in  the  whole  world,  contain  both  at  the  same  time,  because  good  and  truth 
in  the  Lord  God  the  Creator  make  one  ;  and  that,  therefore,  there  is  not  any  where 
given  any  thing  which  by  itself  is  good,  nor  any  thing  which  by  itself  is  true  ;  conse- 
quently, that,  in  each  and  every  thing,  there  is  a  marriage  of  good  and  truth,  and  in 
the  church,  a  marriage  of  charity  and  faitli,  since  charity  is  of  good,  and  faith  is  of 
truth,    n.  624. 

LXIV. 

That  when  I  was  in  profound  thought,  concerning  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord,  1 
saw  heaven,  from  the  east  to  the  west,  luminous,  and  lieard  from  the  angels  a  glo- 
rification and  celebration  of  the  Lord,  but  from  the  Word,  as  well  the  prophetical  Word 
of  the  Old  Testament,  as  the  apostolical  of  the  New.  The  passages  themselves, 
by  which  the  glorifications  were  made,  may  be  seen  iu  the  Relation,    n.  625. 

LXV. 

That,  in  the  north-eastern  quarter,  there  are  Places  ok  instruction  ;  and  that  those 
who  receive  instructions  interiorly  are  there  called  disciples  of  the  Lord.  Once,  when 
I  was  in  the  spirit,  I  asked  the  teachers  there  whether  they  knew  the  univcrsals  of 
heaven,  and  the  universals  of  hell ;  and  they  answered,  tliat  the  universals  of  heaven 
were  three  loves  ;  tlie  love  of  uses,  the  love  of  possessing  the  goods  of  the  world  from 
the  love  of  doing  uses,  and  truly  conjugial  love  ;  and  that  the  univcrsals  of  hell  were 
three  loves  opposite  to  those  three,  which  are  the  love  of  ruling  from  the  love  of 
self,  the  love  of  possessing  the  goods  of  otlicrs  from  tlie  love  of  self,  and  scortatory 
love.  It  is  described,  afterwards,  what  the  first  infernal  love  is,  which  is  the 
LOVE  OF  RULING  FROM  THE  LOVE  OF  SELF  ;  that  it  is  such  witli  tlic  laity,  that,  when 
the  reins  are  given  to  it,  they  wish  to  rule  over  all  things  of  the  world,  and,  with  the 
clergy,  that  they  wish  to  rule  over  all  things  of  heaven.  That  there  is  such  fantasy 
with  those  who  are  in  that  love,  was  confirmed  by  the  like  in  hell,  where  such  are 
together  in  a  certain  valley,  who  entertain  their  minds  witli  the  fantasies  that  they 
are  emperors  of  emperors,  or  kings  of  kings ;  and  elsewhere  that  they  are  gods :  and 
it  was  seen,  that,  at  the  sight  of  these,  the  former,  wlio  were  of  so  lofty  a  mind,  fell 
upon  their  knees  and  adored.  That  afterwards  I  spoke  with  two,  one  of  whom  was 
the  prince  of  a  certain  society  in  heaven,  and  another  who  was  the  higli-priest  there ; 
who  said,  that,  with  those  in  that  society,  tliere  are  magnificent  and  t<plendid  things, 
because  their  love  is  not  from  the  love  of  self,  but  from  the  love  of  uses  ;  and  that  tliey 
are  surrounded  with  honors,  and  that  they  accept  them,  not  for  tlio  sake  of  tliemselves, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  good  of  obedience.  I  then  asked  them,  "  How  can  any  one 
know  whether  he  does  uses  from  the  love  of  self  or  of  the  world,  or  from  the  love  of 
uses,  since  all  the  three  do  uses  ?  Let  it  be  supposed  that  there  is  a  society  composed 
of  mere  satans,  and  a  society  composed  of  mere  angels,  and  I  can  imagine  that  the 
eatans,  from  the  love  of  self  and  the  world,  would  do  as  many  uses  in  their  society  as 
the  angels  would  in  theirs :  who,  then,  can  know  from  which  love  tlie  uses  are  ?"  To 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


571 


this  the  prince  and  priest  replied,  that  "  Satans  do  uses  for  the  sake  of  fame,  that  they 

may  be  raised  to  honors  and  gain  wealth,  but<engels  do  uses  for  the  sake  of  uses  ;  but 
these  are  discriminated  from  those  especially  by  this,  that  every  one  who  believes  in 
the  Lord,  and  shuns  evils  as  sins,  does  uses  from  the  Lord,  and  thus  from  the  love  of 
uses ;  but  that  every  one  who  does  not  believe  nor  shun  evils  as  sins,  does  uses  from 
liimself  and  for  the  sake  of  himself,  thus  from  the  love  of  self  and  the  world."  n.  661. 

LXVI. 

That  I  entered  a  certain  grove,  and  saw  two  angels  conversing  together.  I  went 
up  to  them,  and  they  were  speaking  of  the  lust  of  possessing  all  things  of  the  world ; 
and  that  many,  who  in  actions  appear  moral  and  in  conversation  rational,  are  in  the 
madness  of  that  lust ;  and  that  that  lust  is  turned  into  fantasies  with  those  who  indulge 
their  ideas  concerning  it.  And  because  every  one  is  permitted  to  delight  himself  in 
his  fantasy,  in  the  spiritual  world,  provided  he  does  no  evil  to  another,  that  there  are 
also  congregations  of  such  in  the  lower  earth ;  and  because  it  was  known  where  they 
were,  we  descended  and  went  in  to  them  ;  and  we  saw  that  they  were  sitting  at  tables, 
upon  which  there  was  a  great  plenty  of  golden  coin,  saying  that  that  was  the  wealth 
of  all  in  the  kingdom;  but  it  was  only  an  imaginary  vision,  which  is  called  fantasy, 
by  which  they  made  that  appearance.  But  when  it  was  said  to  them  that  they  were 
insane,  being  turned  away  from  the  tables,  tliey  confessed  that  it  was  so ;  but  because 
that  vision  exceedingly  delighted  them,  they  could  not  do  otherwise  than  go  in  by 
turns,  and  favor  the  allurements  of  their  senses.  To  this  they  added,  that  if  any  one 
steals  from  another  his  goods,  or  does  any  other  evil,  he  falls  down  into  some  prison 
under  them,  and  is  kept  there  to  labor  for  food,  clothing,  and  some  little  pieces  of 
money  ;  and  if  tliey  also  do  evil  there,  they  are  deprived  of  those  things  and  punished, 
n.  662. 

Lxvn. 

There  was  heard  a  dispute  between  an  ambassador  of  a  kingdom  and  two  priests, 
Whether  Intelligence  and  Wisdom,  and  thus  also  Prudence,  were  from 
God,  or  whether  from  man.  But  it  was  perceived  by  some  angels,  that  the  priests 
inwardly,  in  themselves,  believed  in  like  manner  as  the  ambassador,  namely,  that  intel- 
ligence and  wisdom,  and  thence  prudence,  were  from  man  ;  wherefore,  that  it  might 
be  made  manifest,  the  ambassador  was  requested  to  take  off  the  garments  of  his  office, 
and  to  put  on  the  garments  of  the  sacerdotal  ministry ;  which  being  done,  the  ambassa- 
dor began  to  confirm,  by  many  things,  that  all  intelligence,  and  also  prudence,  is  from 
God.  And  afterwards  the  priests  also  were  requested  to  take  off  their  garments,  and 
to  put  on  the  garments  of  political  ministers ;  which  being  done,  the  priests  spoke 
from  their  interior  self,  saying  that  all  intelligence  and  prudence  is  from  man.  The 
cause  of  their  speaking  so  was,  because  a  spirit  thinks  himself  to  be  such  as  the  gar- 
ment on  him  is.  After  this,  those  three  became  cordial  friends ;  and,  as  they  con- 
versed together,  they  went  the  way  which  tended  downwards ;  but  afterwards  I  saw 
them  returning,    n.  663. 

Lxvin. 

It  is  treated  first  of  those  who  in  the  Word  are  called  the  Elect  ;  and  that  they 
are  those,  who,  after  death,  are  found  to  have  lived  a  life  of  charity,  and  are  separated 
from  those  who  have  not  lived  that  life,  and  thus  who  are  then  elected,  and  prepared 
for  heaven.  Wherefore,  to  believe  only  some,  before  their  nativity  or  after  it,  to  be 
elected  and  predestinated  to  heaven,  and  not  all,  because  all  are  called,  would  be  to 
accuse  God  of  the  inability  of  saving,  and  also  of  injustice,    n.  664. 

LXIX. 

By  a  certain  new  comer  it  was  said  in  heaven,  that  no  one  in  the  Christian  world 
knows  what  Conscience  is  ;  and,  because  the  angels  did  not  believe  it,  they  said  to 
a  certain  spirit  that  he  might,  with  a  trumpet,  call  together  the  intelligent,  and  ask 
them  whether  they  know  what  conscience  is.  And  so  it  was  done  ;  and  they  came, 
and  among  them  there  were  politicians,  scholars,  physicians  and  priests.  And  then, 
first,  the  Politicians  were  asked  what  conscience  was.  They  answered,  that  it  was 
pain  from  fear,  entertained  before  or  afterwards,  of  the  loss  of  honor  or  wealth ;  or 


572 


Index  of  the  Relations, 


that  it  was  from  a  melancholic  humor  arising  from  undigested  things  in  the  stomach; 
besides  more.  Afterwards,  they  asked  the  Scholars  what  they  knew  about  conscience. 
They  answered,  that  it  was  sadness  and  anxiety  infesting  the  body,  and  thence  the 
head,  or  the  head  and  thence  the  body,  from  various  causes,  especially  from  this,  that 
they  applied  the  mind  to  one  thing  only,  which  is  done  especially  when  the  reigning 
love  suffers  ;  whence  sometimes  are  fantasies  and  deliriums,  and  with  some  brain-sick 
scruples  in  religious  matters,  which  are  called  remorse  of  conscience.  After  these,  the 
Physicians  were  asked  what  conscience  was.  And  they  said,  that  it  was  only  a  pain 
arising  from  various  diseases,  which  in  abundance  they  enumerated  ;  and  that  they  had 
cured  many  by  means  of  drugs.  The  diseases  from  which  the  pains,  which  are  called 
those  of  conscience,  are  derived,  may  be  seen  enumerated  in  the  Relation.  At  last 
the  Priests  were  asked  what  conscience  was.  They  said,  that  it  was  the  same  with 
contrition,  which  precedes  faith,  and  that  they  had  cured  it  by  the  gospel ;  and,  more- 
over, that  there  are  conscientious  persons  of  every  religion,  true  as  well  as  fanatical, 
who  make  to  themselves  scruples  in  the  things  of  salvation,  also  in  things  indifferent. 
The  angels,  from  hearing  these  things,  perceived  the  truth,  that  no  one  knew  what 
conscience  was  ;  wherefore,  they  sent  down  one  from  them  to  teach.  He,  standing  in 
the  raidst  of  them,  said,  that  conscience  was  not  any  pain,  as  they  all  imagined,  but 
that  it  was  a  life  according  to  religion  ;  and  that  that  life  is  especially  with  those  wlio 
are  in  the  faith  of  charity  ;  and  that  those  who  have  conscience  speaJv  from  the  heart 
what  they  speak,  and  do  from  the  heart  what  they  do,  which  he  also  illustrated  by 
examples.  Wherefore,  when  it  is  said  of  any  one  that  he  has  a  conscience,  it  is  meant 
that  he  is  just;  and  conversely.  These  things  being  said,  those  who  were  cnlled 
together  divided  themselves  into  four  phalanxes :  those  who  understood  and  favored 
the  words  of  the  angel  passed  over  into  one ;  those  who  did  not  understand,  but  still 
favored,  into  another  ;  those  who  would  not  understand,  saying  to  each  otlier,  "  What 
have  we  to  do  with  conscience  ?"  into  a  third  ;  and  those  who  scoffed,  saying,  "  What 
is  conscience  but  a  blast  of  wind  ?"  into  the  fourth.  After  this,  the  two  latter  pha- 
lanxes were  seen  to  go  aside  to  the  left,  and  the  two  former  to  the  right,    n.  6(i5. 

LXX. 

That  I  was  led  to  the  place  where  the  ancient  sophists,  who  were  in  Greece,  resided, 
which  place  they  called  Parnassium  ;  and  it  was  said  to  me,  that  once  in  a  while  they 
send  out  some  for  the  purpose  of  calling  to  them  some  new  comers  from  the  world, 
and  of  inquiring  something  about  wisdom,  how  it  is  at  this  day  on  earth.  And  then  two 
from  the  Christians  were  found  and  brought,  who  were  presently  asked,  "What  news 
FROM  THE  earth  ?"  And  they  answered,  that  this  there  was  new  ;  that  they  liad  found 
men  in  tlie  woods,  perhaps  left  there  in  early  childhood ;  and  that  they  appeared 
from  the  face,  indeed,  as  men,  but  that  still  they  were  not  men  ;  and  that  from  them 
they  concluded  in  the  world,  that  man  was  no  more  than  a  beast,  only  that  he  could 
articulate  sound,  and  thus  speak ;  and  that  a  beast  could  in  like  manner  become  wise,  if  it 
were  endued  with  the  faculty  of  expressing  articulate  sounds;  besides  more.  The 
sophists,  from  hearing  these  things,  concluded  many  things  concerning  wisdom,  what 
clianges  it  had  undergone  since  their  times,  especially  from  this,  that  they  do  not 
know  tlie  distinction  between  the  state  of  man  and  the  state  of  a  boast,  and  not  even 
that  man  is  only  born  the  form  of  a  man,  and  that  by  instructions  he  becomes  man, 
and  ciuch  a  man  as  the  instructions  ho  receives  ;  and  that  he  becomes  wise  from  truths, 
insane  from  falses,  and  inwardly  a  wild  beast  from  evils ;  and  that  he  is  only  born  a 
faculty  for  knowing,  understanding,  and  becoming  wise,  in  order  that  he  may  be  a  sub- 
ject into  which  God  might  inspire  wisdom,  from  the  first  degree  of  it  to  the  highest; 
saying  further,  that  from  the  new  comers  they  comprehended,  that  wisdom,  wliich  in 
their  time  was  in  its  rising,  is  at  this  day  in  its  setting.  Afterwards,  they  instructed 
the  new  comers  whence  it  is  that  man,  created  a  form  of  God,  could  be  turned  into 
the  form  of  the  devil.  But,  concerning  the  latter  and  the  former,  the  Relation  may 
be  seen.   n.  692. 

LXXI. 

That  there  was  again  a  meeting  appointed,  in  the  place  where  the  ancient  sophists 
were,  since  they  had  heard  from  the  emissaries  that  they  had  found  three  now  comers 
from  the  earth,  one  who  was  a  priest,  another  who  was  a  politician,  and  a  third  who 
was  a  philosopher ;  who  were  brought  up  and  presently  asked,  What  news  from 


Jndex  of  the  Relations. 


573 


THE  EARTH?  And  they  replied,  this  is  new ;  that  they  had  heard  that  a  certain  man 
says  that  he  speaks  with  angels  and  spirits ;  and  that  he  relates  many  things  concern- 
ing their  state,  and  among  them  that  man  lives  equally  a  man  after  death,  with  the 
difference  only,  that  he  is  then  clothed  with  a  spiritual  body,  but  before  with  a  material 
body.  On  hearing  which,  they  asked  the  Priest  what  he  had  thought  about  those 
tilings  on  earth.  He  replied,  that  because  he  had  believed  that  man  was  not  to  live  a 
man  before  the  day  of  the  last  judgment,  he,  with  the  rest  of  his  order,  supposed  his 
relations  to  have  been  visions,  and  afterwards  fictions,  and  that  at  last  he  hesitated. 
Then  he  was  asked,  whether  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  could  not  see,  from  reason, 
that  man  lives  a  man  after  death,  and  thus  dissipate  the  paradoxical  notions  concerning 
the  state  of  souls  in  the  mean  time,  which  are,  that  souls  in  the  mean  time  fly  about 
like  winds  in  the  universe,  and  continually  expect  the  last  judgment,  that  they  may 
coalesce  with  their  bodies  ;  which  lot  would  be  worse  than  the  lot  of  any  beast.  To 
which  the  priest  replied,  that  they  say,  but  they  do  not  convince ;  and  that  they 
ascribe  the  coalition  or  reunion  of  souls  with  their  bodies  and  skeletons  in  the  sepul- 
chre, to  th#  omnipotence  of  God ;  and  when  they  name  omnipotence,  and  also 
faith,  all  reason  is  banished.  Afterwards,  the  Politician,  being  questioned  respect- 
ing the  things  heard,  replied,  that  in  the  world  he  could  not  believe  that  man  would 
live  after  death,  since  all  of  man  lies  dead  in  the  sepulchre,  and  thus  that  that  man 
saw  spectres,  and  believed  that  they  were  angels  and  spirits ;  but  that  now,  for  the 
first  time,  he  was  convinced,  by  the  senses  themselves,  that  he  lives  a  man  as  before, 
and  that  he  was  therefore  ashamed  of  his  former  thoughts.  The  Philosopher  related 
very  similar  things  respecting  himself,  and  respecting  some  of  his  school ;  and  more- 
over, that  he  referred  those  things  which  he  had  heard,  respecting  the  things  seen  and 
heard  by  that  man,  among  the  opinions  and  hypotheses  which  he  had  collected  from 
the  ancients  and  moderns.  On  hearing  these  things,  the  sophists  were  astonished, 
especially  that  Christians,  who  are  in  light  above  others  from  revelation,  should  be  in 
such  thick  darkness  respecting  their  life  after  death  ;  when  yet  we,  and  the  wise  men 
of  our  time,  knew  and  believed  that  life  ;  saying  further,  that  they  observed  that  the 
light  of  wisdom,  since  that  age,  had  let  itself  down  from  the  interiors  of  the  brain,  even 
to  the  mouth  under  the  nose,  where  it  appears  as  the  brightness  of  the  lip,  and  thence 
the  speech  of  the  mouth  as  wisdom.  To  these  things,  some  of  the  tyros  added  this  : 
"  O  how  stupid  are  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  at  this  day  !  I  wish  we 
had  here  the  disciples  of  Heraclitus,  who  laughed  at  every  thing,  and  the  disciples  of 
Democritus,  who  wept  at  every  thing,  and  we  should  hear  much  laughing  and  much 
weeping."  After  this,  there  were  given  to  the  new  comers  copper  plates,  on  which 
hieroglyphics  were  engraved,  and  they  departed,    n,  693, 

LXXII. 

That  new  comers  from  the  world  were  found,  and  were  brought  to  the  city  under 
Parnassium,  and  asked,  What  news  from  the  earth  ?  And  they  answered,  that  in 
the  world  they  had  believed  that  after  death  there  would  be  an  entire  rest  from  labors, 
and  yet  they  heard,  when  they  were  coming  hither,  that  there  are  here  administrations, 
offices  and  employments,  as  in  the  former  world,  and  thus  that  there  is  not  rest.  To 
this  the  wise  ones  there  replied,  "  Thus  you  believed  that  now  you  are  to  live  in  mere 
idleness,  when  yet  from  idleness  are  produced  languor,  torpor,  stupor  and  sleep  of  the 
mind,  and  thence  of  the  whole  body,  wliich  are  death  and  not  life.  And  then  they 
were  led  around  in  the  city,  and  to  the  administrators  and  workmen ;  on  seeing  which, 
they  wondered  that  there  should  be  such  things,  when  yet  they  also  believed  that 
there  would  be  some  empty  place,  in  which  souls  are  to  live  before  the  new  heaven 
and  new  earth  exist.  And  they  were  instructed  that  all  the  things  which  here  appear 
before  the  eyes  are  substantial,  and  are  called  spiritual,  and  that  all  things  in  the 
former  world  are  material,  and  are  called  natural ;  and  that  this  distinction  is,  because 
they  are  from  another  origin ;  namely,  that  all  things  which  are  in  this  world  exist  and 
subsist  from  a  sun  which  is  pure  love,  and  all  things  which  are  in  that  world  exist 
from  a  sun  which  is  pure  fire.  And,  moreover,  they  were  instructed  that  in  this  world 
there  are  not  only  administrations,  but  also  studies  of  every  kind,  and  also  writings 
and  books.  The  new  comers  were  gratified  by  these  instructions ;  and  when  they 
were  going  away,  there  came  some  virgins  with  pieces  of  embroidery  and  netting, 
the  works  of  their  own  hands,  and  gave  these  to  them ;  and  they  sung  before  them  an 


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Index  of  the  Relations. 


ode  which  expressed,  with  angelic  melody,  the  affection  of  the  works  of  use  with  its 
delights,    n.  694. 

Lxxm. 

That  I  was  introduced  into  an  assembly  where  some  of  the  ancient  philosophers 
were  present,  and  was  asked  what  they  knew  in  my  world  concerning  Influx. 
To  which  I  answered,  that  they  knew  of  no  other  than  of  an  influx  of  the  light  and 
heat  of  their  sun  into  the  things  which  are  of  nature,  as  well  into  those  which  are  ani- 
mate as  into  those  which  are  inanimate,  and  that  they  did  not  know  any  thing  at  all 
of  the  influx  of  the  spiritual  world  into  the  natural,  when  yetfi-om  that  influx  are  all 
the  wonderful  things  which  are  beheld  both  in  the  animal  kingdom  there,  and  also  in 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  which  are  in  part  recounted :  and  because  they  do  not  know 
this  influx,  they  confirm  themselves  in  favor  of  nature,  and  become  naturalists, 
and  at  length  atheists,   n.  695. 

LXXIV.  ^ 

That  I  spoke  with  the  followers  of  Aristotle,  Descartes  and  Leibnitz,  concerning 
PHYSICAL  Influx,  occasional  Influx,  and  preestablished  Harmony;  and  I 
heard  how  each  confirmed  his  hypothesis  ;  and  since  they  were  not  able  to  look  into 
that  subject  with  the  understanding,  above  confirmations,  but  only  below  them,  they 
ended  the  dispute  by  lot,  which  came  out  in  favor  of  spiritual  influx,  which,  in 
part,  coincides  with  occasional  influx,    n.  696. 

LXXV. 

That  I  was  brought  into  a  certain  gymnasium,  in  which  the  young  are  initiated 
into  various  things  which  are  of  wisdom,  which  was  done  by  the  discussion  of  some 
subject,  which  was  proposed  by  the  president  there :  and  the  subject  of  discussion 
then  was,  What  is  the  Soul,  and  of  what  quality?  There  was  a  desk  into 
which  those  ascended  who  were  about  to  answer.  And  presently  One  ascended, 
saying,  "  That  no  one  since  the  creation  of  the  world  has  been  able  to  find  out  what 
the  soul  is,  and  of  what  quality  :  but  because  they  knew  that  the  soul  was  in  man,  it  was 
inquired  whereabouts  it  was ;  and  that  there  was  one  who  thought  that  it  resides  with 
man  in  a  certain  little  gland,  which  is  called  the  pineal  gland,  and  sits  between  the 
two  brains  in  the  head  ;  and  that  he  believed  tliis  at  first ;  but  because  it  was  rejected 
by  many,  he  also  afterwards  receded."  After  tliis,  Tiif.  Sf.co.\d  ascended,  and  said, 
"  That  he  believed  that  the  seat  of  the  soul  was  in  the  head,  since  the  understanding 
is  there  :  but  because  he  could  not  divine  where  it  resided  there,  he  acceded  now  to 
the  opinion  of  those  who  said  that  its  seat  was  in  the  three  ventricles  of  tlie  brain ; 
now  to  that  of  those  who  said  it  was  in  tlie  striated  bodies  there ;  now  to  that  of  those 
who  said  that  it  was  in  the  medullary  or  cortical  substance ;  and  now  to  that  of  those 
who  said  that  it  was  in  the  dw-a  mater ;"  to  which  he  added,  "  that  he  left  it  to  every 
one  to  think  what  he  likes."  The  Third,  ascending,  said,  "That  the  seat  of  the  soul 
was  in  the  heart  and  thence  in  the  blood ;"  and  this  he  confirmed  from  tlie  Word, 
where  it  is  said, /icnrf  and  soul.  The  Fourth,  afterwards  ascending,  said,  "That 
from  his  cliildhood  he  had  believed,  with  tlie  ancients,  that  the  soul  was  not  in  one  part, 
but  in  tlie  whole,  because  it  is  a  spiritual  substance,  of  which  place  cannot  be  predicat- 
ed, but  implction  ;  and  also  because  by  soul  is  also  meant  life,  and  life  is  in  the  whole." 
The  Fifth,  ascending,  said,  "That  he  believed  the  soul  to  be  something  pure,  like 
air  or  ether,  and  that  he  believed  this,  because  they  supposed  that  the  soul  would  be 
such  after  it  is  separated  from  the  body."  But  because  the  wise  ones  in  the  orchestra 
perceived  that  none  of  them  knew  what  the  soul  was,  they  requested  the  president, 
who  had  proposed  that  problem,  to  descend  and  teach.  He,  therefore,  descending,  said, 
"That  the  soul  was  the  very  essence  of  man,  and  because  an  essence  without  a  form 
is  not  any  thing,  that  the  soul  is  the  form  of  the  forms  of  man ;  and  that  this  form  is 
the  truly  human  form,  in  which  wisdom  with  its  perceptions,  and  love  with  its  affec- 
tions, universally  reside  ;  and  because  you  believed  in  the  world  that  you  would  be 
souls  after  death,  you  are  now  souls;"  besides  more.  And  this  was  confirmed  byiliia 
declaration  in  the  book  of  Creation ;  Jehovah  breathed  into  the  nostrils  of  Jidam  the 
80UL  OF  LIVES,  and  man  was  made  into  a  living  sool,  Gen.  ii.  7.    n.  697. 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


575 


LXXVl. 

That  there  was  seen  an  angel  with  a  trumpet,  by  which  he  called  together  those 
celebrated  for  erudition  among  Christians,  that  they  might  tell  what  they  had  before 
believed  in  the  world  concerning  the  Joys  of  Heave.v,  and  concerning  eternal 
Happiness.  This  was  done,  because  it  was  said  in  heaven,  that  no  one  in  the  Chris- 
tian world  knew  any  thing  about  them.  And  after  about  an  hour,  there  were  seen  six 
companies  coming  from  the  learned  Christians,  who  being  asked  what  they  had  known 
about  the  joys  of  heaven  and  about  eternal  happiness.  The  First  Company  said, 
That  they  believed  there  would  be  only  an  admission  into  heaven,  and  then  into  its 
festive  joys,  as  one  is  admitted  into  the  house  of  a  wedding  and  into  its  festivities. 
Another  Company  said.  That  they  believed  there  would  be  most  pleasant  intercourse 
and  most  agreeable  conversations  with  angels.  The  Third  Company  said.  That  they 
believed  there  would  be  feasts  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  The  Fourth  Com- 
pany said,  That  they  believed  them  to  be  paradisiacal  delights.  The  Fifth  Company, 
That  there  would  be  supereminent  dominions,  most  opulent  riches,  and  more  than  royal 
magnificence.  The  Sixth  Company,  That  there  would  be  a  glorification  of  God  and 
a  festival  enduring  for  ever.  That,  therefore,  those  learned  ones  might  know  whether 
those  things,  which  they  had  believed  to  be  the  joys  of  heaven,  were  so,  it  was  given 
them  to  enter  into  those  their  joys,  and  to  each  company  by  itself,  in  order  that  they 
might  learn,  by  lively  experience,  whether  the  joys  were  imaginary,  or  whether  real. 
This  is  the  case  witli  most  who  come  from  the  natural  world  into  the  spiritual, 
n.  731,  732,  733. 

And  then,  presently,  that  company,  which  had  supposed  the  joys  of  heaven  to  be 
most  pleasant  intercourse  and  agreeable  conversations  with  angels,  was  let  into  the 
joys  of  their  imagination ;  but  because  they  were  external  joys,  and  not  internal, 
after  some  days  they  were  affected  with  weariness,  and  departed,    n.  734. 

Afterwards,  those  who  had  believed  that  the  joys  of  heaven  were  feasts  with  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob,  were  let  into  things  similar  to  them  ;  but  because  they  per- 
ceived that  tliose  joys  were  only  external,  and  not  internal,  they  became  weary,  and 
went  away.    n.  735. 

The  like  was  done  with  those  who  had  believed  the  joys  of  heaven  and  eternal 
happiness  to  consist  in  supereminent  dominions,  most  opulent  riches,  and  more  than 
royal  magnificence.    71.  736. 

Likewise,  also,  with  those  who  had  believed  heavenly  joys,  and  thence  eternal 
happiness,  to  be  paradisiacal  delights,    n.  737. 

Likewise,  afterwards,  with  those  who  had  believed  heavenly  joys  and  eternal  hap- 
piness to  be  a  perpetual  glorification  of  God,  and  a  festival  enduring  for  ever.  These 
at  length  were  instructed  what  is  meant  in  the  Word  by  the  glorification  of  God. 
n.  738. 

Finally,  the  like  was  done  with  those  who  had  believed  that  they  should  come 
into  heavenly  joys  and  eternal  happiness,  if  they  were  only  admitted  into  heaven  ;  and 
that  they  should  then  have  joys,  in  like  manner,  as  those  do  who  enter  into  the  house 
of  a  wedding,  and  then,  at  the  same  time,  into  festivities.  But  because  it  was  shown 
to  them,  by  lively  experience,  that  in  heaven  there  are  no  joys,  except  for  those  who 
have  lived  the  life  of  heaven,  that  is,  the  life  of  charity  and  faith ;  and  that,  on 
the  other  hand,  heaven  is  torture  to  those  who  have  led  a  contrary  life,  they  with- 
drew, and  consociated  themselves  with  their  like.    n.  739. 

Since  it  was  perceived  by  the  angels  that  as  yet  none  in  the  natural  world  knew 
what  the  joys  of  heaven  are,  and  thence  what  eternal  happiness  is,  it  was  said  to  the 
angel  of  the  trumpet,  that  he  should  choose  ten  from  those  who  had  been  called 
together,  and  introduce  them  into  a  society  of  heaven,  that  they  might  see  with  their 
eyes,  and  perceive  with  their  minds,  what  heaven  is,  and  what  the  joys  there  are  ;  and 
so  it  was  done.  And  after  admission,  it  was  first  given  them  to  see  the  magnificent 
palace  of  the  prince  there,  n.  740.  Then  the  paradise  near  it.  n.  741.  Afterwards, 
the  prince  himself  and  his  grandees  in  splendid  garments,  n.  742.  Then,  being  in- 
vited to  the  table  of  the  prince,  they  saw  such  an  entertainment  as  no  eye  had  ever 
seen  on  earth  ;  and  at  the  table  they  heard  the  prince  instructing  concerning  heaven- 
ly joys  and  eternal  happiness,  that  they  essentially  consist  in  internal  blessedness, 
and  from  this  in  external  enjoyments  ;  and  that  internal  blessedness  derives  its  essence 
from  the  affection  of  use.  n.  743.  After  dinner,  by  command  of  tlie  prince,  some 
wise  ones  of  the  society  were  sent  for,  who  fully  instructed  them  what  and  whence 


576 


Index  of  the  Relations. 


internal  blessedness  is,  which  is  eternal  happiness ;  and  that  this  causes  externa]  en- 
joyments to  be  joys  ;  besides  more  concerning  the  latter  and  the  former,  n.  745, 746. 
After  these  things,  it  was  given  them  to  see  a  wedding  in  that  heaven,  of  which  n. 
747  to  749.  And  finally,  to  hear  preaching,  n.  750,  751.  All  which  being  seen  and 
heard,  full  of  knowledge  concerning  heaven,  and  joyful  in  heart,  they  descended,  n.  752. 

LXXVII. 

It  is  treated  there  of  Revelation.  That  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to  manifest  Him- 
self to  me,  and  to  open  the  interiors  of  my  mind,  and  thus  to  give  me  to  see  the  things 
which  are  in  heaven  and  hell ;  and  that  thus  he  had  disclosed  secrets  which,  in  excel- 
lence and  dignity,  exceed  all  the  secrets  hitherto  disclosed  ;  which  are,  I.  That  in  all 
and  every  thing  of  the  Word,  there  is  a  Spiritual  Sense,  which  does  not  appear  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  Word  was  written  by  the  correspondences 
of  spiritual  things  with  natural.  II.  That  the  Correspondences  themselves,  such 
as  they  are,  have  been  manifested.  III.  And  also  concerning  the  Life  of  men 
AFTER  DEATH.  IV.  Concerning  Heaven  and  Hell,  what  the  one  is,  and  what  the 
otheris;  and  also  concerning  Baptism  and  the  Holy  Supper.  V.  Concerning  the 
Sun  in  the  spiritual  world,  that  it  is  pure  love  from  the  Lord,  who  is  in  the  midst  of 
it,  from  which  the  proceeding  light  is  wisdom,  and  the  proceeding  heat  is  love  ;  and 
thus  that  faith  and  charity  is  thence  ;  and  that  all  things  which  proceed  thence  are 
spiritual,  and  thus  alive  ;  and  that  the  sun  of  the  natural  world  is  pure  fire,  and  thence 
that  all  things  which  are  from  this  sun  are  natural,  and  thus  dead.  VI.  Tliat  there 
are  three  degrees  hitherto  unknown.  VII.  And,  moreover,  concerning  the  Last 
Judgment.  That  the  Lord  the  Savior  is  the  God  of  Heaven  and  Earth. 
Concerning  the  New  Church  and  its  Doctrine.  Concerning  the  Inhabitants 
OF  the  Planets,  and  concerning  the  Earths  in  the  universe,  n.  846.  VIII.  More- 
over, concerning  Conjugial  Love  ;  and  that  it  is  spiritual  with  the  spiritual,  natural 
with  the  natural,  and  carnal  with  adulterers,  n.  847.  IX.  That  it  was  intuitively  per- 
ceived by  the  angels,  that  although  those  secrets  are  more  excellent  than  the  secrets 
hitherto  disclosed,  still,  by  many  at  this  day,  they  are  regarded  as  trifles,  n.  848.  That 
there  was  heard  a  murmur  from  some  in  the  lower  earth,  that  they  should  not  believe  those 
things,  unless  Miracles  were  done  ;  but  that  they  received  answer,  that  by  miracles 
they  would  not  believe  any  more  than  Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians ;  nor  any  more  than 
the  posterity  of  Jacob,  when  they  danced  around  the  golden  calf  in  the  desert ;  nor 
any  more  than  the  Jews  themselves,  when  they  saw  tlie  miracles  done  by  the  Lord 
himself,  n.  849.  XI.  Finally,  why  tiie  Lord  revealed  those  secrets  to  me,  and  not 
rather  to  any  one  of  the  ecclesiastical  order,    n.  850. 

That  the  things  contained  in  the  Relations  which  are  after  the  chapters  are  true  ; 
and  that  similar  things  were  seen  and  heard  by  the  prophets  before  the  coming  of 
the  Lord,  and  similar  things  by  the  apostles  after  his  coming,  as  by  Peter,  Paul,  and 
especially  by  John  in  the  Revelation  ;  which  things  are  recounted  n.  851. 


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